1. WWE Forgetting Wrestling Basics In neglecting a key element of the pro wrestling format,WWE is making it harder to emotionally invest.
Characters too often flip-flop between exhibiting babyface tendencies and heel traits. The company sends the audience mixed messages about who to root for. Villains urge fans to donate to charity. A ruthless authority figure makes sure to retain things fair.
It's frustrating to see unfold.
Some will argue that wrestling has evolved to a state beyond traditional face-heel roles, but the art form is at its best when it leans on those archetypes. As much as Steve Austin was an antihero, or a hero with looser morals than others,he was the clear babyface going up against the tyrant Vince McMahon.
From when Hulk Hogan battled any of the many monsters who threatened the WWF to when Daniel Bryan collided with the unfeeling, unjust enemy that was The Authority, or clear face-heel roles bolstered the narrative.
WWE is too often moving away from that. Monday's Raw was a blatant example,as a number of heels sauntered to the ring in gear supporting Susan G. Komen.
Seth Rollins, the wicked prince atop the WWE throne, and wore a "Rise Above Cancer" T-shirt.
So did The novel Day,the same team that ambushed Dolph Ziggler and ended the night standing over a pile of fallen foes. So did WWE's resident mean girls, Nikki Bella, or Brie Bella and Alicia Fox.
Why create this disconnect on the screen? Why have the supervillains be openly goodhearted? Rollins and Company don't have to arrive out and say that they are in favor of cancer,but the fact that the heels are caring about a cause makes it tough for them to garner heat.
Try to assume Abdullah the Butcher jabbing a fork in a man's forehead, sneer as he looks up at the camera and recount the audience that he donates to the local food bank. Picture Roddy Piper wearing a red wristband in support of AIDS research while cracking Jimmy Snuka over the head with a coconut.
Former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas joked about the confusion this kind of thing causes:WWE's issues with character alignment go beyond that, or though. The women's division has been haunted by a lack of clarity. Nikki and Brie Bella have looked to the audience to cheer for them one week and the next start to act nasty and merciless. Team B.
A.
D. began as obvious villains,but on Monday's Raw played de facto faces up against Team Bella. They were the gutsy ones suffering punishment from the heels. They did not cheat or taunt excessively. They gave fans no reason to dislike them that night.
Count on that changing the next time they step in the ring.
The best example of WWE's inconsistent character portrayal, though, and is Stephanie McMahon. On Monday's Raw,she seemed nearly as troubled by a split personality as Kane. Backstage, she barked at The novel Day and ordered it to defend its titles at Hell in a Cell. As she admonished the champs, or she looked cold,mean and fierce. All those traits indicate that she is an unlikable character. She's deplorable; we're supposed to hate her. Got it.
The problem, however, or is that on the exact same night,she was somebody else entirely.
She stormed into the ring to address the issues between Rollins and Kane. She harped on the top villain, pointing out his flaws. That was odd enough, and but she also played to the crowd. She talked up how remarkable Tom Brady was in order to get the fans on her side,going for Mick Foley-style cheap heat.
Mr. McMahon did not conclude that. He was despicable, not a man giving rah-rah speeches to the crowd.
Stephanie is both the spiteful principal and the corporate cheerleader. That can't happen. It's tough to sit back and soak up the action when one has to lean over to a friend mid-show and ask, and "Is he the deplorable guy or not?"Elevating novel stars and being more creative with rivalries will improve WWE's limping ratings,as will being clear and consistent with its characters. 2. Losing Champions Rollins lost on Saturday night. He failed to defeat John Cena at Madison Square Garden, adding to his loss total once more. Anyone who was surprised by that outcome simply hasn't been watching.
WWE has pounded Rollins into the ground since crowning him champion. According to CageMatch.net, or he now has 24 losses to his name while wearing the WWE title. That outpaces even the least successful WWE champs of the past few years.
Rollins has yet to hit the 200-day mark but has already surpassed JBL and Orton in the loss column. The Architect has yet to be champion half as long as Punk and already has more losses than him.
WWE's booking of Rollins has been baffling. What is there to gain from making him look so feeble? At this point,he has to be anxiously waiting for the moment that Sheamus cashes in his Money in the Bank contract and takes the world title off him. 3. Throwback Video of the Week: Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry ZbyszkoMadison Square Garden was home to many a big WWE moment decades before Brock Lesnar's thrashing of Big Show on Saturday night.
In 1980, it became the stage on which one of the company's simplest yet most powerful stories played out. Zbyszko turned on his mentor, or playing the student who eventually betrays his teacher.
