PUTTIN’ THAT SMACKDOWN…What Actually Happened Last Night (Jan. 29th, 2015)

Well, Enthusiasts it looks like there was method in the madness after all.  It appears that the WWE likes to play Russian Roulette.  What was undoubtedly a bad decision was possibly an odd attempt at reverse psychology.  In throwing Roman Reigns to the proverbial wolves in Philadelphia by giving him the Royal Rumble win, the scenario of Reigns needing to prove himself in a very real sense was created.  He now has to overcome the adversity/animosity generated by the WWE, who may simply be taking needless risks to sell him to us because they apparently need him to be “over” now as opposed to later.  This is mainly due to the questionable approach the WWE is currently adhering to and the financial hits they've already incurred because of it.  They have decided to take a literal approach to this “Reality Era” and one thing is for sure.  If Roman Reigns is going to be “The Face” of this company, he’ll have an uphill battle in order to do it.  Though, putting him through his paces was what I was getting at in my inaugural post, I truly feel this could have been accomplished without all the fallout.  Yet, if he gets over, it’ll be undisputed.  There will be no question of whether he was put through the fire or not and a new regime would be firmly established.

We open in Hartford, Connecticut with Triple H out to greet Us.   He begins by tip-toeing around the elephant in the room and softens Us up a little with some playful digs at the “Deflategate” controversy that’s simmering in the NFL.  He brings up how this was a weird week, seeing how this tremendous blizzard blew through, shutting down the regularly scheduled production of RAW.  He then goes on to address what is on everyone’s minds and tongues, The Royal Rumble.  Well first, let him remind Us that the Triple Threat Match was phenomenal.  And he’s right, it was.   Way better than I anticipated, anyway.   But then, it was the Rumble itself that drew a lot of ire.   He’s never seen anything like it and to be honest, I don’t think many have.  It was truly an epic fail if ever I did see one.  Nevertheless, Triple H has something for all this and We’ll hear this come RAW and it will “shake the WWE to its core”.  We’ll see about that.  Yet, before we can chew on that for any real amount of time, Roman Reigns’ music hits and he emerges and…he’s got that look.   The look that you’d expect to see from someone taking a real shot at the “Top Spot”.  Though there are cheers amidst prominent boos, the potential for greatness is clearly there.   He makes his way to the ring and once there, he basically states that regardless of what Triple H has to say about anything, he won the Royal Rumble and he’s going to Wrestlemania and that’s that.   Sure pal, Triple H says.  But first, have at our Hoss of All Hosses.   Now, this is where they need to be careful.  Triple H has come out to redirect Our focus yet still maintain the WWE’s original agenda.  Reigns is the guy whether we like it or not and I get that.  From a Marketing perspective, this is a no-brainer.  He’s got the look and everything else will come in time.   Nevertheless, there are a lot of kinks to work out and not just with Reigns.  The company/Creative needs an overhaul or at least some retooling.   Yet, inadvertently, they are laying the foundation to set Reigns up as I suggested in my first real post so, in a way I feel accomplished and vindicated in knowing what the fuck I’m talking about but, as to whether the WWE will take the easy way out remains to be seen.  They seem to enjoy self-sabotage.  I will say, however, Triple H did handle addressing We the Audience very well and you could see that he is in Reigns' corner but things will be precarious going forward.

In any case, the first match of the evening is Reigns vs. Big Show and it’s what you’d expect though, definitely executed more purposefully.   Everyone knows what’s on the line and they perform well.  Big Show is a tough opponent for this push angle because this is a match most don’t really want to see.  I appreciate Big Show’s experience and I can see how that can help but something tells me that mentorship should be done more behind the scenes.   Big Show does lumber so and in attempting to execute the more involved moves, he definitely slows down the action.  It’s not his fault.  That’s a lot to get going and he’s been past his prime.   Yet, I understand that setting up a rivalry like Randy Orton and Reigns takes some planning and with things in flux at the moment, the WWE can’t really afford to be too willy-nilly in their presentation.   In this respect, I understand not setting things off too soon.  Yet, I’d rather see Reigns box someone like Ryback or maybe even Luke Harper if they need to improve his ring-work in the here-and-now.  That’d be more entertaining to watch.  Maybe bring back Mark Henry and see how that fares?  Regardless, with much effort, Reigns gets the win and the crowd slowly starts to see what the WWE is actually trying to do and applaud.

