I was watching Let's Make A Deal last week and New Day popped up. They weren't too bad.
Obviously, a few days before that, New Day lost the tag titles to Sheamus and Cesaro. New Day is not finished yet, however. But they will eventually break up. The question is whether the WWE should do it quickly, like in the coming weeks, or let the group last a few more months.
As I have said many times in the last year during New Day's reign of terror, they don't need the tag titles to do their act. And their act obviously has entertainment value. They weren't parading around with tag titles on Let's Make A Deal last week. They were playing along for the Christmas episode. And they can still be a part of some great storylines and segments away from chasing the tag titles.
On the other side of that, why might the WWE want to break them up? Depth might be the issue. There are enough tag teams to run the tag division on Raw well enough for a while. New Day is not necessary there. But are there enough singles wrestlers to push? New Day is made up of at least two guys that can be very useful as singles wrestlers, Kofi Kingston and Big E. Xavier Woods is probably best suited as a manager, as I have seen many other fans point out. Kofi Kingston and Big E can be useful chasing after the United States Championship down the road or being used as jobbers to the stars.
How do I think the WWE should handle it? Let New Day last a few more months. They can start breaking them up after Wrestlemania. But there is no need to have them last another year together. And they definitely do not need the tag titles back so soon. They already made history and all that. Time to move on from that, although the group might still have some potential as entertainers.
Showing posts with label Xavier Woods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Xavier Woods. Show all posts
Monday, December 26, 2016
Friday, May 8, 2015
A New Day In The Tag Division?
The WWE made the decision to put the tag titles on The New Day. This is a weak decision. It was just a few years ago that the WWE did a good job of passing the titles on to teams that had momentum on their side. In the last few months, they have stopped doing that.
Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E were faces when the group officially debuted. They didn't get a very good reaction from the fans. The WWE turned them heel. But they won't turn Cena heel after all these years? Anyway, is any reaction better than no reaction? Fans weren't reacting negatively because they wanted these guys to turn heel. They hated the act. If the WWE thinks they have something of value here, they need to realize that they need to put more into it. You can go on Twitter or some message board and see fans reacting a certain way to something. Vocal fans in the arenas might also make you believe that the fans feel a certain way about something. But there are a lot of casual fans that may not be buying into it the same way or buying into it at all. You have to invest in what those vocal fans are wanting and make them into true draws for you. And if those things really cannot deliver, then you have every right to drop it and move on.
The New Day is a joke. I thought they had potential when they started. Didn't go anywhere. I also did not think they should get the titles unless the WWE was serious about developing them. It does not look like it. They are still a joke. I know this is the PG era, but not all the heels need to be like this. It is about entertaining the fans, but a variety of different characters would help. The WWE is just getting too gimmicky. Besides that, by not developing the group as a more serious threat, you are not doing the tag division any favors. All the teams feel like they are made up of guys that were jobbers not too long ago. Just pushing them well for a few weeks and tossing titles on them does not make it better. You need to develop their credibility better.
This is Kofi Kingston's first heel run in the WWE. It is disappointing that it has to be as part of a stable turning. It would have been nice if it was treated as a bigger deal. He gets another title reign added to his name, but what is this doing for his connection with the fans? This was a guy that was pretty over. Not A+, but very respectable. The gimmick seems to have hurt that. If he had a serious heel role, that might be better for him. Instead, he has this stupid gimmick and is stuck in a poor tag division.
Been a while since I did an aside. Let me do one. It is NBA playoff time. Coaches are willing to pull out any trick in the book. That includes intentionally fouling certain players they know are horrible at free throws. That causes the opposing team to possibly have a possession where they get no points, if the player misses both free throws. These kind of players can be a real weak link for their team. Why not kick them off the team? Why not make them bench players? Because they are still so good at other aspects of the game, such as defense. That is why they are still valued. And some of them are still used as starters. Even with their weaknesses, they still get valuable playing time. And they help their teams to succeed.
