The WWE has a PPV coming up this Sunday. I usually like taking three days to talk about PPVs. But the Kurt Angle storyline is my topic for today. I will just cram PPV talk into Wednesday and Friday.
Kurt Angle made his big reveal last night. I actually tuned in right in time to watch it for myself. What would it be? An affair? An alliance with Dixie Carter? The storyline was a draw for me, and I expect a lot of fans tuned in just for this. It turns out Kurt Angle has a son. And that son is Jason Jordan, one of the members of American Alpha.
This reveal was just disappointment built on disappointment. First, this kind of angle is not exciting. It is not energizing. Nexus was a better summer angle. Even CM Punk's pipebomb was more energizing. This kind of angle is just a storyline that will not lead to anything that epic.
The other reason that this is disappointing is that Jason Jordan is the one getting the role. No offense to the guy. He is talented in the ring. But he is not a big deal. He just debuted on the main roster last year. He has not gotten over. His career, despite winning the tag titles on Smackdown, has been mediocre. Even though this storyline, itself, is kind of dull, I feel like it might have meant something more if someone better was involved. This isn't like Jinder Mahal, a lower-midcarder, becoming WWE Champion, but it is the same kind of issue.
Let me go back to the disappointment with the storyline. The storyline is obviously not over. It just started. There are various ways they can go with this. And I still fully expect this to lead to the return of Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. The WWE can run an angle where Kurt Angle shows too much favoritism for his son and Stephanie McMahon returns to put a stop to that. They can run an angle where Triple H had Jason Jordan lie about being Angle's son. But are any of these options really exciting and energizing? Is any likely option exciting and energizing? This is just not a storyline likely to lead to any good big moments from here.
Back to Jason Jordan. This is the end of American Alpha. The WWE needs to stop splitting up so many legitimate tag teams. It is true that the WWE can just toss any two guys together and form a team, but that doesn't always mean they will have a legitimate gimmick that they share. American Alpha already won the tag titles, which is more than you can say for Enzo & Cass, but there was more that the WWE could have done with them. They could have helped the depth in the Smackdown tag division. I feel like splitting all these teams is just lazy booking. It always results in an automatic story and feud and possible PPV match. It is much harder to keep teams together and come up with good uses for them, but I think it is worth it. The alternative is just a bunch of lazy feuds and the tag division getting hurt. Jordan and Gable may not feud now, but they could have just stayed together.
Lastly, how about Kurt Angle? One of the silver linings for this storyline was that it would finally unlock some personality for Kurt Angle. I brought this point up when I previewed that storyline last week. He has just been very boring. And hearing and watching him give that promo on Raw didn't change my mind about him. This is definitely a storyline personal to Kurt Angle and his career. He can give a rub to a younger worker. I am not even going to talk right now about the fact that the WWE is pushing too many new guys too hard right now. Just sticking to Angle, he still looks like a guy smarks would probably boo if they did not respect him so much. Even if he is a face, he is just that kind of face smarks would heckle. Remember when New Day were first faces? That didn't go over well. When is Kurt Angle going to be entertaining? Might that help him deliver better promos? That whole promo on Raw just didn't feel epic. I didn't have high hopes for this storyline. It looks like it will be a flop.
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Monday, July 17, 2017
Samoa Joe Vs. Roman Reigns: Who Faces Lesnar At Summerslam?
What do Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns have in common? Both are on Raw. Both are Samoan. Both are in a match tonight to decide who faces Brock Lesnar at Summerslam for the Universal Championship. And both lost their respective matches at Great Balls Of Fire.
And yet, here we are. Wins and losses obviously do not matter. I have seen some fans say that it would make more sense for Bray Wyatt to get the title shot, or at least an opportunity to win the title shot. He didn't lose at the last PPV. What about Finn Balor? He surrendered the title due to injury and never got his rematch. And yet, this is the match they are going with.
I am not going to pretend to be excited for this match or either man potentially facing Brock Lesnar. Samoa Joe had a solid showing against Lesnar. Some say he looked impressive. Don't forget that Lesnar was protected in that match to some degree. And Roman Reigns has been in the ring with Lesnar before. He has not beaten him. You know it is coming sooner or later. But Roman Reigns has not won a PPV match since Wrestlemania. Unless this booking is to imply The Undertaker put a curse on him, it might make it hard for some fans to buy into Roman Reigns right now.
But what is likely to happen is that Braun Strowman comes out for revenge against Roman Reigns tonight. Instead of this leading to Strowman/Reigns and Lesnar/Joe for Summerslam, the same matches you just had at the last PPV, all four guys will fight at Summerslam for the title. Strowman was obviously being built for a match with Lesnar. Some fans might argue Joe deserves another match. Roman Reigns obviously needs something to do, even with his PPV losing streak. Fatal fourway just makes sense.
And yet, here we are. Wins and losses obviously do not matter. I have seen some fans say that it would make more sense for Bray Wyatt to get the title shot, or at least an opportunity to win the title shot. He didn't lose at the last PPV. What about Finn Balor? He surrendered the title due to injury and never got his rematch. And yet, this is the match they are going with.
I am not going to pretend to be excited for this match or either man potentially facing Brock Lesnar. Samoa Joe had a solid showing against Lesnar. Some say he looked impressive. Don't forget that Lesnar was protected in that match to some degree. And Roman Reigns has been in the ring with Lesnar before. He has not beaten him. You know it is coming sooner or later. But Roman Reigns has not won a PPV match since Wrestlemania. Unless this booking is to imply The Undertaker put a curse on him, it might make it hard for some fans to buy into Roman Reigns right now.
But what is likely to happen is that Braun Strowman comes out for revenge against Roman Reigns tonight. Instead of this leading to Strowman/Reigns and Lesnar/Joe for Summerslam, the same matches you just had at the last PPV, all four guys will fight at Summerslam for the title. Strowman was obviously being built for a match with Lesnar. Some fans might argue Joe deserves another match. Roman Reigns obviously needs something to do, even with his PPV losing streak. Fatal fourway just makes sense.
