HONORABLE MENTION – WWE’S Tribute to the Troops

WWE Week comes to a close with the 12^th annual Tribute to the Troops show.  This isn’t entirely geared towards my demographic but, in all honesty, not much actually is.  Nevertheless, this fare is definitely more intended for our “Red State” enthusiast brethren.  Which is fine, we are a rich and unique tapestry.  And how could I really say anything against supporting our troops?  Shit, I’m not gonna go out there and serve if I don't have to. I thank them greatly for doing the very commendable service. They are clearly better men and women than I.  Yet, I am absolutely fascinated with sniper mentality (one shot, one kill), unfortunately that is a topic for another blog.  In any case, seeing how the continuity of the whole show is kinda more like an exhibition, I’ll just do a brief review of the matches.   Cool?

First up, we have The Usos and the Brothers Dust have another tango.  I actually enjoyed this match.  Though we’ve seen plenty of the same, these guys seemed to be having extra fun this time around.  Guess it’s for the troops and it doesn’t bother me a bit.  The Usos were their silly, high-flying selves and the Brothers Dust were sneaky and campy but all of it was entertaining.  In flamboyant fashion, The Usos come out with the win.

To follow, the Divas all prance out to have themselves a “Santa’s Little Helpers” Battle Royal.  Oi, was this so what it was.  Since this was more like a USO show, I won’t get all poopy on how it was very much like a Christmas-themed, pillow fight.  There were some fun moments, though.  I like how The Bellas are a team again and spreading bitchiness throughout the land.  They gang up on Paige at the end and kick her out the ring.  I’m still somewhat undecided about Paige but she makes her shtick work, for the most part, so I won’t complain. Natalya eventually gets the jump on the twins and Naomi, with some crafty maneuvering, gets herself the win with a Backslide to Natalya.

Next up, Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt finally go at it and…it’s an all right match.  Sgt. Slaughter at ringside was a nice little touch.  It was better than what went down at TLC but, I don’t think this rivalry has really hit its full stride just yet.  I think there needs to be some more flat out shit talk and maybe some hijinks/pranks.  These guys will get on the mic and spit flows all day if you let ‘em but instead of hyping up how they’re going to rain down pain and destruction upon each other, they should get in each other’s faces more, like that backstage ambush on that Smackdown a few weeks ago. That’s the kinda stuff that gets feuds nice and juicy.  For such intriguing characters, Creative either needs to get their hands a little dirty and really flesh this out or let them have more say and input on how they develop it.  I’m not going to fully harp it due to the timing and occasion but I hope this is just a slow lead up to a lot of fun in future years.  Oh, and after some smashed tables, kendo sticks, chairs and steps, Ambrose gets the pin.

After Daniel Bryan has a patriotic face off with Rusev and Lana, we come to the main event in an 8-Man Tag Team match with John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan against Big Show, Dad (Kane), Seth Rollins and Luke Harper.  This actually wasn’t a bad match, though at the beginning of it I just had to comment on Twitter about how Cena just didn’t look like he knew what he was supposed to be doing but was invested enough to know he should be doing something.  I find those moments of relatability terribly amusing.  Regardless, Ziggler comes in and gives it his scrappy all, though Dad was more like his old self in this one and was just destroying him (Love ya, Dad!). Rollins comes in and does his punk-ass thing, as well. I don’t really get the whole stepping on the hand move but you know, they sell it.  They also do a good job with the push-pull tension and pacing of the match.  The Heels get their hits in and the Faces certainly get in theirs.  I thoroughly enjoyed Ryback just tossing Rollins out of the ring at one point, should be the standard.  Yet Ziggler, though he can oversell it sometimes, does a great job of holding out for the tag to Cena and once he lands it, Cena doesn’t disappoint and for once, he’s the crowd favorite.  He comes out, does a 5-Knukle-Shuffle, Adjusts a few Attitudes and then sets himself down on Harper for the pin.  Hulk Hogan, who helped open the show, closes as well with the American Flag in hand. Thank you, loyal soldiers!  I think you’ll be in for a better show next time (^_~)

It’s looking like Friday’s Smackdown will basically be a TLC highlight show so, we’ll see how that fares.  I’ll probably do the tweets but I don’t think I’ll do a review.  We all know what happened.

See You Monday,

-Nicole Alexis.