WrestleMania 39 Is Complete - RAW Gives Us the Fallout...

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?

Did you enjoy WrestleMania? Well, I think Night 1 won the evenings overall, hands down, but I think Night 2 ended just as it ought to have. Yet, you all know there is bigger news circulating so, let’s talk about that and then breakdown Sunday night.

So, it happened. UFC and WWE have merged into some sort of MMA, sports entertainment infused super conglomerate. Now, as much as I wasn’t buying into the hype, I know that there tends to be a modicum of truth in rumor. I just didn’t want to jump to conclusions like so many commenters do. 

However, this may be the elusive “perfect buyer” that I didn’t know existed. This solution could hold WWE to some accountability and UFC could veto absolutely atrocious ideas that WWE sometimes try to float. The “realness” of UFC will probably push WWE to present itself more realistically which could iron out a lot of their shoddier ways of presenting content due to no one “questioning management”.

Yet, as hopeful as I may seem, many commenters fear that this merger will lead to expensive PPVs, with or without a streaming platform. I could figure that if it made more sense. In an economy like this, I would think that would lose fans/spectators more than reel them in. 

After a few years of paying at most $10 I don’t know how they could justify the $50-$70 price point for WWE PPVs. I would liken that to a Twitter Blue subscription in current fiscal climates. Sure, if you’re well-known enough to need a verified checkmark you probably don’t have a cash flow problem, so you can afford it but amongst the masses, why bother? Elon Musk had to accept that charging across the board for Twitter would probably kill the platform. Given that, I’m sure they’ll be tiers for your viewing pleasure.

They’ll probably keep PPVs cheap and available with ad-support and if you really can’t be bothered with commercials, you can get the premium tier or just purchase the PPV for about $65 per usual. But as the case with present times, why spend $65 when you can probably do the free trial on a platform? 

I know, like with the WWE Network, you could probably get away with that once or twice before you’d have to branch out to friends but it’s better than spending $65 and I, like I did in real time, would probably break and subscribe eventually. You see me on here regularly. It’s my thing. 

In any case, I don’t think that’s really likely these days. As much as I don’t doubt there’s a lot of greed simmering beneath a deal like this, no one needs this stuff that much. I would rather have patrons coming in from all walks of life than just price it out for the common viewer. That’s no way to maintain a $20 billion company. As with anything, we will see how this all develops.

To bring that back to WrestleMania, commenters also often pointed out that unknowingly, WrestleMania 39 would be the last of its kind. It would be the last under the sole proprietorship of Mr. Vince McMahon. The new Overseer is now a Mr. Ari Emanuel who I know very little about. He’s younger, being in his early 60s, and from what photos I’ve seen, looks good for his age. 

This is promising in the sense that we’ll have a fresh perspective but still, a very mature one. I can’t really comment on the prospects for the future but I think I’m with many as I’m kinda just glad it didn’t go to the Saudis. Seeing how most of us didn’t care for John Cena’s Era, I feel it would have sank fast or would have been relegated to markets abroad. It’s just something for their kids to play with to them.

Anyway, back to WrestleMania. Night 2 was not nearly as polished as Night 1 and a lot of my old grievances returned, primarily with Finn Bálor. Once again, they missed the point. If you’re going to go with The Dæmon, you have to go with the demon. They had the great lead in and tie in with Russell Crowe to semi-promote his new movie, The Pope’s Exorcist but, the presentation didn’t deliver. It came off hokey and corny like it usually does. I'd be a little pissed if I had any clout with Comcast/Universal, to be honest. Way to not drum up interest.

And, if insult wasn’t enough, Bálor ended up suffering a pretty nasty gash on the head from a ladder shot. That probably wouldn’t have happened if the entry/reveal delivered. Nail that, and he has to do half the work because the “hocus pocus” is sold. He’s a demon now so what would some “mere mortal” do? But no, make it all too clear he’s human and human he turns out to be. 

Like I keep saying, this is a if you don’t do it right, don’t bother sort of gimmick. If coming up with a baffling reveal is too hard, at the very least come up with a batshit entrance. We’ll accept “fucking cool” if they can’t manage to blow our minds proper-like.

I was also shocked that Brock Lesnar vs. Omos was a clean match. What I’m hearing is that the mentality may be just getting Omos over as a giant but that’s a given. Is he fun to watch? He’s gotten better but like I said, no one is clamoring to see him wrestle. He’s still just spectacle and to be honest, I’m surprised Lesnar went along with it. But, with this UFC/WWE merger, he may not have had much of a choice. Interesting.

Regardless, rumor also has it that Lesnar is remaining non-committal in the face of recent news. We all know he doesn’t need the money but they do have the ability to conjure up even stupider amounts to throw at him. If I were him I would wait until they had a match lined up that’s worth his time. That last one didn’t have to happen in my opinion.

The one thing I feel I have to note about last night, though is how well I felt the main event was executed. I think that’s the first time Roman Reigns completely nailed his assignment. He got it mostly right in previous years. Did as told but I think what a lot of onlookers and fans disapproved of was how forced and awkward it all seemed. 

We’ve always resented Reigns simply being made “The Guy” and not earning the status. But for the first time since he’s been main eventing, he finally fit the circumstances and sold what needed to be done. I think he’s finally beginning to get what his job is out there 😉 That made the inevitable very satisfying.

I feel for those who were rooting for Cody Rhodes but you simply aren’t seeing the Big Picture. As much as you’d love to see Rhodes the top guy, more people would rather see Reigns face The Rock and it’s looking like we’ll get that next year at WrestleMania 40. Rhodes will have to wait. No matter how much you like him, Reigns vs. The Rock is the real headliner. Go outside of the Wrestling World and see who knows who Cody Rhodes is. Conversely, most people have heard of The Rock. It’s as simple as that.

And so, that brings us to tonight’s WrestleMania Fallout RAW. We can expect to hear from our Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. No doubt he’ll have some choice words for his “disappointing” tribe mates in The Usos for losing their titles. That said, I’m sure Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will make an appearance at some point. We can expect to hear from Bianca Belair as well. We may get to see a few of our now bonafide stars in Angelo Dawkins, Chad Gable and Ricochet. At least one of the past weekend's matches will get rematched and for the rest, well, you’ll have to see for yourself. I’ll be watching later as is the case for anyone in California, depending on your viewing options. It’s more a matter of scheduling for me. 5pm tends to be the end of working hours. No problem if you work from home but for me, on Mondays anyway, not the case. 

See You in a Bit,

-Nicole Alexis (^_~)