WWE Beast in the East review

Beast in the East is the first WWE show in sixteen-and-a-half years to be named after a specific performer. The last one was 1998's Rock themed Rock Bottom, a tag-heavy  show tied into Rock's then-recent swerve heel turn and alignment with Vince McMahon's Corporation. Beast in the East was named, obviously, after 'The Beast Incarnate' Brock Lesnar. It's also a mild alteration to Bam Bam Bigelow's 'Beast from the East' moniker (although the East there referred to the US east coast as opposed to Japan), something which WWE owns the rights to after their purchase of WCW and ECW trademarks and tape libraries well over a decade ago.

There we are. A paragraph of trivia to start! 

Despite being the only performer featured on the poster and giving the event its name Brock Lesnar didn't actually have a high profile match on this card. He wrestled slap bang in the middle of the card and his opponent was Kofi Kingston. While Kofi's a reliable hand he's not the sort of name we've become accustomed to seeing Lesnar face and the match served mostly to highlight that the card was the oddity we'd all been expecting. Basically it made clear that it was more a broadcast house show as opposed to something legitimately special.

Although the show was named after Lesnar it was made clear by the show-opening hype video that the night's real top match was Finn Bálor challenging Kevin Owens for the NXT championship. It was featured far more heavily. The identity of Lesnar's opponent wasn't even mentioned.

The opener was Chris Jericho versus Adrian Neville. It was interesting (to me at least) that Michael Cole talked about Jericho's time in FMW during the 90's but took a while to mention Neville's years in Dragon Gate. Perhaps it's because Dragon Gate's a current promotion and WWE doesn't generally do well acknowledging those. Still, at least they bothered.

The match was nothing special. Neville was left to take the majority of the big bumps and do the running about. Jericho concentrated more on pandering to the fans, running though his key spots, and teasing that he'd dive out of the ring. For a guy who wants to position himself as one of the greatest workers ever his efforts here were poor. They sped things up in the last few minutes but we got a disappointing result: 'Y2J' put his knees up as Neville hit him with the Red Arrow and immediately applied the Walls of Jericho for the tap out victory.

A ten second shot of Brock Lesnar walking into the building followed that (flouting the Company Dress Code by wearing jeans and a non-merch T-shirt). It was more enjoyable that Jericho's ego-fuelled shenanigans.

Match two saw Nikki Bella defend the Divas championship against Paige and Tamina. It should be noted that Tamina enters to some borderline racist jungle drums music. Nikki and Paige have worked against one another more than enough over the last six months to have a pretty good baseline for their matches at this point. Tamina managed to avoid dragging things down and we got a fun three-way. Nikki retained with a forearm to Tamina after a failed Superfly Splash (Paige was outside the ring after taking a super kick from Tamina as she had Nikki locked in the PTO). Yes, Nikki retained with a forearm. Because apparently main roster women's matches don't warrant proper finishes.

After a  video in which Lesnar told us he respects no one and likes hurting people Kofi Kingston clapped his way down to the ring. Like a lamb to the slaughter. What followed was an enjoyable one-sided trouncing. Kofi got some offence in but Lesnar no-sold all of it before grabbing hold of the New Day member, giving him some suplexes, and finishing him off with an F5.

After the match Lesnar gave Kofi a German suplex and another F5. Just because. Big E and Xavier Woods ran out to make the save, which naturally didn't end well for them. They each took an F5. The audience seemed particularly impressed with 'The Pain' hoisting up Big E.

In a peculiar move the NXT championship match followed that. When Lesnar v Kingston went on third I'd assumed Bálor v Owens had been granted the main event slot. Which would have made a great deal of sense considering the popularity of the NXT brand and Bálor's history in Japan. The match had a big fight feel to it and WWE tried to ramp it up by having flowers presented to the competitors. Bálor took his with good grace while Owens hilariously threw his into the crowd and shouted about hating the country. The fans did a better job of making things seem important by festooning the pair in streamers.

As the pair got things off to a wild start with an immediate shotgun drop kick and cross body to the outside from Bálor, Michael Cole did a rare bit of good work as he explained that Bálor had worked his first New Japan show at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan arena (where this show was being held) and referenced a tweet in which he'd mentioned "the return of a Prince." I continued to be astonished at his good work when he referenced Bálor's many accolades, as Prince Devitt, in New Japan.

Meanwhile Bálor and Owens had a spirited exchange in and out of the ring, Bálor controlling the pace until Owens slapped on a headlock. Bálor battled out but it was Owens who was in control after that. He threw Bálor into ring steps outside the ring and landed on him with a senton when he rolled back into the ring at the nine count. The challenger was worn down with another trip out of the ring and then trapped in another headlock.

Bálor battled out and regained momentum with a drop kick to Owens' face and a forearm from the second rope. 'Mr Wresting' fired off some punches and then ran through the set up to Cena's Five Knuckle Shuffle, and the move itself. An AA attempt failed when Bálor slipped off Owens shoulder, knocked him to the mat and double stomped him. Owens tried the AA again. Bálor escaped again and walloped the champ with a Pele kick.

Owens rolled out of the ring to try and regain his composure but was met with a tope then thrown back into the ring to take an inverted Bloody Sunday. Bálor went for the top rope double stomp again but Owens moved and through him into a corner for a cannonball. A package bomb earned the champion a two count and a "This is awesome!" chant. That prompted Owens to tell the crowd to shut up, a nice character moment in the midst of a great match.

Bálor pulled himself back to his feet and dropped KO with a slingblade. The challenger immediately dashed to the top rope but Owens recovered and grabbed his feet. Owens forced Bálor down onto the ring apron but got staggered with a Pele kick. Bálor went for the double stomp again. This time he hit it. But Owens kicked out.

The pair made their way to the top turnbuckle again, Bálor attempting a superplex on the champ. Owens fought him off and tried for his fisherman buster but Bálor escaped. When he returned to the corner he was scooped up for a more devastating move: an AA from the top rope. That was followed with an Owens Swanton bomb. Bálor got his knees up and gave Owens Bloody Sunday. Owens kicked out. Bálor rushed him. Owens dropped him with a super kick.

The two again their way back to their feet. Owens screamed at Bálor that he couldn't win. Bálor fired up, blasting the champion with a lariat before shotgun drop kicking him into a corner. That left Owens prone, finally, for the Coup de Grace, which Bálor hit to finally win himself the NXT championship. They easily took match of the night honours with a spirited, even performance that started strong and built to a great crescendo.

After the match Hidoe Itami was shown looking a bit moody at ringside. It's not impossible this was foreshadowing for a heel turn spurred by Bálor "stealing" his moment. Tatsumi Fujinami came out to raise the new champions hand, something which really highlighted that this was a glorified house show. Owens then refused a handshake from the man the beat him. Which is exactly what you'd expect from Owens' character.

The main event couldn't match the heady heights of the NXT championship match, not least because it featured Kane and John Cena. Bad News King Wade Barrett I and Dolph Ziggler, their respective partners, are good but they weren't enough to help outshine Bálor and Owens. They worked a basic tag main event, the sort you'll be familiar with if you've ever been to a WWE house show or watched an episode of SmackDown. It was awkward in places and had a painfully obvious outcome: Ziggler, having been isolated for around ten minutes, made a tag to Cena, who wandered in, AAed Barrett, and pinned him. As climaxes go it was poor and summed up the match as a whole.

Beast in the East was an oddity of a show. It was clearly not intended to be as big a deal as Elimination Chamber, the last Network exclusive offering, had been. While it was nice to see Lesnar squash someone it wasn't exactly a must-see match. The only thing of substance on the show was Bálor versus Owens, and that wasn't enough to make the show as a whole worthwhile. If WWE wants to use these specials as a way to attract and keep subscribers they'll need to do better than this.

