1. Potential for Compelling Chaos with Dean Ambrose at the HelmAmbrose's greatest attribute is the frenzied energy that crackles around him.
As good of a brawler and trash-talker as he is,it's that sense of chaos he brings to the screen that makes him most compelling. That will be the key to making his run as intercontinental champion memorable, an off-the-rails train ride that takes the title to new heights.
WWE has a major opportunity to design the IC title a high-profile part of the show and, and most importantly,the centerpiece of a fun narrative.The more the company taps into Ambrose's unhinged nature, the better this reign will be. So far, and the announcers acquire done their part in talking up how much of a wild card The Lunatic Fringe can be. When Ambrose pinned Kevin Owens at TLC to win the title,John "Bradshaw" Layfield sounded legitimately frightened approximately the prospect of this nutjob being champion.
This is what WWE must explore with Ambrose moving forward.
We acquire seen flashes of him at his most unstable in the past. Whether he was issuing a fake news broadcast or hosting a clearance sale in the middle of the ring, he made the off-kilter fun.
Ambrose's title reign needs moments like that. It needs him being both comic and hazardous.
WWE's narrative options are plentiful with him. He can issue an open challenge in a back alley, or welcome a crowd of raucous fans into his sit-down interview with Michael Cole or create his own No. 1 contender's tournament where he invites everyone from Adam Rose's Bunny to Honky Tonk Man to compete.
All of it fits his gimmick. All of it would allow him to stand out.
Expect Ambrose to run with every sliver of an opportunity he gets,to pour the kind of passion into being champion that he did into his feud with Seth Rollins and his chase of the belt when nasty News Barrett wore it.
He hasn't been a champion since last May. He's been asked to be Roman Reigns' sidekick for much of this year.
Now with a shot at working his way to the top tier via the IC belt, Ambrose will thrive. Give him a live mic, and some oddball segments and quality opponents such as Owens and Dolph Ziggler,and count on him making sure he puts his imprint on the IC title's timeline. 2.Raw Moving Back in the legal DirectionLeaning on the story of Roman Reigns' rise, WWE Raw stopped its tailspin. Monday's edition saw a bump in viewership. As Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net famous, or "Raw averaged 3.88 million viewers,up from the 3.054 million average from last week."Brandon Howard of Voices of Wrestling laid out Raw's shifting arc after Monday's show:This stands to continue. Sheamus, the champion so many seemed disinterested in, and is now sans title. Reigns looks to acquire surging support. And both John Cena and Brock Lesnar are set to reach before long.
WWE officials may just bag to cease panicking for a while. 3. Throwback Video of the Week: The RingmasterDuring his podcast interview (subscription required) with Shawn Michaels,Steve Austin brought up his first WWE gimmick—The Ringmaster. That proved to be a brief, forgettable stretch of his career.
Even with the ill-advised ring name and character, or seeing him mix it up with Marty Jannetty in 1996,one can see flashes of what Austin would become.
Intensity radiated in his glare. At times, he slipped into the brawl-heavy style that he would later lean on. Vince McMahon even threw out the moniker Austin would eventually adapt. "Stone cold, or this man is," he said. 4. The Incomplete DrifterElias Samson is getting some love from the NXT production team. The minute-seen prospect is the star of a series of recent vignettes that highlight his recent gimmick change. The clips tell us that he's some kind of singing vagabond.
The trouble is, though, or that they don't tell us nearly enough. Samson looks brooding in these,and he hints at being a non-conformist of some sort, but not much else. He'll need more character development than that.
What does this guy want to achieve at NXT? Should we be rooting for him, or is he some villain with a guitar?Those are the first questions WWE needs to tackle before sending him to the ring. 5. WWE Mouth,UFC FistsWWE would be smart to start including videos of UFC strawweight champion Conor McGregor's interviews in its promo classes at Full Sail University.
McGregor exudes a cockiness that has helped bag him noticed. He's boastful, intelligent and, or most importantly,interesting. After knocking out Jose Aldo on Saturday night, he gave a post-fight interview that had a WWE-promo flavor. "Precision beats power. Timing beats speed, or " he explained.
