Triple H vs. Sting
He is not Batman. Why they branded the Franchise of WCW as “The Vigilante” is unanswerable. The only explanation is, this is WWE, and Michael Cole has a job to tagline everyone. Shame, because Jim Ross was so good at doing it naturally, when Cole does it, it feels so damn forced.
Let’s play a game, shall we? Before we talk about the mainstay of WCW, I want to focus on Triple H. This might not be the first time he faces with Sting. Triple H was a character in WCW named Terra Ryzing. I am not making this up. Horrible gimmick. Right up there with Kenny Kaos. I believe he did face Sting on an episode of WCW Worldwide or one of their buried shows. Triple H came a long way to get where he is. To have the honor of facing Sting in a WWE ring, those words escape me.
The premise is the loyal, corporate Triple H is going up against the last man anyone thought would step into a WWE ring. We have Sting, the last holdout, the one who remained loyal to WCW even after its demise. Despite numerous attempts to court him over the years, he would never budge. Finally, November 2014, Sting appeared at Survivor Series. Stepping into a WWE ring for the first time. This match is now about WWE vs. WCW. The Monday Night Wars. The New World Order vs. DeGeneration X. The WCW revolution and the Attitude Era. An era where wrestlers jumped from promotion to promotion, being bought, sold, fired, begged, everything imaginable during an era for ratings supremacy.
Sting is here. In WWE. As a long time fan of professional wrestling, even I doubted this day would come. Sting had WCW in his blood. While wrestlers like Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, the Macho Man, and even Curt Hennig would jump back and forth, Sting always remained where he belonged. The Franchise of WCW.
Triple H vs. Sting is about two icons of their respective companies clashing at a time where the notion of Sting having anything to do with WWE was slowly becoming less and less likely as both men get older. I do not see this match being a grapple-fest or a Suplex-parade, expect this to be an all-out brawl, because this is what Triple H does best. Puts on the hurt. Sting, at one time a prolific in-ring wrestler, has embraced the same option. We will see Sledgehammers and baseball bats. We will see tables, chairs, the steel steps. We will get the signature Stinger Splash, the Scorpion Death Drop, maybe even the Scorpion Submission. We will get Triple H and his high-knee, the knee-drop, the spine-buster, and for sure the Pedigree.
Sting eating a Pedigree. This will be the moment which sends everyone to their feet. We have seen Sting drop The Game already with the Death Drop, but to do it at WrestleMania, that will be huge.
Do not expect a match. Expect a war. Expect blood. Expect WWE and WCW to clash, for perhaps the final time.
Roman Reigns challenges Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Anyone still need some Preparation-H for any residual butthurt? I am hoping by this point fans are over the fact Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble. I am actually glad this time WWE did not cave in and add Daniel Bryan to the mix. In fact, Reigns defeating Bryan at WWE Fast Lane should have been an indicator of hope. Hope Reigns can have a match with Brock Lesnar. Sorry, I will rephrase. Hope, Reigns can have a watchable match with Brock Lesnar. Sadly, this is one of those years where there is very little interest in the WWE Championship match. The only thing which has been interesting to this point, the beautifully crafted promos cut by Rabbi Paul Heyman.
Let’s forget about the mic, because without Paul Heyman this build up would be complete garbage. We know Brock can wrestle. Can Reigns withstand being tossed around? I would think he can, he is a big guy, and what will be most impressive is watching Brock launch the Samoan with Suplex and after Suplex, and whether Reigns will sell like he should, or sell it all like Goldberg did. I do not want to see Reigns hulk up after being launched or thrown. It would make Brock look weak, which is the exact opposite of what WWE and Paul Heyman have been doing since his return last year. As much as we forget, Roman Reigns can maneuver around the ring. Sure, he got Cenafied after the Shield cracked, suddenly succumbin to being regulated to his Five Moves of Doom. This is no RAW main event, or even a monthly pay-per-view. This is WRESTLE-FREAKIN-MANIA.
The cold hard truth of a WrestleMania XX repeat of the Brock/Goldberg boo-fest is likely, but Vince and WWE will not care. WrestleMania 29, the fans who did not leave, booed both The Rock and John Cena during the entire closing match. I do not think Triple H nor Vince would want a repeat, although they likely would not care since as refunds are not necessary. Brock Lesnar has announced re-signing with WWE on ESPN, closing the chapter on his UFC career. For now. The match has been made, it will happen. Fans may cry and whine, but the reality is there is nothing which can be done at this point. Last year WWE caved in, this year they stand their ground.
Brock Lesnar ended the Streak. He mauled John Cena. He has Paul Heyman doing all the leg-work for him. Lesnar has been built up to be an unstoppable monster, and the few times we have seen him in the past year, he has certainly given us the proof. Unfortunately, all we have to go on are the words from Paul Heyman.
Roman Reigns. Boy I do not envy him. This past Monday night on RAW, he had to stand and hear chants of “Let’s go Lesnar” during his silent staredown. The crowd booed when he snatched the championship belt away like a six-year-old.
Side note, that closing segment on RAW was awful. Having Brock and Reigns tug at it like two cavemen?
Reigns has a big mountain to climb. The situation here is this whole tag line of “Believe That.” What is there to believe? Well, for starters, the reality is not the gimmick. This thing whether Reigns can beat Brock? Not the issue. The issue is believing Roman Reigns is main event material, let alone main eventing a WrestleMania event. I have an easier time believing the main event could have been Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan, or Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena, Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins… Hell I would have believed in Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambose, Luke Harper, Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, Sheamus, or even Big Show.
The push for Reigns has been so fast, so brick-to-the-face-obvious, the fans did not get a chance to invest in him. It’s been rushed, and personally speaking, I have a hard time believing the notion WWE would put Roman Reigns over Brock Lesnar so soon.
This could mean something surprising may happen. Hell, Maybe Seth Rollins will cash in? Or maybe Roman Reigns will somehow pin Brock Lesnar for the title, and cause the Internet Wrestling Community to once again erupt in a whine-fest to which Triple H will mock (deservingly) on the next night on RAW.
Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Vince McMahon, Triple H, and the rest of WWE must be getting on their hands and knees, bowing to Rabbi Paul Heyman. Without him, this whole main event would be nothing. Does no one else realize how much Heyman has hyped and built this marquee match on his own? When Lesnar shows up, he smirks, smiles, roars like a schoolgirl, shuffles around like he’s holding in a piss and that is all. Heyman did the talking for Reigns too, putting him over just as much as Lesnar, stopping short of saying Reigns can win. Sure, both wrestlers had their backstage promos and video packages, but I bet my Transformer Collection they were using cue cards, teleprompters, and multiple rehearsals. Roman Reigns has improved on the mic, but not enough and not given enough time to be good enough to cut his own promos for a WrestleMania main event. Paul Heyman gets all the credit, all the reward here. He better be coming home with a massive paycheck for all the work he has done. Without The Rabbi of Wrestling, this main event would be worthless.
Sorry to end on a harsh note, but even the most naïve of fans must realize how little work Reigns and Lesnar did to push the match. I should say, how little they were able to push it on their own.
Comments are closed.