Blog Archives
Wrestling Legend & WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper Passed Away Late Last Week
Without Dragons,you don’t need Dragon Slayers.Roddy Piper was the best Dragon The Wrestling ever saw.And with a smile,the best Dragon Slayer
— William Regal (@RealKingRegal) August 1, 2015
It’s been a tough summer for wrestling legends. Less than two months after Dusty Rhodes passed away, and with the wrestling world still reeling, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper died at the age of 61 on Thursday night. Piper was, without a doubt, one of the greatest wrestling villains of all time. My favorite remembrance of Piper was tweeted by William Regal, and it summed up perfectly how we grow to really cherish these guys. As a dragon back in the early 80’s, with Hulk-a-mania running wild, it was Piper who was tasked with making sure people hated him so much that they almost fell in love with Hogan by default. He was vile, he was cocky, and he would win by any means necessary. The wrestling world of today lacks true villains, and as Jim Ross explained in his Piper tribute article, it’s mainly because the “heels” of today are more worried about being the cool bad guy instead of the hated one. Piper never cared about being cool (he wore a kilt to the ring) but became as cool as can be in the process. His famous line was “I was rowdy before rowdy was cool” and he couldn’t have been more right. If you inserted Piper into the Attitude Era, he might have gotten the same anti-authority response as Austin, but back in the early 80s, our heroes were clean cut and beloved, mostly because their foils were so abrasive. Piper soon became a dragon slayer, as do all the wrestling legends with age. You may not love him like a good guy, but are you really going to boo Roddy Piper in 2015? I don’t think so. Piper will go down as one of the greatest stars in the history of the wrestling business, and his legacy will not soon be forgotten. I’m sure WWE will have another great video tribute for Piper on Raw tonight, but I think I speak for everyone when I say I’d rather not watch the tribute if it meant still having the Hot Rod in this world.
– Ryan
5 Stars From Last Night’s #RAW
Raw was live from OKC last night, and the WWE put on an actual wrestling show. The show opening Authority promo was shorter than usual, and they actually used the segment to set up most of the night’s matches. Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch got spotlight wins, Bray Wyatt is resurrecting the Wyatt Family and John Cena’s nose is no longer a part of his face. Let’s get to the five stars from last night’s Raw!
1. Sasha Banks
I think we can all agree that The Boss is a badass, right? After dominating the NXT women’s division, Sasha has gotten called up to the main roster and done more of the same. Here she beats former NXT Women’s Champion and WWE Divas Champion Paige, and the Banks Statement is starting to become a really deadly finisher. I love that the NXT women are all submission artists of some sort, because it adds an extra element to a match. Becky Lynch proved it later in the night, but having a deadly finishing move puts your opponent in a dangerous predicament no matter what is happening in the match. I love the trend of having multiple Divas matches on Raw, and I also love that they left out the two worst in ring Divas (Brie and Tamina). I’m all for giving Diva’s a chance, but maybe give Brie and Tamina less of a chance than the others. My only complaint with this segment is Sasha not carrying the NXT Women’s title around with her. Owens brought the NXT title with him during his Cena feud, so why isn’t Sasha? The Boss needs her bling!
2. Rusev
I never thought I’d enjoy Rusev so much in non wrestling segments, but he is a joy to watch. He comes out with Summer Lana and brings her a gift, which ends up being a dog named Dog Ziggler. That is so wonderful. I also love how Rusev implies that Dolph Ziggler pisses on himself. It’s probably not true, but it COULD be true. He also calls Lana a cold fish, which is kind of messed up, but is saved by Rusev imploring Summer Lana to pick it up the fish. She obviously did not want to pick up the fish, but Rusev insists, so she does. Most wrestlers flounder (get it) in this segment, but Rusev was great. Lana coming out and forcing Summer Lana to kiss the fish was eh, but Rusev throwing the fish up the ramp was great. Give me Rusev all the time.
