WWE Roadblock 2016 Thoughts

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

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.

Payback 2016 Thoughts

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

The Atlanta Screwjob - Take 2

Please note that this was written immediately after news broke that Seth Rollins injured his knee. Therefore, the results of Monday Night Raw were not taken into account in the writing of this post.

Attempting to predict anything is often difficult as there are always things outside the predictor’s control that will ultimately influence the outcome. A prime example of this happening is the knee injury that Seth Rollins suffered in a wrestling match. Last Wednesday night, it was reported that Rollins had hurt his right knee while attempting a top rope sunset flip.  I saw the video, and it was obvious that the prognosis for his knee would not be good. The next day, minutes after I posted “The Atlanta Screwjob” to this website, it was reported that Rollins suffered ACL/MCL/medial meniscus tears in his right knee and will be out for 6-9 months. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Roman Reigns and Rollins was cancelled and a tournament was announced that would be held at Survivor Series 2015 to determine the new champ. While the belt will be up for grabs in a new format than what was originally advertised, I still believe that a screwjob will take place with Dean Ambrose being screwed by his former Shield brother, Roman Reigns.

In my new prediction, I believe that Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns will battle it out in the finals of the tournament for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Before the final match, the Authority heads to the ring saying that they will present the belt to the winner of the match. Cue the entrances of Reigns and Ambrose.

After a prematch sign of respect through their trademark fist bump, the bout begins. It is a back and forth brawl with neither man being able to get the decisive fall. Reigns later begins to take control of the match but Ambrose repeatedly kicks out of pins, and Reigns becomes more visibly frustrated. This is when the screwjob goes into motion.

Ambrose begins to mount a comeback and nails Reigns with the dirty deeds before going for the pin. The Authority then makes their move as Stephanie McMahon jumps on the ring apron and distracts the referee. Ambrose gets up and tires to get the referee’s attention but Triple H enters the ring and hits Ambrose with the pedigree. The Game then leaves the ring as Stephanie lets the referee get back to the match. Reigns gets up and goes to one corner of the ring while Ambrose staggers to his feet in the opposite corner. Ambrose turns around, Reigns spears and pins him, and the referee counts to three. Your winner and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Roman Reigns. The Authority then enters the ring and celebrates with their new champion and face of the company while standing over Ambrose as the show goes off the air.

To me, this makes perfect sense as this scenario allows WWE to push both Ambrose and Reigns while Rollins is injured. With Rollins out, WWE is in major need of a new top heel, and Reigns is a prime candidate. While he is being cheered as of late, his reaction from the crowd in the past was negative. It is also well known that Vince McMahon is grooming Reigns to be the next face of the company. With the past negative reactions he received along with the obvious want of WWE to make him the biggest star in the company, it makes perfect sense to have Reigns be a monster heel. He could say he was tired of the negative crowd reactions and that he deserves to be the face of the WWE nay, the Authority. WWE should capitalize on this and use it as the reason why he joined the Authority.

Ambrose on the other hand is the perfect guy to challenge the Authority. He has challenged them in the past such as when he battled Rollins throughout the summer, and his character has taken on the trait of being a resilient brawler. He endures a ton of pain and can never seem to be put away in a match. Matches such as his bout against Rollins at Money in the Bank 2015 and most recently the 5 on 5 Survivor Series Elimination match on last week’s Raw showcase this characteristic. He also has that intangible “it” factor that causes audiences to naturally gravitate towards him. He radiates charisma and routinely garners fantastic reactions from the crowd. He got over with the fans without a massive push from WWE, which is the total opposite of Reigns. He is the perfect hero to battle a villain Reigns.

That is what I think WWE should do at Survivor Series 2015. It would be an exciting twist and an excellent way to push Reigns and Ambrose in a massive way. Reigns’ character would be refreshed as a dominating heel, and Ambrose would be the perfect choice to serve as the biggest threat to Reigns and the Authority. Make this happen WWE. The reaction will be nothing short of amazing, and it will be a twist that is talked about for years to come.

The Atlanta Screwjob

Please note that this was written and published before WWE announced that Seth Rollins would vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to injury.

