December 13, 2014

Rusev V.S Lesnar



      WWE world heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, has been champion since August of 2014. He, of course, has never been defeated since beating the Undertaker and ending the phenom’s Wrestlemania win streak. Lesnar has only defended his title once, thus far, and is due for another defense pretty soon. As a matter of fact, he’s overdue for another WWE television appearance, but that’s another story. Actually, it might be a chapter in this story, because some would claim that Lesnar not being on TV has somewhat diminished the prestige of the championship.
      Then you have Rusev, the Russian super athlete, who is undefeated (AKA never pinned or submitted but has lost battle royals and tag matches) and is the current United States champion. Alongside his manager, Lana, he’s one of the most unstoppable (midcard) forces that the WWE has seen in a while. His anti-America gimmick may be over played, but isn't everything? His dominance has, in the eyes of many, raised the prestige of the United States championship as he seems to be becoming groomed to be a main event player.
So, the line of the story that I have presented, Rusev V.S Lesnar would DRAW MONEY.
      By draw money, I just mean this would draw interest and be borderline HYPE. Borderline HOT. This jawn would be the Bees knees on 4G. I’m not from Philly, so I probably don’t have enough cred to say jawn, but either way, this would be amazing. Of course with everything, it’ll be amazing if DONE RIGHT. Sure, I don’t know all of the intricacies of running a pro-wrestling company, but, doing it right might be too much to ask from the WWE at times. I’m not talking perfect, because that’s unobtainable for some people (*flips non-flippable hair*), I’m talking about being committed to a story and putting forth effort to MAKE IT GOOD. Prime example- WWE NXT in general. NXT is hot. Probably because it’s less focused on trying to sell a product as a opposed to Raw and Smackdown, but that’s what happens when money takes over. But, here’s the thing, often within entertainment, GOOD equals MONEY and this would draw money. So does formulaic, but that’s not what the timekeeper’s asking for.     
  • It's different. Sure, both men are heels and there’s no clear guy to root for, but that makes it all the better. We don’t need good V.S bad because bad V.S bad usually leads to someone ending up good. Someone will assume one of those roles natural, whether it be how they wrestle or be it the audience getting behind the individual that they like more. Heck, Jim Ross pitched this idea on his Podcast. Jim Ross is a genius who knows the business and had the same idea as me. Thus I know the business. A smart person and I had the same idea, thus I am obviously a genius. It’s simple geography people, I’m a genius.
  • The story makes sense. It’s not a deep story that you have to dig for (Wrestler X and Wrestler Y have been dropping hints throughout their careers as to why they must collide to align the planets before Wrestlemania) nor a simple one you see coming (wrestler A hate wrestler B because C). They have similarities, as i pointed out in the first two paragraphs. They’re both dominant champions and crossing paths, they believe that there needs to be one true champion. Or Rusev becomes #1 contender for Lesnar’s belt, or Lesnar is sick of Rusev dissing America, or Rusev wants to beat Lesnar to prove that his win streak is greater than the Undertaker’s. It’s there, it’s just a matter of how do we get there. I mean it’s simple, but it’s not just for no reason. Take for example, “Seven V.S Ten because Seven ate nine.” That is a pretty legitimate reason to beef though. No pun intended? In TEN did? Okay, I’ll stop.   
  • Their managers are just as, if not cooler than they. First, the English language is weird. Second, Paul Heyman is a verbal artist, a charismatic con man, a wordsmith, and poet may be taking it too far, but not that far. Heyman being Lesnar’s advocate and “mouthpiece” is and has always been great. Heyman can talk. He conveys a feeling of believability in his character and in Lesnar’s character. He’s great at what he does and if you like that kind of thing, he’s quite admirable. Admirable as well is Lana Kozlov. Wait, she doesn't have a last name… neither does Rusev anymore… or is that just his last name? Either way, having the rude but often true Lana verbally spar with Heyman would be great to hear and see. There could be backstage segments with the managers and their clients’ opposition which would add to the story.
  • The match would be great. Lesnar and Rusev are great wrestlers and together they would make peanut butter and jelly. Or Jimmy Johns and vodka (call it stereotypical if you want, but vodka is Russian). Seriously, I believe that this match would steal any modern day WWE payperview, if given time and if the storytelling is on point. Rusev and Lesnar would sell each other’s moves, use their  beautiful submissions, hit hard, and yell for no reason. They’re two big guys who can tear the house down. Or blow the roof off of the place, depending on what they want to do. Just imagine one of them going for a 450 splash. Hotness.
  • If they don't feud they should interact in ring. In my eyes, the company hasn't put enough emphasis on people wanting the title while Lesnar’s gone. I swear, we should be in the final and twenty first round of the World Martial arts tournament right now, having the winner face Lesnar at the Royal Rumble for the title and a few dragon balls. But, of course we just have Cena as the number one contender and no one really remembering that Lesnar’s champion. It’s annoying. It’s just entertainment and there are actual world issues, but it’s annoying. MAKE IT GOOD. Geez WWE. Most likely, Cena will beat Lesnar at the Rumble or Mania “tying” with Ric Flair at 16 world titles. But the worse option is… yes worse than Cena, having Roman “not ready” Regins win the title at Mania. Being ready is all relative in WWE, but Reigns shouldn't be the guy to beat Lesnar. Nor, Cena- he got annihilated by Brock at Summerslam. Sure, there are comebacks (Cena eating Spinach) and Lesnar could lose his “powers” (Lesnar not eating Jimmy Johns), but it should be someone else. Lesnar might leave WWE after Mania and we with that, we would have lost opportunities to see a lot of match ups. We never got Lesnar V.S Orton or Daniel Bryan. Lesnar and Ryabck would probably have a decent match up. Brock V.S my boy Jacks Swagger? So what's going to happen? Well, if we’re still going with the Reigns project, Cena doesn’t lose his #1 contention, and Lesnar’s leaving after Mania, here’s what I suggest: Have whoever Cena will feud with and or bury at Wrestlemania cost him his match at the Rumble against Lesnar. Reigns, (sigh) wins the Royal Rumble and defeats Lesnar at Wrestlemania and then Rollins cashes in his money in the bank. But before that dastardly debacle, WWE should dish out money to have Lesnar compete at elimination chamber in the eponymous match and have him win. But, he has all the people we (or maybe just I) want him to face. Ryback, Swagger, Rusev, Orton, and Bryan (if he’s healthy) or Sheamus would all fall to Lesnar inside the chamber. Or, if the PPV is cut this year, have the GM, whoever it maybe at the time (could it be Sting trying to get revenge for the Undertaker only to have Taker show up and claim that he doesn't want Sting’s help, causing them to have a match?), put Lesnar in a gauntlet match on Raw where he faces all of those men and beats them. Sure it might make the roster look weak, but it makes Lesnar look strong. But that of course, won’t be a thing.

