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Well Mr. McMahon has done it The Roman has won it With League of Nations getting thrown on the pile Dean Ambrose being IC Champion for a while With long-term storylines going out of style. We're talking wrestling From Maine to San Diego We're talking wrestling Vinnie Mac and Roman Sheamus's stupid looking jaw Triple H was attacked and took a fall We're talking Roman... Trying to find a new draw. Welcome back to the EXCELLENCE IN COLUMN WRITING here by yours truly, Mr. Tito, that is exclusively here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com. With me being a Hulu viewer, I don't watch RAW on Mondays and I just catch the 1.5 hour replay on Tuesday instead. Usually, when something big happens on RAW, I get bombarded with emails or Tweets... And of course, when a WWE Title change happens, things blow up... Vince McMahon, who reportedly loved the "look" of Roman Reigns from day one, finally made Roman "the man". Vince was talked out of crowning Roman as WWE Champion twice, as reported by the main insiders... Once at Wrestlemania 31 where Roman was supposed to beat WWE Champion Brock Lesnar but once Lesnar re-signed with the WWE, plans were changed within days of Wrestlemania 31. Then, at Survivor Series 2015, he was supposed to walk out of that event as WWE Champion. Within hours of the event, the booking was changed to have Sheamus cash-in and steal the WWE Title from Reigns. That's TWICE that Vince McMahon, the biggest supporter of Roman Reigns, has flinched. With the title on Sheamus and ratings dropping below 3 million viewers with him as champion, Vince took drastic measures for this week's episode of RAW both with Vince McMahon appearing and giving away a WWE Title victory on FREE television. Alright... Ball is in your court, Vince McMahon... Prove to us why Roman Reigns is the next big thing in pro wrestling. Unlike the rest of us, you've actually managed the biggest wrestling company in the world for over 30 years. Even if Vince McMahon is 70 years old, he's made billions off of being a professional wrestling promoter. He's been around the block enough to see something in Roman. Prove us wrong, Vince... Take full control of the booking and show us why Roman Reigns is the next big Main Event star. Now, if Roman Reigns fails, it's time to step down. I know that you're the majority shareholder and Board Chairman/CEO of the WWE... But there are many good wrestlers that you've sabotaged with booking that had to bow down to Roman Reigns as he received the mega-push for the last 2 years. For example, I'm watching RAW right now and Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler are putting on a clinic. Both guys couldn't buy wins on a consistent basis. And it's not like Vince McMahon is getting any help backstage. Triple H keeps pushing for Sheamus to be the top guy and that hasn't worked out well for the last 5 years. HHH also had a hand in the diminished booking of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. His eye for main event isn't exactly proven... Vince McMahon lacks guys with amazing minds like Jim Ross or Pat Patterson during the late 1990's and early 2000's that not only stood up to Vince on bad ideas, but presented better ideas instead. Vince lacks the filters that he had during the Attitude Era. Not many people know this, but Vince was actually hesitant on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin during 1996 but Jim Ross and others backstage stood up for Austin and convinced Vince that he could be a draw. Now, he has Triple H presenting him Sheamus as a main eventer? Yikes... Just prove us wrong, Vince... All you have to do. Show us why you're the dominant wrestling promoter and why you've made more top drawing stars than any other promotion. But damn, over the last 2 years, WWE has pushed Roman Reigns harder than any wrestler that I have ever seen. Here are some examples of how Reigns has been booked since late 2013. Mind you, Reigns only debuted as a pro wrestler during September 2010... - The only member of the Shield to defeat CM Punk. If you'll recall, CM Punk actually beat all 3 members of the Shield in a handicap match and then afterward, Punk faced all 3 members individually. Ambrose and Rollins fell short but Roman Reigns beat Punk on the January 6th, 2014 edition of RAW. - Runner-up for the 2014 Royal Rumble Match. - Roman Reigns scored the final pinfalls in BOTH 6 man matches against Evolution. - After the Shield break-up, instead of seeking revenge of Seth