I really cannot compete with last week’s “Dean Ambrose is Awesome” column from last week. Sure, I could add his antics from this week only increase his stock value with the WWE fanbase.
It is not just the slime prank which puts him over. There could have been snakes in Seth Rollins’ Money in the Bank brieface, perhaps firecrackers, or Jim Ross’ barbeque sauce. It’s what the camera crew focused on.
The sly grin.
The wide-eyed: “What, what’d I do?” look on his face.
The laugh, the taunting.
There are only a few who can entertain merely with facial expressions. I think of Vince McMahon, Paul Heyman, The Rock, and Eddie Guerrero. Dean Ambrose is easily on this list. The guy is talented in all forms entertainment, and I hope WWE recognizes this as future champion material.
Just tossing this out there. If Brock Lesnar was not champion right now, I could easily see 2014-2015 being a war for the WWE Championship between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.
I have little concern about John Cena picking a fight with Rollins, since it also means we will likely get Cena vs. Ambrose, where much like last year’s Cena vs. Daniel Bryan, we will see once again how the fans rally behind Cena’s opponent. SmackDown saw Cena ditch Ambrose in favor of chasing after Rollins, so the likelihood of Cena vs. Ambrose is not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when.”
Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble are the new “stooges.” If you do not know what this means, then you really did not follow the Attitude Era. Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco. Figure it out.
So, WWE scripts Big Show to rip down the Russian flag. Yes, it was scripted. You see what it hangs from, right? A giant metal frame. If not done right, that sucker comes down and crushes everyone in the front row. WWE planned that segment, this was not Big Show getting creative, whereas Chris Jericho kicked the Brazilian flag or when JBL goose-stepped at a live event in Germany. Regardless, WWE.com posted an apology, accompanied by the video of Show joyfully yanking the Federation’s flag down. Maybe they thought people skipped the segment
Big Show knocking out Rusev on SmackDown should generate more viewers, shocking events like that do not happen all that often on the blue-branded show, yet this week we got treated to a solid main event tag team match including John Cena and Randy Orton, two guys who do not make appearance on SmackDown that often.
I do like where they are going with the mid-tier titles. More attention, and as I said a few weeks ago, more contenders via triple threat or four-way contests. Dolph Ziggler, Sheamus, Cesaro, Miz, and Damien Sandow all need a place to play right now. All who is missing is Zack Ryder and we’re all set.
So, the gimmick with Xavier Woods, Big E. Langston, and Kofi Kingston did not pan out, so they are stuck to backstage segments where they stare around aimlessly. There’s progress for ya.
So. Bo Dallas. Beats Mark Henry. Clean. I have no words.
Meanwhile, in NXT, we have a ton of great talent. Rather than list them all I am sure you can just go the NXT website. Lot of good people over there right now, and I’ll tell you, their women’s division could trounce half of the Divas roster… if it weren’t so… you know, scripted.
As usual, I voice concern over the main roster becoming increasingly crowded. People will get lost in the shuffle.
Am I the only one who noticed WWE might have gotten a bit excessive with the CM Punk jabs on Raw? They were in Chicago, and lots of references were made about “quitters” or people who are unable “to suck up their pride” and other sorts of jabs which were blatantly thrown in CM Punk’s direction. Just saying.
Speaking of shuffles, let’s take a short look at the Impact Wrestling shuffle. I have no idea what is flying anymore. All I know is The Wolves are the best modern-era team, and their feud with Team 3D and the Hardy Boyz could be the best thing to happen to their career. If you want to get nostalgic, then rotate The Wolves with Edge and Christian. There, happy? Perhaps when Daniel Bryan comes back to WWE, then TNA will push Eric Young again.
I find the James Storm stable to be intriguing. For some odd reason he is reminding me or Colonel Robert Parker from the earlier days of WCW. He’s brash, and leading a stable of people you wouldn’t have expected. Although I am uncertain the direction of this stable, if played right, could go far. However, this is Dixieland, so we don’t know.
Havok, the newest member of the women’s division in Impact Wrestling is a beast. She can work the ring well, and her dethroning of Gail Kim appeared to be a legit way to push her. Unfortunately, once again we see Impact recycling WWE gimmicks by having her drop the title just days later. So, beast is tamed. Way to go.
For once, some real news on Jeff Jarrett and his Global Force Wrestling promotion. The story goes, an agreement with New Japan has been made, and the first GFW pay-per-view will air on January 4th, 2015 as GFW will present New Japan’s WrestleKingdom event. Very interesting as WrestleKingdom is a staple of New Japan’s major events. A major rumor to recently hit, is Jim Ross to be negotiating a deal to do commentary for the promotion. That could be a major coup for GFW. However, while good news is abound, so is bad news. SpikeTV is not interested in having wrestling in their programming anymore. Obviously they have bailed on TNA, who also has not yet found a new residence. With both TNA and GFW competing, one has to wonder whether TNA has any advantage for having a history of programming, however as of late their financial woes are no secret. Such thought leads to wonder if another station will be willing to take a risk on GFW?
Having recently made an agreement with New Generation Wrestling based in England, our friend Double J seems quite serious about making his promotion a global success.
Is the NWA still around? If they are, someone might want to wake them up. I think some have still remained passed out from the whole Colt Cabana/Adam Pearce belt desecrating incident.
That is all for this week folks. Pay attention, October is here and things get crazy.