Final thoughts: What should happen is- Rusev wins the Rumble (last eliminating Cesaro after an ironman performance), He beats Lesnar at Mania in an amazing contest. Rusev begins a reign of terror, Jack Swagger cuts that reign short, only to then have Rollins cash in on him. Rollins holds the belt and then this time next year Reigns will have probably have won the title from Rollins and the Authority will hopefully be back. Either way, the idea of Rusev V.s Lesnar will probably be better than the doubtful execution of Rusev V.S Lesnar. So let's just dream. But even though I wouldn't pay, I’d dish out money to see that match. It’s the idea that counts.

Thanks for reading and spending sometime with me! God bless you fine people and comment if you're into that "type" of thing.                       

December 11, 2014

Wait for the "New Day"


        So, what does one say about WWE’s newest faction “New Day?" Nothing new. A few months ago when Xavier woods gathered himself, Kofi Kingston, and Big E together in the ring on Raw, he told them that it was time for a change. "WHAT, A NEW FACTION?" Thought the fans who are actually interested in what happens on the show. But of course because all three of those men are black, everyone thought that their race had to be the reason they were uniting. Nation of domination version two, right? Well, as odd as it is to assume that they’re a new nation of domination despite there being no original members among them, many were right to think that race played a role. Earlier this year WWE was being criticized by a "magazine article writing guy" about never having a black WWE champion and always having minorities play or portray stereotypical and or stupid characters. Whether or not you consider the Rock to be black or not, that’s ultimately up to the Rock to decide. But, WWE does have a history of generally portraying minorities not as, what’s the word? … Not as great as white guys (save for the white southern cowboy gimmicks and what not)? Now, just to be clear, white guys (as well as everyone in the company) get stupid gimmicks all the time, but there are a lot more white guys than black guys that wrestle, and for the black guys who wrestle, the majority of them get saddled with lousy gimmicks. As do the females, the Asians, the Russians, the Brits, etc. The minorities get the majority of the stupid gimmicks. So, with this quasi-negative attention being on the WWE it’d make sense for them to address it, but, of course with the wrestlers and not in some cheap corporate statement or apology. However, after two weeks, Big E, Kofi, and Woods disappeared (faded to black?) and WWE dropped the whole thing. Sure, black people rising up is somewhat stereotypical, but it’s a "good stereotype" and it would've made sense. However, they’d probably be heels and as WWE often does with heels, they make them say the right things and fight for the right things, yet they’re the bad people. But, they can’t really work as faces unless there’s a heel general manger or authority, because then you have to take the stance that the WWE is racist. So, there were some understandable flaws, unlike with Laycool. But then….