***

Results summary:

Chris Jericho defeated Adrian Neville
Nikki Bella defeated Paige and Tamina to retain the Divas championship
Brock Lesnar defeated Kofi Kingston
Finn Bálor defeated Kevin Owens to win the NXT championship
John Cena and Dolph Ziggler defeated Kane and Bad News Barrett

WWE Money in the Bank 2015 review

With several years of action-packed shows to follow the sixth annual Money in the Bank show faced a tough job this year. It had a good frame of matches to work with in Cena v Owens II, the latest Ambrose v Rollins match and, of course, the Money in the Bank match itself, but it also had Ryback v Big Show and a pre-show which saw R-Truth defeat King Wade Bad News Barrett I. Was it any good? The answer, pleasantly, was a resounding yes.

The main card kicked off with a ten bell salute to 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes. His music played afterwards. The audience and some of the wrestlers clapped along. Vince was amongst those who joined in. Randy Orton was amongst those who did not.

That was followed by the typically great video package recapping the build to the highlighted matches. In this case that meant Ambrose v Rollins, Cena v Owens and the Money in the Bank match. The latter kicked off the show. Which surprised me. With there being only one Bank match, and it being guaranteed to be a highlight of the show, I would have thought it would be saved for closer to the top of the card. Then again there was also a ladder match going on last, so spacing them out did make sense.

Randy Orton and Neville both got loud cheers when they entered. Kane got half-hearted boos. Dolph Ziggler got a monster pop, which got even more monstrous when people noticed Lana was present to give him a good luck kiss. Kofi Kingston got huge boos when he skipped to the ring. Sheamus was booed too, but not as much (yeah, New Day has more heat than Shaymo). Roman Reigns, naturally out last, got a mostly positive reaction. The writing team have done a good job turning him around.

The lads.

The match started with everyone except Kofi pairing off and the New Dayer taking the chance to try and sneak up a ladder to grab the case. The rest of the field turned against him, throwing him out of the ring before slipping into a standard issue brawling segment. Sheamus came out of that on top after going wild with a ladder. He was phased out of the match a few minutes later to make way for an all too short exchange between Kofi and Neville, the highlight of which was Nev hitting a monkey flip only for Kingston to land upright and immediately start climbing a ladder.

Reigns put a stop to Neville v Kingston, power bombing Kingston onto a ladder and Neville onto Kofi. The crowd, it's worth noting, ate this up. Kane put a stop to Reigns' attempted briefcase grab with a choke slam before taking an RKO from 'The Viper'. Kofi returned to stop Orty climbing the ladder and took an RKO too. Neville then springboarded back into the ring, over Orton, and shot up the ladder. He was yanked off the ladder and took a mid-air RKO, easily the best of the three.

Sheamus reappeared to halt another Orton attempt. 'The Apex Predator' put up a fight before being thrown head first into a ladder and smashed with a Brogue kick. Ziggler cut Sheamus off at the top of the ladder to a big reaction from the crowd. They traded punches and lunges at the wildly swinging case before 'The Show Off' slipped around behind Sheamus and took him off the ladder with a Zig Zag. Neville popped up to hit Sheamus with a Red Arrow immediately afterwards. It didn't realy make sense as far as winning the match went but it did at least please the crowd.

After selling his own move for a bit (ala Rob Van Dam and the Five Star frog splash) Nev dragged himself up the ladder for a punch exchange with Ziggler. 'The New Sensation' got the best of that when he smacked Ziggler's head into the top of the ladder and sent him falling to the mat. Before he could grab the briefcase Kane wandered back into the ring and grabbed him for a choke slam. Ziggler made the save with a crisp super kick. Ziggler and Nev took hold of a ladder and tried to batter Kane with it but he knocked them to the ground and then baseball slid the ladder into the pair on the outside.

Kane wasn't alone in the ring for long. Reigns returned to smack him with a Superman punch then did his tope onto everyone at ringside. This was the cue for Big E and Xavier Woods to sprint to ringside and throw Kofi back into the ring. Selling like mad, Kofi crawled up the ladder as Woods and E smacked the mat (triggering a "New, Day sucks!" chant). Reigns shot into view from the right of the screen to hit the interfering heels with his running drop kick in a great spot.

We're all interested in Wyatt v Reigns, right?

In the ring Kofi kicked at Reignsa few times before getting plucked off the ladder and power bombed onto a gaggle of lads outside the ring. Orton appeared and tried an RKO (outta nowhere edition) only to be dropped with a spear. The path was clear for Reigns. He started climbing the ladder before the lights went out. When they came back on seconds later Bray Wyatt was in the ring. He shook the ladder, grabbed Reigns, and hit him with Sister Abigail before disappearing.

Sheamus pulled himself back into the ring and clambered up the ladder. Neville sprinted to the top to try and stop 'The Celtic Warrior'. He put up a good fight but couldn't combat a fearsome eye gouge from Shaymo. That sent him off the ladder, leaving Sheamus free to grab hold of the briefcase to become the new 'Mr Money in the Bank'.

Naturally Jerry Lawler and Maggle Cole reacted to this as though it was the most sickening thing ever, even though Sheamus hadn't done anything wrong. Lawler even went so far as to say that Sheamus has taken the WWE championship out of Reigns' hands. It's comments like that that cause some people to give Reigns such a tough time.

Backstage Paige talked to Renee Young about being disappointed that no other Divas had offered support to help her bring down the Bella twins "empire". She said she'd win the belt to bring about change in the Divas division. Basically the feud is about Nikki and Paige both wanting change in the Divas division but not being able to agree on the form that change should take. They're basically Magneto and Professor X.

While the match didn't reach the heights of Banks versus Lynch it was better than the average Divas match. The pair broke out super kicks, spinebusters and an Alabama slam before Paige locked in the STF (the significance of which seemed to be completely lost on the crowd and the commentary team). They used their signature moves to good effect too: Nikki escaped a PTO and went for the Rack Attack, only for Paige to wiggle free and hit the Ram-Paige for a convincing near fall.

The Bella twins: masters of heel shenanigans.

Nikki would cheat to win. Brie and Nikki switched places (Brie had probably been hiding under the since the lights went out for Wyatt) and Brie went for a small package. Paige reversed it and got a three count, being announced as the winner and new champion. Brie grabbed the referee and revealed that she wasn't Nikki, proving this was the case by pulling padding from her bra (an amusing touch). Instead of disqualifying Nikki for outside interference the ref simply watched as Nikki ran back into the ring and blasted Paige with a Rack Attack then counted the three for her.

Before the Intercontinental title match The Miz came out to talk about how he'd transcended Ohio (the state the show was being held in) and deserved a title shot. The promo wasn't bad but Miz did a horrible job of linking his two points. The match was better. 'The Big Guy' immediately ploughed through Big Show with a spinebuster and the meathook clothesline before clotheslining him out of the ring. There he was distracted by Miz sitting at commentary, allowing Show to jump him when he got back into the ring and gain the advantage.

Ryback gradually worked up steam with a Fujiwara armbar and a suplex before Miz slid into the ring and jabbed at both guys with some weak punches and swaggered backstage. So Ryback's first title defence ever ended in a DQ in favour of Big Show. This was a disappointment. The match had been far better than I'd expected until Miz involved himself. Presumably they'll get to give us a more conclusion in a triple threat match at Battleground.

Looks like he's learned not to take this on his elbows...