Rollins, he was immediately placed into the Money in the Bank 2014 WWE Title match. - The next month at Battleground 2014, Roman Reigns was placed into a Fatal 4 Way match for the WWE Title. - The very next month at SummerSlam 2014, Roman Reigns scored the ultra rare clean pinfall victory over Randy Orton. - Roman suffered an injury after SummerSlam but randomly returned to RAW during December to receive the 2014 Slammy for "WWE Wrestler of the Year" as voted by the fans. Think about that... Out with an injury and a tag wrestler for half of the year, Reigns was the "wrestler of the year". - Wins the 2015 Royal Rumble Match. - Beats Daniel Bryan cleanly at Fastlane 2015. - Was booked to win the WWE Title at Wrestlemania 31 because Brock Lesnar's contract was about to expire. Lesnar was on an amazing streak with strong wins over Big Show, Undertaker (ending streak), CM Punk, and John Cena and Reigns was going to get "the rub" from Lesnar on the way out. - Able to beat and overcome the Wyatt Family. Mind you, Daniel Bryan and Dean Ambrose had issues with Bray Wyatt but Reigns was able to beat Bray Wyatt definitively in a singles match. - Wins #1 Contendership Tournament to decide who wrestles Seth Rollins at Survivor Series 2015. - Seth Rollins tears ACL and Roman Reigns wins the WWE Title Tournament at Survivor Series 2015. While he loses the title, he attacks Triple H. - Able to fight off the League of Nations (Rusev, Sheamus, Barrett, Del Rio) without any help. Does this repeatedly. - Attacks League of Nations AND Triple H violently after the TLC 2015 match-up. Vicious attack. - Wins WWE Title during a one-night storyline with Vince McMahon present. ^^^^^^ Look at all of that WWE Creative help. That is CRAZY and it's all because Vince McMahon likes Roman Reigns's "look" and is willing to do whatever it takes to make this work. So many crutches put in place to make Reigns a Main Eventer NOW instead doing what worked with about every other Superstar in proving yourself as a singles midcarder first and then promoted to the main event later. Macho Man Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, the Rock, Triple H, Randy Orton, and John Cena had no shame in winning the Intercontinental Title/United States title and proving themselves as a midcard champion first before ever becoming a World Champion. Could you imagine CM Punk's career with this kind of favorable booking? Could you imagine Daniel Bryan's career with this kind of favorable booking? Could you imagine Dolph Ziggler's career with this kind of favorable booking? Could you imagine Dean Ambrose's career with this kind of favorable booking? Could you imagine Kevin Owens's career with this kind of favorable booking? You know, continuing the momentum he had after those John Cena matches. Hell, the WWE didn't try this hard with Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio the KINGS of Second Chances in the WWE. Or anyone who can actually work a match... That's Roman Reigns's biggest weakness. He struggles in non-gimmick matches. At the end of the day, WWE Champions have to wrestle actual matches on Pay Per Views and at Houseshows. You cannot look bad... While Seth Rollins might have struggled as a Main Event personality, the guy kept things afloat because he was an amazing wrestler. Roman is not... And that's where he'll struggle to carry the ball. IN MY OPINION, the WWE should assign a WWE veteran to critique his matches and help him plan for bouts as well. That is what needs immediate repair. You can do whatever you want storyline wise, overbook the hell out of that... But if Roman can't improve as an in-ring talent, he'll never become the "next John Cena". =========================================== RAW is HULU RAW was exceptional this week, by the way... Something was in the air whether it was Vince McMahon appearing on RAW for the first time in years, genuine excitement for Roman Reigns as WWE champion, or just a well booked wrestling show. There was definitely something different about this show compared to others. The Philly fans were very engaged in this show and they aren't always hot. If a show is bad, they've crapped on it. Missed the Cut: -Rusev/Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger/Ryback -Tyler Breeze vs. Neville ---------------- -Show started off hot with Stephanie McMahon furious about Roman Reigns attacking her husband. The usual threats by Stephanie and then many slaps... Could have been a big moment here if Roman retaliated with a Spear or something, but hey, we're in the PG