      Vignettes for the New day began to air which featured Woods, Kingston, and Big E individually before a choir shucking and jiving and then testifying like a Baptist preacher. The slogan for this group was “a new day is coming.” So many fans thought: "WHAT THIS NONSENSE AGAIN?" Others, who just watch wrestling just because were like: "WOW THEY’RE COOL!" And there’s nothing wrong with that, you be a casual fan, don’t let anyone take that away from you. But, if you put the, dare I say logical, pieces together, then you’d be led to believe that they were tricking us into thinking that they would be happy-go-lucky black wrestlers aiming to entertain the white manna of the world, only to go against that and debut as a new progressive black faction aimed to take over WWE and what not. But WWE often defies logic. The new day debuted on Smackdown (and in 2014, debuting on Smackdown is not a good sign) on black Friday. They danced, shouted, wiped sweat from their heads, and basically did what the vignettes showed. Then the same thing on Raw (except this time they lost their match). Then the same thing on Smackdown. and then the same thing on the Raw before the TLC pa-per-view. Same. Not new. Would WWE really do this? They’re exaggerating the stereotypes TOO MUCH for it not to be a joke. This can’t be a serious gimmick. Los Matadores are different because they’re supposed to be a comedy team and mainly because there was no prior indication that they wanted to rise up and be taken seriously. If the New day just debuted with no back story, it’d just be another WWE gimmick and we’d laugh and call them stupid. See, stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason, and if a black man dances and testifies to a congregation with a wash rag in his hand, there’s nothing wrong with that, he’s just doing what he does. But the New day shouldn't be. Everything’s too ironic, from the name to the back story. Everything’s too exaggerated. It’s gotta be a joke. See, people get offended because they can’t find the humor in a joke or even tell that something’s a joke. However, I digress. But, this has got to be a joke. The new day HAS to be setting us up. So I believe hey’re still working us like they did in the vignettes. 

      I know having hope in the WWE to do the right thing is like having hope in the WWE to do the right thing, but, I still think that the New day are just pretending to be these goofy dancers, only to flip the script on us and usher in… wait, let me just say, bring a new day. See, they don’t need to take over the company and have Big E win the WWE world heavyweight championship holding it for 9 years, beating Sammartino’s reign, to validate this gimmick. All they need is the turn. All they need is the change. We need them to turn and say "we’re not like that." We need them to change and say "we can do anything." Change takes time people. I know it’s WWE and not some intricate drama, but look a little deeper, the New day could be a legitimate good gimmick in due time. Don’t judge it now, just wait for the turn, wait for the change.


      The turn’s not necessary (not necessarily a heel turn, but a turn from what they currently are), they could ride out this shucking and jiving gimmick for a long time, win titles, and claim that they were successful despite what the company told them to do in a shoot style promo (which would still be a turn in a sense). Or it could just fail, remain to be what it currently is, and we all collectively sigh waiting for the true new day in WWE (but then again it’s just wrestling, I mean, black people will still have basketball and hip hop Grammy awards right? Just basketball? Alright, cool.). So, looking at how the WWE doesn't typically plan to have long story lines nowadays, and if they do they just kind of pan out that way due to circumstances, if the New day doesn't change before, at, or a month after Wrestlemania 31 (dare I say by Summerslam?), don’t expect anything new from the new day.   


Thanks for reading and spending some time with me! God bless you fine people and comment if you're into that "type" of thing. 