John Cena versus Kevin Owens was preceded by a nice video package showing some of the many highlights of the interactions between the pair over the last few weeks. The match was good too, perhaps a smidge better than their rightly praised first encounter from Elimination Chamber. Sadly, it had the wrong result. Cena went over with the third AA of the match. While Owens got to survive the STF, an electric chair drop, two AAs (the first of which Cena did a solid job of selling by arguing with the referee), a snap sunset bomb and hit Cena with the cannonball, a super kick, the package piledriver (safety edition), the double jump moonsault, a second rope fisherman buster, and Cena's own shoulder tackles, belly-to-back and Five Knuckle Shuffle the fact that he lost was still saddening. A win could have done so much to elevate him and make him look like a dominant and unstoppable force. He didn't look weak in defeat but a win would have been far more beneficial both for this feud and in the long term.

After the match Cena gave Owens an off-mic pep talk, handed him the championship belt and offered a handshake. Owens accepted before kicking Cena in the stomach. Cena fell to the mat and rolled out of the ring (because he doesn't know how to make sequences like this look natural) and Owens followed him out to hit an apron bomb. He walked backstage laughing like Cesar Romero's Joker a the announers talked in Serious Voices™ about how Owens had gone too far. It currently looks like this rivalry will run through SummerSlam.

After a Total Divas ad Renee Young informed us Cena was being tended to by the medical team (something tells me he'll be fine). She then introduced Dean Ambrose, still in possession of Seth Rollins' WWE championship belt. Ambrose did a nice job of reminding us of his year-long problems with The Authority and explaining why he's keeping hold of the title belt. It didn't make me believe he'd leave the show a winner but it was a good bit of character work.

After a touching Dusty Rhodes tribute video Big E and Xavier Woods clapped down to the ring for a pre-match promo. They said Kofi had had the Money in the Bank match stole from him then talked about an Ohioan sports team that I've never heard of being cheaters. They ended by clapping and trying to start a "New, Day rocks!" chant. They fans chanted sucks instead causing Xavier to snap. Big E calmed him down.

Tag titles equal... millions of dollars!

This was a basic tag match which benefited greatly from the heat of New Day. Darren Young was isolated by the champs from the start. He made a single tag out to Titus then got wiped out by Big E's spear off the apron. That was a mistake from Big E: it left Xavier alone with Titus. He took a Sky High and was pinned within seconds. I'm disappointed New Day lost the tag gold because all three have been doing some of the best work of their careers in the group. It's nice to see the PTPs get a long overdue tag title win though.

The main event was preceded by a kick-off segment. They discussed the Money in the Bank match, the tag title match and Owens v Cena and made some main event predictions before throwing to a recap of Wyatt costing Reigns the briefcase. It was filler of the highest order.

More enjoyable filler followed in the form of Rollins being confronted by The Authority. Kane and J&J sniggered about how S-Roll was all alone. Stephanie piled on the pressure by talking about how the future of the company wrested on his shoulders. Triple H reminded him that going it alone in a ladder match was what Seth had wanted then barked at him to "show them" that he could do it. This version of the Triple H character, the guy who gives pep talks to his heel chosen few, is great.

The never-ending feud.

This was another enjoyable entry in the Ambrose-Rollins series. With over half an hour to play with they started out slow and built up to their more dramatic spots. They also took the unusual, but welcome, decision to have Rollins targeting Ambrose's legs. You don't get that in ladder matches despite it being a logical story to tell.

Rollins kicked his gameplan off when he crushed Ambrose's leg in a ladder. From there he smacked it with a chair and applied a ring post figure four before stomping away back in the ring and slapping on a traditional figure four. Ambrose punched his way free but would soon be hung up in a tree of woe with Rollins taking a chair to his knees.

Ambrose would return to his feet within a few minutes to lob a chair at Rollins' head and clothesline him off the top rope. Ambrose took a spill out of the ring, avoided a ladder that was chucked at his head, then got back into the ring to hit his rebound lariat (countered with an enziguri on the first attempt but hit on the second). He went for Dirty Deeds but Rollins escaped and ran into the crowd, triggering a brief chase-brawl sequence.

When they got back to ringside Rollins set up a ladder and took a back drop from the ring on to it. It was a nasty fall and something that shouldn't really be necessary. It was a good addition to the match though, and will make a fine addition to future Rollins highlight packages.

They brawled some more. Ambrose hit a Dirty Deeds on the Spanish announce table. Rollins grabbed a monitor an bashed Ambrose in the leg with it as he was close to the title belt. Ambrose got Pedigreed. Rollins got pulled from the ladder and thrown out of the ring but grabbed 'The Lunatic Fringe' before he could make it up the ladder. He then hit the running power bomb into the ladder and the barricade before hitting a slightly more traditional power bomb onto a pile of chairs. After dropping a ladder and some more chairs on top of Ambrose 'The Future' rolled back into the ring and clambered up a ladder.

Ambrose got back into the ring and pulled himself up the ladder. Both got their hands on the title and struggled back and forth. They fell and the belt came with them. When they hit the mat it was Rollins who had possession of the strap. His music hit and Cole referenced a football rule to explain why he'd retained.

Rollins wins lol.

Triple H came out to celebrate with his top guy as Ambrose sat in the ring looking sad. Jojo wandered out and asked him if there was anything he wanted to say. Rollins said he told us so and that nobody could hang with him. And on that note the show went off the air.

I was impressed with Money in the Bank. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it is what it means for the future. We know that Reigns' inevitable world title win has been postponed again thanks to a new issue he has with Bray Wyatt. It's tough to imagine Money in the Bank holder Sheamus interacting with WWE champion Seth Rollins, which likely means he'll be the man to feud with Reigns once Reigns is champion.

The main attractions were the WWE title match, the Money in the Bank match, and the Cena v Owens rematch. All got plenty of time to tell satisfying stories and packed a bunch of stuff in. Of the less important matches only Big Show v Ryback (and R-Truth v Barrett if you want to include it as an official part of the card, which I don't) felt disappointing. The tag title match was saved by New Day's heat and the Prime Time Players getting the tag title victory they should have had a couple of years ago. Nikki v Paige was a good match and although it had a screwy finish it did at least make sense. It didn't quite hit the heights of Elimination Chamber, but I suspect that's mostly because expectations weren't as high for EC. Overall this was another very good show from WWE.

***

Results summary:

Sheamus won Money in the Bank
Nikki Bella defeated Paige to retain the Divas championship
Big Show defeated Ryback by disqualification
John Cena defeated Kevin Owens
The Prime Time Players defeated New Day to win the tag team championship
Seth Rollins defeated Dean Ambrose to retain the WWE championship

Dark Day

Despite their general lack of direction WWE has a pretty strong top end on their roster right now. John Cena is experiencing something of a resurgence thanks to the varied opposition his fourth reign as US champ has provided him. They have cowardly, conniving heel Seth Rollins walking around as WWE champion without having fully earned the right. Roman Reigns is ready to be tipped over into headlining champ territory at a moment's notice. And there's Brock Lesnar waiting in the wings to make a triumphant return as an unstoppable monster out for revenge and the world heavyweight championship.

But despite this the company's hottest feud is between two mid-card tag teams.

The rivalry between Cesaro and Tyson Kidd's Brass Ring Club, Masters of the Universe or Best Team Ever (they're going through names like nobody's business) and the New Day trio of Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods is an example of a wrestling company listening to their audience and reacting accordingly. Two months ago Cesaro and Kidd were bad guys but their ring work has been so enjoyable that audiences have been supporting them (a theme throughout Cesaro's career). New Day are the opposite of this. Even though they've been positioned as good guys and their matches have always been solid the stereotypical characters they've been given to play have seen audiences booing them. That they're essentially playing 80's-style clean cut babyfaces has probably been a factor too.

