By Nick Whitworth@NickWhitworth
You know what folks? This being my 22nd Rant and I still get nervous. I know on the surface I look calm and ready but my palms are sweaty, knees weak and my arms are heavy every time. Anyways that being said lets get this bad boy started. Today’s topics are:
– The Roman Reigns Experiment
– WWE/TNA
– Matt Cappotelli
– All In
– Tommaso Ciampa : Kayfabe heel
1: You have to give credit where credit is due and that is to Vince McMahon and his continued push of Roman Reigns. It has been over 3 years in the making and it is still going strong. Not strong in the sense of his push is doing well, but strong in the sense that Vince is sticking to his guns.
Vince sees something in Roman that we don’t and that is perfectly fine. These big pushes make him the money not us so I can’t judge. I personally think Reigns is a mega star in the making just missing the final piece to catapult him to the top. Vince is busting his butt trying to figure out what that final piece is.
Remember during The Shields run Roman was the one the fans loved the most. He oozed charisma and everybody gravitated towards him. The fans wanted more Reigns and Vince listened. What Vince sees is what the fans use to see but what happened since? Heck, Reigns is a Grand Slam Champion so he must be doing something right.
Cheers went to boos which went to pure hatred. He can’t seem to do anything right as the fans eat him alive every chance they get. You could say the response he is getting, bad or not, is a good thing but not what WWE is pushing for. By now Vince envisioned the outcome of this push a lot differently then it has been playing out.
Deep down inside it has to hurt. Roman is an unwanted man in the eyes of the fans and that has to sting a little bit. I even find his matches have dipped a bit and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is towards the insane negative reaction he gets. He seems to have lost his mojo to fight a good fight and that is making things worse.
The internet doesn’t his case either as once it was leaked about the plan to shoot him to the moon the fans decided to go against him. The fans nowadays do not want to be told who is “The Guy”, they want to be the ones to decide who is the “The Guy”. So it has to be tough to figure out who is the one to take the lead. You need that one big draw and since right now WWE doesn’t have that I can understand why ratings are down.
The poor Backlash PPV main event with Reigns taking on Samoa Joe had fans leaving the arena mid match. They chanted “this is boring” among others which is not what you want in a main event. I put most blame on how the match was booked. Joe came out mega strong then slowed the pace down to headlocks and other slow paced holds which took any energy the fans had and tossed it out of the window. That being said, fans leaving and fans being this ticked off should make WWE rethink a few things for their Roman Reigns Experiment.
Mr. McMahon seems dead set on Reigns being a babyface and if I am being honest (I always am) I will say this…. Turn his ass heel. Have Reigns get in the ring, grab the mic and cut a mega heel promo. Have him annihilate the crowd and watch what happens. I would bet the 5 dollars in my wallet and what is left on my Tim Horton’s gift card that those boos will quickly turn into cheers.
I mentioned earlier how he is missing that final piece and a solid heel turn is it. Vince will need to go all in on the turn and really let him be a serious heel. He will need to really take it to the next level with the turn but I will almost guarantee it will not only work but Vince will have the Roman Reigns he wants. Vinny Mac, this is how it is down. Mic drop…
2: A few weeks back on Monday Night Raw Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn came to Kurt Angle looking for a job and Kurt responded with “My tag division is full but I hear TNA is hiring”. The crowds reaction said it all. What the heck did we all just hear? TNA mentioned on WWE television… What…
For years and years WWE ignored competition but since CM Punk’s historic “Pipe Bomb” promo back in 2011 we have been hearing other companies names and it has been quite pleasant. The company is accepting the fact that the fans know there is more to wrestling then WWE and have finally started acknowledging it on television.
WWE’s top stars are guys who built a massive fan following on the independant scene and made a name for themselves and the company is taking full advantage of that. Finally…. Finally the company acknowledges other promotions and the stars past accolades. Instead of pretending their past never existed they are embracing it. This is what WWE should have been doing all along.
Bobby Roode, Samoa Joe, Eric Young, AJ Styles, and Rockstar Spud are just a few WWE stars who were key players in TNA. EC 3 and Drew McIntyre might have initially started off in WWE but TNA is where they became main event level talents. My point here is WWE recognizes TNA created mega stars who can generate the company a lot of money. WWE needed TNA.
