Posted in: Mr. Tito
MR. TITO STRIKES BACK - Who Can Replace John Cena? RAW is Hulu Review, USA Networks, more
By Mr. Tito
Oct 13, 2015 - 11:04:47 PM

Follow Mr. Tito on Twitter.com: @titowrestling

Sigh... Here we go again. Reportedly, John Cena has scheduled time off following the Hell in a Cell 2015 Pay Per View through the end of December. Whether it's to host a reality television show, marry Nikki Bella, or to heal injuries... Doesn't matter. WWE is in serious trouble without him. John Cena is the #1 merchandise seller and the #1 houseshow draw by a MILE. It's not even close... The one guy who challenged him on merchandise, CM Punk, is no longer with the company... Nobody is even close. You'll probably begin to hear stories of WWE actually offering refunds at upcoming shows because John Cena was not there... That happened during his last scheduled time off AND from a few recent injury events that kept him off a few shows.

See, this is why you need a Business Continuity Plan and/or Succession Plan in business, especially Corporations who have to prove to investors that the revenue stream can continue without interruption. That's why businesses prepare organizational charts... If you look at WWE's corporate structure, you can see that for the most part... Vince McMahon is the CEO and Board Chairman yet there are multiple Executive Vice Presidents (EVP) and then Senior Vice Presidents (SVP) and Vice Presidents (VP) underneath them. Specifically, Vince McMahon has been training Triple H to be his backstage successor. Should Vince McMahon decide to retire and God forbid, leave us, Triple H can step in and resume business. That's how business should work, particularly corporations.

WWE, however, does NOT do that with their wrestlers. But it's not a matter of assigning Vice President level designations to the wrestlers... It's about completely ignoring the importance of their midcard and has since the mid 2000's (although I'd argue that the Intercontinental Title hasn't been worth a damn since 1999). As history has proven, and you can watch this on your WWE Network subscription, successful promotions have a strong midcard presence with credible midcard titles. While the Main Event does most of the drawing for any wrestling promotion, you will have to interest fans for 3 hours on Pay Per Views. Furthermore on television shows, you don't always give away Main Event programs on free television (well, WWE has for the last 5 years), and that's when the midcard can increase its importance. With Monday Night RAW being 3 hours and Main Eventers mostly staying off Smackdown (2 hour show), you need a credible midcard to fill time and captivate audiences. 5 hours a week is a lot to ask of wrestling fans each week and then when you add a Pay Per View, that's 8 hours... Watch NXT, Main Event, and Superstars... Very time consuming!

BUT... If you have a credible midcard with defined contenders going for Intercontinental/United States Titles AND set groupings of wrestling who are 100% focused on Tag Team Wrestling, it's easy to fill that time.

Problem with WWE now is that "Everybody is a Main Eventer"... Any wrestler debuting from the developmental system doesn't start low on the midcard. Oh no... They are brought in and immediately pushed above the midcard. I still can't get over Chris Jericho having to put over Fandango at Wrestlemania 29. That was embarrassing to watch. Fandango immediately busted as a wrestler following that Jericho win and what is he now, guys? Several gimmick changes and valet switches, too... How did pushing Sheamus to the top just months after his debut work out again? Oh yeah, he has fans chanting "YOU LOOK STUPID" and being aggrivated about him getting yet another potential WWE Title run from his Money in the Bank briefcase win.

And again, as I've repeated myself many times on this point (you know, "consistency")... "Macho Man" Randy Savage worked in the midcard, drew as the Intercontinental Champion, and was then promoted to become WWE Champion. Ultimate Warrior worked in the midcard, became quickly popular based on his look, drew as Intercontinental Champion, and then became WWE Champion. Bret "the Hitman" Hart worked for years as a Tag Team wrestler and then for 2 years, fought tough battles over the Intercontinental Title (amazing matches with Mr. Perfect, Roddy Piper, Bulldog, HBK, etc), and because of his hardwork, he was promoted to the WWE Title. Shawn Michaels started off as a tag team wrestler, broke out as a singles wrestler, fought over the Intercontinental Title for YEARS and even returned to the Tag Title division several times, and then by 1996, was finally promoted to the WWE Title. Steve Austin started off with the WWE during 1995 and won the Intercontinental Title during 1997 before he became WWE Champion during 1997. Triple H fought in the midcard and over the precious midcard titles between 1995-1998 before even being considered for the WWE Title. The Rock wrestled over the Intercontinental Title for 2 years and endured a significant character change before he went for the WWE Title.