Labels:
Braun Stowman,
Brock Lesnar,
Raw,
Roman Reigns,
Samoa Joe,
Summerslam,
WWE
Friday, July 14, 2017
A Broken Tease
The Hardys lost to Sheamus & Cesaro at the PPV last Sunday. On Raw, they did a promo where they teased returning to that TNA gimmick a lot of smarks love so much. And yet, it seems like the WWE might still not own the rights to use the gimmick to make all that money they would off the merchandise. Nevertheless, there are a few points I want to bring up based on this.
First, this is a good example of how losing a match, and even a feud, does not have to be a burial. If that loss serves a storyline purpose and branches off to something else that fans can get excited over, that is a good thing.
However, I hope the WWE didn't book things the way they did solely to tease the "Broken" gimmick. I have pointed out before that there are no good, fresh face teams to feud with heel Tag Team Champions on Raw right now. The Hardys feuding against The Revival for the tag titles would just have been good booking to give a young, new tag team a good rub. I feel like the WWE just buried the tag division last year by pushing New Day too much with the tag titles. They would have done fine without the tag titles. This time, it would be a case of a gimmick being pushed as a priority over the tag titles. For the sake of putting the attention on The Hardys and the potential gimmick change, the WWE books the tag division in a way that just isn't best. More excitement is still on The Hardys than over whatever is going on with the tag titles. Can't we share the spotlight better? Is it fair that these guys that were relevant over a decade ago are priorities like this in the tag division?
Another issue is the reaction from the live audience that the promo got on Raw. I pointed out on a message board that a lot of the audience just didn't care. Some fans thought I was crazy. Didn't I see the fans doing the "Delete" gesture? Didn't I hear the chants? Yeah, I saw it and I heard it. As I said, a lot of the audience didn't care.
It reminds me of when Samoa Joe debuted a couple months ago on the main roster. One guy on the message board I mentioned made a topic laughing at Samoa Joe not getting a reaction. Other people came in to talk like he got a great reaction. What was the truth? Did Samoa Joe get a reaction? Yes. Was it a great reaction? No.
It is like a lot of fans today only know two responses when it comes to crowd reactions today. You are either getting no reaction or you are getting a great reaction. That is just a dumb way to look at things. Some people will get a great reaction. Some will get a mellow reaction. Some will get no reaction. It might be different every week for the same wrestler. You cannot judge overness based on one reaction to one moment or even one night. You got to understand how much of the audience is reacting.
What was the truth about The Hardy segment? Did they get a reaction? Yes? Was it a great reaction? No. The fan reactions were mellow and did not last that long. The entire audience was definitely not reacting.
Someone I was talking to on that message board actually posted a Youtube clip to show them getting a reaction. Yeah, and it only confirmed for me that the reaction was not great. But the reason I mention this is that I read some of the comments and one that stood out to me was that someone said something along the lines of that 500 TNA fans could give a better reaction than an arena full of fans. And that is exactly my point. The reaction was there, but it was not great.
And why would you expect a great reaction? This was a gimmick from TNA, a company that was nowhere close to the WWE's numbers last year. Yes, The Hardys helped TNA's numbers with this gimmick, but Impact Wrestling wasn't averaging even half a million viewers. A lot of the WWE's audience does not care. If they cared, they would have watched TNA.
Do I believe The Hardys can eventually get epic-level reactions? Yes, if they continue to tease the gimmick, the fad will catch on and grow. And this is without being in smark-heavy arenas. Fans just love fads and things to play along with. This can definitely grow. But let's not overrate how popular this thing is now. It has potential, but the entire WWE audience is not hot for it, and it definitely will not draw much more viewers.
First, this is a good example of how losing a match, and even a feud, does not have to be a burial. If that loss serves a storyline purpose and branches off to something else that fans can get excited over, that is a good thing.
However, I hope the WWE didn't book things the way they did solely to tease the "Broken" gimmick. I have pointed out before that there are no good, fresh face teams to feud with heel Tag Team Champions on Raw right now. The Hardys feuding against The Revival for the tag titles would just have been good booking to give a young, new tag team a good rub. I feel like the WWE just buried the tag division last year by pushing New Day too much with the tag titles. They would have done fine without the tag titles. This time, it would be a case of a gimmick being pushed as a priority over the tag titles. For the sake of putting the attention on The Hardys and the potential gimmick change, the WWE books the tag division in a way that just isn't best. More excitement is still on The Hardys than over whatever is going on with the tag titles. Can't we share the spotlight better? Is it fair that these guys that were relevant over a decade ago are priorities like this in the tag division?
Another issue is the reaction from the live audience that the promo got on Raw. I pointed out on a message board that a lot of the audience just didn't care. Some fans thought I was crazy. Didn't I see the fans doing the "Delete" gesture? Didn't I hear the chants? Yeah, I saw it and I heard it. As I said, a lot of the audience didn't care.
It reminds me of when Samoa Joe debuted a couple months ago on the main roster. One guy on the message board I mentioned made a topic laughing at Samoa Joe not getting a reaction. Other people came in to talk like he got a great reaction. What was the truth? Did Samoa Joe get a reaction? Yes. Was it a great reaction? No.
It is like a lot of fans today only know two responses when it comes to crowd reactions today. You are either getting no reaction or you are getting a great reaction. That is just a dumb way to look at things. Some people will get a great reaction. Some will get a mellow reaction. Some will get no reaction. It might be different every week for the same wrestler. You cannot judge overness based on one reaction to one moment or even one night. You got to understand how much of the audience is reacting.
What was the truth about The Hardy segment? Did they get a reaction? Yes? Was it a great reaction? No. The fan reactions were mellow and did not last that long. The entire audience was definitely not reacting.
Someone I was talking to on that message board actually posted a Youtube clip to show them getting a reaction. Yeah, and it only confirmed for me that the reaction was not great. But the reason I mention this is that I read some of the comments and one that stood out to me was that someone said something along the lines of that 500 TNA fans could give a better reaction than an arena full of fans. And that is exactly my point. The reaction was there, but it was not great.
