WWE Fastlane 2021 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Fastlane 2021. 

WWE Elimination Chamber 2021 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on the WWE Elimination Chamber 2021 event. 

Royal Rumble 2021 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on the 2021 Royal Rumble event. 

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on the 2020 WWE Royal Rumble event. 

The Real Super Bowl Halftime Show

The Super Bowl Halftime Show has almost become as big as the actual game. Over the years, the biggest musical acts in the industry have performed mini concerts on a global stage while the AFC and NFC champions catch their breath before the start of the second half of the game. This year’s musical act is pop rock band Maroon 5. I am not a fan of the band and was most likely going to use the halftime show as a bathroom break and to restock my plate with food. That plan changed when World Wrestling Entertainment announced that they will bring back Halftime Heat this Sunday.

Halftime Heat is a wrestling match that occurs during the halftime show of the Super Bowl. It originated in 1999 when the Rock and Mankind battled for the WWE Championship in a very entertaining “Empty Arena” match. The match was fun to watch, and it allowed football fans to get their wrestling fix on Super Bowl Sunday. With the advent of the WWE Network as well as WWE’s various social media platforms, Halftime Heat is making its glorious return with a six man tag team match that features some of the best that NXT has to offer. The team of Aleister Black, Ricochet and Velveteen Dream will take on NXT Champ Tommaso Ciampa, NXT North American Champ Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole. These are some of the best wrestlers that NXT has to offer and some of the most athletic guys in professional wrestling. 

If you are a wrestling fan like myself, make sure you check out Halftime Heat. The 1999 edition was a fun alternative to the halftime show, and this year’s battle between some of NXT’s best is sure to be very entertaining. Hopefully Halftime Heat does well and draws a big enough audience to convince WWE to keep it going for future Super Bowls. 

Royal Rumble 2019 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on the 2019 Royal Rumble event.

Way Too Early Wrestlemania Prediction

Please note this was written before Reigns relinquished the Universal Championship and before Ambrose turned heel.

It's a little early to predict the main event of Wrestlemania, but I'm thinking the Shield will have a triple threat match with the Universal Championship on the line. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns have previously faced off in a triple threat match at Battleground 2016 in which Ambrose retained his WWE Championship over his Shield brothers in an exciting main event. That match was worthy of headlining Wrestlemania. It was odd for WWE to relegate it to smaller pay-per-view in the middle of the summer. Wrestlemania 35 will be the stage for the battle of the Shield round two. Here's how.

As I write this, WWE is building the card for Crown Jewel and teasing a Dean Ambrose heel turn. He most recently left Rollins and Reigns in the ring after being pinned by Drew McIntyre in a six-man tag team match that also featured Braun Strowman and Dolph Ziggler. I think Ambrose will turn into a full-fledged heel by the Royal Rumble but no earlier than Survivor Series. 

If it happens at Survivor Series, I can see him snapping should the Shield lose a match or perhaps he costs his team and is the reason they come up short. Either way, he will be the one to break the Shield. He will then battle mainly Seth Rollins through the Royal Rumble while also having a few encounters with Reigns. I think Reigns will be Universal Champion at Wrestlemania, but how will both Ambrose and Rollins join him in the main event? I have two scenarios. 

Option one has Rollins winning the Royal Rumble and putting his main event title shot on the line against Ambrose. The Lunatic Fringe will win the match via nefarious means and steal away Rollins' title match. Rollins will then be added to the match because of how Ambrose won and the Shield will be set up for a triple threat at Wrestlemania. Option two has both Ambrose and Rollins winning the Royal Rumble via a double elimination. Reigns, being the fighting champion that he is, will agree to face both of them at Wrestlemania and the Shield will headline WWE's biggest event of the year.  

The question everybody will be asking is who will win this potential Wrestlemania 35 Shield triple threat match for the Universal Championship? We all know how the crowd reacts to Reigns as an individual star. While I wouldn't put it past WWE to have Reigns walk out with the belt, I feel like WWE will continue to push Reigns as an unstoppable underdog and having him lose the title will allow the company to continue to position Reigns in that role. Rollins has arguably been WWE's best in ring performer throughout 2018, and the crowd adores him. He gets one of the best pops in the company, and he will undoubtedly garner a huge reaction should he win. He's already done that however, as he walked out of Wrestlemania 31 with the WWE Championship. That leaves Ambrose. While all three have been World champs, Ambrose is the only one who has not won the title in a Wrestlemania main event and there would be no better way to solidify Ambrose as the top heel in the business by having him defeat his two former Shield brothers for the Universal Championship in the main event of Wrestlemania 35. 