Lastly, John Cena... Debuted during 2002 and didn't become champion until 3 years later. Instead of overpushing John Cena after his debut match against Kurt Angle, which John Cena lost (instead of Fandango beating Chris Jericho or Kevin Owens beating John Cena), Cena worked in the midcard until he could figure out his character. Once he found the rapper character during late 2002, he spent much of 2003 fleshing out the character and then he began to legitimately draw as U.S. Champion during 2004. Lots of merchandise sold... WWE began grooming him for the WWE Title and by Wrestlemania 21, it was John Cena's time. He became WWE Champion and was moved to Monday Night RAW. Oh, that's right, he wasn't on RAW for the early part of his career. John Cena DREW as a Smackdown brand wrestler...

Hello, WWE... Do you understand how to run a pro wrestling company?

NOBODY can replace John Cena as a Main Event draw on the current WWE roster, at least in the immediate short-term. Nobody compares to the drawing power of John Cena who can be ready to step in and push that WWE merchandise and sell those Houseshow tickets. Unless you're willing to pay Brock Lesnar to be a full time wrestler (WWE just paid him extra to work Hell in a Cell), you'll have to rely on a veteran for drawing power. Good chance that we'll see more of the Undertaker or Triple H comes out of retirement. Maybe even some classic Vince McMahon or maybe even the Rock returns for Survivor Series again. With RAW pushing 3 million viewers, down from 4 million viewers during Wrestlemania 31 time, they need someone who can legitimately draw.

Reports suggest that WWE is either (a) serious about finally pushing Dean Ambrose or about to give (b) Roman Reigns yet another MEGA PUSH to serve as John Cena's babyface replacements. WWE is sorta doing this already and as a team. But can either man do it, even if it's just for 2 months?

Since the Shield broke up following WWE Payback 2014, good ol' Dean Ambrose only has THREE wins and two of which are in matches involving poor Luke Harper. He has a tag match against the Wyatts, a singles match with Luke Harper, and a DQ victory over Seth Rollins. Otherwise, in more than 3 years worth of Pay Per Views, Dean Ambrose only has 3 victories to show for it. In fact, he has nothing but losing between WWE Payback 2014 and Extreme Rules 2015. This was a guy who was very popular during 2014 with the Shield going babyface and then him chasing Seth Rollins for revenge. Just as Dean Ambrose is about to get said revenge, he's thrust into a feud with Bray Wyatt where he's owned repeatedly by Wyatt. ZERO credibility to be the #1 guy...

The polar opposite is true for Roman Reigns. Shield breaks up after WWE Payback 2014 and Reigns is granted TWO consecutive Pay Per View shots at the WWE Title and is then gets to pin Randy Orton CLEANLY at SummerSlam 2014. Seriously... Roman Reigns is then out with a hernia only to return during late 2014 to be awarded the "Wrestler of the Year" Slammy award on RAW and then wins the 2015 Royal Rumble. Could any more be handed to him on a silver platter? Better yet, WWE was dead serious on having him defeat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title at Wrestlemania 31 with the thought being that Brock Lesnar was possibly leaving the WWE... On the way there, Roman Reigns beats Daniel Bryan cleanly for good measure... Thankfully, WWE thought better of this disaster in waiting and gave the WWE Title to Seth Rollins instead. As proven by the utter disaster known as the Reigns vs. Wyatt match that headlined RAW a few weeks ago, if you think Rollins has been bad as WWE Champion, things could be much much worse.

But MAYBE Roman Reigns is a legitimate draw... He's just been booked poorly beyond belief. After the Shield breakup following WWE Payback 2014, maybe Roman Reigns starts a singles program and begins the chase the Intercontinental Title or US Title. Once he becamse US or IC Champion, he retains the title for a while and see how he can draw... Maybe try out a Houseshow or two with Reigns defending the IC/US Title as the headliner... If he draws, then you push him to the title.

WWE has so many DAMAGED wrestlers on the roster. Everybody has been pushed, depushed, turned heel and/or turned babyface repeatedly... Several wrestlers have been pushed too hard by WWE Management because of management's own personal tastes/preferences only to get undercut at the last second... Others have just suffered from God awful booking like Seth Rollins right now. Nobody is consistent on the WWE roster except John Cena.

And now, John Cena will be out for TWO months...