3. The Tag Team Division
Wrestlers on commentary is usually a terrible idea (see Sheamus, Bella Twins) but Titus O’Neil is the exception to the rule. He’s not only entertaining, but he makes sure to put over whoever is fighting and never demeans the tag team division. If the tag team division was flourishing you could bring in a team to be cocky and talk trash, but at this point, that would do more harm than good. Los Matadores and Lucha Dragons aren’t exactly The Dudleyz vs. The Hardys, but they’re working hard and are helped by someone like Titus on commentary. Plus, they put on a great match, with lots of actual tag team moves. Los Matadores won last week, which apparently automatically puts them in title contention, so Lucha Dragons win this week, which I’m assuming is leading to a fatal four way tag match at Summerslam. Supplement star to New Day, who along with Rusev are the best non wrestling part’s of most Raw’s. The triple skip to the ring holding the sign saying Kofi Kingston is the best dad was wonderful.
4. Bray Wyatt
So Bray Wyatt delivered a promo on Raw, but he actually mixed it up a bit! Instead of his usual ‘anyone but you’ bit on Roman Reigns, he explained why Luke Harper was back with the Wyatt Family, and now we have an actual storyline. The WWE usually does things without explanation and just forces you to live with it, so it’s nice to see characters explain their actions. Wyatt let Harper free so he could figure out on his own just how bad the world is, and realize that in order to get what he wants, he needs the help of someone like Bray. Wyatt is a great character, but he needs other people to interact with besides WWE’s version of good guys. Cena, Ambrose and Reigns are fine when they’re interacting with characters like them, but they have no idea what to do when they’re up against an oddity like Wyatt. Undertaker had Kane and Mankind, but Wyatt doesn’t have any oddballs to be weird with. It’ll be interesting to see where they go with this feud, as the rumors are that the Wyatt’s will find a new third man (since Rowan is injured) and then Sting will be the mystery partner for Reigns and Ambrose at Summerslam. Time will tell, but hopefully this feud moves beyond DQ finishes and starts getting good.
5. John Cena & Seth Rollins
If this was a mini preview of the title match at Summerslam, then I am all the way in. I already wrote about Cena’s broken nose but the match itself was really great. Cena has been unquestionably the best in ring talent over the last couple months, and while a lot of that has to do with the caliber of wrestlers he’s been in the ring with, it’s time to admit that Cena is a great wrestler as well. Speaking only for myself, if I had broken my nose as severely as Cena broke his, I would have curled up into a ball and refused to move. Instead, he not only finishes the match, but takes some pretty intense moves. Rollins performs a top rope suplex into a Falcon Arrow, which needs to immediately be added to his move set. The worst part of Rollins being a heel is that if he was a good guy, he’d be blowing you away with his moves. He can’t utilize his full arsenal because you don’t want the crowd cheering for him, but when he breaks out a suplex/falcon arrow combo or a Phoenix splash, it’s something special. Back to Cena, who was phenomenal for most of the match, but especially after the broken nose. He uses the injury as adrenaline, and it’s great because it’s not a typical Cena comeback. Usually when Cena comes back, he takes a beating for 95% of the match, pops up, hits an AA or the STF, wins the match and then celebrates with the fans like nothing happened. It’s INFURIATING. Here, Cena is legitimately injured, but understands that if he doesn’t win the match soon, he’s going to lose. Rollins is desperate too, because he’s hit Cena with everything and still can’t pin him, so he goes for his ace in the hole: the Phoenix splash. He misses, which gives Cena the opportunity to get him in the STF, and Cena is not fucking around this time. He puts Rollins in one of those rare choke hold STF’s, and it looks realistic because Cena’s arms are god damn tree trunks. Rollins taps, and we end Raw with Cena looking like he just went through hell. A great Raw overall with a solid main event.