The smart thing for WWE to do was to take the two tandems, flip their roles and put them in a series against one another. So that's what they did. Cesaro and Kidd are now free to officially encourage the positivity crowds send their way and ramp up the pop-inducing sequences in their matches.

New Day heat.

It's the New Day lads who have really benefited from this, and not just because their status as heat magnets has resulted in them getting a tag team title reign complete with the Freebird Rule. When they were lobbed together last year it took the writing team months to figure out what they wanted to do with them. They were eventually cast as bland babyfaces with unclear motivations. They spoke like gospel preachers and liked to clap, that was it. There was no depth to them and it wasn't clear what they were meant to be.

No reason was provided to cheer them. So people didn't. The resulting apathy gradually turned to active dislike, perhaps because the three New Dayers remained so positive despite being in such an obviously poor spot on the roster. That's the kind of blending of storyline and playing on audience's heightened knowledge of pro wrestling's workings that WWE (and others) should do more often.

The turn itself has been handled well and has allowed New Day to tinker with their performances. One of the key moments for the trio came when Kofi interfered in a match on Woods' behalf. The look Woods responded with was perfect, conveying that he'd only just realised in that moment that there was nothing to stop them breaking the rules. It created a reason for New Day to be booed and set up a simple booking formula for them: the cheat to win matches. And they had a reason for this change in attitude too. They were being booed while trying to fight fairly, so what did they have to lose by cheating?

Playing heel also suits the three men well. Kofi Kingston is essentially playing a slightly more arrogant version of the character he's always played, which makes sense as for him to make drastic changes nine years into his WWE run would be odd. I remember him saying in an interview years ago, so it's nice to see him getting the opportunity to do so. Big E is more at ease than he has been since his time with Dolph Ziggler, showing passion and presence both in the ring and on the mic. He's playing a man who knows that his obnoxious hollering will get under people's skin but who doesn't care.

It's Xavier Woods who has the most interesting character right now. He's coming across as a man with a lot of pent up rage inside him, glaring into the distance as Big E and Kofi prattle on during promos, clearly wanting to speak out about the ridiculousness of what they've been given to do but not quite bringing himself to verbalise his anger. If he ever gets to cut loose in a promo he could deliver gold.

I like what's being done with New Day. There's nothing revolutionary or amazing about any of it. It's just simple, effective booking that takes into account the crowd's views on an act. It's what WWE should do all the time but don't, so when they do it's eye-catching.

The E in WWE

A couple of years ago Big E (then Langston) looked like he was going somewhere. After a successful run in NXT, including a stint as champion which began when he dethroned Seth Rollins, he debuted on the main roster at the end of 2012. Working as Dolph Ziggler's enforcer he was at 'The Show Off's' side in a tag match at WrestleMania XXIX and got to share the spotlight with him the following night on RAW when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight championship to a thunderous ovation.

An all too early split from Ziggler proved a setback but it didn't last too long. Big E would turn face in October and wrestle Shield member Dean Ambrose for the US championship. He didn't win that belt but he would take the Intercontinental championship from Curtis Axel (yeah, Axel was IC champ, sorry for reminding you of that traumatic experience) weeks later.

Big E and a giant yellow LEGO brick there.

While he didn't have an incredible reign even by modern standards Big E did have some good matches during his time as IC kingpin. His defence against Damien Sandow at the TLC pay-per-view at the end of 2013 was fun, his match with former boss Ziggler on the March 25 Main Event was better than expected, and his match with Jack Swagger at Elimination Chamber was one of the best matches of the year. No real thought was put into Big E's reign but he showed that he was capable of producing a level of match that could make his title mean something.

After losing the championship to Bad News Barrett on May 4 at Extreme Rules Big E got nothing to do until July. After losing a tag match he and partner Kofi Kingston were confronted by an angry Xavier Woods, who heelishly told the pair they should start taking. This angle was the beginning of The New Day faction. It wasn't until November that the creative team decided what they wanted the unit to be, at which point they were officially reintroduced to TV.

Unfortunately for Big E, Kingston and Woods what the creative team wanted them to be was a generic mid-card group. They became evangelists, wearing outfits of matching colour and singing with a choir. At the time I thought it had potential. Truth be told I still do. But true to form the writing team have taken the most basic route possible with the group, giving the characters no layers, no feuds, and little material to work with beyond the initial concept. After three months that's not enough.

As the man with the most singles potential in the group Big E would probably benefit from being split off on his own at this point. Woods looks like a jobber while Kingston has been knocking around the middle of the card for so long that it should be clear to everyone he's never going to progress further. Keeping E linked to them can only take him down to their level.

It would be nice if WWE not only split Big E away from the group but did so with an actual story and used the opportunity to do something about Big E's character at the same time. The most obvious thing would be to play on the established difference in Woods' and Bigster's characters. Woods initially got The New Day together  by saying they should take, which is classic disgruntled mid-carder fare. Even when he was a heel Big E has always been a character who's pretty laid back and has a sense of humour about himself and what he does for a living. There's a natural conflict between this laid back approach and Woods' entitled outlook.

A divide could appear between the two, Woods becoming  increasingly aggressive and Big E not approving of the change. Kofi could be stuck in the middle and be gradually won over by Woods' rhetoric. Big E could eventual snap and leave them to work as a regular tag team while he resumes his singles career. This could either be an amicable split or something that takes in a pay-per-view or featured TV match. The match approach would probably be better as it would give three guys something to do and create a match that people have a reason to care about on RAW.

Honma. A good-lookin' lad.

Whether we got Big E versus Kingston or Woods or Kingston and Woods or not Big E would be freed up for a gimmick refresh. I like the idea of him being remodelled on New Japan's Tomoaki Honma. He wears colourful tights, uses a lot of headbutts and goes for his finisher as soon as matches begin. Big E could throw a convincing headbutt and I'm sure he could splash out on some new singlets. Honma tends to wear red and yellow (presumably as a nod to Hulk Hogan, for whatever reason) but adds peculiar illustrations. Big E could get some primary coloured stuff made up with pop culture imagery on it. It would be different to what most people in WWE wear. Standing out in that way would give people someone to latch onto, and if people watching RAW need anything it's something to latch onto.

Being visually different is rarely a bad thing in wrestling. The same goes for having a distinctive move set, and while headbutts are simple they're also not something anyone else in WWE is currently noted for using. Big E wouldn't necessarily need to win all the time, or even often, but putting him by himself with some things to set him apart could, in time, help him get over. The slow route is what seems to earn the respect of fans these days. Why not put some promising guys in positions to take it?

Dawn of The New Day

Over the last month we've been introduced to WWE's New Day stable. More accurately we’ve been reintroduced. Two of the three members had previously been established as main roster mid-carders before disappearing a couple of months ago to allow for this repackaging. The other was a low-card guy who’d been called up to do a whole lot of nothing at the end of last year. They'd been loosely affiliated before their disappearance but only now are we getting confirmation that WWE actually knows what they want to do with them as a unit.

Another faction name considered was Guys in Suits.

The first man we were reacquainted with was Xavier Woods. He used to do a 90s pop culture gimmick¹. Before disappearing a few weeks ago the only thing he’d done of note since getting called up to the main roster was get The Funkadactyls to go to the ring with him for a while. He didn't really have much of a character at all beyond generic babyface loosely affiliated with R-Truth. So his transformation into an amalgamation of Little Richard and Ernest 'The Cat' Miller in a vignette on the November 3 RAW can probably be classified as an improvement.

Up next was Kofi Kingston. His exquisitely trimmed and incredibly pointy beard remained intact. So did his lack of charisma. That's always been Kofi’s problem. Perhaps being teamed with two guys with more personality will help him bring out his own on camera. Ultimately personality isn't the reason he's in the stable. He’s there because practically everything else that could conceivably get him over has been tried during his seven years on the main roster.