WWE should have had years upon years of great business through defending midcard titles and tag team wrestling. In addition to NXT replenishing talent, the WWE should have a built-in farm system on the main WWE roster through the midcard. Meanwhile, while the wrestlers are learning how to perform and draw while fighting over midcard titles, it fills those long 3 hour shows easily with an added attraction.

Instead, all hopes and prayers are that John Cena can last forever... His longevity is amazing but he's 38 with a lot of tread worn on those tires. He is wealthy beyond belief and can continue making money in a non-wrestling capacity. WWE needs John Cena now more than Cena needs the WWE.

Oh - Do I seem repetitive to you? I feel like I've made these points repeatedly for the past few years. And yet, I feel like I'm the ONLY one making these distinct points about WWE's lack of tradition, poor booking, bad talent development, and carelessness towards its midcard. It's getting tiring to see how senile Vince McMahon has become or how a former wrestler, Triple H, can't even offer legitimate advice on how to change the Creative direction fo the WWE. Kevin Dunn has watched thousands upon thousands of hours of WWE programming from his production truck... Can he not see how BAD his own television product has become? Stephanie McMahon grew up with the pro wrestling business and has seen the entire run of her dad in charge of the company. How can she not see the obvious?

And how can you, the WWE fans of the internet, not see or state the obvious? You complain over and over again and yet you hand over your TIME and MONEY to the WWE without flinching. Me? I'm paying and existing as a wrestling fan for Brock Lesnar. Had the WWE followed through with their Roman Reigns plans and Brock Lesnar left, I was done as a wrestling fan and as Mr. Tito. No freakin' way I was willing to endure the "Roman Empire" during the Summer of 2015. THANKFULLY, Brock Lesnar signed a 3 year contract to save us all... But now, the building of the "Roman Empire" is about to begin again... What's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again...

Do Dean Ambrose a favor... INVEST IN HIS MERCHANDISE... BUY BUY BUY... When you're watching Monday Night RAW, purposely flip the channel to something else when Ambrose is not on but keep the television on when he is on screen. Let's those Quarter Hours boost when Ambrose is around. If Ambrose is doing an autograph signing, GO SEE HIM. Bring a friend... The fact is that for anyone who suggests that Dean Ambrose could have been "the guy" last year instead of Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns, his drawing indicators weren't telling WWE Management in office buildings that he's a draw. Hence, why WWE had zero problems burying Dean Ambrose last year in favor of pushing Roman Reigns even harder.

It's funny to me because former VP of Talent Relations, WWE announcer, and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross echoes many of my sentiments week in and week out on his Podcast show. Goes to show me that 1997-2004's growth and sustained success were simply by having better backstage personnel. WWE seemed to easily flourish with Jim Ross and another great creative/talent mind, Pat Patterson, around. Ditto with removing Paul Heyman as the Smackdown booker. Start to remove the brains from the backstage area and simple things like having a good midcard begin to lose steam...

But I'm just repeating myself... Whatever.

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RAW is HULU

Before we review, here are the HULU CUTS to make this 3 hour RAW show into 1.5 hours.

Cut from Hulu
X - Backstage interview with Paige.
X - Dudley Boyz vs. the Ascension
X - Sheamus/King Barrett vs. Neville/Cesaro
X - Kalisto vs. Kevin Owens
X - Charlotte/Becky Lynch vs. Brie Bella/Alicia Fox

Conveniently, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are having flight troubles and Kane is in charge of RAW. And har har har, Kane books himself into a Lumberjack Match against Seth Rollins tonight (or yesterday).

- Show starts off with Dean Ambrose entering the ring with a microphone to start the 20 minute promo that normally starts RAW. I guess that's one bonus of HHH/Steph having "flight troubles" is that they can't have the opening segment... Ambrose said "he's looking for a fight" and that prompts Randy Orton to come out and silence the crowd. I would actually be curious to see Orton vs. Ambrose in a high intensity match sometime. Orton and Dean will be facing Luke Harper and Braun Strowman at Hell in a Cell. Dean and Orton argue over who is going to be the leader in that match... Maybe it will lead to a feud? Segment was dragging on but then the New Day interrupts and suddenly the crowd went from silent to amplified...

- I want to reiterate how WRONG I was on the New Day... They are becoming an exciting reason to watch WWE now. The smack talk that they consistently deliver before each match just kills me. You can just tell that those 3 guys are having fun. Loved the smack that they delivered on Ambrose and Orton for their past stables, particular Orton. Their phrase OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW DAY has some real legs to stick. Kane appears on the TitanTron and makes a tag match... Wait, is this TITLE or NON-TITLE? Never announced ahead of time. Good tag match with an ending that not only helps New Day as Tag Team champions (winning relatively clean), but creates some animosity between Orton/Ambrose heading into Hell in a Cell. No complaints. RAW is good so far...