– Ryan
John Cena Suffered A Broken Nose On #RAW Last Night & It Was Downright Awful
.@JohnCena suffers horrific broken nose in RAW main event, but that didn’t stop him.. http://t.co/TQKeCe3j4qpic.twitter.com/065SWwfHpU
— Indy Sport (@IndySport) July 28, 2015
During last night’s main event between WWE Champion Seth Rollins and US Champion John Cena, Seth Rollins hit Cena with a knee to the face, and almost immediately Cena started dripping blood. Upon further examination, and confirmed by the photo above, Cena broke his nose pretty badly. Cena finished the match, and even made Rollins tap out to one of his rare choke hold STF’s (more on that in the Raw recap). While most people will complain that John Cena beat the WWE Champion, I’m going to focus on the fact that Cena finished a match with a nose looking like that, an injury that had to be affecting his equilibrium and vision. The guy is an absolute animal.
– Ryan
5 Stars From Last Night’s #RAW
The post Battleground Raw was pretty wonderful last night, and Summerslam is stacking up to be a gigantic, beautiful card. The Undertaker was in 2 (!) segments, Brock Lesnar wanted revenge, the NXT women continue to look great and Cesaro main evented Raw again. Let’s get to the 5 stars from last night’s Raw!
1. The Undertaker
The Undertaker could have theoretically sat in the ring and clipped his toe nails and I’d have him for a star of Raw, because The Undertaker on Raw in 2015 is a happening. In lieu of clipping his toe nails, he opened the show and clearly explained why he cost Brock Lesnar the title at Battleground. He’s not some grumpy old man yelling at the clouds because his streak got broken. He understands streaks are created and mythicized because when they are broken, it’s something special. But for 469 days, Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar have not let it go, and continue to tell everyone on national television that they conquered the Undertakers undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Taker might be an undead mortician, but he’s got feelings too. The way he expresses those feelings are utilizing magic and transporting to the ring and choke slamming and tomb stoning mother f’ers. I wasn’t on board for Taker/Lesnar 2 until this promo and the subsequent brawl, but now I’m all in. I was afraid they’d make Lesnar look like a coward who was afraid of the Undertaker, and it just wouldn’t make sense after the year and a half that Brock just had. But when Brock came sprinting down that ramp and threatened to murder the Undertaker, my fears were alleviated. Brock/Taker forever. Speaking of the brawl…
2. Brock Lesnar (and Paul Heyman)
Paul Heyman came out and cut a wonderful promo on the Undertaker, and a fired up Paul Heyman might be the best character WWE has. You give him 5 minutes and a microphone and he has you eating out of the palm of his hand and begging for Summerslam to start right now. It’s not that hard to get people invested in Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker, but this promo was still gold. After The Undertaker politely asked Heyman to stop bringing up that Lesnar conquered his undefeated streak, you kind of knew Taker was going to show up when Heyman KEPT BRINGING UP THAT LESNAR CONQUERED HIS UNDEFEATED STREAK. Gong, darkness, light, Undertaker in the ring, and Heyman looked terrified. I loved him yelling ‘I’m a human being!’, as if that was going to stop someone who calls himself The Undertaker from ripping his head off. THAT brought out The Beast, and if you’ve ever questioned how scary Brock Lesnar is, watch how fast he got from the curtain to the ring. Someone that big should not be able to run that fast, and then the brawl was on. What made this extra special was that brawl’s like this don’t happen that often on WWE TV, and adding almost the entire locker room was a nice touch. I can’t wait to see where this goes from here, and I’m excited if its booked as two animals just trying to out survive each other.
3. Charlotte & Sasha Banks
I’m lumping these two together because they are the future of the Divas division. If you want to see what women’s wrestling can be in the WWE, look no further than Charlotte vs. Brie Bella and Sasha Banks/Naomi vs. Paige/Becky Lynch. Becky, Paige & Naomi looked great last night as well, but it was clear that Sasha Banks was the star of that match. Same goes for Charlotte and Brie. You see them in the ring, and you think ‘That one. That one is going to be special.’ Charlotte has the pedigree and Ric god damn Flair’s DNA, but she’s so great it doesn’t matter. Sasha can bring up how she doesn’t have a famous daddy yet look how far she’s come, and it simultaneously works for her but doesn’t sound like a detriment to Charlotte. Yes Charlotte is a Flair, but she’s also pretty damn great in the ring, and she’s earned her way to the top. Charlotte, Sasha and Nikki circling the top of the Diva’s division with the rest of the women developing strong secondary storylines is so awesome. Whens the last time there were two Diva’s matches on Raw? When’s the last time they were both great? This obviously has to go beyond the actual wrestling, but the future of the Diva’s division looks very bright.
