Here are some thoughts after the Royal Rumble weekend and also last night's Monday Night Raw. Obviously there may be spoilers if you haven't watched these events, although I will try to keep them to a minimum. This is also a piece on where everything is going in the lead up to Wrestlemania.
As an aside, we managed to call NXT Takeover: San Antonio completely wrong on every count. This was made up for partially by getting the first five Rumble matches spot on, including the winning pinfall in the 6-woman tag match. This suggests either that NXT is more unpredictable and therefore better written - or worse written if you think our storylines are better. That can be left to your judgment.
Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and The Undertaker
Firstly, let's start with the title of this piece. Seriously, what was the point in putting Roman Reigns in the Rumble match? This video of fans reactions to him coming out at number 30 perfectly encapsulate the disappointment that I felt. They could have put literally anyone else in the number 30 position and it would have been better received. Fans have had enough of the WWE forcing Reigns down our throat and we have written about the need to turn him heel.
Reigns had already fought that night and he didn't need to pull double duty as there's enough guys that could have filled the last spot in the match.
Earlier in the night, Braun Strowman came out and interfered in the WWE Universal Championship match to deny Reigns the victory. On last night's Raw, the fans were chanting "Thank you Strowman!" in recognition of the fact he was the man that stopped The Guy from being an unwanted champion yet again. This is a guy who they are trying to push as a monster heel, who has done the thing that everyone wanted.
The line between heels and faces is getting more and more blurred, with Smackdown having two heel v heel matches in the last two weeks (Miz v Styles and Harper v Orton) and Raw having one last night (Strowman v Owens). Fans these days often cheer for the guys who do the best job in entertaining them, rather than the guy who is designated as the good guy. Reigns is not one of these guys and they need to stop portraying him as if he's a fan favourite.
The number 30 spot in the Rumble is the most anticipated. The guy who comes out doesn't always win the match, but they stand a good chance. Part of the excitement of the Rumble is about who is coming next. There were a large number of ways they could have played it to avoid this reaction. Having 'Taker come out number 30 instead of number 29 would have been one of them. There wouldn't have been the excitement as everyone would have known he was coming, but he'd have still got a great pop.
Therefore, WWE Creative did it on purpose. Perhaps they had learned from when Rey Mysterio came out when the fans wanted Daniel Bryan that if they didn't get who they wanted, then they would boo. They could have brought out Joe, or Nakamura, or Balor (depending on fitness), or Angle... but they intentionally chose someone they knew the fans wouldn't like in that spot. Reigns then also took heat for eliminating the Dead Man. Perhaps this is all intentional and that it is the start of his heel turn. We can only hope. The other option is that when it came down to Orton v Reigns, fans would instantly side with Orton and make him a more viable winner.
Perhaps it was to get Reigns into a feud with the Phenom. However, the Undertaker was absent from Monday Night Raw and Reigns attacked Strowman, which suggests that the two big guys are on a collision course. In the event that Reigns turns heel, this would make Strowman the face (even if he doesn't turn, most fans will want Strowman to destroy him) which seems a little odd at this stage.
Where does this leave the Undertaker? He's obviously going to have a match at Wrestlemania and with seemingly most of the other guys on the roster in ready made feuds, it looks like he'll go after whoever out of Cena and Styles isn't in the title match against Orton. If he does go into a program against Reigns, it might be that the Reigns v Strowman angle is a stop gap for Reigns until the Dead Man gets his hands on him.
Cena, Styles and Orton
Cena v Styles was possibly my match of the night. It went 24 minutes in the longest match of the night, featuring multiple falls and great work by two of the best in the business. Cena earned himself some redemption and the record equaling 16th world title. The amusing bit about the record is that if he wants to surpass the record, he has to be crap enough to drop the belt.