- Up next, it was Nikki Bella vs. Naomi... Can I just say this? I tune into RAW, hopeful that I'll see someone from the Divas Revolution in action but I get a match from pre-2015 instead. Loud "WE WANT SASHA" chants erupt... Seriously, many people have seen BOTH Bayley/Sasha matches and how can WWE avoiding holding both performers back from shining on the main roster? Oh yeah, they are not on Total Divas... My bad. Match was honestly OK but I'm just over the Bellas and all of the other Divas that could not get the job done for many years. At the end of the match, Brie Bella gets on the announcer's table and starts yelling "WE WANT SASHA" into the microphone. Sasha responded and knocked Brie off the table (nice bump, Brie!) and that was enough to distract Naomi to lose the match. Uh oh, looks like another Stephanie McMahon created stable is in trouble...

- John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler is up next... Should be interesting to see what the continual creative direction for Ziggler is. He has a rougher look to him lately... Interesting moment happens in the middle of the match as someone in the Allstate Arena proposed and the guy who did it held up a sign that said "SHE SAID YES". Crowd was popping for it and John Cena even interrupted his match to acknowledge what happened... Fascinating. Chicago crowd proudly begins a "She Said Yes" just like the "New Day Rocks(sucks)" chant. Devastating top rope DDT! You don't see that often and it probably still couldn't pin somebody in today's modern WWE. Nice Fameasser counter to the Attitude Adjustment by Ziggler. Zigger has legitimate talent and yet for 7 years now, WWE has no idea how to use him. I hate that Cross Body counter that Cena has where he lifts his opponents into the Attitude Adjustment. However, Ziggler rakes the eyes and hits the Superkick for a close 2 count only. Ziggler countered the Attitude Adjustment for a THIRD time and gets a close 2 count only, again, with the Zig Zag. Crowd is FULLY invested into this match... HELLO WWE... Can you hear the fans? Eventually, Attitude Adjustment attempt #4 is too much and Cena wins. Great match...

There you go, WWE... Dolph Ziggler... That could be your Main Event level star while John Cena is away. Let Ziggler smash Cena into many pieces on the way out and push Ziggler hard as a heel.

- Backstage, Kane is enjoying that Triple H/Stephanie are still having flight troubles. I can actually say that I'm not enjoying it...

- Roman Reigns comes out to the ring and has a microphone in hand. Chicago fans don't care and many "WHAT?" chants break out for every sentence break Reigns had. And then "BORING" chants break out. But remember, Chicago fans, Vince McMahon believes this guy could actually replace John Cena some day. Why? Because fans can spot a manufactured fake. Wyatt Family interrupts and following a little back and forth, Braun Strowman is sent to the ring by Bray. Just great... We have a guy who struggles to sell moves (Roman) against a guy booked to not sell moves (Strowman). Strowman is a BEAST, though... Not many humans that thick and probably all muscle. DEAD CROWD here... Nobody is buying Reigns and his babyface struggle against the Wyatts. And he was almost crowned WWE champion at Wrestlemania 31. Amazing. And because newcomer Braun Strowman must be protected, as all newcomers are... Reigns gets the protected win by defeating Strowman via countout. After the match, Bray Wyatt challenges Reigns to a fight with both Harper and Strowman in the ring to have his back.

- Backstage, again... Triple H/Stephanie are calling Kane and HHH asks Kane what his Main Event is... Bad cellphone reception keeps interrupting the bad news. The innovation on the storylines is just amazing tonight (sarcasm).

- Rusev vs. Ryback is our next match airing on Hulu. Ryback looks weird in pink but Summer Rae, damn.... Just some back and forth power moves between the two, but acceptable wrestling. I was actually happy to see Ryback getting a clean win over a relatively decent name. I know that Ryback has the Intercontinental Title match at Hell in a Cell, but that match has a "punishment" stench to it for Rusev revealing his engagement to TMZ. And Summer Rae brings real life into the storylines by revealing the story after the match. Wow... Summer slaps him and walks out on him. Ooops...

- Backstage, yet again... Kane and Triple H/Stephanie remain on the phone and reception is better. HHH/Steph are upset at Kane putting himself in the Main Event against Seth Rollins. Love the "World's Greatest Director of Operations" mug that Kane has... Shades of Michael Scott!