So WWE has raided TNA’s roster, acknowledged the company live on the air on Monday Night Raw and most recently on an edition of “Table for 3” with Shane McMahon, Kurt Angle and AJ Styles they not only talked about TNA, they showed actual footage from a match involving Angle and Styles. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing…. And they weren’t done there… The showed ended with an ad that said “to watch all AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle Impact Wrestling matches in their entirety, download The Global Wrestling Network App”. What did I just see.
That one ad proved to me Triple H has more pull then we know. This not only helped Impact Wrestling but it opened the doors for possible working relationships. Whether it is footage for DVDs or appearances WWE is using competition to help them get even stronger. Perfect. Triple H has said he wants to have working relationships with a lot of promotions as it is what is best for business and that is 100% correct.
If WWE helped others out back in the territory days why can’t they do it now?
3: WWE’s Tough Enough series has produced a number of great talents. John Morrison, Kenny King, Ryback and The Miz but a co winner of Season 3 is in midst of the biggest battle of his life. Matt Cappotelli is battling brain cancer for the second time.
Matt along with John Morrison (real name John Hennigan) went on to win Season 3 of the television series winning a dream WWE contract. Cappotelli nailed the part. Long curly locks, perfect WWE style physique and the overall looks for a true mega babyface. All he needed to do was improve in ring work and WWE is set.
An incident during an episode of the show left the fans feeling empathetic towards Matt and had everyone rallying behind him. For some reason coach Hardcore Holly forgot what coach meant and decided to go extremely stiff on him and put a thumping on Matt. Matt took it all in stride even though Holly left him bleeding. He could have thrown in the towel right there but he used that to push himself even harder to win that prestige contract.
As I was one of his fans routing for him, we were excited to see him win that contract. As per usual, Matt went to the company’s developmental promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling to work on his craft before he makes the leap to the main roster.
Even though he had a few matches on the main roster right after the show ended, OVW is where he was until he was ready to go. Matt was making a name for himself. He was not only generating a lot of buzz about his work, he was the OVW Heavyweight Champion and had WWE all ready to call him up when his life changed forever. He was diagnosed with brain cancer. His dreams and hopes for his WWE career disappeared and he was now in a serious battle. Surgery was a must.
Good news flew through the wrestling world… Matt’s surgery for the removal of the brain tumor was a success. He won a battle against an opponent who tends to be the one who comes out on top. I couldn’t imagine the battle but I will tell you this… It made me an even bigger Matt Cappotelli fan that is for sure.
Things were looking up for Matt. He even became the Head Trainer for OVW’s Beginner Program. Even though he couldn’t mix it up in the ring, he was able to give back and show and teach students his tricks of the trade. No longer sporting the long locks, a shaved head along with the battle wounds from surgery were reminders to everyone that this disease is no joke but it doesn’t define who you are. To Matt, it was just a bump in the road.
2017 and Matt was once again diagnosed with brain cancer. That damn disease found a way back. This time it came with more force. He was now facing the ugliest form of brain cancer. While surgery wasn’t a success this time around, he is continually showing the world how tough he really is. His beautiful wife Lindsay is his biggest supporter who is battling this along side Matt and there when he needs someone. Their love is so strong that these wrenches thrown at them can’t break them apart. That is what marriage is all about.
Can we all just take 2 minutes and say a prayer for Matt and his family. Even if you are not religious, please just send some positive vibes his way. This is the time us fans should really rally behind someone who is battling for their life.
Matt, we are all routing for you. Keep on fighting the battle and even though we aren’t with you we are fighting along side of you.
4: 29 minutes and 36 seconds……
A previous Rant I talked about Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks teaming up to put on a indy show with the hopes of selling out a 10,000 seat arena. I said with the right line up it is possible. With the right big name draws 10,000 ticket sales can happen. So I guess I was kind of right. I just never imagined under 30 minutes and they have a sold out show.
They followed WWE’s Wrestlemania formula had have their own Axxess weekend called Starrcast. They are bringing in everyone from legends to big name indy names to the mega Bullet Club stars. This line up slaughters anything and everything WWE could do. The fact that i will say All In will destroy this years Wrestlemania already and the event is still months away from happening should tell you one thing…. Rhodes and The Bucks know how to promote, book and run a show.
The only match announced thus far is Cody Rhodes taking on NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis and the event still sold out faster then any WWE event. It is the stars announced which drew the excitement. All the potential dream match ups are becoming a possibility and every mega indy star is set to appear. WWE relies on Triple H, Shane McMahon and The Undertaker to be on the Mania card where as All In relies on talent who are in their prime putting asses in seats all across the globe. That is how you book a show Vince.
