SmackDown Rolls Like Rules Are Always Extreme

A Tasty Tuesday to You, Enthusiasts!

Why “tasty” you ask…because it starts with “T” 😉 So, we gather tonight to watch SmackDown’s Extreme Rules fallout show and it appears that we’ll have ourselves a Town Hall meeting hosted by Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan has big news!  It’s supposed to be career-altering.  I’m not even going to attempt to figure the angles here.  Just gonna sit back and watch and see if it lands.

As for last night, I’d have to say it was a solid show.  The only thing that stuck out really was the Viking Raiders. Don’t know what to do with these guys.  I know the Viking thing is kinda hot right now but I have no idea how this works in the wrestling world.  I mean, there’s some wackiness going on, don’t get me wrong.  AEW is rocking some dude going by Luchasaurus and he strolls out with a pretty ornate lizard-like mask.  That guy works there, I guess but this particular We the Audience doesn’t really know how to take these sort of gimmicks.  They tend to look ridiculous.  Now, it can be argued the whole concept of professional wrestling is ridiculous but for us fans, we have to admit there are various distinctions.  As I’ve been likening the WWE to Dynasty, the fanbase tends to be more of the presentable aficionados of wrestling.  This is why the WWE has to watch its content sometimes.  Many have children who watch as well which is why the switch to PG happened in the first place.  But as with a lot of family films nowadays, the WWE is starting to lean towards pleasing the ones who buy the tickets and service/subscriptions.  Personally, I don’t think going PG was the problem, it was bad “writing” but I digress.  The real point of the matter is that too much of a “get-up” is hard for the general public to take seriously.  A wrestler might as well jump into a phone booth and put on their superhero costume.  We don’t mind a wrestler having “gear” but once it starts to look like a Halloween costume or Cosplay, we start to tune out.  They may want to save the gimmick for a logo or something.

Also, there was a big ole Battle Royale to determine who gets to box Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at Summer Slam.  10 men entered and at the end, Seth Rollins gets a rematch.  I’m not upset at this but I get the feeling they may do as I alluded on the Twitter and have that be a straight squash to boos.  Why you ask?  Because it pisses a lot of you off!  Let’s not forget the true purpose of "the Authority" in this WWE Universe.  They are ultimately heels.  They don’t want you happy, they want your money!  More or less and you may ask, if you don’t like it, why would you pay for it or watch it?  A good point, and many may leave.  An exodus may impatiently wait for AEW to start on TV but for the most part, if this is expertly done, we’ll come back.  The move establishes Lesnar as the guy to beat and when someone “mans” up and believably steps to him, that’s when we’ll have another true title match.  Someone will have demonstrated he has the chops and it makes that future match interesting.  I say this not because I dislike Seth Rollins but unfortunately, there’s a lot of unfortunate truths to wrestling and one of the main ones is that it operates a lot like High School.  Rollins may simply not be “cool” enough to hold the title for very long.  He may have to find more of a footing with the Intercontinental Title or US Title or something.  Not to say he’s a mid-carder but those titles should probably be elevated.  The point is that we know who these wrestlers are or more specifically, we see the wrestlers differently from how they may see themselves and the only way to truly change our minds is to prove us wrong.  There’s a real piss-ant kinda sensibility to Rollins.  I don’t know if it’s the sound of his voice or just how he reads but he always came off as a bit of punk and I don’t know if he’ll ever really shake that.  Lesnar doesn’t care if you think he’s a sonofabitch.  That juxtaposition alone doesn’t make the match-up very compelling to me.  It never has but I don't complain because it’s wrestling.  You have to think everyone may get the title at some point.  You’re going to have some awkward face-offs sometimes just to mix things up.  I think this has always been one of those and it’s up to Rollins to change my mind.  He may in time but I don’t see that happening by August.

  

In other news, I figured I’d take now to address the Jeff Hardy arrest.  Not that I have a lot to say about it but I do know that it happened.  This kinda ties in with my previous point.  I think we read the personas that they portray out there pretty well and to be honest, this plays to Hardy’s type.  He definitely has that “bad boy” vibe.  My only real problem is that he seems stuck in 2000.  He’s a bit dated with that Raver look but maybe that’s just how he rolls.  I can respect it but it’s still dated as shit.  Thing is, not sure what else he’d do.  So, I won’t complain.  He makes it work in the ring and that’s all that matters.  Funny tweets get retweeted and as for Likes/Favorites, well…expect some experimentation.  It’s officially Eric Bischoff’s turn and I’m not very familiar with the man.  I know of him but that’s about it.  We’ll see if his style jives.  If he prompts genius, he prompts genius and if I find it, it shall be Liked and Retweeted for all to see!

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)