And why would you expect a great reaction? This was a gimmick from TNA, a company that was nowhere close to the WWE's numbers last year. Yes, The Hardys helped TNA's numbers with this gimmick, but Impact Wrestling wasn't averaging even half a million viewers. A lot of the WWE's audience does not care. If they cared, they would have watched TNA.
Do I believe The Hardys can eventually get epic-level reactions? Yes, if they continue to tease the gimmick, the fad will catch on and grow. And this is without being in smark-heavy arenas. Fans just love fads and things to play along with. This can definitely grow. But let's not overrate how popular this thing is now. It has potential, but the entire WWE audience is not hot for it, and it definitely will not draw much more viewers.
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
The Kurt Angle Mystery
The WWE typically likes to do a big angle every summer. You might take a look around and wonder where it is right now. The Kurt Angle mystery is it.
The big reveal is supposedly going to happen next week. Who has Kurt Angle been communicating with these past few weeks? There is a lot of speculation over what is going to happen. It will definitely lead to something big. But will it be good and actually help draw?
One of the ideas floating around is that Kurt Angle has been having an affair with Stephanie McMahon. They did interact back in the day in a few storylines. On one hand, it is not out of the question that they would revisit the storyline. It would be an excuse to get Stephanie and Triple H back on TV. On the other hand, that just seems like a terrible storyline for this PG era. The WWE has done some crass things in recent years. But it just doesn't seem like something they should do, and it probably would not lead to anything that would draw. It would just be a crass storyline out of some soap opera. It would be like the drama with The Bellas a few years ago. Wrestling fans hated that. This storyline could be just as bad.
The other idea floating around is something involving Dixie Carter. She has been working with the WWE recently. Whoever thought she would one day become an on-screen character for the WWE? Even if they did an affair angle between Dixie and Kurt Angle, it might be less controversial as Stephanie McMahon being involved. The whole affair direction still isn't something good for this era, but I can leave that alone. The real issue is that the majority of the audience won't know who Dixie Carter is. They won't care. When Eric Bischoff came to the WWE, that was a guy from WCW, a company that was beating the WWE in the ratings war for a number of weeks. Dixie Carter is coming from TNA, a company that has never threatened the WWE, despite being the #2 wrestling promotion. The WWE already has a whole bunch of TNA talent all over the place. Needless to say, it isn't drawing.
If it is anything else than something involving Stephanie McMahon or Dixie Carter, it will likely be something stupid or disappointing. I have already pointed out that angles involving those two individuals with Kurt Angle will likely not be great and not draw. This thing is likely to flop no matter what. Even if wrestling fans love it, the WWE will likely not draw.
I can give the WWE credit for at least giving Kurt Angle a storyline that will likely be personal to him and his career. Kurt Angle has been very lackluster as GM. He just needs to show more personality. This storyline might, at the very least, unlock that for him. For wrestling fans, they can get excited over this storyline possibly leading to a match for Kurt Angle down the line. In this way, even if the storyline itself is bad, it might do some good for Kurt Angle.
The big reveal is supposedly going to happen next week. Who has Kurt Angle been communicating with these past few weeks? There is a lot of speculation over what is going to happen. It will definitely lead to something big. But will it be good and actually help draw?
One of the ideas floating around is that Kurt Angle has been having an affair with Stephanie McMahon. They did interact back in the day in a few storylines. On one hand, it is not out of the question that they would revisit the storyline. It would be an excuse to get Stephanie and Triple H back on TV. On the other hand, that just seems like a terrible storyline for this PG era. The WWE has done some crass things in recent years. But it just doesn't seem like something they should do, and it probably would not lead to anything that would draw. It would just be a crass storyline out of some soap opera. It would be like the drama with The Bellas a few years ago. Wrestling fans hated that. This storyline could be just as bad.
The other idea floating around is something involving Dixie Carter. She has been working with the WWE recently. Whoever thought she would one day become an on-screen character for the WWE? Even if they did an affair angle between Dixie and Kurt Angle, it might be less controversial as Stephanie McMahon being involved. The whole affair direction still isn't something good for this era, but I can leave that alone. The real issue is that the majority of the audience won't know who Dixie Carter is. They won't care. When Eric Bischoff came to the WWE, that was a guy from WCW, a company that was beating the WWE in the ratings war for a number of weeks. Dixie Carter is coming from TNA, a company that has never threatened the WWE, despite being the #2 wrestling promotion. The WWE already has a whole bunch of TNA talent all over the place. Needless to say, it isn't drawing.
If it is anything else than something involving Stephanie McMahon or Dixie Carter, it will likely be something stupid or disappointing. I have already pointed out that angles involving those two individuals with Kurt Angle will likely not be great and not draw. This thing is likely to flop no matter what. Even if wrestling fans love it, the WWE will likely not draw.
I can give the WWE credit for at least giving Kurt Angle a storyline that will likely be personal to him and his career. Kurt Angle has been very lackluster as GM. He just needs to show more personality. This storyline might, at the very least, unlock that for him. For wrestling fans, they can get excited over this storyline possibly leading to a match for Kurt Angle down the line. In this way, even if the storyline itself is bad, it might do some good for Kurt Angle.
Labels:
Dixie Carter,
Kurt Angle,
Raw,
Stephanie McMahon,
WWE
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Mid-2017 Ratings Review
This will be the last ratings review I do. As usual, I get my numbers from here and here. Some numbers are missing, but you can still get the general idea of how the shows are doing.
Let me start with TNA/GFW/Impact Wrestling/The Company Of A 1000 Names. They are averaging 297,700 viewers so far in 2017. They averaged 310,800 viewers in 2016.
The prediction I had made for TNA was that they could do just as well as they did last year or better. It is not likely that they will do better in 2017. Nevertheless, they can still meet the 300,000 benchmark and come close to as well as they did last year. They have to be consistent with what works and build around that. They have not done a great job at that. The fact that they have gone through so many changes just this year is not good. Losing The Hardys was obviously a part of their ratings not being better than they are, but the overall confusion with the company is also a problem. The GFW thing ended up being a decent angle and has led to the company being rebranded. But they need to not make the same mistakes of the past.