That's what I think will happen at Wrestlemania. The Shield will implode, Ambrose and Rollins will somehow both get a title shot at Wrestlemania against Reigns, and Ambrose will walk away with the belt. In my option, WWE has been doing a good job on teasing Ambrose's heel turn. It has been a slow build and hopefully the payoff is memorable. Should it lead to a Shield triple threat at the showcase of the immortals, then it could result in some of the best storytelling WWE has ever produced. If this is the route WWE is heading, I cannot wait to watch it play out on television. 

The Royal Rumble Winner Is...

The Royal Rumble is a few weeks away and the road to Wrestlemania has officially started. The buildup to WWE's biggest event of the year is usually a fun ride as surprise returns are mixed in with some of the biggest wrestlers being involved in some of the best storylines. One of the storylines that WWE produces every year is who the Royal Rumble winner will challenge at Wrestlemania in a world championship main event match. In my opinion, there is only one person who will outlast 29 other wrestlers and punch his ticket to the main event of the showcase of the immortals. That man is Seth Rollins. 

The architect had a fantastic 2018. Every time he stepped between the ropes, magic seemingly happened. He had excellent match after excellent match and became Monday Night Raw's resident highlight reel. He also became the biggest face on the red brand, garnering huge cheers from the audience whenever he entered the arena. After dropping the Intercontinental Championship to Dean Ambrose, Rollins has been calling out WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and the two seemed destined to collide at the biggest wrestling event of the year. They briefly crossed paths in 2015, and I think that a full and fleshed out storyline between the two would make for interesting television. 

That is why I think Seth Rollins will win the Royal Rumble. He had an amazing 2018 and showed that he can be the face of Raw and the company flag bearer in Roman Reigns' absence. The fan support he has his genuine, and the reaction he will receive should he win the Royal Rumble match will blow the roof off the place. Get ready WWE Universe. Rollins is going to burn it down in the main event of Wrestlemania 35.

Roman vs. Brock…Round 2

At the Royal Rumble, we learned that Shinske Nakamura will challenge WWE World Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles for the belt at Wrestlemania 34 by virtue of his royal rumble match victory. The Wrestle Kingdom rematch should be one of the best that take place in the Superdome on April 8 and could potentially steal the show. With SmackDown’s main event set, what will Raw counter with at Wrestlemania? I believe that the red brand will showcase Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship.

Much like Nakamura vs. Styles is a rematch, so is Reigns vs. Lesnar. The two previously had a main event battle at Wrestlemania 31 for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. While the match itself was fine, the true moment of excitement occurred when Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase during the bout and pinned Reigns to win the title for himself. It was an incredible ending to one of the best Wrestlemania events of all time. A lot of people feel that the enormous amount of backlash that Reigns was receiving from fans caused WWE to call an audible and have Rollins cash in and win the belt.

Even though WWE gave into the demands of the fans in 2015, they did not in 2016 as Reigns defeated Triple H for the title at Wrestlemania 32 to a deafening chorus of boos. Fan hatred for Reigns only grew after last year’s Wrestlemania main event in which the “Big Dog” pinned the Undertaker to hand the “Phenom” only his second Wrestlemania loss. That was the third consecutive Wrestlemania main event that featured Reigns, and I think he is heading for a fourth. Immediately after Wrestlemania 33 ended, I tweeted that it will be Reigns vs. Lesnar at Wrestlemania 34. I’m sticking with that prediction.

WWE has seemingly been building up to this match ever since Rollins cashed in at Wrestlemania 31. They have been building up Lesnar as an unstoppable beast while at the same time packaging Reigns as the only man who can truly conquer the conqueror. Reigns and Lesnar rarely lose cleanly if at all, and they are the only two wrestlers to have defeated the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Reigns was supposed to defeat Lesnar three years ago. WWE made a last minute switch. That will not happen this year. I’m predicting Reigns will win the Elimination Chamber match before he turns “Suplex City” into the latest extension of the “Roman Empire” at Wrestlemania 34. I’m not saying I’m a fan of that decision, but I definitely think it will happen.

Believe that.

Royal Rumble 2018 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on the 2018 WWE Royal Rumble event.

