Reasons Why WWE Is Not Exciting Me

WARNING: Controversial Post Ahead.

1.     John Cena
 Now let me explain, before you think I’m a typical Cena hater and I need to “get over it”, I am “over it” but I am also sick of it. I have never been a fan of Cena, ever since he debuted, I have neither liked him nor disliked him… he was just there who happened to be a massive star, I never connected with the guy and never will. I understand why his face is plastered all over the place and why he “needs” to be on every show, but at the same time, it is 2014 and the fact that he has such a massive, prominent part on the show every week just highlights the failures of the company and well, Vince McMahon. Imo, as typical and cliché as this may sound, he is a boring, repetitive guy and they just go around in circles with him; tease a heel turn/preach about never giving up/pander to the crowd to get them cheap pops/shout about how he is going to walk into a ppv and walk out the champ… you get the idea. People joke about it, but it is 100% true and that leads me to my next point…

2.     The lack of stars

     The reason why Cena is so heavily forced onto our TV screens imo, is due to this. There is so much talent within the company right now, more than there has been in a long, long time, yet the use of this talent is puzzling and bizarre. I understand that building up stars can take months, even years and fully getting “over” isn’t easy, but when a guy does slowly get hot and start to develop some steam, why is it all taken away? Cesaro and Bray Wyatt are perfect examples of this. Post WM30, Cesaro was on fire, crowds were getting behind him, fans were excited about him and what did it lead towards? Being unnecessarily paired with Paul Heyman, delaying a face turn and losing every match he is ever in. I genuinely felt for the guy last night… anyone else think of Zack Ryder? He is main event level talent along with Wyatt, but I don’t understand the booking, I really don’t? If anyone can provide me positive insight into this, please do, I would love to hear it.

Having multiple stars IS possible, it has been achieved before, just look at the attitude era; I used to view every guy, no matter where they were on the show, as a top guy. So, before anyone says you can’t have so many guys at the top, you absolutely can... it just depends on how it is done, which one again leads me to my next point…

3.     The legitimacy of the US/IC Title’s
This links to actually building up the IC/US Titles as credible, legitimate and important Championships. With the lack of the WWE Champ around, you would think that the WWE would use this time to build up these two titles which come on lets face it, no one even cares about anymore. Dolph Ziggler being the IC Champ has 100% bought some excitement back to the title but I do want to see a proper, legitimate feud with two guys; Ziggler and Cesaro could have been something BIG, if they actually put a story behind it… I mean, I know I have no idea how to book a wrestling show, but is it seriously that hard to make a title feud have a little background to it? The US Title is a complete and utter joke, everyone used to criticize Ambrose and I won’t lie, I myself didn’t like how he barley defended the title when he was the champ but man, Sheamus has been even worse, why does he even have the strap?... The match between he and The Miz at HIAC was simply for comedy purposes, don’t get me wrong, Sandow did keep me entertained throughout it but, can we put some seriousness and legitimacy back into the title, please?... Just put the belt on Rusev and as much as Rusev does not interest me, him holding the US Title certainly would and at least it would make the championship mean something and be worth fighting for.

4.     The lack of captivating storytelling

     This once again leads me on to another point (can I just say I love how this all links…). Storytelling and proper feuds are needed; I am not shitting on the company, I mean, look at Ambrose/Rollins, their feud has been captivating, intense and whenever they’re on the screen we want to see what will happen next… right? So it shows that having intense rivalries are 100% possible. I understand that up and down the card, it may be difficult to do, but there is way too much of a lack of it at the moment. At least give the IC/US title feuds something legitimate to work with and give us all something we want to tune in for every week. For me, one of the main reasons I have been watching every week, despite the lack of the WWE Champ has been to see where the Ambrose/Rollins feud goes next… which highlights their great talent and storytelling. No one wants to see guest hosts (that no one outside of the US has ever heard of) parading around the ring or a man dressed up in a bunny suit beating up big dudes (to their credit, we haven’t seen him in a while); it is outdated and WWE need to get with the times.