Over to the WWE and Smackdown. They are averaging 1.78 in the ratings. They averaged 1.72 last year, which featured part of the year having Smackdown go live on Tuesdays and be its own brand again. Looking at their viewership numbers, they have regularly been doing over 2 million viewers this year, with one episode doing over 3 million. They have not gotten more viewers than Raw so far in 2017.
Who says ratings are down for everything on TV? Smackdown is doing better than they did last year and will likely finish the year with a better average than last year. This shows that it is still possible for the WWE to improve their numbers if they make proper changes. Most of the changes that have led to better numbers are structural. Changing nights, going live, and just making Smackdown a big deal again has led to improvements. The show does rely heavily on hype. It gets a little annoying at times. Rely on quality feuds, segments, and characters. For example, stop tossing all the women in the same picture and actually build stars. They have been relying too much on all these historic segments recently. Moreover, Smackdown seems too smark-friendly a lot of the time. Most viewers are not going to be entertained by this. Smackdown could be doing even better than they are, but they would have to make some changes that will likely not happen.
Over on Raw, they are averaging 2.12 in the ratings. Last year, it was 2.26 for the annual average. They have averaged over 3 million viewers 17 times so far this year, but will likely not reach that benchmark much for the rest of the year because of football season.
Raw is already below last year's average for the year. Their worst part of the year is coming up soon. There is no way they will avoid doing worst than last year. The annual ratings average has been declining since 2013. Ratings were about even from 2012 (3.0) to 2013 (3.01). 2012 happened to be an election year. Wasn't 2016 an election year? The idea was that ratings were so bad last year because of all the election coverage. You would expect some kind of improvement this year. At the very least, things should at least remain about even. And if the trend of Raw losing about 700,000 viewers from the start of the year to the end of the year continues, they will be in really bad shape.
I talked about how structural changes have helped Smackdown do better than they did last year. The big structural change for Raw is obviously cutting that third hour. It has been around since 2012. It is no coincidence that ratings have been sinking for most of the years since then. Declining is one thing. Declining at a terrible rate is something else. Three hours is just too much. The brand split being back just makes things harder. The WWE has to sign people just for the sake of filler. They are obviously not stars and not draws. And the WWE is terrible at making stars right now. They can probably be more efficient with just two hours. That efficiency would help the workers get over better with the audience.
Outside of cutting the third hour, Raw just needs to clean up how they run the show. Make better booking decisions. They don't need to pander to a smark audience like Smackdown does, but even a casual audience might not care too much for some of the things going on. A guy like Finn Balor should not be demoted so soon. Kurt Angle is lacking a real personality. There is just a lot lacking. A lot of wasted potential.
If Smackdown can be doing better than they did last year and GFW in a position to do just as well as last year, Raw does not need to be doing as poorly as it is. The excuse about no one watching TV anymore does not hold. I do not believe the WWE's ceiling is collapsing just because of TV viewing habits changing. They have issues that they can fix. If they fix them, things can improve in a lot of departments. They can get more viewers. They can get more people coming to shows. They can get more lively people coming to shows. Workers get more over. And the WWE just makes more money without having to work their workers to the bone, raise prices, and all those other things many people don't want.
Let me start with TNA/GFW/Impact Wrestling/The Company Of A 1000 Names. They are averaging 297,700 viewers so far in 2017. They averaged 310,800 viewers in 2016.
The prediction I had made for TNA was that they could do just as well as they did last year or better. It is not likely that they will do better in 2017. Nevertheless, they can still meet the 300,000 benchmark and come close to as well as they did last year. They have to be consistent with what works and build around that. They have not done a great job at that. The fact that they have gone through so many changes just this year is not good. Losing The Hardys was obviously a part of their ratings not being better than they are, but the overall confusion with the company is also a problem. The GFW thing ended up being a decent angle and has led to the company being rebranded. But they need to not make the same mistakes of the past.
Over to the WWE and Smackdown. They are averaging 1.78 in the ratings. They averaged 1.72 last year, which featured part of the year having Smackdown go live on Tuesdays and be its own brand again. Looking at their viewership numbers, they have regularly been doing over 2 million viewers this year, with one episode doing over 3 million. They have not gotten more viewers than Raw so far in 2017.
Who says ratings are down for everything on TV? Smackdown is doing better than they did last year and will likely finish the year with a better average than last year. This shows that it is still possible for the WWE to improve their numbers if they make proper changes. Most of the changes that have led to better numbers are structural. Changing nights, going live, and just making Smackdown a big deal again has led to improvements. The show does rely heavily on hype. It gets a little annoying at times. Rely on quality feuds, segments, and characters. For example, stop tossing all the women in the same picture and actually build stars. They have been relying too much on all these historic segments recently. Moreover, Smackdown seems too smark-friendly a lot of the time. Most viewers are not going to be entertained by this. Smackdown could be doing even better than they are, but they would have to make some changes that will likely not happen.
Over on Raw, they are averaging 2.12 in the ratings. Last year, it was 2.26 for the annual average. They have averaged over 3 million viewers 17 times so far this year, but will likely not reach that benchmark much for the rest of the year because of football season.
Raw is already below last year's average for the year. Their worst part of the year is coming up soon. There is no way they will avoid doing worst than last year. The annual ratings average has been declining since 2013. Ratings were about even from 2012 (3.0) to 2013 (3.01). 2012 happened to be an election year. Wasn't 2016 an election year? The idea was that ratings were so bad last year because of all the election coverage. You would expect some kind of improvement this year. At the very least, things should at least remain about even. And if the trend of Raw losing about 700,000 viewers from the start of the year to the end of the year continues, they will be in really bad shape.
I talked about how structural changes have helped Smackdown do better than they did last year. The big structural change for Raw is obviously cutting that third hour. It has been around since 2012. It is no coincidence that ratings have been sinking for most of the years since then. Declining is one thing. Declining at a terrible rate is something else. Three hours is just too much. The brand split being back just makes things harder. The WWE has to sign people just for the sake of filler. They are obviously not stars and not draws. And the WWE is terrible at making stars right now. They can probably be more efficient with just two hours. That efficiency would help the workers get over better with the audience.