4. Rusev
One of my favorite parts of the show was Rusev’s backstage interaction with Lana. I don’t want to sound like a huge asshole, but Lana kind of deserves everything she’s getting. Dating Dolph Ziggler and expecting him not to get hurt which leaves you to fight your Bulgarian ex boyfriend and his new version of you is like going for a swim and expecting not to get wet. Not the best comparison, but you catch my drift. Nobody gets hurt like Dolph Ziggler. So Lana attaching herself to him was pretty dumb. Secondly, she did screw Rusev over multiple times. Whether it was for his safety or not, you can’t throw in the towel on a guy who is fighting for Vladimir Putin’s honor. That’s how people die, Lana. So to see Rusev and his Summer Lana was not only satisfying, it was kind of hysterical. Rusev kissing Summer Lana while staring directly in Lana’s eyes was some HEEL shit. Following that up by telling Lana she doesn’t look so good was downright mean, but I loved it. Rusev has been one of the best characters on WWE TV for about 9 months now. Get this man a title shot!
5. Cesaro
“How ’bout that, huh?”. That is my new favorite phrase, and Cesaro main evented (and won) on Raw, so for now, all is well with the world. Orton got the hot tag and the pin, but Cesaro was my favorite part of the match, including the end with the giant swing/catapult into an RKO. Tell me you wouldn’t want to see Orton and Cesaro tag up and start catapult RKO’ing everybody in the world. Another really solid Raw with a bunch of good matches, and they set up the main event for Summerslam. Call WWE butter, because they’re on a roll.
– Ryan
The Undertaker Returned At #WWEBattleground To Take Out Brock Lesnar
Overall, WWE Battleground was a very good show with some great wrestling. Besides that, the mother f’ing Undertaker returned to tombstone Brock Lesnar twice and pretty much confirm that they’re going to have a match at Summerslam. It was an awesome moment, and the only downside is that Brock Lesnar isn’t the champ. The good thing is that Lesnar has signed a multi-year deal, so he’ll be back in the title picture eventually. For now, The Undertaker wants revenge for the only blemish on his otherwise perfect resume: the WM 30 loss to Lesnar. If this was anyone else, I’d find it hard to believe that Taker can be a legitimate opponent for Lesnar after he literally almost murdered him at WM30. But this is The Undertaker, and Lesnar is a skilled enough performer to make us believe whatever it is the WWE wants to make us believe. Just look at his facial expressions last night. They were magic. I can’t wait for Raw.
– Ryan
Your Average #WWEBattleground Preview & Predictions
WWE Battleground is this Sunday, and it’s actually a pretty great card for a “throwaway” pay per view. When you think of WWE pay per views in the summer, MITB and Summerslam usually jump out at you, while Battleground is more or less a filler show. Thanks to back to back stellar Raw’s, Brock Lesnar and the US title picture, Battleground could end being a really good show. Let’s get to the preview and predictions!
Pre-Show Match: King Barrett vs. R-Truth (Winner gets Barrett’s KOTR crown)
I honestly don’t know what to say about this match. King Barrett, who has been a chronic loser going on a year now, finally got thrown a bone with a King of the Ring victory. How does WWE capitalize on that? They feud him with R-Truth, who wears a sheet and has a plunger and have them fight over who is the real king. Not only that, they have him lose to R-Truth on multiple occasions. No one with two arms and two legs should be losing to R-Truth in 2015, especially a guy as talented as Barrett. I’d say Barrett goes over here, but does it really matter? When he had the IC title, I thought him losing it would rid him of some kind of invisible curse. Maybe if he loses here AGAIN, he’ll finally get a character and a feud worth watching.
Winner: R-Truth, and then everyone hysterically sobs themselves to sleep.
Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
This is another feud that really doesn’t have many people’s interest. Orton returned from a short period off to attack Sheamus while Michael Cole screamed about REVENGE, and I honestly didn’t know what was happening. Why was Orton mad at Sheamus? Because Sheamus won MITB and Orton didn’t? I honestly have no clue, and WWE hasn’t exactly followed up that attack with anything close to explaining what’s going on. While Rollins and Lesnar are tearing it up in the main event and John Cena is putting on five star classics with Owens, Cesaro and Rusev, the old guard of Orton and Sheamus are proof positive that change is a good thing. Headlocks and drop kicks just aren’t going to do it anymore. Either you tell a good story and change things up in the ring, or you’re losing the crowd’s interest. Orton and Sheamus are both skilled performers, but they are severely stuck in their ways. My best guess for this match, based upon how the WWE is booking Sheamus, is for an Orton win via disqualification or count out. Sheamus seems oddly attached to that case, and seems to duck out of matches to hold onto it even though it’s never on the line.
Winner: Orton via shenanigans
Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns
This needs to be Bray Wyatt’s coming out party. He’s the most interesting character WWE’s had since The Undertaker, yet every interaction he has is on the big screen in a dark room. All his promo’s, minus the actual words, are the same. I don’t care how talented and charismatic you are, if you do the same thing for years people are going to get sick of it (cough John Cena cough). Bray could offer so much more if he was given the chance to explore outside the box. Add in the fact that he’s had two really important matches in WWE and he’s lost both of them, and you have a great character hanging on by a thread. Roman Reigns is going to be around for a long time no matter what happens with this feud, but WWE has a chance to make Wyatt a top shelf villain here. Reigns doesn’t have the momentum he had going into WM31, but he’s still a popular face who can be used to prop Bray up. Wyatt/Reigns should be a big time feud for the next decade, and I’m hoping this is one of many meetings the two will have. You know they’ll deliver in the ring physically, but will they be able to tell a good story? Only time will tell.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
IC Title Match?
Now that Ryback is out of action with an injury, the WWE can conceivably do one of two things. 1. Have Miz and Big Show fight to see who the #1 contender for the IC title is while everyone at the arena and at home goes to the bathroom or 2. Bring in the 9 Divas from Raw and have themselves a triple threat tag match that tears the house down midway through the show. My personal vote is for number 2, as it gives Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha a WWE pay per view debut with zero pressure, and it gives the Divas a boost of adrenaline after that awesome segment on Raw. Do the right thing, WWE. Give me a ‘Banks Statement’ on a live WWE pay per view.
Tag Team Championship Match: Prime Time Players (C) vs. New Day
If the WWE tag team division has any forward momentum, it’s thank to these two team. Whether it’s on commentary, cheering outside the ring, promos or their in ring work, the PTP and New Day have been great for a couple months now. The frustrating thing is we knww they’d be great, but they never got a real chance to let their personalities and skill set shine. Now they’re getting that chance, and the result is a guaranteed fun segment every time they’re on the TV. Big E and the rest of New Day’s shouting promo’s are one of my favorite things on WWE TV, and Titus O’Neil hot tags continue to be a thing of beauty. I’m not sure he knows how to do a scoop slam, but that’s fine, because he’s big and strong enough to fling just about anybody on the roster. As far as the actual match goes, I think PTP retain. As great as these two teams have been, there’s really no depth to the tag team division. While another PTP win should eliminate New Day from title contention, they could switch up their team, rotating members of New Day which technically creates a different team. Relish these matches now, because when The Uso’s come back, there’s going to be a bunch of jumping and slapping thighs.
