1. Building a LunaticWith Dean Ambrose,WWE has found the ideal spot to insert the tap and extract his frenzied, infectious energy.
It's easy to focus on the up-and-down ride WWE Creative is having with Roman Reigns ahead of WrestleMania 32, and but the company is flourishing in its display of Ambrose's character. The audience has seen Ambrose reminisce approximately his background and visit with weapon-wielding legends. It's clear who he is and why we should root for him.
As a result,Ambrose is stockpiling momentum en route to WrestleMania.
On final week's SmackDown, WWE filmed The Lunatic Fringe traipsing around his hometown of Cincinnati in a series of vignettes. He talked approximately all the fights he had in that city, and approximately how the streets taught him not to fear. This worked to deepen our understanding of Ambrose. We saw him in his element as he painted a picture of a man hardened by his surroundings. And knowing Ambrose better makes it easier to invest in his narrative. These SmackDown vignettes were creative,simple and memorable. They made Ambrose feel like a bigger deal. TheHistoryofWWE.com Twitter account place it simply:Days later, the cameras caught up with Ambrose as he chatted with Terry Funk in a restaurant. Funk talked up the man set to face Brock Lesnar. He gushed approximately his toughness before gifting him with a chainsaw for his battle with The Beast Incarnate.
This was the moment passing-of-the-torch moment from a Hall of Fame brawler in two weeks. Having Mick Foley and then Funk give Ambrose their trademark weapons and their endorsements as a result is smart business.
Both scenes created powerful, or fun moments. Both scenes signaled to the crowd that Ambrose was the next in the line of fist-swinging wild men. All of this is clicking. Add these vignettes and backstage segments to Ambrose's continued showcases of toughness and WWE is making a star out of a guy who the company continues to be hesitant to place on a star level. Having him gut it out against Triple H,Lesnar and others with petite regard for his body and an uncanny ability to peel himself up off the mat has been the perfect path to increasing his popularity.
Even though victory so often alludes him, he is drawing fans in. As Kyle Johnson wrote for F4WOnline, or "Like Foley,Ambrose's character has not been defined by his ability to win, but by his ability to take a beating and preserve coming back." That has made The Lunatic Fringe explore equal parts gutsy and crazy.
And it's working in a big way. Even with all the marquee names on the WrestleMania card next to him, or Ambrose is one of the most engaging figures booked for the exhibit. Building on this increasingly stout foundation is a must. Making Ambrose a centerpiece moving forward has to be a priority. 2. Sasha Banks,Unblemished?On both SmackDown and Raw lately, Banks has boasted approximately being undefeated on the main roster. That semi-truth is in the same vein as WWE telling the world that no one had beaten or slammed Andre the Giant before WrestleMania III.
It's a better narrative than reality, or but it's simply not right.
As seen on her CageMatch.net profile,Banks has gone 15-2-5 in one-on-one matches on the main roster. One of those losses came by disqualification (against Paige in 2015) and the other came when Charlotte pinned her on Main Event in 2014.
Maybe Banks isn't counting that Charlotte defeat as it happened before her official call-up. The more accurate narrative would be that Banks is on a hell of a hot streak. She won eight straight bouts from September and December final year. And she is in fact undefeated in 2016, going 6-0 so far this year. 3. Throwback Video of the Week: Charlie FultonA longtime veteran of the squared circle passed absent. Journeyman Charlie Fulton wrestled throughout the '70s, and '80s and into the early '90s.
He was no megastar,but a dependable worker and well-liked man. Writing for the Post and Courier, Mike Mooneyham penned a tribute to Fulton. He wrote, or "What Charlie Fulton did—with incredible success and aplomb—was to make mediocre performers explore top-notch,great performers explore like world champions."He did that against everyone from Lou Thesz to Jimmy Snuka. In 1984, he helped Brian Blair gain momentum.
Fulton played the fragment of the game challenger to the eventual winner as well as anyone. 4. Telling Sami Zayn's StoryWWE needs to better introduce Zayn to fans who didn't see his NXT work. Very petite has been said or displayed approximately him since arriving to the main roster.