Outside of cutting the third hour, Raw just needs to clean up how they run the show. Make better booking decisions. They don't need to pander to a smark audience like Smackdown does, but even a casual audience might not care too much for some of the things going on. A guy like Finn Balor should not be demoted so soon. Kurt Angle is lacking a real personality. There is just a lot lacking. A lot of wasted potential.
If Smackdown can be doing better than they did last year and GFW in a position to do just as well as last year, Raw does not need to be doing as poorly as it is. The excuse about no one watching TV anymore does not hold. I do not believe the WWE's ceiling is collapsing just because of TV viewing habits changing. They have issues that they can fix. If they fix them, things can improve in a lot of departments. They can get more viewers. They can get more people coming to shows. They can get more lively people coming to shows. Workers get more over. And the WWE just makes more money without having to work their workers to the bone, raise prices, and all those other things many people don't want.
Monday, July 10, 2017
Should Gail Kim Retire With The Title?
It is no secret that Gail Kim will retire from TNA/GFW this year. And they are having her set her sights on leaving on top. Specifically, will she be able to retire with the company's women's title?
Does Gail Kim deserve it? Some might say that Gail Kim has already had a storybook career in TNA. She was their first KO Champion. She has won the title numerous times. She held that title and the tag titles at the same time. She is the closest thing the company has had to a true centerpiece these last few years. She was the first woman in their Hall of Fame. They have done a lot for her. In return, she helped to develop the respectability that helped the KO division stand out for a number of years and gain a lot of praise from wrestling fans.
Trish Stratus retired in the WWE as Women's Champion. She was not the first Women's Champion. She was not the first centerpiece of the diva era. But if you think Trish deserved that honor of retiring on top, you can argue that Gail Kim also deserves it. Just like Trish Stratus was pushed as the greatest diva of that era, Gail Kim is just as legendary in terms of the KO division.
A couple years ago, Mickie James returned to TNA for one more match. Not only did she win that match, it was a nice moment for her. The way things are going for Mickie James in the WWE, it would not be surprising to see her back in TNA/GFW again. Ignoring that, Gail Kim is obviously a bigger deal in the company's history than Mickie James. If TNA let Mickie James have that moment, they can very well let Gail Kim have a moment to go out as a winner.
Overall, I think they should let Gail Kim retire with the title. There is no woman in the company more deserving. It is a respectful thing to do. If Gail Kim doesn't want to go out with the title, that's up to her. But TNA should want to honor Gail Kim now that she is retiring.
Will GFW continue to push a proper women's division without Gail Kim? They have done it before. I think they have enough women on their roster and free agents out there to supplement things. If they still want to create a centerpiece, which I think they should want to do, they can go with Allie. She knows how to wrestle. She is attractive. She can show personality. And she is going to be 30 in a few months. They can do some good things with her for a number of years.
Last thing to consider, should Gail Kim go back to the WWE? Even for just one match? Even if just in NXT? Some fans want it. I don't think she should. Leave the memories alone. The WWE mistreated her a lot. TNA was the company that was loyal to her. Don't be one of those people that has a huge farewell when they retire, then comes back for more, especially in a rival company. Gail Kim is 40. She was never over in the WWE and she has had some sloppy moments you cannot blame entirely on the WWE. As for coming back just for one match in NXT, what would that accomplish for the WWE? It might be something Triple H does to promote his love for women's wrestling, but there are a ton of women out there that would love to get a chance to shine in the WWE's developmental territory. Asuka has kind of been burying a lot of the division lately. If Gail Kim is going to retire, her final match should just be in TNA, not NXT.
Does Gail Kim deserve it? Some might say that Gail Kim has already had a storybook career in TNA. She was their first KO Champion. She has won the title numerous times. She held that title and the tag titles at the same time. She is the closest thing the company has had to a true centerpiece these last few years. She was the first woman in their Hall of Fame. They have done a lot for her. In return, she helped to develop the respectability that helped the KO division stand out for a number of years and gain a lot of praise from wrestling fans.
Trish Stratus retired in the WWE as Women's Champion. She was not the first Women's Champion. She was not the first centerpiece of the diva era. But if you think Trish deserved that honor of retiring on top, you can argue that Gail Kim also deserves it. Just like Trish Stratus was pushed as the greatest diva of that era, Gail Kim is just as legendary in terms of the KO division.
A couple years ago, Mickie James returned to TNA for one more match. Not only did she win that match, it was a nice moment for her. The way things are going for Mickie James in the WWE, it would not be surprising to see her back in TNA/GFW again. Ignoring that, Gail Kim is obviously a bigger deal in the company's history than Mickie James. If TNA let Mickie James have that moment, they can very well let Gail Kim have a moment to go out as a winner.
Overall, I think they should let Gail Kim retire with the title. There is no woman in the company more deserving. It is a respectful thing to do. If Gail Kim doesn't want to go out with the title, that's up to her. But TNA should want to honor Gail Kim now that she is retiring.
Will GFW continue to push a proper women's division without Gail Kim? They have done it before. I think they have enough women on their roster and free agents out there to supplement things. If they still want to create a centerpiece, which I think they should want to do, they can go with Allie. She knows how to wrestle. She is attractive. She can show personality. And she is going to be 30 in a few months. They can do some good things with her for a number of years.
Last thing to consider, should Gail Kim go back to the WWE? Even for just one match? Even if just in NXT? Some fans want it. I don't think she should. Leave the memories alone. The WWE mistreated her a lot. TNA was the company that was loyal to her. Don't be one of those people that has a huge farewell when they retire, then comes back for more, especially in a rival company. Gail Kim is 40. She was never over in the WWE and she has had some sloppy moments you cannot blame entirely on the WWE. As for coming back just for one match in NXT, what would that accomplish for the WWE? It might be something Triple H does to promote his love for women's wrestling, but there are a ton of women out there that would love to get a chance to shine in the WWE's developmental territory. Asuka has kind of been burying a lot of the division lately. If Gail Kim is going to retire, her final match should just be in TNA, not NXT.