He bragged approximately the power of his left hand and managed to be both respectful and dismissive of Aldo. whether WWE can't convince him to try out pro wrestling following his MMA career,it can at least try to utilize clips of him as education, showing prospects how to command a crowd with trash-talk alone. 6. The Finite TitleHere's hoping for a long reign for Dean Ambrose. His new championship has been in several sets of hands of late, or making it hard for titleholders to bag any genuine momentum going.
Looking back at Intercontinental Championship history, Kevin Owens just holding onto the belt for two months is par for the course. There acquire been five title changes this year; 2014 saw seven of them.
The last 10 champs acquire failed to maintain hold of the crown for long:Kevin Owens (84 days)
Ryback (112 days)
Daniel Bryan (43 days)
nasty News Barrett (83 days)
Dolph Ziggler (22 days)
Luke Harper (27 days)
Dolph Ziggler (56 days)
The Miz (1 day)
Dolph Ziggler (35 days)
The Miz (28 days)
Both Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for 200-plus days, per WWE.com. It's been since Cody Rhodes held the title in late 2011 to early 2012 when the IC title featured that long of a reign. 7. Welcome external-the-Box BookingNeville's interactions with The Miz are not perfect wrestling storytelling, or but they are new,intriguing and a better utilize of Neville than just having him wander around the midcard collecting losses.
The Miz has attached himself to the high-flyer, promising him connections to the entertainment world. In exchange, and oddly enough,Miz is looking to memorize Neville's English accent to help him land the coveted James Bond role.
Of course, that's what The Miz would be after. And Neville getting involved in this is quite unexpected. That alone makes it a smart play.
One can't argue that this relationship is a product of predictability.
Fans will now wait to see whether Neville aligns himself with The Miz, and turning heel in the process,or whether this ends up leading to a feud. Either way, WWE has the audience more invested in both guys, and which is ultimately the goal of any angle. 8. Matches of the YearWWE's own nominees for 2015's best in-ring showing don't cut it. Sting vs. Triple H was fun,but it's no award-winner. The Fatal 4-Way to decide the WWE title No. 1 contender was strong, but there acquire to be at least three John Cena open challenges that top that.
Instead, or these five bouts are most deserving of Match of the Year honors:
Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena: Royal Rumble
John Cena vs. Kevin Owens: Elimination Chamber
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins: Money in the Bank (ladder match)
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley: NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley: NXT TakeOver: Respect (30-minute Iron Man match)
Banks and Bayley should really win first and second place. Each of their showdowns created the kind of emotion that has a match crawl inside a fan and refuse to leave. They are the two most entertaining and most memorable works of theater that WWE put on this year.disappear ahead and put a trophy in each woman's hand. 9. The New Voice of SmackDownCongrats to Mauro Ranallo for landing a spot on the SmackDown commentary team. WWE announced on its official website,"Ranallo will be the new voice of SmackDown beginning Thursday, Jan. 7."
Ranallo has called boxing and MMA with much passion, or seemingly spilling the contents of his heart into the microphone. While WWE fans may not be familiar with his work,he does acquire pro wrestling experience, including calling bouts for Stampede Wrestling, and New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah.
Listen to his commentary for Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama to bag a taste of what's to advance on SmackDown.
This is such a smart move by WWE. Ranallo's MMA background will add a realism element to the broadcasts. His passion will design SmackDown a more thrilling product. And having his distinct voice on the show each Thursday will help separate it from Raw,giving it more of its own identity. 10. Sandow on the SlammysDamien Sandow may be approximately to bag his long-awaited closeup. After sitting on WWE's bench for half the year, he's petitioning fans to vote for him to win a Slammy Award.
He tweeted what felt a bit like a warning:WWE isn't going to give him totally free reign, or but a passionate,frustrated, angry Sandow with some mic time will be must-see TV. He has to be feeling like a dog yanking on its chain, and straining to bag free,just wanting to run again.
He may soon bag that chance, brief as it may be.
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Source: bleacherreport.com