What does that have to do with anything? When the WWE mistreats a worker the fans want to see get pushed, they always seem to have an excuse. He lacks mic skills, he lacks charisma, or some other thing like that. It is no excuse. Who is perfect? Cena? Reigns? If they were, I don't think they would have had issues connecting with fans when pushed as top stars. When you have someone that is really connecting with the fans very well, you should take advantage of that. So what if he has certain weaknesses? He still brings you great results to help your product succeed.
This is also something for a lot of fans to keep in mind. They complain about certain performers not being great wrestlers. Okay, but they still have other attributes to help draw in other fans. For the most part, I don't really see fans saying Cena or Reigns should be fired. They just want them depushed or pushed differently. That's fair. It is only in those situations where these type of performers are really not living up to the manner they are being pushed that you should consider a hard depush and possibly letting them go. If you are bringing great results in connecting with certain fans, your shortcomings can be accepted. But if you are not bringing those great results in any area, why should you be kept around? With fans always complaining about you, you are just more trouble than you are worth.
Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E were faces when the group officially debuted. They didn't get a very good reaction from the fans. The WWE turned them heel. But they won't turn Cena heel after all these years? Anyway, is any reaction better than no reaction? Fans weren't reacting negatively because they wanted these guys to turn heel. They hated the act. If the WWE thinks they have something of value here, they need to realize that they need to put more into it. You can go on Twitter or some message board and see fans reacting a certain way to something. Vocal fans in the arenas might also make you believe that the fans feel a certain way about something. But there are a lot of casual fans that may not be buying into it the same way or buying into it at all. You have to invest in what those vocal fans are wanting and make them into true draws for you. And if those things really cannot deliver, then you have every right to drop it and move on.
The New Day is a joke. I thought they had potential when they started. Didn't go anywhere. I also did not think they should get the titles unless the WWE was serious about developing them. It does not look like it. They are still a joke. I know this is the PG era, but not all the heels need to be like this. It is about entertaining the fans, but a variety of different characters would help. The WWE is just getting too gimmicky. Besides that, by not developing the group as a more serious threat, you are not doing the tag division any favors. All the teams feel like they are made up of guys that were jobbers not too long ago. Just pushing them well for a few weeks and tossing titles on them does not make it better. You need to develop their credibility better.
This is Kofi Kingston's first heel run in the WWE. It is disappointing that it has to be as part of a stable turning. It would have been nice if it was treated as a bigger deal. He gets another title reign added to his name, but what is this doing for his connection with the fans? This was a guy that was pretty over. Not A+, but very respectable. The gimmick seems to have hurt that. If he had a serious heel role, that might be better for him. Instead, he has this stupid gimmick and is stuck in a poor tag division.
Been a while since I did an aside. Let me do one. It is NBA playoff time. Coaches are willing to pull out any trick in the book. That includes intentionally fouling certain players they know are horrible at free throws. That causes the opposing team to possibly have a possession where they get no points, if the player misses both free throws. These kind of players can be a real weak link for their team. Why not kick them off the team? Why not make them bench players? Because they are still so good at other aspects of the game, such as defense. That is why they are still valued. And some of them are still used as starters. Even with their weaknesses, they still get valuable playing time. And they help their teams to succeed.
What does that have to do with anything? When the WWE mistreats a worker the fans want to see get pushed, they always seem to have an excuse. He lacks mic skills, he lacks charisma, or some other thing like that. It is no excuse. Who is perfect? Cena? Reigns? If they were, I don't think they would have had issues connecting with fans when pushed as top stars. When you have someone that is really connecting with the fans very well, you should take advantage of that. So what if he has certain weaknesses? He still brings you great results to help your product succeed.
This is also something for a lot of fans to keep in mind. They complain about certain performers not being great wrestlers. Okay, but they still have other attributes to help draw in other fans. For the most part, I don't really see fans saying Cena or Reigns should be fired. They just want them depushed or pushed differently. That's fair. It is only in those situations where these type of performers are really not living up to the manner they are being pushed that you should consider a hard depush and possibly letting them go. If you are bringing great results in connecting with certain fans, your shortcomings can be accepted. But if you are not bringing those great results in any area, why should you be kept around? With fans always complaining about you, you are just more trouble than you are worth.