- Backstage, Seth Rollins is sucking up to the Big Show, a potential lumberjack... Big Show laughs and walks away. Kane informs Rollins that he'll find a "suitable replacement". Already see this coming...

- LOVED that quote about how Dusty Rhodes used to call Lumberjack Matches as a "human cage". Never heard that before. Of course, the "Demon" Kane replaces "Corporate" Kane to wrestle Seth Rollins. Predictable. Great stuff in the match with Kane and Big Show confronting each other on the outside. That was really good, to be honest... Why not have the 2 members of the "Walking Glass Ceiling" feud afterward? It actually created a nice reaction from the fans, particularly when Big Show delivered the knockout punch. With 2 heels wrestling, what are the heel lumberjacks supposed to do? For some reason, New Day pulled Kane out of the ring and the babyface lumberjacks come to the rescue. Big brawls to clear all of the lumberjacks out of the ring and then Kane reverses Pedigree to win the freakin' match with the Chokeslam.

Seriously... The WWE Champion LOSES AGAIN. Can the WWE Title holder actually win a match, even if it's cheating? It's easy to blame Seth Rollins for the RAW ratings being slow low but it's hard to blame Rollins WHEN HE'S NOT ALLOWED TO BEAT A BIG NAME IN A MATCH!!!!!

LAST WORD: From what I saw on Hulu, and as you can observe from above, this edition was HEAVILY edited, this was a decent show except for anything Kane/Seth Rollins. Sick of it and FINGER OF SHAME for Kane getting a non-title (though it was never announced) win over Seth Rollins. Completely diminishes the credibility of that World Title. I'll go B as my grade although a few things on this show irk me enough to go lower. But I've seen worse by the WWE. Much worse.

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PHAT QUESTIONS

Question #1 - Why did USA Networks give RAW 3 hours and are willing to take on Smackdown's programming for 2016?

Simple question... Do you enjoy Netflix? I certainly do... What I love most about Netflix is that I can binge watch a show without commercials. I can watch a series at my convenience and I'm not having commercials shoved down my throat.

What is USA Networks? Aside from a few original shows, they air mostly reruns of television shows and movies. But with those shows and movies, USA Networks runs advertisements. That's how they make their money... Given the choice to binge watch Law & Order on Netflix without commercials on your own time versus watching that same show on USA Network at a set time, maybe one show per night, and with commercials... Yep, the Netflix option is an easy choice to make. Netflix is killing networks like USA Networks.

In response to viewership dropping for reruns of television shows or movies, USA Network is looking for original content to sustain numbers. WWE has loads of original content to fill the airwaves. To WWE's advantage, USA Networks has some need for their content and probably in 3-4 years, WWE can easily get their deal extended. Problem remains is that wrestling is in decline and since the early 2000's, wrestling actually charges lower ad rates than other programming on Cable and that includes television reruns. Thus, low demand by other networks to bring on the WWE and WWE getting lesser of a deal than expected... HOWEVER, certain networks like USA Networks needs content. AMC was reportedly interested if and only if they could buy the WWE and its properties. As amazing as that channel is on creating original content, they could save money by having wrestling.

WWE should realize that if they can improve their own viewership numbers, they may have some nice leverage in 3-4 years.

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Question #2 - Who was the bigger influence for women's wrestling? Trish Stratus or Lita?

Ouch... Damn good question.

I would say in terms of the female wrestlers that you now see in the WWE or within NXT, it would be Lita. Lita has a particularly strong following because of her unique and edgy look and persona. Little girls, like AJ Lee or Bayley when they were younger, could relate to Lita far more than they could the Barbie Doll like blonde character of Trish Stratus. That's not to say that they disliked Trish, but Lita was more of an outcast and females becoming involved with pro wrestling, especially as a wrestler, was taboo back during Trish/Lita's days. Remember, Trish and Lita broke down many many barriers for women's wrestling.

Now, I think Trish Stratus was more accepted by male fans. Certainly, her amazing looks made it easier to watch but I think her legitimate talent hooked most fans in to accept women's wrestling as mainstream. Lita endured several BAD injuries such as a broken neck and a torn up knee. Trish Stratus was around more and was therefore the superstar most accepted and admired. I think that many female wrestlers have modeled their in-ring ability more like Trish than Lita.