Both of these guys will be in the Elimination Chamber in a couple of weeks time with the belt on the line. I'd expect one of them to carry it through to face Orton at 'Mania with, as previously mentioned, the other being presumably the choice to face 'Taker. That is unless WWE decides to give the belt to Bray Wyatt to set up the teased split of the Wyatt Family.
This seems like a strange way to go about it if that's what they are planning. Personally, I'd have much rather seen Bray win the Rumble as it's always good to have a first-time winner rather than yet another repeat winner. With eight years between Orton's two victories, it wasn't as though he needed to be pushed to be a main eventer. We'd have easily accepted him being put into that spot but it's perhaps different for Wyatt. Therefore, I can see the family staying together for a bit longer (perhaps minus Harper who looked like he was going to give Bray a Sister Abigail) with Orton going against one of the other big names.
Brock Lesnar v Goldberg
In a move that surprised no-one, Lesnar and Goldberg look set to face off again at Wrestlemania. Goldberg hasn't yet accepted but the only reason for him to not do so would be if he's given a title shot against Owens. The most obvious thing about this feud is that it is being held together pretty much singlehandedly by Paul Heyman who is worth whatever they have to pay him to continue his great work.
Triple H v Seth Rollins
Like Lesnar v Goldberg, this match has bascially been on the Wrestlemania card unofficially for months. Rollins invaded NXT in a move which almost made me jump out of my seat. The big guys don't come play on NXT. It just doesn't happen. Hunter set his security on Rollins and it ended without an altercation. The crowd were not happy with this. If I was writing it, I'd have at least let the CEO drop a pedigree on Rollins once security had him completely restrained.
Last night on Raw, Helmsley encouraged Rollins out to the ring for what looked to be a fight before Samoa Joe ambushed the Architect. This was a great debut for Joe who showed what a powerhouse he is and at the same time got Triple H's stamp of approval as the next NXT guy to come up to Raw. I'd put money on Joe having the Universal title before the year is out.
Rumble No-Shows and debutantes
Let's start with the guys who were in the Rumble. Tye Dillinger at number 10 was a definite fan pleasing move. He wasn't on Raw so if he's got a main event call up, it would be to Smackdown which makes sense as he'd fit in with the show that Shane and Daniel Bryan have been putting together. Although I wouldn't be surprised to see him remain in NXT for a while longer. WWE's hand may have been forced to put him in the Rumble before they actually want him called up to the main roster.
Jack Gallagher was the sole representative of 205 Live in the Rumble which makes sense as he has been getting a lot of air time on Raw, perhaps second only to the two guys in the Cruiser-weight Championship match. This would suggest to me that he will be the next to challenge Neville for the belt. There is a wealth of possibilities for promoting this, as Jack Gallagher is the English gentleman and Neville is the guy who thinks he's hated for coming from England. Gallagher could start by telling Neville that the Queen is disappointed in his behavior, for example.
As mentioned, Samoa Joe debuted on Raw last night and his absence from the match can be excused on these grounds as it worked really well.
Kenny Omega's deal clearly hasn't worked out, at least not yet. We will have to keep our fingers crossed on this.
Tyler Bate was in the crowd for NXT Takeover. I'm sure they've got their reasons for having him over in Texas, but it did suggest that he'd have a spot in the Rumble. It would have been good to have him there to promote the UK division, in the same way that Gallagher was there representing 205 Live.
Kane missed a rumble for the first time in 21 years and it was noticeable. He has been in so many and such a force that you just expect him to be there. I was counting down the number of unannounced entrants left and waiting for him to come out. Sure, he's got no creative direction and hasn't had a good match in years, but he should still be in the Rumble. He could have been the number 30 entrant to square off against his brother and set up a mini-feud between the two of them. That would have been a one-sided rivalry as 'Taker is clearly better. It would have fizzled out without any great moments. And it would have still been better than Reigns coming out number thirty.
I almost expected Shaq to come out and confront the Big Show (who has been looking good recently) but I'm sure they'll find a way to further that storyline at some point.
No comments:
Post a Comment