Labels:
Big E Langston,
Kofi Kingston,
New Day,
Tag Teams,
WWE,
Xavier Woods
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Random WWE Thoughts
A lot of small things going on right now that I want to give my thoughts on. First, Brodus Clay is back to being a heel. He was a heel prior to the whole dancing gimmick. This has also coincided with the debut of Xavier Woods. The supporting players, R-Truth and Tensai, also end up with something to make them relevant for a while. Given the WWE's lack of pushing midcard workers consistently, I would not imagine them to go too far with anyone involved in this feud. What was Brodus Clay doing prior to this push? Nothing. He will be doing that again soon. The same goes for Tensai. And R-Truth. As far as Xavier Woods, I cannot imagine great things for him. Nevertheless, give the WWE some credit for creating a storyline for some workers that have not been pushed well for a while.
"Bad News" Barrett. Wade Barrett has himself a gimmick. It is getting him some segment time. I like it. I really like his character. Of course, the obvious problem is that he is not getting any feuds or actual storylines, yet. All he has is this gimmick and a small amount of segment time to do his promo. This is better than nothing. He has not been relevant since he held the Intercontinental Championship earlier in the year. But it shouldn't be too hard for this to branch into a feud for Barrett. Just have him say something that offends one of the faces. The face comes out to confront him, and there is a feud. How long before they do that? Normally, I would say that doing the same thing over and over again will lead to things getting stale and you have to know when to develop things. In this case, I think Barrett handles these segments well enough to keep this going for a while. That is, as long as they have fresh material for him.
Alberto Del Rio suffered a concussion that has kept him away from wrestling recently. This seems to be the only December injury, so far. December has proven to be the month in recent years where you get injuries to big stars or performers that were in the midst of important pushes. Del Rio is a former World Champion, but he wasn't doing anything too important. He was involved in that mini-feud with Sin Cara. Seems like basic filler. Now that there is only one World title, what is a guy like Del Rio to do? A lot of fans say that this guy has always been chasing after a World title since he debuted. He has spent a lot of time doing that. They are going to have to think of something else for him. I have always said this guy's character has a lot of potential. Will they finally start utilizing that more?
Big Show and Rey Mysterio are a tag team. Another instance of the WWE simply sticking two guys together that they want to feature, but cannot come up with good solo feuds for at the moment. Moreover, they are in the tag title hunt. I am not going to complain about trying to get these two something to do, but the WWE continues to keep more legitimate tag teams down in favor of having these kind of tag teams made up of singles wrestlers getting the title feuds. Some fans point out that the WWE has so many tag teams. Some say that this is great for the tag division. Problem is, a lot of these teams are just being used as filler. Have Los Matadores gotten a legitimate feud yet? Are The Usos ever getting the tag titles? What can you expect from Xavier Woods and R-Truth? Having Kane and Daniel Bryan dominate the tag division for a while was acceptable, since there was a good angle between them, but I hope Big Show and Rey Mysterio do not last too long as a team.
Finally, let me talk about Layla. Layla? She's not doing anything. What is there to talk about? Well, I think she should get something to do. Of the divas currently on the roster, she is my favorite. That was not true during her first few years. Maybe I just didn't like her hair? And I didn't like her during her run in LayCool. Not only did I not like the gimmick, but Layla and McCool did not perform it well to make me like it. They were often too dry and annoying in their execution. A little more arrogance/cockiness and youthfulness would have been nice. They were the kind of heels that made me want to change the channel, not like them, which I usually do for good heels, or see them get owned by the faces. Enough of that. Since then, Layla has grown on me. I liked her face run after that. Nice fresh spirit. She has definitely become very good in the ring. And she is sexy. Of course, she is an eye-candy credible jobber, so I don't need to ask why the WWE is not pushing her. Nevertheless, I still believe the WWE needs more creative depth in the diva division right now. Give Layla something meaningful to do. Periphery angle or an in-ring push? I don't know how well she would work in a periphery angle. If the WWE starts developing a better midcard, that might make things better for a periphery angle for her. Give her a feud. I would make her face. Given the WWE's desire to push eye-candy divas as the centerpiece of their diva division, I would have Layla get that position. Not happening. I wouldn't be surprised if Layla is not kept around by the WWE. They aren't exactly treating her as someone they would keep around.
