Money in the Bank 2018 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Money in the Bank 2018. 

Fastlane 2018 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Fastlane 2018.

Clash of Champions 2017 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Clash of Champions 2017.

WWE Hell in a Cell 2017 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Hell in a Cell 2017.

KO vs. HHH?

Kevin Owens is the latest wrestler to enter a feud with a McMahon as he is set to do battle against Shane McMahon at the Hell in a Cell event in October. While Owens currently has his sights set on Shane O’Mac, is a future match with the Game on the horizon?

If I’m not mistaken, the last two times an attack on Vince McMahon was a major factor in a WWE storyline Triple H got involved. When Randy Orton targeted the entire McMahon family, Triple H defeated him at Wrestlemania 25. When Brock Lesnar dropped Vince with an F5, Triple H pinned the beast at Wrestlemania 29. Kevin Owens just Vince’s head open and squashed him with a frog splash on SmackDown after which Stephanie McMahon came to the ring to both help her father and show her anger toward Owens.

While the feud could end at Hell in a Cell between Owens and Shane McMahon, there is the possibility that it will continue and evolve in to Owens vs. the McMahons as opposed to Ownes vs Shane. Should it turn into a family affair Triple H will likely get involved, and the story would seemingly make no sense. Here’s why.

When Shane returned in 2016, Vince was not happy and had him face the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 32 in a hell in a cell match. So why is Vince all of a sudden on Shane’s side? Stephanie and Shane also feuded for control of WWE with Shane being granted control of SmackDown and Stephanie being granted control of Raw. So why was Stephanie at SmackDown when Vince was hurt? The last time Stephanie was on television, she was a heel. By going up against Owens, does that make her a face?

Perhaps I am looking to far into the storyline, but it does not make sense form a logical standpoint. Things will be even more illogical if Triple H gets involved as he essentially handed Owens the Universal Championship last year. Are fans supposed to forget that happened? Also, Owens and Samoa Joe teamed up for a little bit during Wrestlemania 33 season to do some of Triple H’s dirty work making a possible Owens vs. Triple H feud is a head scratcher.

Hopefully Owens just sticks to Shane O’Mac. The storyline would be simpler, less contradicting and a win over the SmackDown general manger at Hell in a Cell could cement Owens as the biggest heel on the blue brand. A battle with Triple H would not be needed in order to establish that. I understand that wrestling is fake, but I do not want my intelligence insulted when I watch it. A Kevin Owens vs. Triple H feud would do just that.

WWE Battleground 207 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Battleground 2017.

WWE Money in the Bank 2017 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Money in the Bank 2017. 

WWE Backlash 2017 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Backlash 2017.

WWE Payback 2017 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Payback 2017.

WWE Fastlane 2017 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Fastlane 2017.

Who Will The Phenom Face?

The road to Wrestlemania is officially underway. Over the last few weeks, various wrestlers have announced their participation in the Royal Rumble match. Wrestlers such as Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, the Miz, the Undertaker, and Dean Ambrose have all said that they will be participating in the bout. The winner will earn a main event title shot at Wrestlemania, and I believe that the Undertaker is the current odds on favorite to emerge victorious. Should the Undertaker indeed win the Royal Rumble match, who will he face? Allow me to explain.

There are currently two world champions in WWE. Raw is home to reigning WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens, and SmackDown has WWE World Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles. Owens is in the midst of a feud with Roman Reigns and appears to have a showdown with Chris Jericho on the horizon. Styles is currently set to defend his title against John Cena at the Royal Rumble in what should be another fantastic bout between the two top wrestlers of the blue brand. I think Cena will defeat Styles and win his record-tying 16^th world title. This will set up the much-anticipated Wrestlemania showdown with the Undertaker.

A Wrestlemania match between “the face that runs the place” and “the phenom” is a Wrestlemania dream match that has yet to come to fruition. The two were engaged in a rivalry during Cena’s early days on the roster in 2003, and they almost faced off at Wrestlemania 23 in 2007. The Undertaker had won the Royal Rumble match that year and Cena was the reigning WWE Champion. It was teased that “the dead man” was going to face Cena, but he ultimately challenged Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship instead.

