Posted in: Mr. Tito
MR. TITO STRIKES BACK - WWE RAW and Smackdown Thoughts, Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton, and More
By Mr. Tito
Aug 4, 2016 - 12:42:03 AM

Follow Mr. Tito on Twitter.com: @titowrestling

Welcome back to the EXCELLENCE IN COLUMN WRITING exclusively here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com. I've been taking lots of flack by readers regarding my opinions over the RAW/Smackdown brand split. I simply said that (a) WWE roster was too thin to split in half and (b) Creative infrastructure didn't change beforehand. That's all I argued... Oh, and that I thought Finn Balor was being pushed too early and too fast.

But let's talk about Finn Balor. Go read my Column Archive. Since August 2015, I have covered the NXT brand which includes FULL reviews of the NXT Takeover shows. I have seen all of the televised Finn Balor matches since that time... Sure, he's talent as an athlete. I won't deny that... But as I've said it in the past, he reminds me of a Cruiserweight Wrestler from the late 1990s WCW days. He's under 6 feet tall, WWE announced him as weighting 190 pounds... However, what I've seen from his matches are good moves and flashy spots but a lack of psychology. He's not connecting me to his matches, just trading move for move with Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, or Apollo Crews. Amazing spots hit but that kind of style becomes repetitive fast and also opens the door to injury. So don't act like I haven't seen the guy, Internet Marks... I've covered him for almost a year and therefore, I can form an opinion. When RAW instantly pushes him to a World Title at the #2 WWE show, SummerSlam, I'll speak up.. That's I do...

Everybody is so sensitive over opinions... What do you want me to do? Write a column that 100% agrees with your opinions? Write something that caters to what the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) wants? No, I do what I want and I write what I want... So what if I have a different opinion than yours? Differences sparks discussion and debate. And the beauty of what I write is that I'm NOT trying to purposely obtain a reaction. You've read me for 17+ years now here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com. There's no BS when it comes to this column and I make a lot of predictions that come true long before the rest of the IWC notices (WCW/ECW Invasion Failure, CM Punk burial, Daniel Bryan burial, and Roman Reigns failing as WWE Champion).

But to be overly sensitive over a simple opinion over the RAW/Smackdown brand split is just silly... As I said before, what do you want? A column that agrees with your opinion? Or do you want a column that is legitimate, backs up its opinion, is consistent, and pulls zero punches? That's why you keep coming back even when a column makes you threaten to never to come back.

And then when you attack me over my RAW/Smackdown brand extension opinions, I get to post news headlines like this:

Monday's WWE RAW - which culminated with Brock Lesnar's return to WWE television - drew 3.314 million viewers. This is down from last week's post-Battleground broadcast, which drew 3.338 million.

Last night's live WWE SmackDown, featuring American Alpha's debut, Bray Wyatt vs. Dolph Ziggler in the main event plus appearances by Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton, drew 2.681 million viewers. This is down from last week's show, which drew 2.743 million viewers.


So yeah, that didn't take long... Both shows have lost viewers already and we're attempting to introduce new superstars and build up SummerSlam 2016?

Let me thump my chest a little more, shall we? Yes, I can already see comments about my "ego" or how I'm "arrogant". And you know what? I don't care... When you're right and you have this LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com microphone, I can freely display my confidence. For YEARS and I have multiple columns to prove this, I said that the "last dream match" for Brock Lesnar was against Randy Orton. As a few of you have pointed out, they did wrestle one time on WWE television BUT that was on the September 5th, 2002 edition of WWE Smackdown when it was on freakin' UPN. During 2002, Randy Orton was HARDLY the wrestler that he is now today. Hell, it wasn't until the late 2000s where Orton hit his stride because if you observe from SummerSlam 2004, he wasn't ready to be a World Champion.

Did you watch BOTH RAW and Smackdown? Randy Orton snuck in and hit the RKO on Brock Lesnar on RAW and Brock Lesnar returned the favor by attacking Randy Orton on Smackdown. IT MAKES SENSE and legitimately feels like a big match.

Why? Because it could believed that the RKO could defeat Brock Lesnar. Period.

And as I've argued before, in addition to the RKO, Randy Orton has the through-the-ropes DDT and the Punt that could legitmately hurt Brock Lesnar (or anyone for that matter). The RKO has been sold for YEARS as a legitimate finisher especially as it could be hit "out of no where". It's going to be a HUGE match that I believe will own the majority of attention for SummerSlam 2016. While many on the internet are slobbering over Finn Balor getting a WWE World Title shot, I'm fine with the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) "Class of 2002" representing with a HUGE match-up. After all, what sells WWE Pay Per Views is STAR POWER. That's why John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Randy Orton even after debuting FOURTEEN YEARS AGO still matter and remain WWE's top drawing stars. Period.

