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Welcome back to the EXCELLENCE IN COLUMN WRITING exclusively here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com by yours truly, Mr. Tito. I have to admit... WWE wrestling doesn't look too bad lately... Now, that's not to suggest that the Brand Extension of 2016 is a roaring success because in the case of Monday Night RAW, you cannot have a World Title tournament every week. Once NFL Monday Night returns on September 12th, RAW will have to work extra hard to captivate you, the audience for 3 freakin' hours. BUT BUT BUT... Something is different about the recent WWE. I think what we're seeing, at least in the short-term, is that Triple H has been granted more power backstage and Vince McMahon is easing off the gas pedal... At least for now. Vince is 71 years old and years upon years of working endless hours has probably taken its toll. That, or its Summertime and Vince is just taking a vacation... Regardless, he hasn't been backstage for a few shows and hasn't shredded scripts like he used to. You'll still see the occasional Vince McMahon goofy segment, like the Heath Slater trailer segment on Smackdown this week, but the main event scene is more telling. Dean Ambrose finally received a legitimate Main Event run, NXT call-ups Finn Balor and Kevin Owens received their World Title shots, and free agent signing AJ Styles is allowed to become a Main Eventer in a short time. In the past, Vince was not impressed with former TNA, ROH, or New Japan wrestlers... Now, the roster is full of them. Credit to Triple H, but credit to Vince McMahon for finally relinquishing some power. And Triple H deserves it. Since August of 2015 through this year, I REALLY enjoyed the NXT brand. It's FUN... And in my opinion, it probably salvaged me as a wrestling fan. RAW can be a legitimate chore to watch and before the Brand Split, Smackdown was a throwaway show. NXT nailed what RAW/Smackdown have consistently failed to accomplish: looking like a REAL athletic event. All 3 of NXT's titles actually mean something... Their Main Eventers would kill each other to get NXT Title gold, the women have fought battles that have earned "Match of the Year" for the NXT Women's Title, and look at that Tag Team title situation in NXT. The Revival are amazing and babyface tag teams are allowed to grow/develop to challenge those guys. It's FUN... NXT is a WRESTLING SHOW whereas WWE RAW/Smackdown have tried too hard to be a television show. Then again, NXT airs on the WWE Network and isn't beholden to Corporations airing ads on its shows... Nor does NXT air on USA Network which makes WWE beholden to the Comcast Corporation and its standards/practices. WWE RAW, in particular, was extended to 3 hours because USA Network is getting crushed by Netflix in the rerun market. That's a tremendous strain on the WWE and on top of that, USA Networks forces a PG rating on the WWE. NXT has no such filter and is actually allowed to operate as a loss with no advertisers on their shows. But I noticed something else... Have you noticed lately that wrestlers are doing more holds or attacks on limbs or other body parts? Given that the WWE has endured tons of injuries lately thanks to wrestlers relying on high risk moves, I think that a change in tone is in order now in terms of wrestling style. NXT actually teaches more of a psychological style for their matches but once wrestlers get to WWE, backstage lacks former wrestler road agents (like it used to) to help educate wrestlers on how to work a match. You don't HAVE to use the ropes for every single move or perform ridiculous jumps on the outside. I seriously hold my breath everytime Big E dives through the ropes. Stupid, stupid, stupid... And that's why I wasn't a fan of Finn Balor besides him being undersized and weak on promos. Too reliant on high risk moves. That doesn't tell me a story in the ring that I could get emotionally attached to... Ditto for Sasha Banks. As a heel in NXT, she used tons of psychology. The reason why the NXT Takeover Brooklyn won "Match of the Year" was not just because of high risk moves, but because Sasha used psychology to torment Bayley in the ring and it made the fans believe in the match. WWE has to get its mojo back in terms of protecting the business and making fans question whether what they are seeing on television is real or not. That, or convince fans to play along... EVERY fan in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) knew that wrestling was scripted, but the product delivered fun characters, fun storylines with actual payoffs, and great matches. The joke is that everybody drank Paul Heyman's "Koolaid". Well, he wrote storylines for compelling characters that made you want to watch. Let's take RAW this week. Kevin Owens wins the WWE Universal Title because Triple H decided to attack BOTH Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. Why did Triple H do that? Is he in cahoots with former NXT call-up Kevin Owens or is he sick of Seth