"Bad News" Barrett. Wade Barrett has himself a gimmick. It is getting him some segment time. I like it. I really like his character. Of course, the obvious problem is that he is not getting any feuds or actual storylines, yet. All he has is this gimmick and a small amount of segment time to do his promo. This is better than nothing. He has not been relevant since he held the Intercontinental Championship earlier in the year. But it shouldn't be too hard for this to branch into a feud for Barrett. Just have him say something that offends one of the faces. The face comes out to confront him, and there is a feud. How long before they do that? Normally, I would say that doing the same thing over and over again will lead to things getting stale and you have to know when to develop things. In this case, I think Barrett handles these segments well enough to keep this going for a while. That is, as long as they have fresh material for him.
Alberto Del Rio suffered a concussion that has kept him away from wrestling recently. This seems to be the only December injury, so far. December has proven to be the month in recent years where you get injuries to big stars or performers that were in the midst of important pushes. Del Rio is a former World Champion, but he wasn't doing anything too important. He was involved in that mini-feud with Sin Cara. Seems like basic filler. Now that there is only one World title, what is a guy like Del Rio to do? A lot of fans say that this guy has always been chasing after a World title since he debuted. He has spent a lot of time doing that. They are going to have to think of something else for him. I have always said this guy's character has a lot of potential. Will they finally start utilizing that more?
Big Show and Rey Mysterio are a tag team. Another instance of the WWE simply sticking two guys together that they want to feature, but cannot come up with good solo feuds for at the moment. Moreover, they are in the tag title hunt. I am not going to complain about trying to get these two something to do, but the WWE continues to keep more legitimate tag teams down in favor of having these kind of tag teams made up of singles wrestlers getting the title feuds. Some fans point out that the WWE has so many tag teams. Some say that this is great for the tag division. Problem is, a lot of these teams are just being used as filler. Have Los Matadores gotten a legitimate feud yet? Are The Usos ever getting the tag titles? What can you expect from Xavier Woods and R-Truth? Having Kane and Daniel Bryan dominate the tag division for a while was acceptable, since there was a good angle between them, but I hope Big Show and Rey Mysterio do not last too long as a team.
Finally, let me talk about Layla. Layla? She's not doing anything. What is there to talk about? Well, I think she should get something to do. Of the divas currently on the roster, she is my favorite. That was not true during her first few years. Maybe I just didn't like her hair? And I didn't like her during her run in LayCool. Not only did I not like the gimmick, but Layla and McCool did not perform it well to make me like it. They were often too dry and annoying in their execution. A little more arrogance/cockiness and youthfulness would have been nice. They were the kind of heels that made me want to change the channel, not like them, which I usually do for good heels, or see them get owned by the faces. Enough of that. Since then, Layla has grown on me. I liked her face run after that. Nice fresh spirit. She has definitely become very good in the ring. And she is sexy. Of course, she is an eye-candy credible jobber, so I don't need to ask why the WWE is not pushing her. Nevertheless, I still believe the WWE needs more creative depth in the diva division right now. Give Layla something meaningful to do. Periphery angle or an in-ring push? I don't know how well she would work in a periphery angle. If the WWE starts developing a better midcard, that might make things better for a periphery angle for her. Give her a feud. I would make her face. Given the WWE's desire to push eye-candy divas as the centerpiece of their diva division, I would have Layla get that position. Not happening. I wouldn't be surprised if Layla is not kept around by the WWE. They aren't exactly treating her as someone they would keep around.
Labels:
Alberto Del Rio,
Big Show,
Brodus Clay,
Layla,
R-Truth,
Rey Mysterio,
Tensai,
Wade Barrett,
WWE,
Xavier Woods
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