Finally the November 17 RAW featured a vignette in which Big E channelled Martin Luther King. Super relaxed in his jeans and T-shirt combo it was possible to believe he could become a star again. That's not something we've been able to say about him since before his premature split from Dolph Ziggler. If E can be as comfortable in front of an audience as he was in his video he'll go somewhere.

It seems as though the three have touches of a televangelist gimmick to them. They appeared in front of a choir and gave spirited, sermon-flavoured promos about a new day dawning. It was eye-catching and memorable. Alone it’s not enough to help them get anywhere but it was a good start.

It looks like they’re intended as a babyface trio. That’s a positive sign. WWE has had some success with those over the last two years in the form of The Shield and The Wyatt Family. The writers should have a good idea of what to do and what to avoid when it comes to handling a three man faction. Not least because it’s easy to see their interest in this new team waning quickly, something the previous trios didn’t have to contend with. The Shield was comprised of three guys considered future headliners while the Wyatts were built around a future headliner so they were guaranteed attention. New Day features a long term mid-carder and a man who was promoted on a whim. Only Big E has main event potential and he’s been subjected to stop-start booking over the last year.

If The New Day can get half as over as The Shield they'll be doing well.

It’s tough to know what to expect from The New Day. Both the Wyatts and The Shield started out as heels before becoming faces (albeit never officially in the case of the Wyatts) mostly due to the strength of their booking and their dynamic performances. What we’ve seen so far makes it look like New Day are going to begin their time together as faces. Perhaps they’ll go heel over time. That could work in storyline terms but it wouldn’t do much for the three individuals. Kofi and Xavier seem far better suited to the protagonist role and while Big E has appeared proficient at playing both heel and face right now a face run is what’s best for him. It will allow him to show his personality, giving people a reason to warm to him and showing that he’s more than just a body guy.

It seems unlikely the new group will achieve the success the Wyatts and ‘The Hounds of Justice’ did before them. Mostly because archetypal job guy Xavier Woods is involved. But maybe WWE will surprise us and give the team things to do. Like giving the tag division one of its periodic rejuvenations or putting together another trio to oppose them. Unlikely I know. I think the most realistic thing we can hope for is that the group gets something to do on RAW every week for the next six months and Big E gets treated as the man who’ll go on to singles stardom. If it ends up being the thing that launches him up the card it will have been a success.

***

¹ Not as cool as it sounds. Instead of using phrases from 90s TV shows for move names or in promos or putting 90s emblems and motifs on his ring gear he basically said “It’s morphin’ time” sometimes. There’s a load of iconography and phrases to latch on to from the 90s and Woods did a poor job of tapping into it. Our best hope for making use of the 90s gimmick now seems to be Angelo Dawkins. Not because he’s hinted that he might, but because it’s not a million miles away from the backpack-wearing self-aware nerd he’s playing now.

SmackTalk 10.10.14: SmackDown Fifteenth Anniversay

If I could I’d start this post by making note of some of my favourite SmackDown memories from the past fifteen years. With it being an anniversary show it seems the appropriate thing to do. Unfortunately I can’t remember anything that wasn’t highlight by WWE during the show. That’s mostly due to SmackDown being the number two show for the majority of its life.

In fact the only thing I feel that’s worth mentioning here is that the first regular episode of SmackDown aired in the US on 26 August 1999. That means WWE are close to two months late with this fifteenth anniversary celebration. And, for the record, that wasn’t even the first episode of SmackDown. The first episode had been recorded and aired as a special in April ’99. I’d understand WWE ignoring that date in favour of the show’s debut as a weekly fixture, but I can’t say the same about this random October date.

But this isn’t the first time WWE have changed facts and figures for their own needs. It won’t be the last either. What was nice about the show was that WWE managed to capture the general pointlessness the programme has in 2014 and turn it into something worth celebrating. Truly they are masters of turning nothing into something (albeit something forgettable and entirely skippable).

The show kicked off with a video package filled with fast cuts between memorable SmackDown moments. Included were a generic Edge and Christian bit; some double posing from Triple H and Hulk Hogan; a face-off between Hogan and Brock Lesnar; Rock’s sliding People’s Elbow on The British Bulldog (it wasn’t clear that it was Bulldog, but it was); Schwarzenegger holding a replica title belt over his head and grinning; Rhino goring Chris Jericho through the stage set; Bischoff swerving the universe at the Billy and Chuck wedding by peeling off a fake face (which is particularly strange taken out of the wedding context as it was here); Cody throwing Sandow's briefcase into water and Sandow leaping in after it; Eddie Guerrero doing a frog splash off a cage (I can’t remember who took it, for which I can only apologise); Cena debuting opposite Kurt Angle; the Lesnar-Big Show ring explosion; Austin blowing up the DX Express; Rock making Coach dance the Charleston; and Undertaker parodying himself with the "Buckle up Teddy!" line. After that the video rattled through shots of Austin, Rock, Undertaker, DX, Jericho and others on SmackDown, presumably to remind us that the show was once pretty relevant.

Sadly there was no "Tag match, playa!" But we'd get to that. In fact we’d get back to many of the clips shown here. WWE replayed many of them later in the show in a series of celebratory reminders which, again, seemed designed to remind people that things used to happen on SmackDown.

In the arena it was Stephanie McMahon who got the show started. She was introduced not only as a principle owner but also the first ever SmackDown GM. As she strode to the ring Michael Cole informed us that when SmackDown first aired JBL was still wrestling and Tom Philips was ten years-old. Naturally he avoided revealing that when SmackDown first aired he was being humiliated by The Rock on a weekly basis.

Stephanie mentioned Rock coining the term SmackDown and losing to Triple H on the debut episode. Then she got interrupted by John Laurinaitis. The initial reaction to him was (understandably) uninspired but a nice “People power!” chant started up as soon as his music cut. Big Johnny said he'd been researching (though he didn't say what) on the WWE Network and had some matches he wanted to make. He didn't get to reveal them because Teddy Long came out, to a much louder reaction than Laurinaitis had received. JBL got up to dance and shake Teddy's hand. The crowd broke out in a “Teddy!” chant. Children wept with happiness. Women screamed out their love and adoration. Men shouted that they aspired to one day be as charismatic, powerful, and downright cool as Teddy Long. WWE were fools to release the man. He's money.

"Tag match, playa!"

Teddy and Johnny had a little back and forth (including Teddy nonsensically cramming in the line "The proof is in the playa") before Johnny announced a tag match. Teddy upped it to a six man tag match. Laurinaitis jumped it to a ten man tag. Teddy stacked it up further still, settling on a fifteen man tag match. It took him an age to run through the teams. I’m sure this as a joke at his expense, and that the segment was edited heavily.

Steph added the stip that the two men would captain the teams. The winning team would earn their captain the title of Best GM Ever. She put over the night’s Miz TV and then Adam Rose danced out to wish SmackDown a happy birthday and tell Stephanie to be a Rosebud. Stephanie booked him in a match with Kane. The three GMs danced into a break for some mid-2000s SmackDown surrealism.

The evening’s first glance to the past video played. It focused on the main event of the first episode, Triple H defending the WWF world championship against The Rock. It ended with guest referee super kicking ‘The Brahma Bull’ in the face, allowing his buddy to recover and hit a Pedigree for the win. I have never seen this match because Sky took a while to start airing SmackDown. I’ve seen enough Rock v Triple H matches to assume it was good.