Now, before everyone thinks that I am a typical wrestling fan and all I do is complain, please read my previous posts where I always attempt to pick out the positives in the WWE, even through the worst times. Last nights Raw simply frustrated me as I believe there could have been so many things done a lot better; one of my main issues was that in the closing moments of the HIAC, the man himself, Bray Wyatt finally returned… in an amazing and BIG way, costing Ambrose the match against Rollins and in turn leading to everyone debating about this. We were all talking about the promos, the way the storyline could go down, why there should have been a definite end, what happens with Ambrose/Rollins… and the list goes on. Yet, WWE decided to ignore this “hype” and despite the great promos from both, make it feel weirdly lackluster on Raw... even though this was what CLOSED out a PPV! Don’t get me wrong, I am all for a slow build but I felt confused afterwards, they should have kept the steam going and kept it big… I guess we will see where this heads in the following weeks and I am possibly being too whiny.  

Nevertheless, there was still a lot of good on the show, Randy Orton's intense mic work and that RKO out of nowhere to Rollins were great which I totally called 1 minute before by the way! Ryback’s return did put a smile on my face and I am glad that the crowd reacted how they did to him, I hope there are big things in the works for him. Rollins performance throughout the night was simply put, pretty phenomenal and although Cena puts a downer on everything for me, and despite the ending to Raw, I cannot ignore that. He is an example of WWE doing things right and that is a credit to them and his own incredible talent; although this post is why I’m NOT excited with WWE, I AM excited to see this guys future, his cash in moment will be something to see.

I don’t know anything about business or what needs to be done to keep the company going but in an ideal world, I would love for them to take a few risks and to attempt to make the company fresh; the talent is there, give them something worthwhile to work with. Ultimately, it is all down to complacency… is it not?

As always, open to all your thoughts. Let me know - @WrestlingMenu

- Zara

Ambrose Vs. Rollins, HIAC Thoughts...

Insanity.

That is the first word that comes to mind when I think of this match, from the second it began right up until the closing moments. This could be taken as a positive or as a negative.

Before I go into this, the first point I want to take notice of is the fact that this match went on last; it was the main event. WWE took the right decision and I am so glad that they did because Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins proved last night, why they truly deserve to be in the closing spot and on a main-event level. WWE clearly knew/know the excitement from fans behind these two and not having them close the show would have been a travesty. Ending it with Orton/Cena would certainly have not been “best for business”… I didn’t find their HIAC match all that interesting, the amount of false finishes did not excite me, but of course, you may disagree.

The match started off BIG, and that is probably an understatement. Ambrose climbing the cell right at the start made me feel as though one guy was going to be thrown off of it (in the safest way possible… if you want to call it safe). I did not imagine both guys hanging on to the side of the cell, from a pretty high distance, with it resulting in both crashing and burning by going through both announce tables. I have heard some complaints about how it wasn’t high enough and although I would have definitely loved one of them going off the top of the cell, I still loved this spot, one of my favourites in a long, long time. Both guys looked like they landed in a pretty bad way but I do believe that, that bump should have been placed somewhere later on in the match because although there were some great moments after that, the table spot was the biggest, most shocking; I do understand that WWE probably wanted this match to start off big however.

What I did not like was Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury coming out with Rollins and actually getting involved quite heavily in the opening of the match. Imo there was no need for them to climb the cell and get beaten down by Ambrose once they reached the top. What did it achieve? I would have much rather preferred Rollins climbing to the top without hesitation… I mean, this is a HIAC match where both guys have history, a story about betrayal & vengeance behind them and a legitimate hatred for each other and hence, want to destroy one another, right? I was not keen on having Rollins look afraid. It’s HIAC and after the past 4/5 months, both guys should have seemed completely fearless. I didn’t feel that absolute animosity and hatred from both men who were former “brothers” coming through the screen. This type of match is the final resort for a feud fuelled by hate, you can not get any bigger than a HIAC match in WWE, especially since how the company book how devastating it is and how there is nothing above it. So, after the finish of the match (which I will go into more depth about) leads me to believe that we will never get pay-off for this feud in a BIG way, unless they decide to one day down the line go through the HIAC route again. This has been the feud of the year imo and a HIAC match is the blow off match, so I am not going to lie, the finish was slightly disappointing.