Rollins/still angry at Roman Reigns? I don't know... But what I do know is that I WANT TO WATCH RAW THIS WEEK TO FIND OUT! And I haven't felt that way about WWE storylines in a while and this storyline was created as an emergency. Right now, AJ Styles is probably going to become WWE Champion soon. That's amazing in itself... Not to disregard AJ Styles who has success throughout the world as a wrestler. But he was signed as a WWE need to thicken the roster and Vince McMahon was reportedly cold about his signing (size, he hates TNA/ROH, etc.). Then, he heard the fans reacting to him... He started seeing merchandise sales... Attendance with Styles on the card started growing... Actual drawing items. Then, AJ Styles pushed Roman Reigns to his limits in 2 consecutive Pay Per View matches. Easily, Roman's best matches to date particularly the 2nd Pay Per View where Styles knew how to work with the guy to maximize his talents. The Roman Reigns feud set the wheels in motion to give AJ Styles his current and probably WWE Title push. Look at Smackdown's ratings for 2 weeks now since SummerSlam 2016... Up for 2 straight weeks above 2.7 million viewers. That's good for the Tuesday show and with more, a trend. Fans HAVE to do their part to... Support the current WWE product under Triple H's rule... And in my opinion, you HAVE to financially support Kevin Owens and AJ Styles as top guys. How can you accomplish this? - Buy their Theme Music on iTunes (only $1.29) or elsewhere. Very cheap donation. - Buy their Merchandise on WWE Shopzone specifically. Just do it... - Subscribe to WWE Network while they are getting pushed. Complete opposite advise as to what I gave you guys about protesting WWE Network when Daniel Bryan was depushed and CM Punk walked out. - Attend WWE Live Events headlined by Styles/Owens - Purposely change the channel on RAW/Smackdown when Styles/Owens are NOT on the screen. Seriously... I know that this is a cruel move, but if your box is a Nielsen one, those Quarter Hour bumps for Owens/Styles will show. - Use Facebook/Twitter a lot and mention AJ Styles/Kevin Owens as much as you can. Follow both superstars on both Social Media outlets. That simple... WWE's Marketing Department will see those actual numbers and cream themselves with the reports presented to the WWE Board of Directors (which includes Vince as Chairman). If numbers don't show that AJ Styles or Kevin Owens are draws, that's when Vince McMahon will either go back to his comfort zone (you know Comments section, those OVW "Class of 2002" guys - Orton, Cena, Lesnar) or he'll try to ram his personal favorites down our throats, like Roman Reigns. There are stories out there about Vince's plans for Roman if he didn't flunk his WWE Wellness Policy test... It's because of that test failure that Vince is (a) punishing Roman and (b) being open to other wrestlers to "seize that brass ring". It's FUNNY how the wrestling business works sometimes, such as what we saw in 1996 when Triple H was punished for the "Curtain Call" and it allowed Steve Austin to win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament. After that King of the Ring win, that's when Steve Austin cut his famous "Austin 3:16" promo and the rest was history. John Cena shows up as a pimp like character to Smackdown Halloween episode during October 2002 and that evolves into the Rapper gimmick that made him. You NEVER know with the wrestling business... If you like what you see from the current WWE, INVEST IN IT. Time and money... --------------------------------------------- RAW & SMACKDOWN THOUGHTS This week, I was actually watching parts of RAW live on the USA Network at someone else's house... But I re-watch RAW on Hulu and then watched Smackdown on Hulu as well. Here are my general thoughts: - Enjoyed Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. Big Cass vs. Kevin Owens, but I enjoyed the hype leading up to the match. They started off the show with all 4 wrestlers sitting in chairs and chatting about the match. Loved that. Instead of the usual Authority Figure talking, the WRESTLERS were allowed to showcase their speaking abilities. I enjoyed it... Then, throughout RAW, they just kept hyping and hyping the Main Event. It FELT important. All things considered, the fact that Finn Balor got hurt and had to relinquish the WWE Universally Hated Red Title, WWE Creative has actually performed a nice quick turnaround on building that title back up. LoP Columnist, the Plan, made a great point this week that the RED Universal Title criticisms disappeared as this match happened and when Kevin Owens won it. Many hated the Spinner WWE Title, too, but eventually got over its look. Being Champion is what matters, period. But the Main Event was great and the ending was superb. I'm OK with Kevin Owens winning the way he did... Why? BECAUSE HE'S A HEEL. By hook or crook, that's how he operates... His character tells a story that he's desperate to get to the top of the WWE to support his family, whatever it takes. Whether