By Nick Whitworth@NickWhitworth
Wrestlemania has come and gone. We have seen heel turns, title changes, returns, call ups and WWE’s newest main roster megastar. It was a wild weekend filled with jaw dropping moments. As a fan you can’t help but love this years Mania weekend. If you are like my wife and seen Wrestlemania was over 6 hours long you probably yelled FML. But, but you can reel them back in by letting him/her know that it is Rant time and you are golden. Today’s topics are:
– Wrestlemania : Yay or Nay
– NXT stars to the Main Roster
– Superstar Shakeup
– Samoa Joe: Now or Never
1: Now that I have had time to let Wrestlemania digest I am ready to let the world know how I felt about it.
Mania on paper was fantastic. Mania was far from fantastic and it was a shame. Once again NXT Takeover kicked the absolute snot out of Wrestlemania and kept the streak alive ( of outshining a main roster PPV). While the show had some extreme highs, it also had some extreme lows.
For starters the over 6 hour event is far too long for even the strongest fan out there. Unless each match brings it then the crowd can become impatient and either nod off or hijack the show. That being said, the crowd seemed red hot for most of the night. Mania crowds tend to be wired but that could also be from the 4 energy drinks they have to ingest to keep oneself from dozing off into la la land.
If I had to rank the overall show I would give it a solid 5 out of 10. I can hear the moans right now but I will explain why….
– Andre The Giant Battle Royal: Having Matt Hardy win and continue his relationship with Bray Wyatt was so so and we can all see the Wyatt turn coming a mile away. This feud should have concluded at Ultimate Deletion but I guess Vince is milking this for all he can.
The winner of this should have been somebody who is ready to be given a solid push. Use this as a starting point because this win would give them a boost of confidence. I personally think the company should have went with Mike Kanellis as Mike put in some serious work to beat his demons and build a body Vince usually drools over.
– The Cruiserweight Championship match was great and having Cedric Alexander win the strap was a wise choice. Especially since Triple H listened to the fans chant “Please sign him” after his lose at the Cruiserweight Classic.
– The Women’s Battle Royal won by Naomi which blew my mind. She is a legit superstar who has been showcased extremely well. Choosing her to win made zero sense. She is established and the win seemed like a “Well, we have nothing for you so here you go”. Much like the Andre The Giant match I think a newer star should have won here and with the same reason.
– Once Finn Balor came out sans The Demon I knew instantly Seth Rollins would win. As much as I enjoyed the match, knowing the outcome deflated any real excitement I had towards it.
– Having Asuka loose made zero sense. I understand storylines and all that jazz but to have the very 1st Women’s Rumble winner loose wasn’t a wise choice and to throw in her undefeated streak coming to an end, well, I shook my head…. Still am to this date.
– The Fatal Four way for the United States Championship I felt was a tad bit sloppy. I couldn’t get invested in the match knowing WWE wasn’t going to put the belt on the mega hot Rusev.
– Kurt Angle/Ronda Rousey vs Triple H/Stephanie McMahon… The highly anticipated match on the card and the match I was the most invested in. I figured Angle and Hunter would carry the match with Rousey making the hot tag, deliver a few moves and get the pin. Instead Ronda showed the world how fantastic she is already. This the best match of the night. The crowd was so into this much like Mania 18 with The Rock vs Hulk Hogan. Rousey blew my mind here…. And this is where the show peeked.
– The Triple Threat for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships was a dud. This match took all the steam Rousey just brought and put it out quicker then Ross Geller’s 2nd marriage.
– John Cena vs The Undertaker just shouldn’t have happened. Beating Cena in under 3 sloppy minutes was uncalled for. Taker shouldn’t have been there and I hope this is his last as I do not want to my lasting Undertaker memories to be that of a 57 year old beat up star.
– Daniel Bryan/Shane McMahon vs Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn was good but I just am against Bryan’s comeback. I am sure Vince cringed at every bump Daniel took… And that’s not good.
– The Raw Women’s Championship match with Alexa Bliss vs Nia Jax was decent and I was glad to see WWE finally get behind Nia as she is a true beast who desveres to hold the belt.
– AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura was the biggest letdown. Although the match was good, it just seemed stuck in 2nd gear. I pictured a 5 star classic yet all I got was a 3 star. The Nakamura heel turn regained my interest and I am curious to see where this goes.
– The Raw Tag Team Championship match won by Braun Strowman and Nicholas…. Stupid and disrespectful to everyone in that locker room. How old was Nicholas anyways… 10? The only thing I will say is for some reason the crowd didn’t turn on this match and they really got behind Nicholas. The pop he got for the hot tag… And the next night on Raw as well…
– Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. This should not have closed the show. The fans hated this. I hated this. The world hated this. It just wasn’t good. For some reason the company went from going all in on Reigns to having Lesnar annihilate Reigns. Brock busting Roman open was uncalled for especially with the potential for a head injury. When the crowd chants “boring” and “this is awful”, WWE really needs to rethink things. What a horrible way to close the show.