STAR POWER is why, in my opinion, Smackdown is better than RAW. Look what we have on Smackdown: Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, John Cena, Randy Orton, and Bray Wyatt... And if you watched the 8/2/16 Smackdown, Dolph Ziggler looked damn good and mattered. Then, Smackdown can keep things simple and have their NXT call-ups in Apollo Creed Crews (LOL @ Daniel Bryan) and Baron Corbin staying away from the Main Event scene to now focus on the Intercontinental Title. American Alpha looked damn good in their debut and will only get better.

RAW has Seth Rollins and? Well, a bunch of upper midcarders who haven't quite broke through yet. That, and Roman Reigns got busted by the Wellness Policy. That's why RAW is rolling the dice with Finn Balor. They LACK star power at the top so they are thus rolling dice on what the Internet Wrestling Community likes. However, Mainstream WWE fans, thick with kids and their parents taking them to WWE events, do NOT watch NXT. WWE Network has 1.5 million subscribers but not everyone watches NXT show. That's why debuting a guy WITHOUT vignettes and weeks of hype, along with an instant Main Event push, just doesn't gain viewers. RAW remains under 3.5 million viewers and is set to get OWNED when the NFL's Monday Night Football returns. Guaranteed to be under 3.0 million then and that's when Smackdown on Tuesdays will see some possible strength.

I don't care if RAW has the Women's Division. The ONLY Women's Wrestling that I have EVER cared about in my life was anything involving Trish Stratus and anything involving Bayley in NXT. I don't care if the New Day is on RAW with the Tag Titles. Who can they face? The former Bullet Club members who have yet to impress since their debut? OK, even if you like Gallows & Anderson, who else on the RAW roster impresses as a tag team? Vince McMahon has tried a Cruiserweight Division before and it has failed. He has the WORST patience in the world right now and he'll shred the RAW roster if numbers continue to sag. The Roman Reigns MEGA PUSH will soon return.

RAW really bored me this week which is going to implement my initial plan of covering Smackdown only and just caring about RAW Pay Per Views only. Smackdown was DAMN GOOD this week and reiterates that STAR POWER matters. Believe what you want about RAW, but WWE lacks the Creative Team to make any "new" stars. So good luck... 50/50 Booking (win one week, lose the next) will keep everybody at an upper-midcard status for life.

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Quick & Dirty RAW / Smackdown Thoughts

- RAW -

I actually liked the Chris Jericho/Charlotte vs. Enzo/Sasha Banks stuff at the beginning of RAW. Amazing chemistry on the microphone between the 4 wrestler. But DAMN Chris Jericho verbally thrashed Sasha Banks. That was brutal!

Hulu RAW shaved off many matches this week... Oh well. I see that WWE has re-signed Jinder Mahal. Somewhere, a wrestler formerly named "Damien Sandow" is yelling SCREW YOU WWE!!!! Oh, that's me yelling.

Finn Balor's mic skills are week, at least on a bigger stage. Just nothing there compared to Seth Rollins

Decent match between Mark Henry vs. Rusev. No complaints as it was set-up nice (Mark Henry complaining about opportunity) and it gave a nice win for Rusev. Long-term, the WWE could have something with Rusev but they need to give him actual momentum. Oh, and stay healthy and stay away from TMZ please.

I'm just not impressed by Anderson & Gallows. Lots of hype coming into the WWE by the Internet Fans but I'm just not seeing it thus far. Their debut was just confusing and I don't think WWE has booked them properly to feature their abilities. They wrestled New Day and it was just OK.

A repeat theme... Sheamus complained about opportunity and gets a match against Cesaro. OK match between the two with Cesaro winning. WWE has to figure something out on Sheamus. Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio are completely wasted on the WWE roster and that's because of FAILED pushes of the past. Damaged wrestlers... Why not let Paul Heyman, a guy who has resurrected many careers, be in charge of their Creative? Just let him present ideas on how to use both week in and week out. It could work...

If Sami Zayn wasn't attached to the hip of Kevin Owens for many months now, I would have built him up as a strong upper midcard babyface with actual winning momentum. But no, WWE has Zayn lose often even though he's amazing in about every match. Had better booking been in place for months now, Sami Zayn could be that babyface opponent for Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016. Instead, we get a random RAW match for FREE and Seth Rollins disposes of him with the Pedigree. CAN WE GET A NEW FINISHER FOR SETH ROLLINS ALREADY?!?! Or bring back the damn Curb Stomp.