Return of the King

Every wrestling fans knows about WWE’s “big four” pay-per-views. Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble are WWE’s four crown jewels in terms of pay-per-view programming as they generally have the biggest buildup and a plethora of marquee matches. However, the “big four” used to be the “big five” as the King of the Ring pay-per-view was once viewed as another of WWE’s signature events. With WWE using the WWE Network to increase the amount of pay-per-views it produces, why not bring back the King of the Ring? In this post, I will explain what the King of the Ring is, why they should bring it back, and how I would organize the new tournament.

The King of the Ring was a single elimination tournament in which wrestlers competed for the prestigious title of “King of the Ring.” Tournament matches were held on Raw and SmackDown with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals taking place at the King of the Ring pay-per-view. The winner of the tournament was perceived to be the next big breakout star in the WWE, and history backs up that perception. Previous winners included Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Edge, and Kurt Angle. All these wrestlers went on to hold world championship gold and became staples in the main even scene. The tournament was kind of like a summer version of the Royal Rumble match and was easily one of the most anticipated wrestling events of the year.

Despite the event having such a rich history, the King of the Ring pay-per-view was last held in 2002. The King of the Ring tournament has been held sporadically since 2002 having taken place in 2006, 2008, 2010, and most recently in 2015. The tournament matches were usually held on Raw or SmackDown with the finals being held at a pay-per-view. The lone exception is the 2015 edition that had its finals take place on a Tuesday night WWE Network special.

It has been 15 years since WWE last held a King of the Ring pay-per-view, and I think that it is time that WWE brought it back. With WWE reviving the brand split to try and create new stars, the King of the Ring tournament and pay-per-view could be a tremendous boost to WWE’s efforts. Rivalries could stem from tournament matches allowing for more airtime for wrestlers as well as intriguing storylines that would have a logical beginning. It would also enable WWE to load its programming with less filler content. WWE fans generally complain about the amount of filler that is featured on SmackDown and especially Raw. The King of the Ring tournament would easily give WWE more content to air on Raw and SmackDown in place of filler.

So how would the new King of the Ring tournament work? If I were in charge, I would have the tournament take place in the summer and split the tournament bracket into a Raw division and a SmackDown division with 8 wrestlers per division. There would then be qualifying matches to determine what wrestlers would participate in the tournament. Once the qualification process is complete, the tournament matches would take place on Raw and SmackDown until the semifinal round. The semifinals and finals would take place at the King of the Ring pay-per-view with the finals consisting of the winner of the Raw division taking on the winner of the SmackDown division with the King of the Ring crown on the line. The victor of the match will not only be the new “King of the Ring” but also earn either a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match or a WWE Universal Championship match at SummerSlam depending on their brand.

In conclusion, the King of the Ring was a fun wrestling tournament that generally saw the elevation of wrestlers from the mid card to the main event scene. Bringing it back would be beneficial for both the participating wrestlers and the WWE as a whole as it would allow for more ample storytelling from the WWE and more screen time for wrestlers on the roster. My format would allow both brands to have competing wrestlers as well as grant the winner a world title bout in addition to being crowned as the new King of the Ring. Hopefully WWE brings the tournament back and utilizes the overabundance of talent it currently has on its roster.

Are We Being Trolled?

I am by no means a Roman Reigns hater. Despite his shortcomings on the microphone, I find his ring work entertaining. His career in WWE, however, has me asking one question: Are we being trolled? It is no secret that WWE wants to push Roman Reigns as the next top star of the company. WWE has done seemingly everything in their power to position Reigns as the heir apparent to John Cena and lead the company over the next decade. He has been booked as an unstoppable underdog. No matter how high the odds seem to be stacked against him, he usually overcomes them. Whether it be the Authority, the League of Nations, or a WWE wellness policy violation and suspension, Roman Reigns has always come out on top. His booking history is a very clear indicator of WWE’s big plans for the “big dog.”