Friday, July 7, 2017
Previewing The Great Balls Of Fire 2017 Main Event Matches
If Brock Lesnar was not gracing us with his presence, Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman would be the main event of this PPV. This is an Ambulance match. This feud has been going on and off all year. It got started at the Royal Rumble in January when Strowman cost Roman Reigns the Universal Championship. It took a break for Reigns to face The Undertaker. It took another break when Strowman was injured. This should be where it ends.
If the WWE still wants Strowman to face Lesnar, you might think that they let him win this match to get momentum. That is not necessary. AJ Styles lost to Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania last year and went on to become #1 contender for the WWE Championship. A PPV loss would not hurt Braun Strowman. Moreover, this being a gimmick match might give some room for a finish that still keeps Strowman strong in a loss. Remember when he had that Dumpster match with Kalisto? Strowman lost that match. Did it matter? No. Reigns, who has not won a PPV match in a while, is likely winning here.
Brock Lesnar finally defends the Universal Championship. Samoa Joe was obviously not meant to have this push a couple weeks ago. He still had unfinished business with Seth Rollins. Due to injuries back then, this is the title feud we are getting.
How has the WWE done in developing this guy that the mainstream casual audience just saw debut a couple months ago? Wrestling fans know who Joe is. But a lot of people don't. And he has not had the greatest few months prior to this push. He debuted before Wrestlemania and didn't even get on the card. He lost to Seth Rollins. All of a sudden, big push against Brock Lesnar for Raw's top title.
Not surprisingly, they have booked him as a beast. They have to if they want people to buy into this match. Some fans are loving it. It is not hard to please these kind of fans. It's just booking. It helps that Lesnar has also looked weak to put over Joe. I am not saying Samoa Joe does not have a "tough guy" presence, but how the WWE has presented him has really helped.
On the other side of that, I have seen fans say that Lesnar looks like a wussy. Some have used more colorful language than that. That is obviously a side effect of how the WWE has booked this feud. But could this hurt some of Lesnar's luster? I think it is possible to create a feud without one side having to look weak for the benefit of the other. Just have Lesnar and Joe spend a few weeks attacking anyone but each other. Joe can go after Heyman, like he has. Joe can also wrestle regularly and pick up wins against top guys, like he has. Lesnar can come in and F5 someone that tries to confront him, like Big Show. Joe and Lesnar can then have a face off, but not actually get physical yet. On the last Raw before the PPV, they finally brawl and have to be pulled apart or brawl to the back, leaving no clear winner to the fight. This way, Lesnar does not have to look too weak.
Should Samoa Joe win? I am not talking about whether he is likely to win. Does he deserve to win the title from Brock Lesnar here? No. All those fans in love with how he looks need to realize it is mainly thanks to booking. If I felt like Samoa Joe was really breaking into his own here as something special, I would say he does deserve to be the guy that beats Brock Lesnar. Unlike the last time Lesnar lost the title, there is no briefcase that is going to come into play here to save him from taking the pin or submission himself. The guy that ends this title reign might just get a big rub. Samoa Joe does not look like he deserves that.
Will Joe win? Probably not. This is not a main PPV. This is Lesnar's first title defense. Samoa Joe was just filling in for Strowman. Signs just point to Lesnar retaining.
Last thing to consider, the story of this match. Some fans are dreading that Samoa Joe will get squashed. Considering that Lesnar has helped Joe look strong in this feud, I don't think it will be the worst thing in the world. This should not be a match where Samoa Joe dominates for 99% of the match and Lesnar hits a desperation F5 for the win. That would just kill Lesnar's mystique. He's not exactly a grand draw for the WWE, but if they make him look that bad in this match, he just becomes like Ronda Rousey. He just won't be that big of a deal anymore. The match should last about 5 minutes. Let Joe look good to start out, but then have Lesnar bounce back with his usual stuff and win it.
If the WWE still wants Strowman to face Lesnar, you might think that they let him win this match to get momentum. That is not necessary. AJ Styles lost to Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania last year and went on to become #1 contender for the WWE Championship. A PPV loss would not hurt Braun Strowman. Moreover, this being a gimmick match might give some room for a finish that still keeps Strowman strong in a loss. Remember when he had that Dumpster match with Kalisto? Strowman lost that match. Did it matter? No. Reigns, who has not won a PPV match in a while, is likely winning here.
Brock Lesnar finally defends the Universal Championship. Samoa Joe was obviously not meant to have this push a couple weeks ago. He still had unfinished business with Seth Rollins. Due to injuries back then, this is the title feud we are getting.
How has the WWE done in developing this guy that the mainstream casual audience just saw debut a couple months ago? Wrestling fans know who Joe is. But a lot of people don't. And he has not had the greatest few months prior to this push. He debuted before Wrestlemania and didn't even get on the card. He lost to Seth Rollins. All of a sudden, big push against Brock Lesnar for Raw's top title.
Not surprisingly, they have booked him as a beast. They have to if they want people to buy into this match. Some fans are loving it. It is not hard to please these kind of fans. It's just booking. It helps that Lesnar has also looked weak to put over Joe. I am not saying Samoa Joe does not have a "tough guy" presence, but how the WWE has presented him has really helped.
On the other side of that, I have seen fans say that Lesnar looks like a wussy. Some have used more colorful language than that. That is obviously a side effect of how the WWE has booked this feud. But could this hurt some of Lesnar's luster? I think it is possible to create a feud without one side having to look weak for the benefit of the other. Just have Lesnar and Joe spend a few weeks attacking anyone but each other. Joe can go after Heyman, like he has. Joe can also wrestle regularly and pick up wins against top guys, like he has. Lesnar can come in and F5 someone that tries to confront him, like Big Show. Joe and Lesnar can then have a face off, but not actually get physical yet. On the last Raw before the PPV, they finally brawl and have to be pulled apart or brawl to the back, leaving no clear winner to the fight. This way, Lesnar does not have to look too weak.