Winner: PTP (Titus gator bark)
U.S. Championship Match: John Cena (C) vs. Kevin Owens
The semi main event is the US championship grudge match between Cena and Owens, and raise your hand if you thought the US title picture would be the hottest thing in the WWE heading into Summerslam. Since we’re on the internet I can’t see if anyone is raising their hand, but I’ll just assume no one is. Post Rusev John Cena has been amazing, and I kind of never want this version of Cena to end. He’s almost lost matches to Neville, Cesaro and Rusev, all while defending the US title on a daily basis and making Kevin Owens seem like the greatest thing in wrestling. Owens has been great, but if you switch Cena for anyone else in this feud I guarantee you it doesn’t have the same affect. With Cesaro and Rusev now in the title picture, I’m hoping for a triple threat or fatal four way match at Summerslam, but first comes Sunday night. Owens lost his NXT title to Finn Balor in Japan, so the obvious choice is him winning here. But does he beat Cena clean again? 99.9% of the time the answer to that question is no, but this is a different WWE we’ve seen lately. The NXT women got to maul the WWE divas on Raw, Cesaro is wrestling 20 minute classics every week, and Kevin Owens, once again, is the most important man in wrestling right now. And for the first time in a long time, if John Cena beats a younger guy in a big time match, it will make sense. Cena has busted his ass to make everyone around him these last few months seem important, so if he wins here, it’s a job well done. But I think Cena’s got one more loss to take before he’s revitalized.
Winner: and NEW US Champion, Kevin Owens.
WWE World Heavyweight Title Match: Seth Rollins (C) vs. Brock Lesnar
So this is going to be awesome. I’ve written about this match at length during my Raw recaps, but there isn’t a better matchup today then Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar. This is almost like Angle vs. Lesnar all over again, if Angle was a 29 year old fitness freak who could do a Phoenix Splash. Lesnar has somehow gotten better with age, and he’s matched up with an in his prime mix of Shawn Michaels and Eddie Guerrero. Lesnar’s new specialty is suplexing people. Seth Rollins takes a suplex like I can drink a beer: very well. Add in the wrinkle that Kane and J & J Security have been taken out by Lesnar, and we’re promised a David vs. Goliath battle where everyone wants David to get murdered. The popular consensus is that Lesnar wins the title here, BUT there was a bit of news that came out yesterday that could change all that. Which leads me to this…
The Undertaker is going to cost Brock Lesnar the World Heavyweight Championship. It’s a crazy theory, but it makes all the sense in the world. The Undertaker has ONE unchecked item on his career list, and that is his loss to Lesnar at Mania. He proved he can still go at WM31, and recent pictures that have surfaced show him training and in really good shape. Plus, WWE isn’t exactly great at subtlety. They’ve been mentioning Kane’s family a lot on TV lately, and with Kane out with an “ankle injury”, maybe his brother comes back to avenge him and his own loss at WM. Paul Heyman brings up the breaking of the streak every chance he gets, so why wouldn’t Undertaker want revenge? It makes all the sense in the world, and I think it’s happening on Sunday. The best part about this? Any ending besides Kane or J & J Security interfering to help Rollins would make me happy. They’ve sent this feud up beautifully, and if Rollins or Lesnar wins clean, I’m down for it. If The Undertaker returns and costs either one of them the belt? I will shit my pants.
Winner: Seth Rollins
– Ryan
John Cena Praises Cesaro & Hopes He Gets The Opportunity He Deserves In This Post #RAW Fan Video
I think John Cena speaks for everyone in the world when he says that Cesaro deserves to be in the main event scene in WWE, and hopefully this impromptu promo rallies the powers that be to feel the same way. There isn’t a guy I can think of in the mid or upper card that Cesaro wouldn’t have a great feud with. Lesnar? Rollins? Reigns? Wyatt? Ambrose? Cena? Owens? Neville? Checks all the way around. He’s certainly on the right track, so let’s see what WWE does with him in the coming weeks.
– Ryan
5 Stars From Last Night’s #RAW
Raw was live from New Orleans last night, and just like pretty much every other Raw over the last month, it was a go-home show before a pay per view. Money in the Bank is this Sunday, so most of the matches and storylines centered around the matches you’re going to see Sunday. Dean Ambrose went on a tour of New Orleans, R-Truth stole the show and the WWE champion got pinned by a member of his security team. Let’s get to the five stars from last night’s Raw!’