Survivor Series is one of WWE’s signature events of the year. It is considered to be part of the “Big Four” pay-per-views along with the Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, and SummerSlam, and it has a long and rich history in the professional wrestling world. It is also a notorious scene for controversy and swerves. Infamous incidents such as the “Montreal Screwjob” at Survivor Series 1997 and the way that the Rock won the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 1998 are arguably two of the most well known examples of the chaotic nature of the event. With the 2015 edition of Survivor Series marking the 25^th anniversary of the debut of the Undertaker, I would expect a huge surprise that will leave the jaws of the Atlanta crowd on the floor. The surprise has nothing to do with the Undertaker though, as I believe it will involve Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and the Authority. I predict that the Authority will turn on Rollins and align themselves with Reigns in route to helping Reigns win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

It’s a bold prediction as Reigns has been touted as the next face of the company. That is what makes it such a huge and shocking twist as it is something that nobody will see coming. A heel Reigns would be awesome in my opinion. He will no longer have to go through the typical good guy act and can instead be a monstrous and dominant heel much like he was in the Shield. Rollins on the other hand has been heel for a long time and is starting to get stale. While he is one of the best in ring talents WWE has to offer, his bad guy antics of constantly worming his way to victory through underhanded tactics are getting old. Having the Authority screw Rollins would breathe fresh life into his character as well as that of Reigns, and it would definitely make Raw must see television.

If I were in charge of booking the match, here is what I would do. I would have the Authority come to the ring first and ban every wrestler backstage from interfering in the match. They could say they have invested a lot in Rollins and do not want guys like Dean Ambrose, the guy Reigns had been teaming up with all summer, to get involved with the outcome of the bout. The Authority then remains at ringside for the match as Reigns makes his way to the ring. He walks by the Authority, has a stare down with them, and enters the ring and waits for Rollins. The champ then makes his entrance, gives a prematch hug to the Authority, and gets in the ring to face Reigns. The referee signals for the bell, and the bout begins.

Towards the end of the match, Rollins reverses a move by Reigns and shoves Reigns into the referee knocking out both the referee and Reigns. This allows the Authority makes their move. Triple H enters the ring acting as if he will assist Rollins but betrays his former pupil by delivering a pedigree to him. Reigns gets up and sees what Triple H has done and smiles. The Game smiles back, lifts up the body of Rollins, and holds him so that Reigns can spear the champ. Reigns hits the spear and pins Rollins while Stephanie revives the referee who then makes the 3-count. Your winner and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Roman Reigns. The show ends with Reigns standing above Rollins with the championship belt held above his head and the Authority next to him as the “Atlanta Screwjob” is etched into Survivor Series lore.

That is how I would book Survivor Series 2015. Reigns would be the new face of the Authority and Rollins would go from villain to hero. This would allow these two wrestlers to continue feuding while at the same time shaking up the WWE landscape. This could also lead to a potential triple threat main event WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania 32 between all three former members of the Shield. That is something I would love to see, and it would all start with the “Atlanta Screwjob.”

Rise of the Roman Empire...Again?

Roman Reigns has become a very interesting character in the professional wrestling world. After his victory on Monday Night Raw in a fatal 4-way match to become the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, it appears that WWE is once again trying to give Reigns another big push. As I said in my WWE Hell in a Cell 2015 Thoughts video, the crowd reaction to Reigns will ultimately decide if this push is fueled or derailed. After a negative reaction to Reigns destroyed WWE’s plans to have Reigns officially become the face of the company at Wrestlemania 31, will this push succeed or once again force WWE to make a last second change? Allow me to explain.

Let’s start with the initial crowd reaction to Reigns when he debuted with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as a member of the Shield in 2012. During his time with the Shield, the faction, which was originally “heel” or villainous, started to get over with the fans, and they began receiving cheers from the crowd that rivaled those of some of the top “faces” or good guys in WWE. Reigns amassed a sizeable fan base as the quiet but deadly force of the Shield, and during the 2014 Royal Rumble match, he was heavily cheered by the Pittsburgh crowd as he and Batista locked horns as the final two combatants before he was eliminated. After the split of the Shield in the summer of 2014, fan reaction toward Reigns began to turn for the worse as small pockets of boos hidden in the WWE crowds turned into a sea of anger and disdain that culminated at the 2015 Royal Rumble.

