WWE Musings

Happy Monday, Enthusiasts. How are things going so far? Fair enough? It’s the beginning of the week. Feel free to ease into it. Well, the Wrestling World is kinda quite at the moment. There are a lot of on-going rumblings but not much new to report. This should be a “to the point” post. With the Bloodline Saga now “at recess”, we have a little under a month to switch focus to SummerSlam. As we do that, there’s also more talk of LA Knight. Apparently, he was given a dark segment to help appease some vocal fans. I don’t mind Knight’s popularity. It took me a little while to catch-on so, I’m glad people are. Yet, again, I have not been impressed with the ring work I’ve seen. It’s his job on the mic that appears to really be putting him over.  So, that’s the only discrepancy I see in the way at present.  Let’s see where he is at the end of the year before making too many final conclusions. Conversely, Grayson Waller is being said to be on the “push train” as those in the know feel he could

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?   I hope this Friday is going well for you. There some subtler things to talk about today. Given recent events, we can now start to see how they play out. It’s a very interesting time in the wrestling world. Let’s get started.   So, let’s begin with AEW. CM Punk on TV again in character is exciting but I find it engaging for other reasons. I caught his bit on Dynamite and I couldn’t help but notice how he went from honest interaction with the audience to seguing into his match with Darby Allin as cleanly as anyone polished by the WWE. Punk is establishing that he can handle the mic to those who don’t know and the manner to which he does so comes off as highly WWE influenced. Quite eye-brow raising if you ask me. True, it makes sense. We all know it’s in his history but at the same time, we all know that their relationship isn’t the best, or at least that’s how it seems. Nevertheless, it amused me to see how the experience permeates his presentatio

How’s It Going, Enthusiasts?   So, a little spent, are we? Yeah, I know most of you are drained from CM Punk’s return. I just kind of had my fill of wrasslin’. Not for forever, it’s like being full at a buffet. It’s like there’s plenty more and I’m just stuffed. And now, I’m trying to make room for RAW . Some may come back up 😉   Before I get to that, let’s go over SummerSlam for a minute. A lot of people didn’t like it. They loved Becky Lynch’s return, hated Bianca BelAir’s squash. No one minded Brock Lesnar showing up. People thought Goldberg’s match was a waste of time. Edge and Seth Rollins delivered but everything else got yawns. Doesn’t bode well for RAW’s ratings.   I’ll say this. It wasn’t the greatest PPV but they have definitely presented worse but as for the year, SummerSlam was the lamest one thus far. Yet, in saying that, there were only 2 bad matches: Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley and Jinder Mahal vs. Drew McIntyre. Everything else was decently executed but not

Happy Saturday, Enthusiasts!   So, before we get into SummerSlam, let’s just get CM Punk out of the way first. I can see why people like him. He is a great orator and you can see that he feels deeply about this profession. It’s easy to see how WWE could have “led him astray” both in kayfabe and real time. Given that, I hope this run is a good one. It seems to be for the right reasons and oftentimes, that’s half the battle so, I’m happy for him. I hope this relights the flame he had for professional wrestling. I admit that what WWE has to offer is not exactly the same thing.   The backbone is there, though and it will be up to them to decide how much they want to honor the tradition. So far, from what I can deduce the homage is done in some of the slapsticky bits. That’s like a nod to the old-timey way of putting on a wrestling show, I think. That’s definitely my interpretation. As for the passion, well we can all see it’s been lacking but there are glimmers of hope.   AEW c