After a break Kane came out. He was not wearing a vest, sadly. He listed some of the things he's not (a cheeseburger, a bunny, a lemon, a Rosebud) and said that what he is is a party pooper. Obviously he did this because those things were in Rise's entourage, but listing what he's not should be a new Kane gimmick. Basically, I want Kane to be made as peculiar and strange as possible. He no longer makes sense in any way as a character. WWE should embrace that.

‘The Big Red Machine’ won quickly with a choke slam. It was Rose’s first loss, pretty impressive when you consider how long he’s been on TV without a serious push behind him. He can now fulfil his destiny and become a jobber to the stars. After the match Kane punched, kicked and choke slammed a number of the Rosebuds. He nearly got his hands on the bunny, but it got away.

Blast from the past vid number two saw Kurt Angle issuing an open challenge to any young guy in the back wanting a shot at him. Because he was a big star in a big company back then, and a competitive match against him was a big deal. Cena lost the match, although WWE omitted that fact because these days Cena has to be shown as all powerful, not someone who’d lose to cleanly to a guy who no longer works for the company. Rikishi, Ron Simmons, and, most significantly, then-WWE champion Undertaker were booked to congratulate him afterwards. Ron said Cena would go far. He is wrestling’s Nostradamus.

Match two saw AJ Lee wrestle Alicia Fox. It was another short match. AJ won when she got picked up for a slam and countered into a Black Widow. Paige attacked after the match but AJ quickly dispatched her and skipped off.

The third recap focused on big stunts. Included was footage of Eddie Guerrero leaping off a cage (again); Jeff vaulting from one ladder over another ladder and going through a table; Rey Mysterio's debut jumping off a cage onto the UnAmericans; Kane jumping off a turnbuckle onto the New Age Outlaws during an inferno match; Mark Henry breaking into a cage; Mark Henry awkwardly jumping off the second rope through a table (probably edited to fool people not paying attention into thinking Henners did a top of the cage splash through a table); The Shield triple power bombing The Undertaker through a table; Stephanie slapping Linda; Rhino Goring Jericho through the set (again); and Lesnar superplexing Big Show to collapse the ring (again).

Kofi's face equals pain.

That was followed by Seth Rollins v Kofi Kingston. Rollins had Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble with him at ringside. Which gives me a chance to talk about their status as the New Stooges. Basically, I’m all for this. Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco received a sort of second career when they became Vince McMahon’s stooges in 1998, and it’s arguably what they’re most remembered for now. I like the idea of Triple H having a similar relationship with Noble and Mercury, two guys who were always competent but never especially over during their runs as active wrestlers.

Rollins versus Kingston was not the first match you'd probably expect. Rollins controlled the bulk of the encounter and kept the pace slow. Early foray to ringside and brief Kofi comeback aside there was nothing much to see. Rollins won with a buckle bomb and a Curb Stomp.

That was followed by a Wyatt Family video. It focused on Luke Harper having been fixed and getting sent out into the world. I think splitting the trio is a mistake. You can read a lengthy explanation here, but basically Harper and Rowan are more likely to be booked, and booked relatively prominently, if they remain affiliated, even loosely, with Bray.  

Another recap followed that. The topic was Money in the Bank cash-ins. It was an odd choice as there were only two to show. The first was Edge’s World Heavyweight title win over ‘Taker, one night after he’d defeated original Money in the Bank contract holder Mr Kennedy for the briefcase. The second saw Jack Swagger cashing in on Jericho to win his one and only world title.

Everybody taps.

Ziggler v Rusev was preceded by the obligatory replay of The Rock's surprise appearance on RAW. The match was, by the standards of Rusev's TV appearances, a competitive affair. Ziggler sold for a while before making a comeback with a corner splash and a Fameasser. Rusev weathered those, blocked a super kick, then hit a super kick of his own and applied The Accolade for the tap out victory.

Afterwards Lana laid into Philadelphia (hey, you gotta get that cheap heat) and The Rock. Rusev said Rock would pay for what he'd done and also challenged Big Show to face him on RAW, promising to crush him. I expect that will be more angle than match. The natural place for that bout is Hell in a Cell (the show, not the gimmick).

A reminder that Steve Austin and Booker T once brawled around a supermarket came next. I hated this segment at the time. It was a funny enough premise but it dragged. I’m sure the unedited version lasts around five minutes, which is a painful amount of time to watch two men hit each other with groceries.

The Rock, Triple H and Stephanie were shown meeting up backstage after RAW. It started with awkward, unamusing smalltalk. They reminisced about the first SmackDown main event. Rock brought up how amazing it would be for them to have one more match at a WrestleMania. Both thought they'd win, obvs. The segment ended with Triple H telling Stephanie Rock was cheap for never picking up a cheque. It took a while to get going but it ended up being pretty enjoyable.

For the record I think WWE could do worse than a Triple H versus Rock match at WrestleMania 31 or 32. The most interesting thing about the idea, to me, is that even though they feuded on and off for years they never had a singles match at a WrestleMania. In fact, the only match they had at a 'Mania was a four-way elimination including Mick Foley and Big Show which saw ‘The Great One’ and ‘The Game’ as the final two. Promoted as their final ever confrontation, with videos put together to remind us that their feud was a constant as they progressed from the middle to the top of the roster and included dozens of TV and pay-per-view confrontations, I think it could be a big nostalgia attraction. That said, I think it would be better to have both men facing younger guys.

Back in the arena Michael Cole showed a (sloppily made) cake with the SmackDown logo on it. JBL chucked it over Tom Phillips and everyone had a good laugh. Well, Cole and Layfield did. The audience chuckled humourlessly. I rolled my eyes. The eye-rolling stopped when Booker T was introduced as a guest commentator for the main event. His first sentence on the headsets included the words “shucky ducky quack quack”. I’d be completely fine if JBL were only on RAW and Booker was left to handle SmackDown again.

The final flashback video showed highlights of the episode of SmackDown where Austin psyched out the McMahon-Helmsley faction. They went out the ring to call him out, foolishly leaving their tour bus unattended. ‘Stone Cold’ took that opportunity to hijack a crane and blow the bus up. Natch.

Match-wise Team Teddy versus Team Johnny was the main event. Teddy team was comprised of Sheamus, Mark Henry, Jack Swagger, the Usos, Los Matadores, and El Torito. Big Johnny’s was comprised of Cesaro, Bo Dallas, Stardust, Goldust, Damien Mizdow, Slater Gator, and Mini Gator.

It was the longest match of the night by a wide margin. It had time to be good but there were too many guys involved for it to accomplish that. Everyone seemed to settle on making it inoffensive and they managed it. And if that doesn’t perfectly sum up fifteen years of SmackDown I don’t know what does.

Dives are always good for a pop.

Jimmy Uso was kept in the ring to play babyface in peril for a while. During this time there was a loud “We want Mizdow!” chant and extended cheers when he tagged in. When Jimmy finally managed to make the tag it was to Sheamus. He blasted through the majority of his opposition and a sequence of Big Spots™ kicked off. Shaymo lined up Cesaro, Stardust and Slater to give them all his ten punch spot. The babyface tag teams hit some dives. Henry went to hit a World’s Strongest Slam on Bo but found himself sent tumbling over the top rope. Bo then power bombed El Torito onto a gaggle of guys hanging around at ringside. The ending saw Mizdow tag in and try an SCF on ‘Great White’, only to be rammed into the turnbuckle, slump to the mat, and take the match-wnning top rope splash from an Uso. Let's say it was Jey.

After another Wyatt video, this one focusing on Erick Rowan (described as a big child) it was time for the main event promo segment. Before introducing his guests Miz announced that the Ambrose v Cena match at Hell in Cell will not just be for a Cell match with Rollins. It will also be a contract on a pole match. Maybe Russo, free of the constraints of working for TNA, has returned to WWE to book pole matches. But probably not.