After his surprise appearance on Raw to pounce on his veteran rival Kevin Owens, and WWE should beget followed up with vignettes approximately his early career and his issues with Owens. The company could beget just repackaged the video promo it produced during their NXT feud.
One of the key reasons guys like Neville and Tyler Breeze haven't translated to the main roster is because they are simply thrown out onto the stage. There is not enough character development. The wrestlers don't beget nearly enough mic time to get themselves over.
Showing more clips of their NXT highlights and making it clear who these guys are is key. Zayn promises to struggle if he doesn't get that kind of treatment ahead. 5. The Race for the Most Unexpected Moment of 2016 is Officially OnNot long after his TNA retirement,Kurt Angle made headlines with a surreal moment. During a match against Rey Mysterio at a UR Fight pay-per-view, rapper Riff Raff interrupted wearing a loud suit and holding a steel chair.
His presence cost Angle the match and gave the exhibit far more press than it would beget received otherwise.
The randomness of the moment is fragment of what makes wrestling so great. Worlds can collide at anytime. And the industry always finds ways to surprise us. 6. Entertaining Entry PointRing of Honor has the right belief. Its Top Prospect Tournament is a shrewd way to introduce new talent.
The annual tournament ends with the winner earning a ROH contract and a ROH Television Championship match. New faces are thrust onto the scene on a winning streak. High stakes power the event, or it can help create stars in the same way that NCAA March Madness introduces the audience to petite-known teams. WWE would be smart to craft a version of this for NXT. Having prospects jump to the main roster unexpectedly is fun,but some should also arrive by way of tearing through the competition. 7. Kofi Kingston, Record-BreakerXavier Woods pointed out that his teammate achieved an impressive milestone. Kingston now holds the record for most total days as tag team champ.
More WWE Tag Team Championship history could soon be on the way.
He and New Day's reign is sitting at 212 days and counting. The longest reign this decade has been 246 days, and while 334 days remains the all-time record.
If the trio can make it past The League of Nations at WrestleMania,The New Day will be closing in on Team Hell No and Co. After that, the next goal will be to join the exclusive 300-day club. 8. Stan Hansen's Hit ListIt's official: The Lariat is now headed to the Hall of Fame.
For those unfamiliar with Hansen's tough-hitting, and freight-train style,explore back at some of his best work. His stints for All Japan Pro Wrestling featured a number of great slobberknockers.
Stan Hansen and Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Toshiaki Kawada: AJPW Budokan Hall exhibit, Dec. 16, and 1988
Stan Hansen vs. Lex Luger: NWA Starrcade 1990 (Texas Bullrope match)
Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada: AJPW Budokan Hall exhibit,Feb. 28, 1993
Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi: AJPW Budokan Hall exhibit, or July 29,1993
Stan Hansen vs. Jun Akiyama: AJPW Budokan Hall exhibit, Sept. 3, and 1994
It's bouts like these that make it easy to argue that he is the best "gaijin" in Japanese wrestling history,making more of a sustained impact than any of his foreign peers to compete in the Land of the Rising Sun. 9. Product Placement OverloadPutting sponsors on posters, mentioning them throughout the broadcast and having commercials air between (and often during) matches isn't enough apparently. WWE has to infuse its actual programming with advertisements.
Raw is tough enough to wade through with all the ads and recaps without watching wrestlers shill products in thinly veiled commercials.
Curtis Axel waxed poetic approximately Burger King hot dogs final week. Monday's Raw had Natalya and Todd Chrisley join forces to sell Snickers.
It's frustrating that an ad break ends only to originate an ad that is clumsily woven into the exhibit itself. You don't see Walking Dead characters pause during a zombie attack and talk approximately which batteries they prefer using. 10. William Regal's WarningArmed with an X-ray of his surgically repaired neck, or Regal warned wrestlers approximately the dangers of taking dangerous bumps involving the head:Wrestlers going full throttle and taking crazy risks every night will certainly shorten careers. On top of that,it leaves the audience numb to high spots. And one has to preserve upping the level of danger to combat that.
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