BUT… before anyone starts hating…

I also understand that this is a rivalry that will go on for years to come, WWE clearly realise what they have with Ambrose/Rollins and how invested fans can be in this feud and so it leaves the window wide open for them to always be able to revisit it at anytime. Nevertheless, I did want to see a definitive finish after them going back and forth for 5 months now, neither guy would have looked weak by taking a loss inside the cell and the place would have gone crazy for an Ambrose victory.

Talking about weak, was I the only one pissed at how badly the commentators sold Ambrose kicking out of the curbstomp?! This is a move that has been built up for months as devastating and no one has yet kicked out of it, no one until last night when Dean did and the commentators could not have cared less. Their underwhelming selling rubs off on fans and those watching; it was disappointing. Overall, commentary was garbage for this match last night, announcing HIAC can in fact make a match, as we have seen previously from JR.

Yet, this idea of a lack of hatred transcending the TV screen could have been due to the restrictions that the PG rating has on a HIAC match. I am never one to complain about the company being PG, a good product whether it is PG or not, is a good product and that has no relevance. Yet in this type of match stip, it does. Blood is needed, blood adds devastation and a great visual to the match up and reflects how desperately both men want to inflict pain on the other. The lack of it, is a major factor. Blood makes fans emotionally invested in a HIAC match and you can’t deny that.

Also, just to randomly add this in, which is just as random as Kane appearing, does anyone know what the 5 second appearance of Kane was for?! Was it needed? WWE just can’t keep him away can they? The one thing I didn’t want was interference and that was what we received the most of.

Overall, the guys are capable of a 5* match but the booking stopped it from being a whole lot better and I do wish the match would have been a bit longer too, I wanted to see them go at it for a while. I’m not saying it was bad… don’t get me wrong, it was an amazing match but from these two guys, there is so much to see and so much more we could have received; that is how talented they are. There is no one to blame but WWE. What I did love was the storytelling, which is what has kept us all so invested in this rivalry. I loved the emotion Ambrose portrayed throughout the match and the use of cinder blocks made the story come full circle (despite not being used); strong, passionate storylines are what WWE are in general, lacking today.

The finish of the match swerved us completely and was entirely unexpected, which is usually a good thing. I can’t deny that I love finishes to PPV’s that have everyone talking and debating about why it was done and where things will go from here on out. This is no different! The lights going out with the sound of Bray Wyatt mumbling, first of all is SO creepy, I hate it but at the same time because it is so creepy, love it; weird satanic type of stuff. The lantern in the centre of the ring with a hologram appearing (potentially sister Abigail) was amazing, I loved the imagery and it was completely unique, how often do we see something like that in the WWE? And I find it a complete joke that people are complaining about a hologram… it was different... for once. I definitely had goosebumps.

Wyatt attacking Ambrose could potentially lead to a variety of things e.g. The end of Rollins/Ambrose and Wyatt attempting to recruit Ambrose, Rollins being in on the whole spectacle etc. But despite, all of this – this is the one feud I have always wanted to see, both guys are insane and I know everyone is saying it but that is because it is 100% true… THE PROMOS…IMAGINE ALL THE PROMOS… if both are allowed to let loose, then this could be something very, very special and the in ring work will be very unique. So for all of this, I cannot wait.

Bray Wyatt has in a past interview even said himself:

“Me and him (Ambrose) have that special chemistry where we can bring out something that no one has ever seen, because we’re both a little crazy.”

Some say this should have waited for Raw and there should have been a proper definitive finish which I did initially think but at the same time, it puts massive heat on Wyatt and massive sympathy on Ambrose - it builds both of them up and will elevate them. I am very curious and eager for Raw tonight. Just the visual of two insane men going at it will be something to see… them crazy eyes.

Overall, I don’t think that the HIAC PPV should exist, it ruins the cell’s credibility and they should maybe get rid of the match altogether… and only bring it out if there is legitimately going to be carnage.