Ambrose kicked things off by saying he attacked Cena on RAW to show that it doesn't matter who he is or what he’s accomplished: nobody crosses Dean Ambrose. Anyone that crosses him gets hunted down. He also made it clear that he wants Rollins inside the Hell in a Cell because Rollins crossed him. Which was a good move: it would have been all too easy for the focus of the segment to be Cena and Ambrose's match, when it should have been about the hatred both have for Rollins and their reasons for wanting him. Which is what ended up happening, unfortunately. But hey, Ambrose tried.

Cena immediately did his best to undercut Ambrose by being patronising, telling him he was impressed. Apparently he listens to the reactions everyone gets and watches every segment of every show. Which is probably true, but it could make him sound a little paranoid about the safety of his spot. He said Ambrose has "it", that mythical, undefinable quality that separates the massively successful wrestlers from their peers? No. A pair of baseballs, which Cena pulled from his pocket. Presumably they were there to represent testicles, a shorthand for tenacity and determination in wrestling.

How else was WWE going to close their fifteenth anniversary SmackDown show?

Cena yammered a bit more putting himself over and saying he likes his chances at Hell in a Cell. Miz asked Ambrose if he likes his chances against Cena. Ambrose’s response: "Yep." Cena said he'd see Ambrose at HIAC. Miz stopped him and tried to stir things up between them. The faces gave Miz a beating. Cena quickly hoisted 'The Awesome One' up for an AA but decided to put him down and let Ambrose hit the double arm DDT instead... after which Ambrose took an AA.

As a wrestling show, this episode of SmackDown was subpar. Only one segment did anything for the next pay-per-view and only one match lasted more than five minutes, and it wasn’t very good. But as a celebration of SmackDown’s fifteen year history it worked. Teddy Long, John Laurinaitis and Booker T were all used effectively and everything about the self-contained story of the episode (the battle of the former GMs) screamed inconsequential filler. And if that’s not SmackDown for most of the past fifteen years, I don’t know what is.

Bad Bad Guys

Where’s the heat in WWE?

Look at any Randy Orton appearance over the last six months. The crowd will boo as soon as his music hits but there’s no passion to it. It’s done out of a sense of habit or because the audience knows that’s what’s expected of them. ‘The Viper’ is WWE’s lead bad guy and so he needs to be booed.

No wrestler should be getting booed just because they’re a baddie. They should be getting booed because the audience dislikes them and wants to see them receive their comeuppance. The wrestler should be genuinely disliked. And that’s not the case with Orton. He’s booed because he’s boring and because people feel they should play along.

And it’s not just Orton. Very few wrestlers in WWE seem to understand how to turn crowds against themselves or why it’s an important part of their job. That or they’re concerned about being genuinely hated by fans. While the latter is a worry it’s also part of the territory for a pro wrestler at the WWE level: people should be willing to make themselves hated so that their good guy counterparts can become more appreciated by contrast. Everyone in wrestling benefits from having heels people want to see beaten on a roster.

A leading theory is that cool heels like the nWo ruined the business. Now every bad guy wants to take that route. That, people say, allows you to act in a heelish manner, with all the creative freedom that entails, while still receiving a healthy royalty cheque for T-shirt sales at the end of the month. That’s a simplification of the argument, but it’s accurate enough.

The easy to hate Randy Orton.

I don’t agree with the theory. While I imagine it’s desirable for a lot of wrestlers to be the cool bad guy it won’t be for all of them. As I’ve already stated I think the bigger problem is that too many people just don’t want to be full-on bad guys because of the possible repercussions. That and WWE’s approach doesn’t allow for much variety. For the most part every bad guy acts like every other bad guy. Every good guy acts like every other good guy. It’s an approach which makes riling crowds up, or forming positive bonds with them, hard.

Of course, it doesn’t help that the good guys the company has on offer are limp and fairly uninteresting. With bland guys like Kofi Kingston and the Usos being the norm people gravitate towards the heels because, by their nature, they get to show a bit more personality and character. Look at Bad News Barrett earlier this year. He was set up as a heel for months on end but people took to cheering him because he exhibited more personality than the stock WWE babyface. Bray Wyatt has become a mesmeric tweener. Fandango, Cesaro and Bo Dallas have experienced it too, getting cheers when they are, apparently, supposed to be the bad guys.

It shouldn’t be hard for the writing team, and the wrestlers themselves, to come up with reasons for fans to cheer and boo with passion at the appropriate times. Although an inability to do so would explain the woeful lack of interesting storylines outside of the main event.

Hour Two

Over the course of That Wrestling Podcast Michael and I began frequently using the term hour two. It references the fact that the second hour of RAW almost always playing host to good but ultimately inconsequential matches. These matches usually feature the likes of Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler. Guys who can wrestle a top notch match but who, for whatever reason, WWE seem unwilling to push beyond this filler role.

Good enemies, better friends?

This is something that could actually be used to WWE's advantage. Kingston and Ziggler could be paired up as a team or, better yet, put in a trio (those are so in right now) alongside a similarly overlooked mid-card vet such as Tyson Kidd or Justin Gabriel. It would be creating a new dynamic for the matches of all three and opening up storyline options for RAW's second hour (and SmackDown, Main Event, and pay-per-views too, obvs). That RAW’s second hour is bereft of plots is particularly depressing and something I think most would like to see changed.

There are various ways the three could be brought together. They could simply announce they're forming a team. That's suitably bland enough to suit WWE but it would be particularly unimpactful (if that wasn’t a word it is now). They could interfere in each other's matches for a few weeks before officially forming a group. My personal choice would be for the three of them to be booked in a three-way match for a US or Intercontinental title shot and announce the formation of their group instead of wrestling one another, challenging any three wrestlers to come out and steal the show with them in a six man tag instead. Because a desire to steal the show would need to be the driving force of a faction of this type, naturally.

If the three members got into the idea of being a faction it could become a highlight of RAW. Wearing some colour-coordinated gear and working on some double and triple team sequences would help to set them apart visually. They could bring back the strangely out of fashion practice of being at ringside for each other's single and tag team matches. Kidd and Kofi could be paired up as a regular duo and 'The Show Off' could be booked to pursue IC and-or US gold, with all three coming together for six mans every few weeks and facing their various opponents (or three randoms).

If left alone to establish themselves as a trio over a period of months then encounters with the Wyatt Family could be big events (had The Shield not split they’d have been natural opponents too). Imagine if this proposed new group closed an episode of RAW by attacking and getting the better of the Wyatt Family after months of earning a reputation of being a formidable three man team. In fact, you don't need to. Just glance at the face-off between the Wyatts and 'The Hounds of Justice' from November 2013 to see how well crowds will respond to such a stand-off if both teams have been built up to matter.

This proposed group (or one thematically similar to it) would give some structure to WWE's permanently overlooked middle card and give three guys the chance to get over without too much time commitment from the apparently overworked creative team. If they were allowed to develop character and a group dynamic WWE could have another Shield or Wyatt Family on their hands. The name of this proposed group? To do it full justice only one name's appropriate: Hour Two.

SmackTalk 14.03.14

This episode of SmackDown typified how little attention WWE pays to the show. With WrestleMania three weeks away it’s clear that everything that means something is being saved for RAW, because that’s the show that people associate with big announcements. SmackDown is the supplementary show that does a bit more wrestling and catches people up with Monday night happenings.

Think Triple H’s promo on Daniel Bryan proves me wrong? Think again. Nothing of interest is said by a shakier than usual ‘Game’. The aim is to remind everyone that Triple H and Bryan are going to face off at WrestleMania, and that D-Bry will get added to the main event if he wins. There was no new information and there won’t be until Tripper interacts with Bryan. Which will happen on RAW, naturally.