Should Samoa Joe win? I am not talking about whether he is likely to win. Does he deserve to win the title from Brock Lesnar here? No. All those fans in love with how he looks need to realize it is mainly thanks to booking. If I felt like Samoa Joe was really breaking into his own here as something special, I would say he does deserve to be the guy that beats Brock Lesnar. Unlike the last time Lesnar lost the title, there is no briefcase that is going to come into play here to save him from taking the pin or submission himself. The guy that ends this title reign might just get a big rub. Samoa Joe does not look like he deserves that.
Will Joe win? Probably not. This is not a main PPV. This is Lesnar's first title defense. Samoa Joe was just filling in for Strowman. Signs just point to Lesnar retaining.
Last thing to consider, the story of this match. Some fans are dreading that Samoa Joe will get squashed. Considering that Lesnar has helped Joe look strong in this feud, I don't think it will be the worst thing in the world. This should not be a match where Samoa Joe dominates for 99% of the match and Lesnar hits a desperation F5 for the win. That would just kill Lesnar's mystique. He's not exactly a grand draw for the WWE, but if they make him look that bad in this match, he just becomes like Ronda Rousey. He just won't be that big of a deal anymore. The match should last about 5 minutes. Let Joe look good to start out, but then have Lesnar bounce back with his usual stuff and win it.
Labels:
Braun Stowman,
Brock Lesnar,
Great Balls of Fire,
Raw,
Roman Reigns,
Samoa Joe,
WWE
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Previewing The Great Balls Of Fire 2017 Midcard Matches
Neville defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Akira Tozawa. If Austin Aries couldn't win the title in a million tries, Neville might as well retain here.
Cass takes on Enzo. This was an elaborate storyline. That is a good thing. But they broke up one of the best face teams they had on Raw. That is a bad thing. Cass should be winning this feud, but how long will the feud last? Will the WWE take this to Summerslam? I will say Cass wins this Sunday.
The Hardys get a rematch for the tag titles against Sheamus & Cesaro. This time, it will be a 30-minute Ironman Match. The WWE has really forced this rivalry by extending it like they have and including so many gimmick matches. Have to kill time. Not too many tag teams, especially if the WWE keeps killing them off. Are we really supposed to eventually buy into Titus & Apollo as contenders for the tag titles? Rhyno & Heath Slater are not that interesting anymore. If the heels retain here, what do they move on to? If the faces regain the titles, after retaining against Sheamus & Cesaro to end the feud, they can move on to The Revival. Those guys look terrible right now. That is why I believe The Hardys should be getting the titles back, even though the idea of these two getting so many title runs in just a few months back leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Dean Ambrose gets his rematch for the Intercontinental Championship against Miz. Why does Miz get so many title reigns? Contrary to what fans might chant, no, he does not deserve it. This is his third run with the Intercontinental Championship in the last year. Dean Ambrose doesn't exactly need the title back. And since the WWE has invested a lot in The Miz recently, he is probably keeping the title.
Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt in an overrated feud. They probably would have gotten a better story out of Balor/Wyatt. Seth Rollins will win this feud against Bray Wyatt. Bray is just a jobber to the stars. The question is whether this will be an extended feud or just a 1-PPV thing. If it is extended, they might give Bray Wyatt the win here to give him momentum. If it is a short feud, Rollins wins and Bray can move on to Finn Balor. I will say Rollins wins.
Cass takes on Enzo. This was an elaborate storyline. That is a good thing. But they broke up one of the best face teams they had on Raw. That is a bad thing. Cass should be winning this feud, but how long will the feud last? Will the WWE take this to Summerslam? I will say Cass wins this Sunday.
The Hardys get a rematch for the tag titles against Sheamus & Cesaro. This time, it will be a 30-minute Ironman Match. The WWE has really forced this rivalry by extending it like they have and including so many gimmick matches. Have to kill time. Not too many tag teams, especially if the WWE keeps killing them off. Are we really supposed to eventually buy into Titus & Apollo as contenders for the tag titles? Rhyno & Heath Slater are not that interesting anymore. If the heels retain here, what do they move on to? If the faces regain the titles, after retaining against Sheamus & Cesaro to end the feud, they can move on to The Revival. Those guys look terrible right now. That is why I believe The Hardys should be getting the titles back, even though the idea of these two getting so many title runs in just a few months back leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Dean Ambrose gets his rematch for the Intercontinental Championship against Miz. Why does Miz get so many title reigns? Contrary to what fans might chant, no, he does not deserve it. This is his third run with the Intercontinental Championship in the last year. Dean Ambrose doesn't exactly need the title back. And since the WWE has invested a lot in The Miz recently, he is probably keeping the title.
Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt in an overrated feud. They probably would have gotten a better story out of Balor/Wyatt. Seth Rollins will win this feud against Bray Wyatt. Bray is just a jobber to the stars. The question is whether this will be an extended feud or just a 1-PPV thing. If it is extended, they might give Bray Wyatt the win here to give him momentum. If it is a short feud, Rollins wins and Bray can move on to Finn Balor. I will say Rollins wins.
Labels:
Big Cass,
Bray Wyatt,
Cesaro,
Dean Ambrose,
Enzo Amore,
Great Balls of Fire,
Jeff Hardy,
Matt Hardy,
Miz,
Neville,
Raw,
Seth Rollins,
Sheamus,
WWE
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Previewing The Great Balls Of Fire 2017 Women's Match
It will be Sasha Banks getting a title shot against Alexa Bliss. She won an over-hyped gauntlet match on Raw last week. It is not surprising that Sasha Banks is getting this push, but I do not like how we got here.
They could easily have had the gauntlet match two weeks prior to when they actually had it. Why does it matter? Because then they could have time to build a good feud between Sasha and Alexa heading into the PPV this Sunday. More importantly, the other women in the division would then be free to develop their own storylines in the remaining weeks, whether it leads to a match at Great Balls Of Fire or not.