Also, this finish could potentially inject new life into the WWE; new fresh feuds are exactly what the WWE needs, especially after Cena destroyed what Wyatt had going for him. Also, we will most likely be seeing Rollins/Orton pretty soon as well.

As you can tell, imo there were a lot of positives and a lot of negatives. This match and the finish is bitter sweet but if the WWE book this feud correctly and I mean in the best way possible, no lazy booking or finishes, but for it to be a massive storyline, I am on board and all for it. An “okay” rivalry will not cut it for me; especially after how this match ended… it needs to be big and to prove that the lack of payoff for Ambrose/Rollins was worth it.

This has been a pretty debatable match. What do you guys think? Lemme know - @WrestlingMenu

- Zara

Hell In A Cell 2014 - Predictions

Hell In A Cell will take place on the 26^th of October at the American Airlines Centre in Dallas, Texas. The overall excitement behind the PPV is greatly lacking but I do believe that two of these matches have the potential to be incredible and leave us talking about them for weeks to come.

The following are all the announced matches; there are currently 8 matches announced with the first ever “Mizdow TV” taking place on the pre-show, alongside Renee Young, Booker T, Alex Riley & Paul Heyman being featured on the panel; a match is also being advertised but as of yet, has not been announced.  

Beginning with The Miz Vs. Sheamus for the US Title, in all honesty, this alongside the Rusev/Big Show match, I am not too interested in, but if I had to pick one to watch over the other, it would be the former and that is simply because of Damien Sandow. I am sure a lot of people can agree that the way both the IC/US Title feuds (If you can call them feuds) are booked are bizarre to say the least. The way The Miz went from being in the IC title picture to now the US is odd and I genuinely do not remember how it even got to this… that is how much attention I pay to the US title. Sheamus has been an awful Champ but that is hardly his fault, the way WWE have simply thrown this title to the side is ridiculous… but I’ll save that for a separate post. What I really want to see happening in this match is Sandow/Mizdow picking up the win and becoming Champion; I would genuinely love that and I know a few other people have the same idea. If you listen to the crowd, you will realise how “over” he is in comparison to The Miz and that is all down to his talent. Despite how horribly he has been booked over the past year, he fully embraces what he is given and especially this new “Mizdow” gimmick. I have never been a fan of The Miz’s, I would never really pay attention to his matches or be fully invested but now I do, and that is due to Sandow… if you need cheering up on a bad day, go and watch him at ringside with The Miz, seriously great stuff, or even Miz TV with Dean Ambrose; I was nearly in tears from laughing so hard. Respect to him nevertheless. Anway, because of how badly I want it to happen, I see Sandow picking up the win here and eventually feuding with The Miz.

Yet, the only way I see something good actually coming out of the US title is if Rusev eventually becomes the Champ. That would piss a whole lotta people off, especially after seeing how many people get so butthurt over Rusev/Lana’s actions… e.g. the soldier incident. It’s hilarious.

Rusev Vs. Big Show… uh…. Okay, I don’t care; I’ll just come out and say it. There is no way Big Show is winning here, Rusev will be undefeated for a long while to come and he will continue to turn a lot of fans into whining, complaining, over-sensitive folks, and that is that.

Star/Goldust Vs. The Usos for the Tag Team Championships; I see the Dust brothers retaining here in what I believe will be a solid, possibly opening match. I have grown bored of seeing these guys face each other over and over; the tag team division right now is sorely lacking, there need to be new teams, fresh matches and an overall good vibe in the division but we just are not getting that as of right now. And I do not mean simply shoving two random guys together and putting them into a team; I mean guys that legitimately have a story and have chemistry. I have said this a few times now but The Ascension need to be called up… since losing the NXT Tag Titles at NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way, I thought that was the way WWE was going but if you keep up with NXT, you will know that their main roster debut does not seem in sight right now; The Ascension will bring something fresh and can shake up the division which everyone can agree, is heavily needed. You can read my full post on NXT call-ups here:

http://thewrestlingmenu.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/who-should-be-called-up-to-main-roster.html