But just because nothing important happens doesn’t mean SmackDown’s not enjoyable. The quality of matches was high. The tag team opener, Sandow versus Rollins, and Ziggler versus Del Rio were all above average, and Bray Wyatt versus Kofi Kingston and the heavyweight main event clash were both inoffensive affairs. Even the Divas match between Nikki Bella and Tamina was watchable.

Most importantly this show demonstrated consistency. No major storyline advancements occurred but everyone who appeared was a known quantity who did what we as an audience expected from them. Predictability isn’t good all the time, but when it results in reliable second tier shows I think there’s something to be said for it. If WWE could get storylines going for everyone on the card, no matter how minor, I think their product would be about as good as it can get. As it is it’s not far off.

Opening

Tweet 1: Let's tweet some smack.

Tweet 2: Cena being prominent in the SmackDown opening is a bit ridiculous isn't it? He's barely ever on the show.
Tweet 3: I imagine he'll be opening the show now...

The Real Americans v The Rhodes Brothers

Tweet 4: Oh no. It's the Real Americans. Lovely stuff. Antonio Cesaro. Heeeeeey...

Tweet 5: Michael Cole needs to start referring to Swagger as 'Big Hoss'. Not just because it's on Swag's jacket but because it's funny.
Tweet 6: Loving Cesaro nearly dropping Cody then powering him up like he's nothing.
Tweet 7: If The Real Americans split who will Zeb side with. Realistically it should be Cesaro. But Swagger needs a manager more.


Cesaro is a swinger

Tweet 8: Duelling tags. Uh-oh-spaghetti-ohs!
Tweet 9: Yeah if I was Swagger and Cesaro beating up a weakened man I'd totes run away from Jimmy and Jey Uso too...

Triple H promo

Tweet 10: Bryan v Triple H is what's best for business. As is the title match stipulation.

Tweet 11: Cole's got heat with Triple H. 'The Game' stood him up. #heat
Tweet 12: Daniel Bryan's not on SmackDown because of the people. Nothing to do with him being on a house show at all.
Tweet 13: This promo is all over the place. What do you want to say, Triple H? Sort that out and say it.
Tweet 14: Alright, D-Bry's an underdog. We get it. We don't need to hear it said fifty different ways.
Tweet 15: "At WrestleMania I put an end to your dreams and I bury Daniel Bryan" - Triple H, who had to know what he was saying there
Tweet 16: What happened to Sandow's push? Did it disappear along with the sleeves of his T-shirts?
Tweet 17: Triple H is fine saying talent but not wrestler. Priceless.
Tweet 18: Is Triple H shrinking or is Sandow taller than I thought?

Damien Sandow v Seth Rollins

Tweet 19: Rollins facing Sandow. Who's the face here?

Tweet 20: It's Rolins, isn't it? Even though he's got back-up at ringside.
Tweet 21: If Triple H wanted to punish Sandow shouldn't he have booked him against Kane? Or Reigns? Or all three Shield guys?
Tweet 22: Rollins is a good wrestler but he's not intimidating is my point.
Tweet 23: Ambrose won't fist bump. But he will instigate a beatdown. And a triple power bomb.
Tweet 24: How much posing do these three want to do...?

Damien Sandow: staring at lights and fists

Big E v Fandango

Tweet 25: Faaaaaan... daaaaaan... goooooo's still got it. #neverlostit
Tweet 26: What the Andre battle royal needs is some grace and class. Because Andre was known for both.
Tweet 27: I wish JBL would stop pushing Fandango's win over Jericho as the biggest upset in WrestleMania history.
Tweet 28: Everyone knows it's Sheikh winning the gimmick battle royal.
Tweet 29: I've nothing against Big E but he shouldn't be squashing Fandango.
Tweet 30: I can't hear the Big Ending mentioned without thinking it sounds filthy.

Bad News Barrett gives some bad news

Tweet 31: I've got some bad news. There's a Bad News Barrett segment...

Tweet 32: "Look at that podium!" - Fan of podiums, Michael Cole
Tweet 33: Barrett's bad news was that The Undertaker will lose at 'Mania which will lead to everyone watching getting fired.

RAW Recap: Hulk Hogan and John Cena are confronted by The Wyatt Family

Tweet 34: I can't be the only one who noticed that Hogan placed himself right in the middle of the ring for the Wyatt promo on RAW.

Tweet 35: He literally stole Cena's spotlight.

Bray Wyatt v Kofi Kingston

Tweet 36: Bray Wyatt doesn't need the SmackDown Crowd Noise Machine.

Tweet 37: Wyatt versus Kingston. Technically this is a pay-per-view quality match. Y'know, cos they faced each other at Battleground last year.
Tweet 38: I'm not a fan of Kofi's Joker tights. He'd look good with a Spider-man design.
Tweet 39: "You are far less a man than I" - Bray 'Mid-Match Promo' Wyatt
Tweet 40: If Wyatt wins he gets his own era? Is that an official stip?

Bray Wyatt: maxing and relaxing

Kane speaks to The Shield backstage

Tweet 41: Corporate Kane is one of the best things in wrestling today.

Tweet 42: That they're still using the flame motif for Kane is great. It doesn't make sense any more but who cares?

Nikki Bella v Tamina

Tweet 43: Nikki Bella stretching there. No comment.

Tweet 44: Nikki's hat is covered in spikes. Is that what fashion is now? If so you can keep it.
Tweet 45: AJ's on commentary talking about how the Divas division has stepped up. She's wrong.
Tweet 46: That was a rough looking super kick from Tamina.
Tweet 47: Nikki using the backbreaker drop is pretty impressive. The win over Tamina's not bad either.


This is called a Rack Attack. True story

Dolph Ziggler v Alberto Del Rio

Tweet 48: That people still react to Ziggler is encouraging. I don't think he's getting pushed again though.

Tweet 49: This match could be really good if they're given ten minutes. I doubt they will be.
Tweet 50: Is there a more overused spot in wrestling than wrestlers insisting to the referee that they should have just made a three count?
Tweet 51: Pretty sure Ziggler does it in every match.
Tweet 52: Fameasser!! #BadAssBillyZiggler
Tweet 53: Inverted superplex. Impressive that they're pulling that out on SmackDown.
Tweet 54: Ziggler over clean with the Zig Zag. Great match considering the time they had.
Tweet 55: Ziggler's in the Andre battle royal. Someone's got to take the bumps...
Tweet 56: Ziggler saying he'll finally get his WrestleMania Moment could lead to an interesting story. Have him go for it every year and always miss.
Tweet 57: Then in four or five years give him something really memorable on the show.

Carlos Colon Hall of Fame announcement

Tweet 58: Carlos Colon's going into the Hall of Fame. And it's being announced on SmackDown.

Tweet 59: Twenty-six time WWC heavyweight champ. You may also be interested to know that he owned the promotion.
Tweet 60: I want Mideon to induct him.

Kane v Big Show

Tweet 61: Kane’s vest status: existential.

Tweet 62: Will Michael Cole reference the tag title reigns Kane and Show have had? Doubtful.
Tweet 63: Nip slip from Big Show there.
Tweet 64: Choke slam attempt versus choke slam attempt. This is drama!
Tweet 65: Big Show kicks out of a choke slam from the top rope. All the big moves are getting pulled out for this show.
Tweet 66: Nice that Rollins was the one to call off that attack. WWE seem to be going out of their way to not make one Shield guy a leader.
Tweet 67: And Kane goes down to a choke slam. Not even a top rope one. What a baby.

Poor Kane

Tweet 68: And then Kane takes a spear. No triple power bomb though. He probably asked not to be subjected to that. Like a baby.