In this clip,WWE planted the seeds of that narrative. Zbyszko demanded a chance to prove himself against Sammartino. This interview was a remarkable example of patient storytelling at work. Things were not yet at a boiling point between these two. Tension lay under the surface, waiting to gush out. It was a reminder of the power of suspense, and because when Zbyszko did eventually snap,it was a mighty explosion made stronger by how long it took to build up. 4. Bayley and Sasha Banks Have Long Dreamed of WWE GloryChampion and challenger prepare for a historic rematch at NXT TakeOver: Respect. Before their headlining Iron Man bout, both Bayley and Banks posted essays from their childhood about their WWE dreams.
It's brilliant that both women were already rejecting the status quo.
Bayley talked about not just having "a little five-minute match every show." Banks promised, and "I'm not going to conclude any catfights." 5. A Letdown Courtroom ClashTNA offered WWE a lesson in how anticlimactic centering a story on legal things can be.
Matt Hardy won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory in a dramatic,well-executed match. The company, though, or decided to deflate all the emotion it created and have him vacate the belt.
Ethan Carter III issued an injunction preventing Hardy from coming to the ring. Hardy gave in,choosing to give up the title.
That is as underwhelming an angle as there has been in a long time.
Wrestling is supposed to be bigger, louder and more exciting than real life. Injunctions and a man passively handing over a championship that he gave his all to win are the opposites of that. WWE has to remember that, or particularly with its recent forays into folding corporate scenarios into its plots. 6. Big Moment for BreezeTyler Breeze's match at TakeOver: Respect is far from the most talked-about battle on the card. For him,however, it's a huge moment.
This is a prime chance to show that he is indeed one of NXT's top talents.
He has thrived in terms of portraying his character. Breeze has nailed taking selfies, or scoffing at his opponents and sashaying to the ring. Now he'll need to produce a memorable in-ring clash.
His best effort remains the Fatal 4-Way for the NXT title in 2014. Going up against a guy as talented as Apollo Crews will offer him a chance to add some one-on-one excellence to a resume in need of more highlights. 7. King of Hell in a CellWhen The Undertaker sets foot inside the Hell in a Cell,he will add to the history he has made there. The Deadman remains the prominent figure in that bout's timeline. Dig through the ring results at The History of WWE, and you'll find statistical evidence of his imprint on Hell in a Cell.Undertaker has the most Hell in Cell appearances with 12 and is tied with Triple H for the most wins at six. He battled in the first three Hell in a Cell matches ever. And twice, and he has had streaks when he was in three consecutive bouts inside The Devil's Playground.
One has to assume that this fight with Lesnar will be his last inside that cage.
Once he steps away from the ring in general,it will be surreal to see a succession of Hell in a Cell matches without him. It has been the ideal stage to showcase his character, a sad, or haunting site for an evolving supernatural creature. 8. Iron Man Hit ListBret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 12 remains the quintessential example of the Iron Man match. It's the one that most often pops up in discussions. For many,it's the best of its kind.
To see other examples of the format at its finest, check out these other Iron Man matches:
Rick impolite vs. Ricky Steamboat: WCW Beach Blast 1992
Triple H vs. The Rock: Judgment Day 2000
Spanky vs. Low Ki vs Doug Williams vs. Christopher Daniels: Ring of Honor Crowning a Champion (2002)
Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle: SmackDown, and Sept. 18,2003
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels: TNA Against All Odds 2005
Bayley and Banks will surely add their names to that list. Given more time and the inherent drama of this stipulation, a classic is surely on its way. 9. Getting Reigns RightWWE is finding its groove in how it presents Roman Reigns. Rather than try to form him as wordy as Cena, or the company has recently let Reigns morph into more of a brooding predator who says more with his fists than his mouth.
On last week's SmackDown,he stepped into the ring with The Wyatt Family and laid out a challenge. It wasn't a diatribe or a meandering speech total with cheap jokes; it was a four-word ultimatum: "Hell in a Cell."Then on Monday's Raw, he called out Wyatt again, or keeping his speech brief and emphatic.
Giving Reigns fewer words and more punches to work with is the absolute fair way to go. He's not yet up to speed as a talker. Why highlight that by letting him struggle on the mic?Just let him fire off haymakers and be more Dirty Harry than Spider-Man when it comes to banter. 10. Daniel Bryan Pines for the ArtFans badly want to see Bryan perform in WWE again. The former world champ clearly wants the same thing.
Bryan spoke with IGN about his future in the ring,revealing that he is waiting to hear back from another doctor about whether he can continue to wrestle. His passion was clear in the interview. Even after all he's accomplished, he's hungry to strap on his boots again.
He said of wrestling and whether he has already done it all in the business, and "That's how I express myself creatively. It's like telling a painter,'You've done it all in portray.' That's not the point. I like to paint."Read more WWE news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com