So there you go.. My take on Wrestlemania. The star of the show was my true love…. Ronda Rousey… I mean Krista, I said Krista ok… Don’t tell her I said that…
Wrestlemania should of been a blockbuster but it wasn’t. I just thought the matches were lackluster and the choice of winners made me shake my head so much I needed to take an Advil. Come on Vince, you should have listened to me… Maybe next year as I already told him Ronda Rousey needs to close out the show.. Wrestlemania 35 will be headlined by Rousey.. Mark my words.
2: The first 2 television shows post Wrestlemania are always great. New storylines start and NXT call ups happen. These 2 shows are the best ones to watch. The excitement of who will hit that ramp and make their main roster debuts, always with a thunderous reaction. This year was no different.
I am pretty sure every wrestling fan would have chosen who exactly were called up based on either dropping a title or went low key for a few months before hand without any major story line. Of course some NXT stars just are not involved in anything and that wouldn’t indicate a call up. You base it on their push and if they just all of a sudden fade off without an injury it is a safe bet a call up is coming.
I was surprised that former NXT Champion Drew McIntyre, Andrade Almas and Sanity were not part of this years call ups (see topic below). Drew was cleared for return and was main roster ready, actually he was ready before his NXT run. He just did a little fine tuning on the WWE style before being officially ready. Almas lost the NXT Championship to Aleister Black 2 nights before and is beyond ready for a solid WWE run while Sanity seemed to loose some steam which usually means they are being called up.
While I knew No Way Jose would be called up I was shocked he was sacked with Rosebuds (Adam Rose’ entourage). While I am not a fan of his gimmick he does appeal to the kids. Just the whole usual WWE copy and paste style doesn’t work for me. Jose will end up getting lost in the shuffle. Although a solid heel turn could be very interesting.
Ember Moon will immediately be showcased like a champ. She comes with a solid fan base and brings a fresh face to Raw’s women’s roster. She will be challenging for the strap sooner rather then later.
Authors Of Pain make a great tag team and literally hurt anyone who gets in their way. Their characters are perfect and I think will get over with the main roster audience. My only issue with them is they still are green. The only way to get better is to work so what better way to improve then by facing top notch opponents.
The Iconic Duo, oops, I mean The IIconics made a solid splash on the Smackdown Live brand by putting beatdown on Charlotte Flair leading to Carmella cashing in her Money In The Bank briefcase and pinning Flair for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. The Duo gel perfectly and add a nice touch to the Women’s division.
All in all, a great group of call ups to add to the main roster. It brings excitement to the brand and adds a fresh face to the mix. As long as they don’t get the same treatment as Tye Dillinger and Tyler Breeze these additions will do well.
3: The Superstar Shakeup… I cringed at the thought of it. Usually these shakeups consist of 1 main star and the rest lower card talent. There is also a trend of the same few wrestlers flip flopping each year which lowers those star’s overall stock value.
This is started off no different. Monday Night Raw started off gaining Jinder Mahal who is a solid heel but just not my cup of tea. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn flipped back to Raw which we all seen coming and the rest was wrestlers who are struggling for tv time.
Bobby Roode was the biggest surprise but I think he will add a nice touch to the main event scene. He is very old school in the sense of how his matches go, starting off slow and doing a slow build until it reaches its climax. Some might not be a fan of his pace or style but I think it is spot on. Plus his entrance/theme music is addictive. I bet you $100 you catch yourself doing his entrance pose.
By adding Natalya to the Women’s roster and pitting her against the mega popular Ronda Rousey was absolutely bang on. Who better to teach Rousey a thing or two then Nattie herself. She will be able to make up for any weakness Ronda might have all while helping her improve. Vince, good job here.
I was shocked to see Drew McIntyre align with Dolph Ziggler who also was just sent to Raw. Since McIntyre didn’t make his Raw return the week before with the call ups I figured he was staying in NXT until Summerslam. I am hoping he makes a big splash as he deserves a main event level push. Plus we all know Vince is a fan of his so I am sure a decent push is coming his way.
Mike Kanellis switching to Raw actually made me smile. Here is a guy who signed his dream contract, putting an ass whooping on his demons, got in tremendous shape and had a baby girl. He is a great talent who deserves the spotlight. I really hope WWE does right with him as they can easily capitalize on his recovery from addiction and showcase the fact that hard work pays off.
Other then this I thought the first night of this shakeup was a stinker. Then Smackdown Live swooped in and stacked up their roster…. Big time…
Right out the gate, adding Samoa Joe to the mix was awesome and I am excited to see Joe vs AJ Styles in a WWE ring. Joe is a beast and was in the main event scene on Raw and it is only a matter of time before he is wearing gold. His only issue is as soon as he is building up steam he tends to get injured and gets a little deflated. He is insanely over and is ready to demolish the Smackdown roster.