I think it would be very fitting if Cena and the Undertaker clashed at the “Showcase of the Immortals.” The Undertaker has been a WWE cornerstone for nearly three decades, and Cena has been the most well-known wrestler on the roster for about 15 years. A bout between two of WWE’s greatest wrestlers would definitely sell out Wrestlemania 33, and WWE needs to capitalize on this opportunity. The Undertaker only has a few matches left in him, and Cena is transitioning from a full time wrestler to a part time wrestler/actor. The window is closing fast for this match, and I think that this is the year WWE pulls the trigger on a Wrestlemania matchup between Cena and the Undertaker.

WWE Roadblock 2016 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Roadblock 2016.

WWE Hell in a Cell 2016 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Hell in a Cell 2016.

The Gift of Jericho

WWE Raw can feel like a chore to watch sometimes. It may be the third hour of programming or the lack of character development that wrestlers such as the cruiserweights have, but sitting through Raw every Monday night can be a tough thing to do. The brand split has changed the dynamic of WWE by making SmackDown the premier WWE show as its programming is very well done and is a joy to watch every Tuesday. Despite the blue brand overcoming Raw in terms of quality, Raw has something that SmackDown does not: the gift of Jericho.

Chris Jericho has been the best part of Monday Night Raw ever since the draft, and he seemingly gets better each and every week. Even though he is a veteran on the roster and one of the last active wrestlers from the Attitude Era, Jericho has never been more entertaining than he is right now, and that’s saying something. From an in ring perspective, Jericho has been and still is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He usually delivers with solid action and a great performance no matter who his opponent is. However, his work on the microphone is what is really making him standout from the rest of the pack of the red brand.

Ever since his feud with Dean Ambrose resulted in Jericho replacing his light up jacket with a vest and scarf, Jericho has been adding layers to his character that make him one of the most interesting and entertaining wrestlers in WWE. His ability to turn the phrase “stupid idiot” and the word “it” into part of his gimmick is on par with Stone Cold Steve Austin turning the word “what” into an arena chant that is still said by wrestling crowds today. His latest additions to his arsenal of catch phrases in “you just made the list” and “quiet” have caught in with the WWE Universe rather quickly, and I’m sure it will only be a matter of time before WWE capitalizes on this by releasing merchandise featuring Y2J’s popular sayings.

Another great aspect of Jericho’s character is his “best friend” Kevin Owens. Like Jericho, Owens is a great in ring performer and is excellent on the microphone and when paired with Jericho, a segment that would otherwise seem like boring filler becomes instantly entertaining. WWE refers to them as Jeri-KO, but Jericho calls themselves Team Chris and Kevin and Owens says Team Kevin and Chris. It’s little details like this that display the great chemistry Owens and Jericho have with each other. Owens will often tell Jericho to put somebody on the list which Jericho does, and Jericho refers to himself and Owens as the WWE Universal Champion by constantly using the pronoun “we” when discussing the title despite the fact that Owens is the actual champ. This “friendship” with Owens is another great element of Jericho’s character that both gives him somebody to play off of while planting the seeds for a future rivalry.

In conclusion, it is plain to see why Jericho is the best part of Monday Night Raw. Despite being one of the oldest wrestlers on the roster, he can still perform in the ring like he did when he first burst on the scene. He continues to prove why he is regarded as one of the best talkers in the industry, and his ability to play off Kevin Owens is fantastic. However, words cannot do Jericho justice and to truly see how entertaining Y2J is, tune into Monday Night Raw so that you can drink in the gift of Jericho.

WWE Clash of Champions 2016 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Clash of Champions 2016.

My All Time Favorite Wrestling Moment

If you have been a frequent visitor of my website or follow me on Twitter, then you know that I am a diehard fan of professional wrestling. I have been a fan ever since I was kid when guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock were the top guys of the industry. I have watched tons of episodes of Raw and Smackdown and have seen numerous pay-per-views. I have seen matches that were duds and others that were thrillers, and I have witnessed moments and segments that have blown the roof off arenas. However, Money in the Bank 2016 produced the moment that is easily my all time favorite in my nearly twenty years of being a wrestling fan. That moment of course was Dean Ambrose successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Going into Money in the Bank, the two favorites to win the contract were Ambrose and Kevin Owens. I had predicted that Ambrose would win the contract after his feud with Jericho ended at Extreme Rules. However, Owens is the best heel in WWE today, and I began to think WWE would make him the winner. I like Owens and normally I would have been happy to see him win the contract, but Ambrose is my all time favorite wrestler so I was rooting for him to climb the ladder and grab the briefcase. Of course, the match came down to Owens and Ambrose battling atop the ladder and when Ambrose knocked off Owens and grabbed the briefcase, I was elated. I thought the night could not get any better...but WWE had a few more surprises.

