Boos for Braun?

There are a few certainties in life. Death, taxes, and Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman will always win cleanly no matter the odds. Almost every time I watch WWE programming, both Reigns and Strowman are usually having their hands raised in victory. The only difference between the two is that Reigns is booked to look like an underdog despite his "Big Dog" moniker. Strowman on the other hand is billed as the "Monster Among Men" and is booked like one most of the time. The two have crossed paths before with Reigns playing the hated face and Strowman taking on the role of beloved heel. However, Strowman has since left the dark side of the wrestling world and has been booked to win almost every match he has. Could this cause Strowman's crowd reactions to mimic that of Reigns?

I think it might. Despite being booked as a monster, WWE made Strowman appear as a bit of an underdog at Money in the Bank. Every wrestler in that match teamed together to eliminate Strowman by attempting to bury the monster underneath a pile of ladders. That was not enough to stop him though as he soon emerged from the rubble like Godzilla rising out of the sea and proceeded to destroy everybody in sight in route to winning the Money in the Bank briefcase. There are only a handful of guys I can think of who can overcome odds like that and win: Hulk Hogan, John Cena, and Roman Reigns. All have previously been booked as unstoppable underdogs and all have previously been booed out of the building. If WWE is not careful, Strowman might be grouped in this category.

Let's look at some of Strowman's accomplishments so far this year. At Wrestlemania 34, he easily defeated the Bar with a kid name Nicholas to win the Raw Tag Team Championships. He then won the Greatest Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia. He overcame the odds at Money in the Bank, and even though his team lost the next night on Raw, it was Balor, not Strowman, who ate the pin. In terms of professional wrestling, that is an incredible year so far and we are only in the month of June. There are still six months left in 2018 for Strowman to be booked as invincible.

WWE crowds turn on wrestlers they think are overexposed or never lose. While Strowman is not there yet, he's getting awfully close. A lot of people did not like the decision to have Strowman win the Money in the Bank briefcase as they feel like he is already over enough with the crowd. Despite that sentiment, WWE still booked the monster to win and he has already called out Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. Everybody thinks Strowman will cash in and finally be the one to defeat the beast. I'm thinking that Reigns and Lesnar clash at SummerSlam with Reigns finally taking the belt from the beast only for Strowman to cash in and take the title from Reigns. This sends the crowd home happy and keeps Strowman on the crowd's good side as he will be feuding with Reigns again. But what about when the Reigns feud is finished? We'll have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully WWE handles Strowman better than they have Reigns so that monster does not feel the wrath of the fans.

The True World Championship

What is the true world championship in WWE? Raw and SmackDown are now separate brands under the WWE banner and each has their owner world championship. The WWE Championship is the biggest prize on SmackDown while the Universal Championship is the top title on Raw. Which is one is the true world championship though? Let’s dive into the details.

The WWE Championship has a long and historic lineage that dates back to “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers. Legends such as Bruno Samamrtino, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and the Rock have all been crowned as WWE Champion. It was unified with the World Heavyweight Championship twice and has been fought for at every Wrestlemania event except for Wrestlemania 1. It has a classy design that truly illustrates what a championship title should look like. It has been the centerpiece of some of the biggest matches in history such as Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 12 and the SummerSlam 2000 main event between Triple H, Kurt Angle, and the Rock. It has long been considered not only the biggest championship in WWE but the entire professional wrestling industry.

The Universal Championship has been around for about a year and a half. Finn Balor was crowned as the inaugural Universal Champion when he defeated Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016. Since then, the title has been held by Kevin Owens, Goldberg, and Brock Lesnar at the time that this post was written. The design could definitely use an overhaul. While it is a near mirror image of the WWE Championship, the all red strap makes it look more like a toy as opposed to an actual championship. The Universal Championship has also been contested for in some of the biggest matches in WWE history. Brock Lesnar and Goldberg battled for it at Wrestlemania 33 and Kevin Owens won a very exciting fatal four-way elimination match to become the Universal Champion on an episode of Raw.

So which title is the true world championship? I am going to have to side with the WWE Championship. Its lineage, its design, and the fact that it is considered the top title in the entire professional wrestling industry make this one an easy decision. I am not saying that the Universal Championship cannot reach similar heights, but odds are WWE will keep the WWE Championship around should a unification match take place.

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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.

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.

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