Cesaro Vs. Ziggler in a 2/3 Falls Match for the IC title is one of the 2 matches that I am seriously looking forward too. These guys have previously faced each other and picked up victories against the other but now it is 2/3 falls and the wrestling, not “entertainment” fan inside of me is dying to see this match! I have no doubt in my mind that this could be a show stealer, and given a good amount of time, they will tear the house down. My only issue with 2/3 falls matches is that the first 2 falls are always picked up by each guy pretty quickly, there is not a great build to it and then the 3^rd fall is when the action completely picks up, go back and watch the Harper/Rowan Vs. Usos 2/3 falls match to view that. I’m not complaining though… I would just love to see an all around great finish to all 3 falls and I do see Cesaro/Ziggler doing that. These guys are just amazing wrestlers… Cesaro imo is one step away from being a main-event guy; the way he has been booked this year has been odd… to say the least but he is 100% main-event, WWE Champion material and I am excited to see his rise (hopefully). With Ziggler, no matter how WWE book him, fans will always be behind the guy, rooting for him to be no.1, but will the company ever put him in that spot?... It will take a long time for the IC title to ever truly be “prestigious” again but Ziggler through his talent has brought interest back to it again and if you give these guys a legitimate, genuine feud, you are on your way there.

In all honesty, I do not know how this match will go down result-wise; I am a massive fan of both guys and will be happy to see either pick up the victory but at the same time, pretty sad to see the other face a loss. If I have to pick one, I’m going to say Ziggler will retain here but at the same time Cesaro does need a big victory… it’s a difficult one but an exciting match that I can’t wait to see.

Just to put it out there, if you haven’t, watch Cesaro Vs. Sami Zayn in a 2/3 falls match on NXT; your mouth will be left wide open by the end of it. Simply incredible, I can’t recommend it enough.

WWE have been giving the “Diva’s” a whole lot of time on WWE TV recently which has resulted in there being 2 female matches on PPV’s pretty frequently. HIAC is no different.

Brie Bella Vs. Nikki Bella in a loser becomes the others personal assistant is well, weird and that is not just because of the ridiculous stipulation, but because of the outcome on Smackdown. After this feud that WWE have been building between the Bella’s for a while now (at the loss of our entertainment), Nikki pinned Brie clean… which I believe was completely unnecessary and the two should have been kept away from eachother, but WWE do a lot of unnecessary things sometimes. Nevertheless, I see Brie picking up the win here (after she tries to get herself over with the “yes” chant).

We will also be getting Paige Vs. Aj Lee for the Diva’s title.  Being a female myself, I feel very strongly about how this feud has been booked and there is just so much I could say about it overall that I will not go too deeply into it now but I will do on a separate post. However, I see AJ retaining here and if WWE give them a decent amount of time (which they won’t) it could be a relatively good match. After it has been announced that Paige will now be on Total Divas (sigh) I do not see her being victorious and I’m also guessing Alicia Fox will be involved in this match somehow, possibly accidentally costing Paige the win.

Remember when Paige was in NXT and we couldn’t wait for the day she had a feud with Aj Lee? Oh, how naïve we all were.

Now for the two Hell in a Cell matches…

John Cena Vs. Randy Orton with the winner getting a match against Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Title, does not make a lot of sense to me. So, after Cena was chasing after Rollins and butting heads with Ambrose to get to Rollins, he loses the contract on a pole match and then is suddenly placed in a number 1 contenders match? WWE, you make no sense.

Anyway, in the nicest way possible, GOD FORBID CENA WINS. Please no. Why would we want to see Cena/Lesnar again after he was beaten down and completely destroyed at SummerSlam? Oh, because he miraculously knew how to fight back at NoC?! Ugh… No one, besides 10 year old kids want to see these two have a match again, we have had enough. Oh and whilst were on the topic of having enough, who wants to see Cena/Orton for the 8248340 time?... anyone?... nope?... Yep, that’s what I thought.

Despite them having so many matches/main-event matches together, what makes it worse is the fact that this is their second HIAC match; imo 2 guys should never face each other twice inside HIAC. There is also no need for this match to even be a HIAC, remember when HIAC matches were for intense, legitimate feuds? I’m not a fan of having an entire PPV based around this but Ambrose/Rollins inside a Cell is necessary and for once, makes sense.