Is it a possibility that the show sold out so quick because it is a one off? If Cody and The Bucks ran a show more frequently could they draw 10,000 each time? Does that matter? No, and the reason why is WWE doesn’t draw 10,000 every show they do. Heck, their show last August here in Halifax drew just over 5,000. The All In clan could do that no problem if the booked right and I think , no wait, I believe it could happen.
The fact they sold out that quick shows the world just how red hot wrestling is. It shows just how red hot indy wrestling is and it shows just how much the world wants more options other then WWE. Vince has to be worried right now. The fact this event has more hype with only one match announced then Wrestlemania has to tell him something. I really hope Triple H can take the reigns here (no not Roman) and try to reel those former WWE fans back in. Triple H sees the same way Rhodes and the Jackson Brothers do. He has the pulse of what the fans want the same way and Hunter would work with them and do business.
I really hope All In becomes more then a one off or once a year deal. Don’t over kill it but give the fans a chance to witness greatness. All In can be the indy Wrestlemania and that my friend is fine by me. You know what, let me slide into Cody’s DM’s right now….
5: 11 years ago Tommaso Ciampa was under a WWE contract working for OVW biding his time and honing his craft until he can unleash hell on the WWE world. And then he was released. He wasn’t even in OVW a year before some odd reason the company parted ways with him. Makes no sense to me.
I never understood why WWE never hired Samoa Joe before they had. Same goes with AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. I fully understand why now. The company would have wasted their talents and now known what to do with them. Now with Hunter more hands on we are seeing these guys showcased exactly how they should be. Ciampa is in that same group. He would have floated along until he either quit or was fired so his early release over a decade ago makes sense to me and I am good with that.
Since then he has became a major threat on the indy scene and forced Triple H to take notice. Tomasso started appearing on NXT TV alongside WWE’s current top babyface Johnny Gargano and it wasn’t before long we got the news he has signed back on with WWE. This time in a tag team with Gargano called #DIY.
Ciampa and Gargano quickly became a force to be reckoned with and quickly became a mega popular team. They would go on to win the NXT Tag Team Championships and seemed to be on the path for a solid run with the straps. Wrong.
They lost the belts to The Authors Of Pain the following Takeover event and I for one was confused. After multiple attempts to regain the belts I wasn’t sure what was going on here with this team. Did Hunter only have a short vision for them or was their something bigger in mind? Well, Takeover: Chicago ended with Ciampa viciously attacking Gargano after their loss becoming full fledged villain. Little did we know but Tommaso suffered a ruptured ACL in there loosing effort. Talk about bad timing eh?
Fast forward a year and not only is Ciampa back but he is the best heel in the business today… Hands down. He is full blown old school in every sense and it is terrific. He doesn’t come out to theme music. His mic work is venomous and his social media work is perfect. He is playing the part everywhere he goes and not just on wrestling time. He is a heel who is making us hate his guts and that doesn’t happen too much.
His feud with former #DIY partner is so good it not only created a mega heel, it created a mega babyface in Gargano. Tommaso’s work not only improved his career but it improved his partners. Their work has been so effective that there isn’t a fan out there who isn’t hooked. Whether it is them fighting or Ciampa mixing it up with Gargano’s real life wife Candice LeRae, the feud is the best feud happening. This is what you call a money feud as this can last easily a solid year without loosing any steam.
His look is insanely on point that it gives me that creepy, psycho look which that alone draws you into him. His promos are just as creepy and villainous that he draws massive heat from the audience. He is exactly what a heel should be and do.
Ciampa is going to make a huge splash on the main roster and is going to bring back some of that old school kayfabe that is missing today. I am telling you right now, he is going to become the company’s greatest heel of all times. Yes I went there and I think I will be right. Not because Vince told me his long term plans for Tammaso but because I just feel it… Plus Vince told me his long term plans for Tammaso.
Kayfabe might be dead but not when it comes to Tommaso Ciampa and that is why he is so good and so red hot right now. That is why no other heel in the world can come close to the genuine heat he draws. Case closed.
Well, That is all for Rant # 22. Time to get back to watching The Royal Wedding… I mean Grey’s Anatomy… I mean The Bachelorette spoilers online… I mean Wrestling…. Re-watching some old school classics… Yeah that is what I meant to say. Phew….