Gallows and Anderson switching brands made perfect sense and brings some freshness into their team. Time to push the Good Brothers as the monster heel team they are. I love these guys and am hoping they regain that steam they had when they made their WWE debuts 2 years back.
I was surprise Smackdown also snagged The Bar. They now officially have a mega stacked tag team roster. Holy smokes, they destroy Raw in this department by a long shot. Braun Strowman and Nicholas?
Asuka was a gimmie as she just lost to Charlotte at this years Mania and there was no way she would loose and that be the end of that feud. Jeff Hardy who beat Jinder Mahal for the United States Championship the night before so I expected this move and not moving Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins over. They don’t call him Monday Night Rollins for nothing.
Much like McIntyre I was shocked to see Sanity was Smackdown bound. This group is fantastic and I am glad Eric Young will have a run on the main roster. EY deserves this and is a great fit as the leader of the group. I didn’t see Nikki Cross in the vignette but hopefully she isn’t left out as her character fits perfectly with Sanity.
Andrade “Cien” Almas along with Zelina Vega… I almost peed my pants as I was sure he was sticking around NXT a tad longer since they weren’t brought up last week. He should be shot right to the top and these 2 are spectacular together. Almas was an awesome NXT Champ and if WWE is grinding the Mexican scene looking for a cross over star much like Rey Mysterio, then look no further then Andrade. He belongs in the main event scene and seems to put on classic matches while under a tremendous amount of pressure. This guy knows how to work and don’t even get me started on Vega. I just hope Paige (new Smackdown GM) lets Zelina mix it up in the Women’s division as she can go in that ring.
Raw drafted more wrestlers then Smackdown but SD slaughtered Raw and filled the brand with mega stars. The potential feuds for the new Smackdown stars is unbelieveable. 2018 will be the year of Smackdown Live.
4: Samoa Joe is a phenomenal talent. He is very agile for a big man and is very intimidating. His character is very believable and that is why he is extremely popular everywhere he goes. I just didn’t think we would ever seen Joe step foot in a WWE…. Insert Triple H
The Samoan Submission Machine signed with NXT 3 years ago and made an immediate splash. Joe is the first ever 2 time NXT Champion and co- winner of the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (with Finn Balor).
He moved up to Raw in 2017 and has since been in the main event scene pretty much since he made his debut. He has headlined multiple WWE Pay Per Views and has been in title contention for a nice chunk of his run.
Injuries…. Samoa Joe had some crappy luck when it came to injuries in WWE. As soon as it looked like he was about to positioned as the top guy, an injury would sideline him and put a damper on his push.
Joe seems to bounce back without missing a step and has been very lucky he hasn’t been given any of the bad booking Vince tends to give guys who get hurt. McMahon has a history of giving up on talent who get hurt mid mega push. Lucky for Samoa Joe, that hasn’t happened yet.
The thing about Samoa Joe is that he can mix it up with just about anybody, any size, any style. He knows how to adapt and make things work. That is why his move to Smackdown Live was the best move for his WWE career.
We now have the chance to see old Ring Of Honor feuds like Joe vs Daniel Bryan and old TNA feuds like Joe vs AJ Styles. Samoa Joe vs Shinsuke Nakamura is a major money feud as all as their styles would create magic inside that ring.
Joe has been a dominate force in every promotion he worked for. He has won belts all across the globe and captured every belt TNA has during his run with the company. His track record shows that under pressure, in big money matches Samoa Joe shines and it is only a matter of time before he add the WWE Championship to the list.
At 39 years old, it is now or never for Samoa Joe. Injuries happen but one or two more and he will slip down the card. This could be Joe’s final mega push and it is a sure bet he is more then ready to become the man on Smackdown Live. If healthy there is a great chance he has a spot on next years Wrestlemania card…. High up on the card actually. So lets sit back, relax and watch Samoa Joe be just as dominate today as he was 10 years ago in TNA.
Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at this years Summerslam….. Yes please.
Rant 20 is now complete. Time to do what real men do…. Catch up on The Hollywood Medium With Tyler Henry…. Come on, it is a fantastic show that gets you in the feels. On a more serious note, the wrestling world lost a true icon. Bruno Sammartino passed away at the age of 82. Bruno was a true living legend as he held the then WWWF World Heavyweight Championship for 4,040 days (2 reigns) which is legendary in its own rights and would be known as the guy to always sell out the famous Madison Square Garden. After decades of hate towards Vince McMahon, Bruno finally buried the hatchet with Vince (thank you Triple H) and was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame Class of 2013 where he so rightfully belonged. Rest in Peace Bruno Sammartino and I am sure you are already catching up with your fellow brothers and sisters reminiscing about the good ol’ days.