Orton needs to win here, so many fans want to see Lesnar Vs. Orton, it would be a must-see match and with his face-turn evidently looming, it would be the perfect time to have him face the champ whilst he is hot. WWE should also thank all those “internet fans” they hate on for making Orton a star, relevant again and getting him over, overnight with the RKO outta nowhere vines, which is what they couldn’t do.

Once again, let’s not end the night on “CENAWINSLOL”. That is if these guys do end the night, which they should not at all… which is what I will be discussing now…

Finally, we have Dean Ambrose Vs. Seth Rollins inside HIAC; which is what I have been waiting a long, long time for. Before I go into it, let me just say, these guys NEED to main event, no “ifs” or “buts” about it. The entire company is stale at the moment, they are too complacent and are losing viewers on a worryingly regular basis. Yet, they can use this match as a way to elevate the future with new stars being built and showing that the company is strong and is going in the right direction with this new generation of guys and all of the guys down in NXT. I will be beyond disappointed if WWE go the easy (and wrong) route by having Orton/Cena main-event… if they do, I hope the crowd shit on the match, just to show WWE what a mistake they made. Ambrose has even himself said, “if we’re not the main-event, then somebody’s making a mistake. They’re going to regret it”. If they are not, then I know that they will tear the house down and show WWE why exactly they will “regret it”.

It also deserves to be the main-event; it is a long, legitimate feud of hatred, backstabbing and vengeance, which is what the Cell is all about… putting all those issues to rest… right? If this is the end of their feud, then I will be perfectly happy with that. I see Rollins going on to feud with Orton later on down the line but I don’t know where Ambrose could potentially go… I would love to see him feud with Bray Wyatt sometime…that would be something to see. Although, WWE could continue to stretch out this rivalry even further, which isn’t seen very often nowadays.

The involvement of Cena really drew the air out of this feud for me and the comedic segments featuring Ambrose have become overdone, he’s a talented guy so he can make them work but they can get a bit too drawn out and a little awkward e.g. the dummy incident. Stone Cold Steve Austin on his podcast even said himself that Ambrose needs to be booked in more of an aggressive way. I agree. Which is what we saw on this past week’s Smackdown. The opening segment between Dean/Seth was finally meaningful, passionate and you could feel the resentment that they have for one another, which is what WWE need right now, they need feuds that are realistic that transcend the TV screen, which is also why I believe this match needs to main event.

The quality of the match is also something that makes this match worth watching… not only does it have a meaningful story behind it but both guys are legitimately amazing in the ring, they have clear chemistry and can put on 5* 30 minute matches (search for their FCW matches). 

Also, the way they have been building this match with all the weapons and words of completely destroying one another, does anyone else think that someone is going off the cell? No, not in a Mick Foley insane type of way but a Rikishi, safe (sort of) landing kind of way…

I want Ambrose to get the victory here and do to an extent see it happening, to solidify that all the chasing was worth it and to finally have the pay off BUT there also needs to be NO interference, just the two of them going at it… no Kane, no Orton, just Ambrose and Rollins tearing the house down.

So, that’s my thoughts; what’re yours?

Apologies that I haven’t been updating my blog as often as usual; After 4 months of Summer, I am back to Uni now, in my final year and as you can imagine, I have a whole lot of work to do (which I am currently behind on), so in all honestly this blog has been at the back of my mind. But, I love blogging about wrestling/discussing it with others, it’s something I will always have a love for so I can never fully neglect it. Thank you to those that consistently keep up with this blog or me on my twitter - @WrestlingMenu.

I will probably miss a lot of HIAC as I have a wedding to attend too, which is 2 hours away, and as I am in the UK, the PPV will start at 1am and I will end up missing a whole lot of it, which I am gutted about. I hate not watching PPVs live and I love to live tweet with you guys! As long as I am back in time for Ambrose/Rollins I’ll be happy…. Which means they have to be the main event (fingers crossed…). Anyway, sorry for going off on a tangent… I love to ramble sometimes.

Peace.

- Zara