era where that doesn't happen any longer. Stephanie threatens that her dad Vince McMahon is coming to the show. Oh my... Roman did have some good mic work here in this segment, although it's not hard to rip on Stephanie. Comes natural. - Excellent match between Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler. That match had energy that the Owens/Ambrose match lacked at TLC 2015. Babyface vs. babyface match and the fans were fully invested. Match was interrupted by Kevin Owens attacking both wrestlers. If you don't have any interest in booking any of these 3 towards the WWE Title, hell with it, let them legitimately fight over the IC Title with a "sense of urgency". - Cool ECW segment with the Dudleys, Dreamer, and Rhyno. I know that we're in Philly tonight, but ECW's best years were more than 15 years ago and 2006 gave us the last true ECW reunion. - The high expectations of the R-Truth vs. Bo Dallas match were cut short because Vince McMahon arrived. Damn he's looking old these days. Not fair to say, but I have the Attitude Era Vince so locked in my head that any other version of Vince looks off to me. Vince calls out Roman Reigns and Vince actually threatens Reigns by wanting to fight him immediately! Sheamus interrupts that brawl from even happening to suck up to Vince... Reigns begins to heavily mock Vince McMahon with some good material and that ticks off Vince McMahon to give Roman a WWE Title shot for tonight. Ha, how about that logic? Piss me off and I'll give you a title shot! Of course if Reigns loses, he's FIRED. - BETTER match tonight between the ECW Wrestlers and the Wyatt Family. Seems like the ECW guys (Dudleys, Dreamer, Rhyno) had a little extra kick in their step in front of that Philadelphia crowd. Extensive match, too... In the end, the Wyatts win because the ECW guys are pure midcarders and possibly part-time performers at this point. - New Day segment with the Usos and Lucha Dragons was AMAZING. They played up the whole praise of a great match between all competitors. I loved when one of the Lucha Dragons questioned why Xavier Woods used the trombone if they were all about respect. But the 3 teams put on a hell of a match on Sunday and the crowd was into the segment. Then, when the Lucha Dragons and Usos left the ring, the New Day celebrated their TLC 2015 victory in grand fashion. Lucha Dragons and Usos then stormed the ring for the attack! Great, great segment! The New Day is a Godsend to the midcard right now. - Charlotte/Becky Lynch vs. Brie Bella/Alicia Fox was over before I knew it. I actually recall Team BAD at ringside more than any action held in the ring. - Main Event between Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Title was pretty good... As I said above, Roman has to improve on non-gimmick wrestling matches. You can't make any geek off the street a World Champion and expect fans to just care about that. No, you have to perform well in that ring as a Main Eventer. Good action and I think the Philly crowd pumped real life into that match. That and Vince McMahon ringside. It worked... But continuing on the theme of OVERBOOKING Roman Reigns, Roman overcame the interference of Vince McMahon, being attacked by Rusev, and kicking out of Sheamus's finisher. Nice Superman Punch on Vince McMahon and that old 70 year old guy can still sell like a champ. Reigns wins with a Spear and walks out of the event as NEW WWE Champion. OVERALL THOUGHTS: That was a GREAT RAW. Not sure if Vince McMahon being on-screen did it, fans were relieved that the Sheamus era was over, or Roman Reigns is finally getting over... But the matches were extra good tonight and ditto for any talking segments. Who is this Creative Team and why weren't they wrestling for the rest of the year? A grade for this show... But can the WWE continue the momentum? Maybe Vince McMahon needs to stick around... And the ratings are in... Just 830,000 more viewers on average this week than the previous week. Yep, we'll see more of Vince McMahon and Reigns as champion is here to stay. =========================================== It's late... That's all I got... Enjoy your week. It's a GREAT week for yours truly. Smash Bros announcement was good and I'm just owning people with Final Fantasy's Cloud... NXT Takeover tomorrow, which depending on my mood, I may review... And lastly, Star Wars: The Force Awakens finally arrives. LIFE IS GREAT! Have a great holiday season! 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 - 1998-2015
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