In what was supposed to be the starting point for Reigns to be the next face of the company, the Philadelphia crowd unmercifully booed Reigns out of the building after he won the match. Not even the Rock, who made an appearance to give a symbolic nod to Reigns, could turn the boos into cheers. At the next pay-per-view, Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan to retain his number one contendership for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship that he earned by winning the Royal Rumble. After the match, Bryan, a wrestler that wrestling crowds love and adore, gave Reigns his stamp of approval, but Reigns continued to receive bad reactions and at Wrestlemania 31, in what had been reported to be a last minute decision by WWE, Seth Rollins entered the main event by cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. He then pinned Reigns and walked out of Wrestlemania 31 as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Since then, Reigns has been put on the backburner as WWE seemingly attempted to figure out a way to turn the boos he received into cheers. They had him team up with fan favorite and former Shield member Dean Ambrose over the summer, and they had him do battle with one of WWE’s best heel acts in Bray Wyatt. The Reigns versus Wyatt saga concluded at Hell in a Cell 2015 with Reigns picking up a huge Hell in a Cell match win. That win is apparently another launch point for another Reigns push as he became the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship the following night on Raw. So how will this push be received by fans?

Based on the reaction from the crowd on Monday Night Raw, the crowd has been receptive to the idea of Reigns being the next championship challenger. While there were a few boos directed at Reigns during the match, there were resounding cheers and chants for Reigns during his post match stare down with Rollins. It is still way too early to see if WWE fully commits to its latest push for Reigns, but based on what happened on Raw, I think that the rise of the Roman Empire is coming to fruition. My prediction for the upcoming Survivor Series event next month is that Reigns will defeat Rollins to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Believe that.

How he will win the title is up for debate. Is a heel turn for Reigns out of the question? To see what I think, come back next week as I attempt to book Survivor Series 2015.

WWE Hell in a Cell 2015 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Hell in a Cell 2015.

Sayonara Sting?

Last Sunday, World Wrestling Entertainment presented the pay-per-view wrestling event known as Night of Champions. This is the only night during the WWE calendar year in which every title in the company is guaranteed to be up for grabs. The biggest and most prestigious of these titles is the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Since Wrestlemania 31, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship has been held by Seth Rollins, and his most recent title defense came against the vigilante and former cornerstone of World Championship Wrestling, Sting. Rollins retained the belt after his pretty good match with the icon was abruptly halted and seemingly rushed to completion. The reason for this awkward ending was because apparently Sting was legitimately injured during the bout.

For those of you who do not know, WWE was, is, and always will be scripted. The outcomes of the matches are predetermined, and the wrestlers already know who will win before the bout begins because at its core, professional wrestling is more entertainment than it is sport. However, just because the results are scripted does not mean that it is safe. Professional wrestling is arguably one of the most dangerous professions in the world. The wrestlers take huge risks every time they step into the squared circle, and injuries are always possible no matter how trained and cautious the wrestlers are.

What happened to Sting is an unfortunate example of what can occur inside a wrestling ring. During the match, Rollins delivered a “buckle bomb,” a maneuver in which a wrestler throws another wrestler into the corner of the ring, to Sting. After the move had been completed, you could tell that there was something wrong with Sting. He could barely stand and moments later, he collapsed to the mat. The ringside doctor came into the ring immediately to check on the vigilante, and the bout stopped for a few minutes. During this time, the camera was focused only on Rollins, which was a huge clue for everybody watching on television that this injury was not scripted. Sting managed to finish the match with Rollins reversing the Scorpion Death Lock into a rollup pin, but it was obvious that the ending was rushed. After the match, the camera immediately focused only on Rollins and Sting was never seen on the broadcast again.

The next day, numerous sites reported that Sting had suffered a legitimate neck injury that was possibly career threatening. If the match was truly the end of Sting’s time in the ring, it will be a sad ending to what was an illustrious pro wrestling career. He won many world championships during his time in World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and his feuds with the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and the New World Order were legendary. It was only last year when the icon finally signed with WWE. Fans had been waiting 13 years for the Stinger to make his presence known in the biggest professional wrestling company on the planet. Unfortunately, his time in WWE could be short-lived should this injury indeed end his career. All we wrestling fans can do is hope that this is not the last time we have seen Sting distribute his iconic form of justice in a wrestling ring.

Night of Champions 2015 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Night of Champions 2015.

SummerSlam 2015 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone share his thoughts on WWE SummerSlam 2015.