He debuted as a member of the Shield in 2012 alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, and the trio received a massive push by running over everybody that stood in their way. While the group appeared as a unit of solidarity, Roman Reigns was actually being portrayed as the best of the bunch. At Survivor Series 2013, Reigns was the sole survivor in a traditional Survivor Series 5-on-5 elimination tag team match. During the 2014 Royal Rumble match, Reigns eliminated both of his Shield brethren in route to tossing a record total of 12 people over the top rope while finishing as the bout’s runner-up. When Rollins dismantled the Shield during the summer of 2014, Reigns was immediately thrust into the main event scene and world title contention. He won the 2015 Royal Rumble and earned a main event Wrestlemania 31 WWE World Heavyweight title shot. Although he lost the match, he still managed to win the title by the end of 2015. He lost the title at the 2016 Royal Rumble but regained it in the main event of Wrestlemania 32. He then lost it again at Money in the Bank 2016 and was suspended for a month for violating the WWE wellness policy. However, his first match back from his suspension was a WWE title match and although he lost, he was inserted into the United States Championship picture. He proceeded to win the United States title and was again back in world title contention.

As you can see, Reigns has had arguably the best booking of any WWE wrestler since 2012. However, it has not been well received by fans. Despite being a face, he gets mixed reactions at best as the boos and jeers generally drown out the little amount of cheers he gets in wrestling arenas. Every time he takes on a heel, it is as if the roles are reversed. The heel gets the face reaction while Reigns is the target of the heel reaction. Why is this?

I believe it stems from the booking. With Reigns being positioned as the unstoppable underdog and next big megastar of the company, he rarely loses cleanly which can have negative effects on the other wrestlers on the roster as they generally come out of a match with Reigns looking weaker than they did heading into it. His booking has also prevented other wrestles from reaching the next level of superstardom in the WWE. In 2015, Daniel Bryan was the clear choice of the fans to main event Wrestlemania 31, but instead the nod went to Reigns. In 2016, Dean Ambrose was white hot in terms of popularity and should have been in the main event of Wrestlemania 32 but was cast aside by WWE in favor of Reigns again. Both Bryan and Ambrose were still popular, but Bryan had to retire due to injury and never reached that next level of superstardom, and Ambrose cooled off significantly over the course of the past year.

So here we are in 2017 and Reigns is still being booked the same way and is having the same type of fan reactions. He was the 30^th and final entrant in the 2017 Royal Rumble match and was greeted with a chorus of boos from the Alamodome crowd. Chants of “this is bull sh*t” could also be heard and only grew louder when Reigns eliminated the massively popular and respected Undertaker from the match. It was at this point in time I began to wonder if WWE is using Roman Reigns to mess with the fans. He is one of the most hated wrestlers on the roster, and WWE clearly knows it. They have done everything possible to get Reigns over and have even edited videos of fan reactions to Reigns to make it seem like the fans support him. The lengths WWE is willing to go to protect Reigns is laughable. At the same time, they are still irking fans with how they book him. This is the most stubborn booking by WWE I have ever seen. It is not working at all, but WWE keeps pushing it.

So how do you fix this situation? It is cliché for people to call for a wrestler to have a heel turn in order get over with the crowd. It doesn’t always work, but it could actually be beneficial for Reigns. He already gets a heel reaction so WWE should heavily consider turning the “big dog” heel. It may delay their plans to have Reigns as the next big face of the company, but the boos will at least match the character being portrayed. A potential Wrestlemania feud with the Undertaker could finally lead Reigns to the dark side, but until that happens expect the WWE to continue trolling the fans with the nonsensical booking of Roman Reigns.

Royal Rumble 2017 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on the 2017 WWE Royal Rumble event.

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.

Autograph Page Update

#Autograph Page Update @ https://t.co/ULDHSOUCJg With a New #Wwe Autograph#SDLive #RAW #nxt #WWENXT #205live #talkingsmack #Wrestlemania pic.twitter.com/64oq1JvrcY

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) January 11, 2017

Photo Page Update

Photo Page Update @ https://t.co/JzwEdxiFEu With New #Wwe Pics#sdlive #raw #nxt #205live #WWENXT #talkingsmack #Wrestlemania #RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/LMBGPyWdMy

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) January 11, 2017

Too Much of a Good Thing?

I am a die heard professional wrestling fan. I was hooked on the violent form of sports entertainment ever since I was a kid when guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock were the top stars of the industry. In fact, the professional wrestling industry was at the height of its popularity as World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling were battling for television ratings and the title of the top professional wrestling company in the world. WCW was eventually bought out by WWE leaving Vince McMahon’s wrestling empire as the undisputed champion of sports entertainment. WWE has since gone on to launch the WWE Network, and the amount of weekly programming WWE produces has increased drastically. While more programming sounds good on paper, is it a good idea in all actuality?

