My Random Thoughts on the WWE

 If you know me you know I am a huge wrestling fan, I gained a interest in wrestling when I was 11 years old around the time seeds of the attitude era were being planted before it skyrocketed. I follow all wrestling in some capacity ring of honor, TNA, independents, highlights of New Japan. Of course WWE is the big dog and I wanted to give my random thoughts on some of their relevant current events.
  While I know it's consistently difficult to have interesting 3 hour events every Monday Night, Raw for the most part does a fair job. I’m not a fan of Brock Lesnar at all but I think his match against Samoa Joe has some great potential to be a true knock em down brawl as evident by their pull apart fight last week. With the return of Braun Strowman who should steamroll through Roman Reigns(who I’m a fan of) I would like to see Strowman vs. Brock or even a triple threat between Strowman, Brock, and Joe at Summerslam. With Strowman or Joe taking the WWE universal title for two reasons, first for the sake of something fresh as far as a new intimidating champion. Also for the Universal championship to mean something a champion needs to defend it at all cost and you know actually be around.
   Recently The Miz recruited talented but going nowhere fast guys Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas to join him in his fight against Dean Ambrose. Those two have been going at it for months back and their rivalry should be winding down soon. I’m looking forward to Miz and his entourage which the wwe will probably give a silly name like the “Miz-tourage” but it has potential to be hilarious especially if Curtis and Bo play caricatures of entourage members. Also once The Miz ends his feud with Dean and Goldust is finished with R-truth, a feud between The Miz and Goldust with their respective movie star roles could be really fun and exciting if done right.
   Lastly on Raw I am against the break up of Enzo and Big Cass, both are talented guys but I feel they need each other to really succeed. I hear rumors Big Cass is in line for a big push (mostly due to his size and Vince Mcmahons love of big guys.) I don't think he can pull of it by himself but hopefully I’m wrong. Their act had grown stale but they could have benefitted from a heel turn using their same overbearing in your face personas just dialed up a little. I could be wrong but that move was a big mistake by WWE.
   Over at Smackdown which overall is a consistently better show they have a few hiccups. I like Jinder Mahal and don't mind him being the WWE world champion as it's something different and people always ask for something fresh and complain when the freshness occurs. I like the Singh Brothers being his associates but his anti-American act is hella old and overdone, Kevin Owens pretty much has the same persona with a few tweaks. Speaking of anti-American characters when the hell is Rusev coming back?
   Jinder Mahal may not be a top tier wrestler but he’s decent and is trying. Besides in my opinion his act is holding him back, I could see potential if his act was he's very proud of his heritage but he's so over the top and in your face about his heritage. If making Jinder a star was the plan maybe he should have went against someone who could assist in that aspect. I like Randy Orton but his act is stale as well and he’s not the type of guy who can elevate his opponent and make them look good while teaching him ways to improve at the same time.
    The Woman's division recently had the first ever woman's money in the bank match which was a great match ruined by a horrible finish. Both Raw and Smackdown have great woman wrestlers but right now Smackdown is using their roster better. Each female has their own character and individual personality quirks. In case you didn't know I am a huge fan of Naomi who while still improving has come a long way. Also the WWE needs to grow the hell up, before the woman's money in the bank match they played a video package discussing woman who were trailblazers. Mae Young, Jacqueline, Lisa, Trish Stratus, Alundra Blaze, and Beth Phoenix among others were touted as trailblazers. Left out was none other than Chyna, despite her personal problems and her strained relationship with Triple H she was the true trailblazer and woman of many first in WWE and deserves all the credit in the world.
   The tag team division is doing pretty good right now. The Usos who I love their heel persona and the line “It’s not paranoia..it’s the Usos!!” Btw I’m waiting on a t-shirt with that slogan. I wish they would be given more mic time because they bring a different aspect to their promos. Breezango have resurrected their careers when they were finally given a chance. I don't always catch their type of humor but it works for them. Of course who doesn't love the New Day who can be overly corny but are all talented. Sadly American Alpha and the Colons both talented teams are spinning their wheels at the moment. Poor  Ascension they had a good thing going in Nxt that just hasn't translated on the main stage.
    I can't go without mentioning the current MVP Kevin Owens and the current hands down best wrestler in the WWE and maybe all of wrestling AJ Styles. They look to start a feud over the US title and both should bring out the best in one another. I wouldn't mind seeing a best of 7 series between them much like Booker T. Vs. Chris Benoit for the Tv title back in the WCW days, or Matt Hardy vs MVP during the mid 2000s Smackdown era. Those matches probably would be epic
   For the rest of the Smackdown roster with guys like Dolph  Ziggler, Nakamura, Sami Zayn, and Baron Corbin on their side they’ll have consistent quality matches but it’ll always be against each other. The WWE has to figure out a way to give all of those guys something meaningful to do. Mike and Maria Kanellis just debuted and it looks like their act is over the top, so in love it makes you sick heels. Mike would be a good fresh opponent for Sami or Nakamura, hell even Randy Orton may be a good foil to Mike. With John Cena returning and no one for him to go against maybe Dolph or Baron could benefit from a feud with Cena.
   These are my random thoughts on the WWE at the moment, I’ll surely be offering my thoughts on current events in the future.
 