it's taking advantage of Triple H's attacks or joining the darkside with Triple H, he willingly pinned Seth Rollins to become Champion and he was OK celebrating with Triple H afterward because he was champion. He's selling that it doesn't matter HOW he won it but the fact that HE WON IT. With Triple H attacking Roman Reigns, that was expected... After all, HHH feuded with Roman at Wrestlemania 32 and Reigns speared his wife. But Triple H attacking Seth Rollins? That goes against the loyalties of the old Authority and could create a wedge against his wife Stephanie. Where the RAW show goes with the Stephanie/Mick Foley management alliance is a real question now. Historically speaking, Stephanie and Triple H's characters always align or eventually align. Stephanie has been mostly favorable to Seth Rollins on RAW which suggested that the old Authority alliance was still in place. Triple H's actions puts that in direct conflict and now could cause the General Manager, Mick Foley, to really question his superior officer Stephanie. It could be potentially good storytelling and I want to watch RAW next week to find out... WWE's job should be to spark curiosities of fans to make them WANT to tune in next week to see what happens. - I REALLY enjoyed the Bayley alliance with the New Day, but to give credit where its due, I liked Dana Brooke teaming up with Anderson/Gallows too. Bayley and New Day naturally fit together because they are probably the most positive characters that the WWE has created in a long, long time. But Anderson and Gallows just seem so lost in the WWE despite their obvious in-ring talents. They need something else and placing them with an attractive chick with a heel attitude doesn't hurt. Hell, she was selling the Nurse outfit when they came out together. Dana Brooke gets an unfair rap from Internet Fans but she fills a need for a midcard-level heel in the Women's Division. After all, SOMEONE has to put over the babyface female wrestlers. I feel that Alexa Bliss accomplishes the same exact need on the Smackdown roster. Someone has to be there to make the other talents look good and put them over. Uh oh, I'm sounding like Ryback now... I'll stop. Looking over the LoP RAW Results, it's obvious that Hulu took the hedge clippers to this show. Lots of matches that I didn't see... - Both Cesaro and Sheamus characters are damaged and its evident by this series. Sheamus was pushed many times without good results while Cesar has been undercut anytime he's generated momentum. Want my opinion on how to fix Cesaro/Sheamus? MAKE THEM A TAG TEAM. Wrestling each other just validates that you have NOTHING for either guy and by the 7th match, unless they are putting on 4-star classics (which they haven't so far), they will be just a warm body on a non-big Pay Per View for Owens/Rollins/Reigns to defeat. However, if you change their elements, environment, and focus to something new, it could work and gel. Think about Kane and Daniel Bryan. WWE had nothing for either guy and they blossomed as a misfit tag team. - I'm OK with the Braun Strowman use of demolishing jobbers... Start low and let him gain experience in the ring. He's an obvious badass but what he needs is to be more convincing in the ring as a wrestler. After all, his true drawing ability will be whether he can put more eyeballs on Pay Per View shows. - Didn't like Paul Heyman and Stephanie's segment. Just didn't work and I thought Heyman was rambling too much to get to his point about Stephanie. I did, however, like Stephanie's rebuttal to fans chanting "ECW, ECW, ECW!". She reminded them that she once bought that company... OUCH. By the way on Stephanie McMahon, what crack was she smoking by repeatedly mentioning that they were going to crown the FIRST EVER WWE Universal Champion on RAW? What, did the Finn Balor victory at SummerSlam 2016 not count? Did I miss that memo? - WWE may have already killed the Miz momentum... To start Smackdown, they replayed the Miz's Talking Smack segment and then had a little bit of tension between Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon after watching that segment. Then, the Miz goes to the ring and cuts a great promo on top of last week's work. So far, so good... Then, Dolph Ziggler, who has done nothing in the past year but LOSE, comes out and cuts a promo on the Miz that he is, indeed, a coward. Instead of attacking Dolph Ziggler and causing backstage officials/referees to pull them apart... Miz runs away. Huh? I understand that Miz is a HEEL, but the promo he cut on Bryan and just did in the ring is purposely going against the grain. That's the point... It was different... But by him walking away, that drives a potential nail in the coffin of any momentum he could have had... WWE Creative could remedy this situation next week by having Miz convincingly attack Dolph Ziggler in a manner that fans haven't seen. Hell, maybe even getting pissed enough to do something different in the ring that allows Miz to almost squash Dolph Ziggler in the