The main event was a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. The match was a very entertaining bout, and I thought that Reigns was going to retain his title. After Rollins countered a spear by Reigns into a pedigree, he hit another pedigree to pin Reigns cleanly and capture his second WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Rollins was celebrating with the belt, and I thought that was how the show was going to end. Then Ambrose’s music hit.

The arena exploded. I stood up out of my chair. The cameras showed the entrance, but there was no sign of Ambrose. The camera showed Rollins again when from out of nowhere, Ambrose appeared and smashed his Money in the Bank briefcase into the face of Rollins. He exited the ring, handed the referee the briefcase, and it was official. Ambrose was cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. I was ecstatic. The bell rang, Ambrose picked up Rollins, hit him with a Dirty Deeds, and pinned him to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. I went crazy!

I was cheering and clapping as if I was there in person. I finally saw a world championship come to Cincinnati. The Reds have not a World Series since before I was born, and the Bengals have never won the Super Bowl, but Cincinnati’s own Dean Ambrose won his first ever WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and for the first time since 1990, Cincinnati has a world champion. I have never been more excited for a wrestling event in my life, and Ambrose winning the title is easily my all time favorite moment in professional wrestling. Even though the initial excitement has worn off, I am still thrilled that Ambrose is the champ. He is one of the few guys in WWE that I think deserves to be in the main event as the champion, and I can honestly say that this is the most interested I have been in professional wrestling in a long time.

The Money in the Bank Winner Is…

Money in the Bank is one of WWE’s best events of the year. It is usually filled with great matches, and its results set the tone for SummerSlam. The biggest and most influential match at Money in the Bank is the bout that the event was named after in that the results of it are what people care about the most. The winner of the match receives a contract for a WWE Championship match whenever and wherever the victor wants, and when the cash in happens, the crowd usually erupts in excitement. So who should win the event this year? I believe that Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens are the most deserving to win this match. Let’s start with why I think Owens should win.

Kevin Owens has been absolutely incredible ever since he was called up to the main roster from NXT. His rivalry with John Cena was one of the best of 2015, his matches are generally some of the best on the card, and his mic skills as a heel are fantastic. He is so good at being a heel that he gets face reactions. He is currently involved in a great feud with Sami Zayn, and if Owens wins the Money in the Bank ladder match and claims the briefcase for himself, then his rivalry with Zayn could be taken to the next level as the two could be battling it out for Money in the Bank contract. The crowd would also go crazy if Owens cashed in on Reigns, and the rivalry between these two could be epic.

Dean Ambrose also deserves to win the Money in the Bank ladder match in my opinion. He is one of the best talents in WWE today. He is solid in the ring, he is great on the mic, and despite WWE booking him in a questionable manner, he is still over with the fans, receives huge pops every time he enters the arena, and his rivalries with Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Bray Wyatt, and Brock Lesnar have been very entertaining. If he wins the Money in the Bank ladder match, then things in WWE could get very interesting. With Seth Rollins returning to the WWE after his injury and Roman Reigns in the middle of a WWE Championship reign, an Ambrose victory could finally mean that we get the long awaited Shield triple threat match. Also, Ambrose is my favorite wrestler, and I would love to see him win the match and hopefully the WWE Championship with a successful cash in on Reigns, Rollins, or whoever the champion may be.

In conclusion, that is why I think Owens and Ambrose each have equal claim to the Money in the Bank contract. They are both great in the ring, on the mic, and get really good crowd reactions. If either of these guys wins the match, the crowd will cheer and the arena will definitely explode whenever they decide to cash in their contract. While I am a fan of Owens and would really like to see him win, I will be pulling for Ambrose and hope he climbs the ladder, grabs the briefcase, and takes his first step to becoming WWE Champion.

Let’s go Ambrose!

Payback 2016 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Payback 2016.

Royal Rumble 2016 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on the 2016 Royal Rumble event.