But damn, their rivalry was fantastic and those two coming together helped grow WWE's business for women's wrestling. Go watch Rivalries on WWE Network that just came out 10/6. It is EXCELLENT, especially if you love the NXT women's wrestling. Trish and Lita blew the doors off... I think that both, together, helped grow the business for BOTH men and female wrestling fans and that's quite an achievement.

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Question #3 - Which video game character would make a great pro wrestling character?

I've always thought Ganondorf from the Legend of Zelda series as a heel. The Undertaker sort of acted like him during 1999 with the Ministry of Darkness and even looked like the guy. Ganon is pure evil and lusts for nothing but power and dominance. I could actually see the Undertaker playing Ganon is there was ever a film production of the Legend of Zelda...

Other than that, just take any Grand Theft Auto series games... Tons of colorful characters in that, including the lead roles.

I'd personally like to see a heel tag team consisting of characters like Wario and Waluigi...

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Question #4 - If Paige had surgery to repair her Scoliosis, how long would she be out or could she ever wrestle again?

This one is my own question but I can personally relate to this one... Paige has admitted that she has scoliosis and that her "spine is shaped like a question mark". During her Podcast interview with Steve Austin, she said that she'll "eventually have to have surgery" to repair it. Question is, if she has the surgery, is she done or can she come back?

I told this story during my younger days as Mr. Tito, but I'll bring it up now because it can legitimate relate to Paige. I had Scoliosis as a kid... My spine was curved probably worse than a question mark, 55 degree curvature I'm told. No braces for me, as I had full blown back surgery when I was 15 years old to repair. Probably one of the reasons I attribute my success in school and career afterward was that while the rest of my classmates were partying, I was home recovering from back surgery and could hit the books... The procedure was about 8 hours in length... They took 2 steel rods with hooks to (a) straighten out my spine and (b) hold my spine in place as bone from a cadaver was placed on my spine to basically fuse my spine straight. That was over 20 years ago when I had the procedure and the 2 steel rods are still there. I guess they'll remain until they cause me significant problems later on.

After I had the surgery, it was about 8-9 months before I could be fully active again. I had a big issue because during the surgery, they must have bumped my spinal chord and it made my left leg numb. That was a bigger issue to recover from physically but my back felt tender during most of that time. Then, about 8-9 months later, I was running and lifting at a fitness club to build some strength back. I'd say that 1 year later, I could mostly do everything that I could previously with the exception of something hard hitting like tackle football. As younger person, I would see some stiffness in my back if I played something athletic like basketball or hockey on rollerblades. The stiffness is much worse with age...

But can someone take repeated bumps in a wrestling ring after this surgery? A local independent promoter used to let me and my friends mess around in his wrestling. I was very careful when "bumping", as I was scared of even trying to take a bodyslam or any kind of bump on that canvas. Wrestling rings are NOT cushions and I didn't want to risk it... From the few minor bumps that I did take, I was sore the next day. Then again, I'm not conditioned to take repeat bumps like pro wrestlers. Messing around with friends or backyard wrestling doesn't equate what pros actually do. I'm always curious about the surgery that Shawn Michaels had as he had some spinal fusion and reportedly has 1 rod in his back... Yet, he made an amazing comeback like he never had a back injury. But that's 1 less rod and less spinal fusion, I think.

If Paige can survive it and return to wrestling, the interesting thing would be how much TALLER she could become. After my 55 degree curve was fixed, I gained about 4 inches in height instantly going from about 5'8" to around 6'0". And what is Paige's reported height? About 5'8". I could imagine that having it at a later age (she's 23), having the surgery might throw her balance off because her body was used to the "question mark" shape of her spine and now it's different. I actually had to do stretching exercises, as prescribed by my doctor through a trainer, to retain my balance after instant growing about 4 inches.

In my opinion, there's no way I could bump in the ring after this surgery. The soreness and stiffness would get old quick. That's why I'd suggest that Paige has the surgery to fix and repair her Scoliosis, she's done. I don't know how she could tolerate the stiffness due to a lack of flexibility in your spinal chord caused by the fusion. She told Austin that "doctors worry about her" in that an injury could occur if she landed on her curved spine wrong (maybe causing a disc issue, I don't know?), so therefore, she should enjoy her career now while she can. Don't let the fear of injury take control and life your life and wrestling career to its fullest.

So there you go... Hopefully, you've learned something new today... Hopefully, someone forwards this to Paige to consider. I'm a fan of hers and I wish her the absolute best.

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

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