1. Kevin Owens
I guess I can just copy and paste what I’ve been saying for the past month or so – Kevin Owens is the best character in the WWE. The points he makes are true but he’s just enough of an asshole for you to still hate him. He’s got this cocky confidence mixed with an ‘I don’t give a shit about any of you’ vibe that is just so easy to play off of. Cena opens Raw with an impassioned promo about how he’s still the standard bearer and if you want to make it in this company you have to go through him. Owens saunters out to the ring and just continually calls Cena delusional, offers an open challenge for his NXT title, denies Cena the chance to enter it, then forces Cena to watch on from commentary as he almost power bombs Neville through the ring. This is the third week in a row Owens has had both the best promo and the best match on the show, and I’m genuinely intrigued to see how they handle his match this Sunday against Cena. I don’t know if Owens wins clean again, but they haven’t had a character as good as Owens in a long time, so I hope they tread carefully. Neville also deserves a supplementary best here as well, as he and Owens opened the show with a great match and no one was really able to follow it all night. He should be fun as hell to watch in the MITB match this Sunday.
2. R-Truth
If you didn’t laugh when R-Truth came out and talked about how he’s going to win the MITB match Sunday only to be told he is not actually in the match, then I don’t know what to tell you. That’s as funny as WWE is going to get, and the crowd and everyone in the ring ate it up. The best part is that I can actually believe that R-Truth the character/actual human being never really knows when or who he’s wrestling. He just kind of wanders out when he hears his entrance music and either loudly yells ‘what’s up’ or raps in gibberish until he reaches the ring. I want R-Truth to come out ahead of the main event and tell the crowd why he thinks he’s going to win the WWE title this Sunday and then wrestle Hornswoggle because that’s who he thinks is the champion. Give me more R-Truth is basically what I’m saying.
3. Rowan & Harper 2.0
Usually when the WWE tries to restart someone or something, it’s a bad sign. But if the plan is to bring back Rowan and Harper and correctly push them to the top of the tag team division like they should’ve done from the beginning then I’m all for it. Rowan and Harper dominated the NXT tag team division before the call up, and should’ve done the same thing once they hit the main roster. Unlike the Ascension, Rowan and Harper’s characters translate to the main roster because of their look. They’re not wearing weird leather shoulder pads or face paint, they are two enormous guys with huge beards who will beat and scare the shit out of you simultaneously. For whatever reason, the WWE had the Uso’s continually beat them until they finally broke them up completely, and while Harper always had great matches, it was clear WWE didn’t have anything for either Rowan or Harper as singles stars. Now that they’re back together, giving them a tag team finisher is a step in the right direction, no matter how many ‘legends’ it pisses off. Get Wyatt back as their leader and have them start to pick apart the roster like they should’ve been doing since the beginning. Just keep John Cena at least 1,000 feet away from them at all times.
4. New Day
As good as Kevin Owens has been over the last month or so, New Day has almost been his equal. Every segment they’re in has been wildly entertaining, and they all look great in the ring. Big E had about as good a match as you’re going to get with Titus O’Neil, but Kofi Kingston had a really good match with Roman Reigns. Xavier Woods was great on the outside too, yelling at the announce team to tell viewers at home what hash tags to start using and then getting walloped by a flying Roman Reigns later in the night. I can’t see Kofi winning MITB this Sunday, but New Day should retain against the PTP. With Tyson Kidd hurt, there’s really no other tag team on New Day’s level other than Rowan & Harper, but they need to be built back up again. As long as they continue to be fun to watch, I hope New Day stays on my TV for a long time.
5. Roman Reigns
This was one of the best Raw matches Reigns has had since becoming a singles star, and he’s starting to find his groove again in the ring. I think he’s the favorite to win MITB this Sunday, and while there are no such things as ‘must win’ matches in scripted wrestling, Reigns does need a big win. It would also be poetic justice to get the same briefcase that robbed him of his WrestleMania moment just over two months ago. Reigns and Ambrose have been a little too chummy lately, and it has to eat away at Reigns that Ambrose is getting all these opportunities while he’s still trying to earn his way back to the top. I don’t know if a heel turn is the right move at this time, especially with an impending Brock Lesnar return, but things are looking up again for the handsome prince.
– Ryan