P. Diddy or Puff Daddy will be on RAW next week. Cool... I've said it for a while now... Best Rap/Hip Hop music occurred through the 1990s. Like every other music genre, it quickly became corporate and monetized, thus watering down the creative process on lyrics and production. Music has lost its guts and is just produced for what appeals based on what a marketing firm says at a corporation.

As I said above, GREAT segment with Brock Lesnar taking the RKO from Randy Orton. Hey, Brock looks a bit thinner tonight... Why is that? Subpar show ended with a bang!

- Smackdown -

Fun segment with Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan running into their Champions backstage to start Smackdown. I really enjoy the positive vibes between the two as a babyface combo authority figure. It's so refreshing...

Dean Ambrose is starting to click with me as a Main Eventer. He's always had the in-ring ability, no doubt about it (well, that Wrestlemania 32 Lesnar match), but his persona has been too goofy for me. In the past few weeks, his character has been more serious and confident. This week, he was flirting heel ways as he was talking down Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler, by the way, nailed a good promo to define his character and where he's come from. Great opening promo segment by these two. Then, an upset Bray Wyatt attacks Dolph Ziggler. I'd be upset at this, but it set up the Main Event and the right result happened...

I was fine with the 3 Way #1 Intercontinental Title Contendership Match between Kalisto, Baron Corbin, and Apollo Crews. Let Corbin and Crews grow over fighting for the IC Title. Nothing wrong with that and when they are ready to consistently be in the Main Event scene, promote them when the time is right. Lots of upside potential in Apollo Crews and that "Apollo Creed" error by Daniel Bryan might be a blessing... That error got people indirectly talking about Apollo Crews. Whatever works... If I were WWE, I'd cut a check to Carl Weathers to appear on Smackdown next week. RAW is hosted by Puff Daddy, Smackdown is hosted by none other than Apollo Creed! Ding Ding...

Not going to lie... I liked the trolling by Eva Marie having a big grand entrance before her Becky Lynch and then pulling up limp with a leg injury. Hilarious stuff. Just keep trolling WWE fans with this kind of stuff and watch that heat grow. Eva Marie is "Playboy Hot" and hell, she made Maxim's list one year. And she flaunts it with natural charisma that you cannot teach. Keep pushing the buttons of fans and let the heat flow. Sorry, but I'd rather watch Eva Marie trolling than Becky Lynch wrestling. I know that sounds mean, but truth hurts. Eva Marie's look + personality can draw more than most female wrestlers. She could become the next Sable if booked correctly and tonight was a great first step.

Good debut by American Alpha to defeat the Vaudevillains. Many fans have never seen Jordan & Gable before but by the end of their match, they were fans. Just let these guys absolutely dominate the midcard for Smackdown as a side act to complement the STAR POWER at the top. Then, when the timing is right, Jason Jordan has absolute upside to be a huge Main Event star in the WWE. As much as I like Chad Gable, size matters in the WWE... Once American Alpha breaks up, move Gable to the Cruiserweight Division as Jordan becomes a heavyweight singles wrestler.

GREAT in-ring segment between AJ Styles and John Cena, but damn, John Cena cut one of his best promos ever. Thing of beauty... They'll be wrestling again at SummerSlam 2016 and I'm OK with that.

This might be the first time I've seen Fandango wrestle in a LONG time. He fought Randy Orton and of course Brock Lesnar was able to get through the Security Guards designed to keep Lesnar away from Orton and Smackdown. Regardless, nice follow up to the end of RAW.

Rhyno vs. Heath Slater next week... Oh boy.

Carmella just doesn't work well in a larger arena and without Enzo/Big Cass. Just out of place... But don't worry, the Female Kane/Big Show named Natalya will own her.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Bray Wyatt was a damn good Main Event and it paid off with a clean win by Dolph Ziggler. That's a good win for Ziggler particularly since, as I recall, Bray Wyatt got the better of Dean Ambrose in the past. The only nitpick I have is how Bray Wyatt got his heat back with the beatdown afterward but it helps set-up a probable tag match between the Wyatts and Ziggler/Ambrose for next week.

WHO WON THIS WEEK?

Smackdown wins! Better wrestling, better promos, better midcard, and better everything with the exception of the announcing team.

QUICK NXT thoughts... This show has Asuka and Bayley and that's about it. Oh, the Revival as well, but I don't know if WWE would call them up. Rebuilding mode after the massive talent roster raid that will one day be described as NXT "Class of 2016" if stars are made.

SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE!

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