Sometimes I wonder what goes on in the mind of WWE personnel whenever they have a televised match on one of their flagship shows that absolutely tears the roof off the building.  Is it either an “oh shit, I can’t believe we just gave that away for free” feeling, or is it a “we’re creeping towards stale programming, and we really have to throw the audience a bone lest they start bitching with gas” feeling, or somewhere in between?

It’s no secret that wrestling television shows exist primarily to sell wrestling products, such as the WWE Network, merchandise and other endeavors, and that there’s typically a wall or ceiling of quality that they’re typically allowed to display, so that they can keep the really awesome things in their back pockets for those willing to shell out the extra money to see them.

It’s also no secret that without restriction or boundaries, almost any two wrestlers in the locker room could put on a five-star classic on any given night.  Seriously, just because they’re portrayed as jobbers, or not even wrestlers on the flagship WWE shows doesn’t mean that they’re not actually capable of wrestling.  Just a few months ago, there was rumblings of basically a borderline mutiny within the WWE locker room, because the company’s own developmental territory in NXT was putting on way higher quality of a show, with “lesser-known” talent from what’s basically portrayed as the company’s minor leagues (it’s actually more of a holding pen).

Continue reading “A match worth watching” →

I would never have expected Wrestlemania’s main event to have been as gripping as it was.  Honestly, I tend to temper my expectations for Wrestlemanias in general, but ultimately, I treat them like I’m watching RAW; skim and glaze through everything, but typically ignore the main event.

For the most part, all of Wrestlemania 31 was pretty formulaic, and nothing was really that big of a surprise.  I would have liked to have seen more Cesaro, Axelmania and Damien Mizdow, and it’s kind of an insult that both the tag team match and the Andre the Giant Battle Royale were put onto the pre-show, but whatever.

I had higher hopes for John Cena vs. Rusev, and was a little disappointed to see that they broke my theorized rule of Wrestlemania, which is needing to hit three finishing maneuvers before the match can be decided.  I didn’t expect much from any other match, be it the Divas, the Intercontinental ladder match, and definitely not Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt.

Continue reading “Thoughts on WM31’s main event” →