ring. Why not? Not like WWE cares about using Dolph other than enhancing other wrestlers... Don't you want to help your Intercontinental Champion or do you have more stupid KFC ads to film? - I don't like the Hype Brothers, not at all... Over the top with Jersey Shore like characters and their in-ring chemistry is actually not there. No thanks. - While I'm on a Tag Team kick, no offense to the Headbangers who haven't been seen in a WWE ring for years. Happy that they can still do it... But what's the point of forcing the Dudleys to retire when they could fill a need on Smackdown for Tag Teams? Sorry, but the Dudley return was botched after day one and they've floundered on the WWE roster since. - I really wonder what black wrestling fans think about Apollo Crews's use on the Smackdown roster. I know that the guy is still new to mainstream WWE audiences, but his booking has been lame. AJ Styles made pretty short work of the guy on Smackdown and I'd argue he should, as Styles is going for the WWE Title... But there's no momentum, no character development, no information given to fans as who this guy is, etc. Lots of upside to the guy but his use has been lame. Makes me wonder if Miz's recent shooting development on Bryan actually derailed Crews getting a rematch? - I HATED the Trailer scenes with Heath Slater. Poor casting of his wife and the segments weren't funny no matter how hard they tried to make Renee Young appear repulsed. The best part? Just seeing Rhyno chill and eating crackers... This segment just reeked of old style Vince McMahon stuff that makes him personally laugh. - Good promo segment with Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. No issues there. - Funny how Nikki Bella getting a return pop has made the WWE switch Nikki and Carmella's roles. But I'll cheer for Nikki Bella. In my opinion, Nikki has been treated poorly by many Internet Fans. Who would you rather push instead during 2014-2015? AJ Lee? She walked out of the company. Natalya? Can she draw? Good wrestler, yes, but she's a side character on Total Divas which stars the Bella Twins... Paige? Good wrestler too, but someone who captivates and draws a wider audience? NO. Nikki got in amazing physical shape, improved her in-ring ability, and gave you a decent Divas Champion during a time where the division was very thin. Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky didn't arrive until the mid-2015 and even they haven't set the world on fire. Nikki Bella gets a bad rap because she's dating John Cena, but there's decent talent there as a female performer. I would be OK with her winning the first Smackdown Women's Title but in my opinion, I think Naomi should get the nod. Naomi has put in the hard work and her entrance is FANTASTIC... On a side note, I really like the LOOK of the Smackdown Women's Title. The white trim mixed with the blue plates really makes that gold "WWE" logo POP. On another side note, the Smackdown Tag Titles look great too! Blue trim with silver plates... Both look very professional and don't hurt your eyes like a bright red title... - No idea what I saw with the Kane segment. I don't get it. - Baron Corbin vs. Dean Ambrose was a good main event, no complaints. With a thin Smackdown roster, particularly now with Cena gone, someone has to wrestle Dean Ambrose in that spot. Corbin did a good job. I liked the AJ Styles involvement from commentating at ringside to later trying to get involved. I was OK with the match's result as it sort of helped Baron Corbin. Afterward, the fighting helped to serve purpose to hype Styles vs. Ambrose although I thought it was silly for Ambrose just to sit there on the ropes. Wrestlers don't just sit there when that spot is hit... Kinda odd, but it allowed Ambrose to taunt Styles. LAST WORD: Satisfied with both shows this week. I just wonder what RAW will do when it's NOT having a World Title tournament and how they can follow up from this week. I like Smackdown's shows better but RAW of course rises up for important shows like this. What I want to know is what determines how FREE AGENTS are signed by RAW or Smackdown. Wouldn't both brands want Bayley? Should have had some sort of bidding war for her services to really hype her entrance. You would think that both RAW and Smackdown are constrained by budgets or something... Just a minor detail nitpick that I wanted to say that I didn't last week. Good shows, but again, my long-term worries remain with (a) thinner WWE rosters and (b) WWE Creative. But if Triple H can pushing his influence onto both brands while attempting to replenish talent, it could work... And remember... FINANCIALLY SUPPORT Kevin Owens and AJ Styles if you want to keep them as Main Eventers. Put your money where your mouth is. I have already done so on my end. SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE! Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments. © Mr. Tito and LordsofPain.net/WrestlingHeadlines.com - 1998-2016
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