December 02, 2014

MACBETH AND THE MCMAHONS

          
       Well the WWE’s landscape has changed for about the 80th time in its history or so because Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, the leaders of the Authority, are now out of power. Sure, they’ll be back eventually and never out rule this being an intricate scheme by Mr. McMahon to trick everyone. No matter where this story goes there’s one thing for certain… William Shakespeare was and technically still is one of the greatest writers of all time. Unlike WWE’s writing staff for 75% of the year, Shakespeare was always on his A game and produced some of the greatest works of literature on the face of the globe. One of Shakespeare’s classic plays, Macbeth, the tragedy of a violent Scottish king relates to something going on in the WWE. Now if you like to hear how simple pro-wrestling story lines slightly relate to sophisticated literature, written by an inexpert writer, keep reading because I think there are some interesting correlations. In Macbeth, for those who may not know, the title character is a general of the Scottish army who the King of Scotland, Duncan, later names the “Thane of Cawdor” (basically a noble of the Scottish village named Cawdor). What was unique about him earning this rank is that three witches prophesied that he would become thane and later become king. Triple H is Macbeth- due to his hard work and accomplishments; he now has a high rank in WWE. Mr. McMahon relates to Duncan, because he, the CEO and Chairman of WWE, made Triple H the COO of the company. Fans have been assuming that HHH will take over the company if McMahon ever retires and since he already has some amount of power, so that has almost come to fruition.

       Macbeth’s menacing wife, known simply as Lady Macbeth, desperately wants her husband to become king. It was prophesied that he would become king, however, Macbeth is still skeptical about how he should become king (does he wait, like how he became Thane, or actively try to become King?). However, Lady Macbeth isn't having any of that doubtful nonsense, she wants Macbeth to kill Duncan and gain the power. She claims that she cannot kill Duncan because she reminds her of her own father. Funny, considering that  she still wouldn't mind him being killed. Stephanie McMahon is Lady Macbeth. Whilst Triple H is no pushover, Stephanie tends to be the harsher member of the Authority. Being the husband of the COO and a principle owner of the company, she is probably power hungry for full control of the company which her father has. This part hasn't necessarily played out on television yet, but Stephanie probably wants "the Game" to take out her father, something she doesn't want to do herself, so that she can rule over the whole WWE.

       Macbeth eventually kills Duncan and rules over Scotland. Of course Macbeth goes mad, he, his servants, and his wife kill people along the way and what not, but, could Triple H eventually overthrow Mr. McMahon? Of course, following the Macbeth format, Triple H would get rid of Mr. McMahon, but no one would know that it was him. Having a story-line where the CEO is injured and Triple H must take over because he’s next in line would be interesting. Something similar to the infamous limo explosion could lead to Vince McMahon’s on-screen demise and bring in a new Triple H led regime (not like the lackluster one of 2011) having the the WWE universe asking, “who did it?” Knowing WWE, they’d reveal that it was Hornswoggle or Rikishi, but having the big reveal being Triple H would be one of the most shocking moments in WWE history.

       Triple H and Stephanie would likely become corrupt with the power and punish superstars who try to overcome them, just like Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth was finally over come by the nobleman, Macduff, and then Malcolm, the son of Duncan, became the king. So who will over throw Triple H? Well, the actual ranks of CEO in real life probably go to Stephanie and or Triple H next, so they could just remain in control, but on-screen, who’s going to end this regime? Shane McMahon. I know Shane’s doing other real business things, but we’re comparing pro-wrestling to Shakespeare, so let’s imagine here for a second. Shane returns and defies Triple H and… or how about… the oppressed superstars, trying to figure out who can stop Triple H, go and seek out Shane. Shane McMahon, being his father’s son, has a legitimate claim to owning the business. WWE could go so many places with this that I’m shaking my head like I just bit into a good piece of sweet, tangy, and saucy sesame chicken. Now my mouth’s watering, but I was trying to avoid that cliché. So, Shane forms a team (a proper team without Erick Rowan) or supports a wrestler to defeat the Game for him, just like how Macduff defeated Macbeth. Shane would usher in a new era and happiness to the WWE after a Wrestlemania or Summer Slam and there would be no more major conflicts until the next “takeover” faction forms.

       The WWE has no ruler and John Cena is calling the shots (on-screen now…). Whoever the next long term authority figure is, be it Sting or the anonymous general manager, the Authority will be back. And the rest is silence. Wait that’s a Hamlet phrase… anyway, I’m interested to see what the authority does next… not necessarily what happens on Raw, because the Authority were truly best for business, and unlike Cena, I appreciate and appreciated them. As William said, Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be the morrow.   


                                                                                                                                                        Thanks for reading and spending some time with me! God bless you fine people and comment if you're into that "type" of thing.