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My Wrestlemania Weekend

                My Wrestlemania Weekend

               If you know me you know that I am a huge wrestling fan and this past weekend was one of my greatest experience and solidified why I love WWE. This was my second Wrestlemania, I attended Wrestlemania 27 and had a great experience but this time the experience was on another level. The whole aura of Wrestlemania Weekend while not on the level of fandom and anticipation that Super Bowl week gets it’s damn near close.                          My first big experience of Wrestlemania Weekend was Axxess. Axxess is WWE’s fan festival that gives their fan’s a chance to meet some of their favorite wrestlers, take plenty of pics, and pretend to be a wrestler. You could do promos and entrances, jump off the top rope into a foam pit, take a pic inside the elimination chamber or in front of the old school RAW sign. It’s so much to do in  4 hours that you have to pretty much prioritize what you want to do. Honestly you spend a lot of time waiting in time, sometimes half of your time is spent in one line. Especially for the more popular superstars you may stand in line and not get a chance to meet your favorite superstar. I attended 4 out of 6 Axxess sessions and enjoyed every single one. With the exception of an interaction with one former wwe diva everyone else was a pleasure to meet. Even Guys who I wasn’t a fan of I became a fan because they were so nice and humble.There is room for improvement as Axxess could benefit from a longer window to give people more time to do as much as they can in their time there.                        

     At superstar signings there is a regular line and a separate line for disabled people, depending on the handler who is with the superstar to manage the flow of the line the frequent back and forth between the lines can become disruptive and annoying as people are waiting 45 minutes or more for their turn to meet their favorite superstars.  When I went to Wrestlemania in 2011 the handlers were very adamant about not taking pictures with superstars, just get your item signed and move along creating a very rushed atmosphere this time they were there to take pictures of the fans with the superstars which in the end is all everyone wants when they meet superstars.
       The Hall of Fame was another good experience yet it dragged on. All of the inductees were good, Diamond Dallas Page speech was a little long but inspiring, The Rock n Roll express was short and sweet, Rick Rude's family kept it short, Beth Phoenix's speech was good but dragged, she made a point to emphasize the importance of woman, their accomplishments, and their contributions to making WWE the global phenomenon it is. Eric Leguard speech was relatable as just another fan who had a unfortunate circumstance that opened up the doors to other opportunities. Teddy Long speech was typical Teddy Long funny. Kurt Angle showed why he is not only one of the best wrestlers ever but most entertaining. Everyone's speech was good but people’s attention spans get short when listening to people talk back to back. I’ve read the WWE prefers to let everyone take as much time as they want during the hall of fame. I think limiting the inductor's speaking to give more time to the inductees if they choose to use it would be a better option.
     I didn’t attend NXT takeover because I was at axxess during the same time. That leads us to the “Ultimate Thrill Ride” Wrestlemania 33! Which was a decent event, no real bad matches that sucked the air out of everything just draining. The event ran from 530 pm until Midnight which is entirely too long even for die hard wrestling fans. Since their on the WWE network I guess they feel they can go as long as they want but they really need to work on time management. Some of the outcomes such as Randy Orton beating Bray I was against. I left once Roman pinned Undertaker so I didn't see his farewell moment. A few exciting things happened at Wrestlemania that you won't see on tv that was a major part of the experience.  A young man proposed to his girlfriend and a Stone Cold cosplayer battled other cosplayers in the nwo, ultimate warrior, and Ric Flair in a exciting “match” in the stands.
       One important part of the experience I think is overlooked is everyone was there to have a good time. My wife and I met a lot of nice people while waiting in line at the various events. People from all over the world who clearly love sports entertainment. You may have come across a occasional casual fan but the majority of people there were to the core in their blood wrestling fans. I also believe Vince McMahon and the WWE don't get enough credit for the marketing geniuses they are. There was a “Wrestlemania Superstore” with all kinds of merchandise and no shortage of people gobbling it all up. Grown men buying replica title belts like their in a toy store. Families of four and everyone of them having replica belts, cosplaying, people with bags of stuff enough credit is not given to the WWE for the love their fans have for them. All in all I had a very good time and experience and if you are a real wrestling fan and are able to I highly recommend attending a Wrestlemania. Just being in the atmosphere is a experience you’ll always remember.

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