I do not think it is. During the height of professional wrestling’s popularity, WWE’s weekly programming consisted of two hours of Monday Night Raw, two hours of SmackDown on Thursday, and a three hour pay-per-view one Sunday a month. Let’s compare that to the current amount of WWE programming.

Monday Night Raw has since expanded to three hours with a 30-minute kickoff show, which is streamed, on YouTube and the WWE Network, that precedes each episode. SmackDown is still two hours long, but it too has a 30-minute kick off show that streams on YouTube and the WWE Network as well as a post show called Talking Smack that runs about 20-30 minutes on the WWE Network. WWE recently launched 205 Live to showcase its cruiserweight division. The show airs on the WWE Network after SmackDown, and the debut episode was about 50 minutes long. NXT, a show featuring WWE’s developmental system, airs for an hour every Wednesday. Pay-per-views have since increased to about two a month that run an average of three hours long. There is also a one-hour kickoff show for each pay-per-view unless the pay-per-view is the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, or Survivor Series in which case the kickoff show is two hours long.

That is a massive amount of weekly WWE programming to watch each week. For hardcore fans, watching that much wrestling a week is not a big deal. However WWE often tries to attract non-viewers and casual fans to its product, and I think this much programming in one week can be overwhelming. I consider myself a hardcore wrestling fan, and I have trouble keeping up with all the weekly wrestling shows WWE produces. I can only imagine what a casual fan must go through when trying to understand the storylines playing out on WWE programming.

I think WWE should consider cutting back on the amount of programming it produces. Perhaps reducing Raw back to two hours or eliminating the kickoff shows could help the situation by eliminating the feeling of being overwhelmed. Back when WWE had its highest ratings, it had only a few hours of programming a week. Maybe WWE could reflect on what made it so popular and try to expand upon that instead of its amount of weekly television shows.

Goldberg vs. Lesnar II: Survivor Series or Wrestlemania?

For months, rumors had been swirling that WWE was in negotiations with Goldberg for a return bout against Brock Lesnar, and a recent ESPN interview all but confirmed that the man who had compiled a record of 173-0 in World Championship Wrestling was indeed set to make his return. WWE hyped up the interview on its social media outlets and on its weekly television programs before Lesnar’s advocate, Paul Heyman, issued the challenge to Goldberg. The next week, Goldberg made his return to Monday Night Raw after a 12 year absence and declared that Lesnar was “next.” WWE then announced that Goldberg and Lesnar would square off at Survivor Series in November.

For Lesnar, it is a chance to right the lone blemish on his list of wrestlers that he has been able to conquer throughout his WWE career. For Goldberg, it is an opportunity to prove that he can still hang with the best that the wrestling world has to offer. A match of this magnitude should be reserved for the grandest of stages. Survivor Series is one of WWE’s biggest shows of the year, but is it big enough for Goldberg vs. Lesnar II?

Personally, I don’t think it is. Survivor Series is regarded as the smallest of WWE’s “Big Four” pay-per-view events behind the Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Wrestlemania and is known for its traditional five on five elimination tag team matches. Wrestlemania on the other hand is known for its marquee bouts that often feature wrestling legends. Goldberg vs. Lesnar II is a marquee match that should be saved for Wrestlemania. This would allow WWE to slowly build up the story with the payoff match being at its biggest event of the year. They could continue to build up Lesnar as “the beast” by having him steamroll opponents, and they could also build Goldberg up by having him start a new winning streak before putting it on the line against Lesnar.

The slow build would entice fans and help make the anticipation for the match reach a fever pitch. The Wrestlemania setting would also play a natural role in the story as Goldberg defeated Lesnar in their first encounter at Wrestlemania 20. WWE could bill this as a Wrestlemania rematch 13 years in the making, and it would easily increase the amount of buys and hype for the pay-per-view. That is not to say that it would not affect Survivor Series in a similar fashion, but WWE prides itself on having Wrestlemania being the one event of the year that shatters records. Goldberg vs. Lesnar II would no doubt help WWE do that.

That is why I think WWE should save Goldberg vs. Lesnar II for Wrestlemania 33. Survivor Series is a big show, but Wrestlemania is bigger and having the bout take place there would be more beneficial for both the match and WWE. The story could build slowly which would heighten anticipation, the Wrestlemania setting would play right into the buildup of the match, and the bout between Goldberg and Lesnar is defiantly worthy of being contested at the “Showcase of the Immortals.”

Royal Rumble 2016 Thoughts

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