Another reason they should have done this sooner is the fact that things were just a mess prior to Sasha Banks just getting the title shot. The first Raw after Alexa moved on from Bayley, it looked like they were starting some angle involving Mickie James, Dana Brooke, and Nia Jax all having issues with Alexa Bliss. Week after that, Sasha Banks becomes more involved and Emma returns. Alexa Bliss walks away from her heel partners in a match that night, Emma and Nia. You now might start thinking that might be a story they would develop. Week after that, Emma comes out to confront Alexa Bliss, but then ends up shrugging off her issues with her. Bayley, who had been mostly irrelevant during this time, runs out to save the day during a brawl. You have just had multiple angles being developed every week and it seems a lot of it has been killed off when the WWE just gave the title shot to Sasha Banks. Terrible feud development.
I was all for Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss since before Bayley lost her rematch. I anticipated the WWE going in this direction. But with the way the WWE handled things all these weeks, it just doesn't feel like something to become creatively invested in. I already mentioned all the other storylines that were brewing. Creatively, some fans might have started to get excited for Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax vs. Mickie James vs. Dana Brooke at one point, or some other multi-woman match. I am not a fan of too many multi-women matches, but it just feels like that is what the WWE should have done here. That would have somewhat justified the sloppy developments in the Raw women's division all these weeks. All these women have an issue with Alexa Bliss. All these women have to watch their backs with Nia Jax. This situation just calls for a multi-woman match. To just kill that off two weeks prior to the PPV to go with a singles match involving Alexa defending against a woman that has not been properly developed creatively in this picture all these weeks seems terrible. Not only might it be hard for some fans to care about, it is completely unfair to the majority of Raw's women. They lose out on proper creative development.
Alexa Bliss will likely retain here. This is not a one-PPV feud, especially with the rushed job it has had. Sasha Banks will likely win the title at Summerslam.
They could easily have had the gauntlet match two weeks prior to when they actually had it. Why does it matter? Because then they could have time to build a good feud between Sasha and Alexa heading into the PPV this Sunday. More importantly, the other women in the division would then be free to develop their own storylines in the remaining weeks, whether it leads to a match at Great Balls Of Fire or not.
Another reason they should have done this sooner is the fact that things were just a mess prior to Sasha Banks just getting the title shot. The first Raw after Alexa moved on from Bayley, it looked like they were starting some angle involving Mickie James, Dana Brooke, and Nia Jax all having issues with Alexa Bliss. Week after that, Sasha Banks becomes more involved and Emma returns. Alexa Bliss walks away from her heel partners in a match that night, Emma and Nia. You now might start thinking that might be a story they would develop. Week after that, Emma comes out to confront Alexa Bliss, but then ends up shrugging off her issues with her. Bayley, who had been mostly irrelevant during this time, runs out to save the day during a brawl. You have just had multiple angles being developed every week and it seems a lot of it has been killed off when the WWE just gave the title shot to Sasha Banks. Terrible feud development.
I was all for Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss since before Bayley lost her rematch. I anticipated the WWE going in this direction. But with the way the WWE handled things all these weeks, it just doesn't feel like something to become creatively invested in. I already mentioned all the other storylines that were brewing. Creatively, some fans might have started to get excited for Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax vs. Mickie James vs. Dana Brooke at one point, or some other multi-woman match. I am not a fan of too many multi-women matches, but it just feels like that is what the WWE should have done here. That would have somewhat justified the sloppy developments in the Raw women's division all these weeks. All these women have an issue with Alexa Bliss. All these women have to watch their backs with Nia Jax. This situation just calls for a multi-woman match. To just kill that off two weeks prior to the PPV to go with a singles match involving Alexa defending against a woman that has not been properly developed creatively in this picture all these weeks seems terrible. Not only might it be hard for some fans to care about, it is completely unfair to the majority of Raw's women. They lose out on proper creative development.
Alexa Bliss will likely retain here. This is not a one-PPV feud, especially with the rushed job it has had. Sasha Banks will likely win the title at Summerslam.
Labels:
Alexa Bliss,
female wrestlers,
Great Balls of Fire,
Raw,
Sasha Banks,
WWE
Monday, July 3, 2017
Lana Gets Another Shot
The Smackdown women's division has just become a saga in recent weeks. And I don't mean that in a good way. They are just stuck in the same situation and keep making a big deal out of it.
I already pointed out how Lana took issue to how her match ended on Smackdown last week against Naomi for the title. Daniel Bryan has granted her another rematch for the title. It will happen tomorrow on Smackdown.
Rematches happen, but this is kind of ridiculous. Should fans really get excited for PPV matches when they get rematches like this? Naomi should have already moved on to someone else. While Lana continues to get title shots, almost all the other women of Smackdown are stuck with just one thing to do. And that is be upset about Carmella and James Ellsworth breaking rules to win the briefcase. That is another saga I will not even get into right now. Those women just need to move on to something new. Less complaining, more entertaining. Less repeating what happened two weeks ago, more freshness.
Should Lana win the title here? If they don't let her have it, what was really the point of all this? To bring Rusev back? I am sure they could have came up with another angle to do that. Prolonging this feud has just not been good. And Naomi has a fancier title belt right now, so that might make you think that she doesn't lose it. I felt like Lana might win the first time. I went with Naomi the second. And I will go back to Lana this time.
I already pointed out how Lana took issue to how her match ended on Smackdown last week against Naomi for the title. Daniel Bryan has granted her another rematch for the title. It will happen tomorrow on Smackdown.
Rematches happen, but this is kind of ridiculous. Should fans really get excited for PPV matches when they get rematches like this? Naomi should have already moved on to someone else. While Lana continues to get title shots, almost all the other women of Smackdown are stuck with just one thing to do. And that is be upset about Carmella and James Ellsworth breaking rules to win the briefcase. That is another saga I will not even get into right now. Those women just need to move on to something new. Less complaining, more entertaining. Less repeating what happened two weeks ago, more freshness.
Should Lana win the title here? If they don't let her have it, what was really the point of all this? To bring Rusev back? I am sure they could have came up with another angle to do that. Prolonging this feud has just not been good. And Naomi has a fancier title belt right now, so that might make you think that she doesn't lose it. I felt like Lana might win the first time. I went with Naomi the second. And I will go back to Lana this time.
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