 

Next up, we have Seth Rollins with J&J Security sauntering out, quite smug about Rollins' showing in the Rumble’s Triple Threat Match.  Rollins is sure he’s proving his worth to the company and how he is in fact the future.  If anybody’s got something to say about that, they can come out and tell him to his face.  If anyone back there has got the balls to come out and step up to “The Man”, show yourself now!  He waits a few beats and no one.  You see, no one wants a piece of this!  That is, until Ryback’s music hits and The Big Guy comes out ready and willing to dance.   J&J jump in with Rollins and they proceed to implement a dirty beatdown.  Well, I guess this is akin to “bullying” and Erick Rowan decides he can be of service.  He stomps down the ramp and blasts through J&J who attempt to head him off at the pass.  He gets some hits in on Rollins but eventually gets a kick to the face and Dolph Ziggler then feels it’s time to join the party.   He tags Rollins a bit but Rollins knows when to cut and run and he and his goons slip out the ring and get the hell out of there.

To follow, we have a little bit of a change-up with Tyson Kidd going up against Jey Uso in singles action.   This is actually a solid match and we get to see some of what Tyson Kidd can do.  I like this.  Even though they’re being presented as Heels, there’s no questioning both Kidd’s and Cesaro’s skill.  They always deliver and are always clean.  Kidd was especially wily in this bout and picks up the win with what I’m learning is a “Twisted Fisherman Suplex” for the pin.

We then have Lana and Rusev present themselves to start pushing this Fast Lane match coming up at the end of February.   This back and forth was actually fun.  Rusev starts it off, talking his basic smack because the English is supposedly not so good.   He starts by saying that he should be in Wrestlemania against Lesnar (which probably wouldn’t be a bad match) and how he is not being treated with proper respect.  Why is he put in match with some fading star?   Excuse me, fading star?  John Cena comes out, a little ticked off.  Fading star?!  What?!  Look here Gorbachev, I’ve been doing this since before you even knew this is what you wanted to do for a living.  I come here, day in-day out and kill it and whether anyone likes it or not I’m the real Champ you gotta beat!  So, get your dancing shoes on ‘cause we’re getting down!  John Cena disrobes, ready to go!   Rusev takes the bait and shoves his belt into Lana’s hands but, she gets him to think better of it.  Rusev calms down and exits the ring.  This will be settled at Fast Lane.
 

 

Afterwards, we get a brief promo with Paige speaking with Renée Young about her #1 Contender spot for the Divas Championship.   Yet, this gets busted up by the Bella Twins who feel Paige needs to learn her place.  They rough her up in cheesy fashion that I didn’t really buy.   The backstage rush can’t be done gingerly, ladies.  If you’re gonna fuck someone up, get in there and fuck ‘em up!   Needless to say, it didn’t really generate any hype.

Fittingly though, this is followed with The Ascension continuing their run against Gold &Stardust.  The match went quickly and the one thing The Ascension are doing right are being punks in the ring.  They give all sorts of nasty cheap shots and when Stardust drops the ball with Goldust, The Ascension close in with the Fall of Man for the win.

This brings us to our advertised main event with Dad (Kane) up against Daniel Bryan in a Casket Match.   This was a long, drawn out affair but it was well executed.  Dad was his big, mean ol’self and wasn’t pulling too many punches in throwing Bryan around.  We still kinda wince when Bryan takes a hard fall.   Yet, Bryan’s got all that heart and keeps battling back, no matter how many times Dad seems to get the drop on him.   As you can imagine, in an extended back and forth, Bryan finally manages to get Dad in the casket for the win.

All in all I would say that it was yet again left to Smackdown to clean up the mess that the bulk of WWE Creative made be it from Vince McMahon himself to clueless writers.  Yet, I get the feeling damage was done and only time will tell if the WWE can fully recover.   An article I read put it best by likening the current WWE approach to being in a toxic relationship.   They continually disappoint Us but for some reason, We keep coming back for more.   Yet, this time around, I’m not so sure if We the Audience will fully take them back and if We do, it will only be after they've proven that they have in fact changed. 

We’ll See.

See You Monday,

-Nicole Alexis (-_-)