RAW Just Wants You Focused on It & Summer Slam...That's All...

How Are You Doing, Enthusiasts?

Well, before I get into everything I want to get into, let’s take a moment to discuss some interesting news that’s circulating in both the WWE Universe and the actual Media.  It appears The Rock along with some other partners, his ex-wife included, have decided to purchase the XFL at a steal for $15 million.  Challenging economic times make way for moves like this and this is some interesting information to consider.  It’s hard to say what the implications are with everything so uncertain.  This new league could now potentially rival the NFL by luring current players with better conditions than the NFL currently wants to offer.  Wrestlers who need new options could reconsider an old or new career path.  There’s some potential in this turn of events.  I’m curious to see how it will develop. 

In other WWE News, the Bella Twins have had their babies.  The ladies had themselves a son each about a day apart taking “twinning” to the ultimate level.  Though the Bella Twins were never my bag, I still bid many congratulations to them both.  May their families be happy and healthy!

That being said, it conveniently leads me into the point I’ve been chomping at the bit on since Friday night.   With Bryan out on parental leave, I can’t help but sense some dread for the on-going Fiend storyline we now have to look forward to.  The Social Medias speaks more of fun spooks in regards to the Taking of Alexa Bliss but I’m left absolutely flabbergasted that anyone thought that worked.  I definitely feel like I’m eating crazy pills because it’s again just Bray Wyatt in a mask!  Why is that scary?  I find Bray Wyatt creepier as a character because one is more likely to befriend a shady character like that.  Wrong turn in some Podunk town and you end up at the doorstep of the local “preacher”.   The fucked-up, Wicker Man scenarios are potentially endless.  The Fiend leads me to believe that all we have to get ready for are some wild attempts at bad theater.  Must we?  Do we really have to?  I think the recent Swamp Match kinda serves as my case and point.  It wasn’t bad but was I blown away?  No.  It was basically a wet T-shirt match with the 2 last wrestlers you’d want to see.  Now, the match between The Fiend and John Cena, on the other hand, surprised me.  I didn’t think they had it in them but you see what happened?  Heads were put together to ensure the best they could do was put out for their biggest show.   Now, here we are in the day to day.   We already know that the WWE hasn’t had a clear idea of how to make weeklies consistently work for quite some time.  Even now, though the content is generally better it’s like every 3^rd show they just completely miss their own point and we’re sitting here wondering why we bother again.   It looks like we’ve reached that 3^rd show and out of sheer curiosity I continue to watch just to see where they’ll take it but, oh man…not sure how they’re gonna change my mind on this one.  The Fiend may become my personal cue to take the bathroom break.

Yet, rather than rail on and on about what’s not working, please allow me to at least offer an attempt to be a part of the solution.  Now, I’ve said in this blog before that Finn Bálor’s big league redemption could be gained through a concept like The Fiend.  If properly approached, these gentlemen could buoy their careers but both they and the WWE would have to commit to telling a good story along with having fun fights and finding the most suitable visual effects.  Word is that Bálor may be injured, hard to say if it’s kayfabe or not.  Regardless, his return could accentuate The Fiend’s story maybe.  The key here is that Bálor would have to lean into the lore.  The legend of Bálor is ancient and if Bálor wants to sell that he’s essentially not of this world, he’s gotta start “acting like he knows”.  Those with fragile mental states are often the playthings of that which goes bump in the night.  It’s safe to call Bray Wyatt/The Fiend demented.  This is not so much a comment on a person’s mental health but perhaps a person’s willingness to descend into madness.  The consequence is that a person subjects oneself to the influence of real ghouls.  Bálor could become The Fiend’s “ghoul”.  He could return as a rival Face to The Fiend, having the true tools to keep someone as deranged as Wyatt in line.  Once defeated – Bálor should defeat Wyatt more often than not – Wyatt could build an admiration for The Dæmon Bálor.  In the future, he could try to conjure him from time to time with varying results.  When Wyatt is particularly excited, Bálor could even show mercy and appear to quiet his troubled mind.  There’s even room for counter-turns as some event may prompt Bálor to go full heel again maybe causing Wyatt to turn on him or in some cases join him in greater evil.   The key here would be allowing both to emulate their fiction.  If Bálor is going to be a manifestation of Bálor let him have foresight every now and again.  Use an illusionist so that Bálor can show his “magic”.  Bálor should only lose when he loses sight of the real Rules.  When he is too bad, or too prone to excess, he suffers as anyone operating on this plane would.   Really sell the mythology and let Wyatt deteriorate into playful madness.  The 2 just may manage to balance each other out enough for Joe/Jill Schmoe to buy it.

In any case, before we start hoping for the impossible, let’s focus on tonight’s RAW.  We saw where SmackDown took it, now RAW gets its say.  That appears to entail Apollo Crews taking a “fair” crack at MVP for the US Title.  A “new faction” is supposed to make its debut and Shane McMahon has been summoned to take up some airtime.  Could it have to do with the new faction?  I don’t know but I am curious enough to find out.   Funny tweets will get retweeted and as for Likes/Favorites, oi…I don’t know…my faith is a little shaken right now so I’m going to try and lean more to the comical side of it.  Can’t get any worse, right?  If you get that honest laugh out of me, I’ll Like and retweet to pass it along.  At least we can laugh at it. 

  

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)