A Good Friday to You, Enthusiasts!   It’s a strange time Go Home Show wise. SmackDown seems to be downplaying itself in anticipation of bigger news happening over at AEW. With Rampage being held in CM Punk’s hometown of Chicago, everybody is basically waiting for his debut.   I’m relatively unmoved since I never really got a chance to get into Punk. Just as I was beginning to warm up to him, he left WWE. So, I kinda don’t know what the big fuss is about but I respect that there is a fuss. Hey, I tried to get on the bandwagon. Dude, bailed.   Now, he’s poised to debut at AEW and I’m lukewarm on it but, I’ll give him a solid shot. That’s what I did the first time around and I’m more than willing to become a fan. I guess the question becomes, how long does he stay? It’s clear we all will see.   So, in response to all this, WWE has gone more or less dark. Little to nothing has been advertised for SmackDown , though we have SummerSlam tomorrow. It’s an interesting move and

How’s Everything, Enthusiasts?   Hanging in there? Yeah, I know. Another Monday… Stay strong. So, it’s another day full of obvious news. Let’s talk about some of it. Might as well.   So, people or at least those who feel strongly enough to post on Twitter and social media platforms are up in arms about the NXT Releases, especially since word dropped during SmackDown. Well, that could be viewed as poor taste or standard procedure. “Pinks slips” tend to get handed out on Fridays. Waiting until the show may be more to limit the effect on ratings. Drop it prior you could lose viewership. Drop it after and you risk overtime.   Regardless, the only names I recognized were Mercedes Martinez and Bronson Reed. Everyone else, I’ve never heard of. I kinda think that was the point. WWE is clearly restructuring and though it always sucks when people are let go, let’s face it, an overhaul has been overdue.   The pandemic was an enlightening time for all aspects of life. We collective

  A Good Monday to You, Enthusiasts.   So, the big news is Bray Wyatt getting released. And I find myself not so much in “I told you so…” mode as, “That’s too bad…” mode but, I’m not that surprised. Given how things have been going, we all know that WWE has been trying to trim the proverbial fat and with Alexa Bliss not exactly selling the occult shtick, looks like WWE decided to cut their losses. They’ll stick to stuff they know how to sell for now and perhaps revisit the more outlandish angles later. It’s a bit of a shame because to be honest, they should have seen this coming.   I’ve been professing all the things wrong with The Fiend gimmick since it dropped. It’s really hard to sell that sort of angle in real time and if they were going to go for it, they needed to get invested in getting it off the ground, which they were not. This needed more than a ghoulish mask. The premise had to be believable, how people got sucked in had to be compelling and the repercussions of def

Hello Enthusiasts! How is everyone?   Hope you’re all doing well.   So, it looks like RAW has reclaimed the top spot because last week’s SmackDown was an absolute shit show.   Yeesh!   I’m all for paternity leave but Daniel Bryan, come back soon!   The creative problems are glaringly obvious...more so than usual .   Though it wasn’t all bad, The Fiend’s segment boiled down to bad theater as expected and the end with RETRIBUTION ransacking the place just came off lazy.   The WWE continues to show it doesn’t know what to do with itself but at least RAW has managed to hold our interest. So, tonight, we get another taste of RAW Underground and that's fine by me.   It’s clear that a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors is done beforehand but they act like it’s real.   This could be a place where up-and-comers can make a sudden name for themselves and established names can “blow off some steam”.   After a bad match or a string of losses, they can amble to the back to see if they can someho

Greetings Enthusiasts! SummerSlam has begun!  And…well, I’m not that excited for the 2 nd biggest WWE event of the “season” but I am curious.  Curiosity is what grabs me most because I’m not really sure what’s going to happen.  Sure, we have the Fatal-4-Way that will most certainly secure the title to Brock “Gun Jack” Lesnar but, there are rumors circulating around that The Undertaker is floating about New York so, there could be some surprise in store.  Perhaps some angle for the Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Bálor match.  There are whispers that we may get our first WWE look at “The Demon” persona and that is going to be an interesting sell.  We the Audience are well aware of this being put together for our viewing pleasure.   Yet, we can also see how petite Bálor is.  The Demon makes sense but will we buy it?  We’ll see if they make it believable. There is also this John Cena vs. Braon Corbin match that I’m not sure how to feel about also.  With Corbin’s dumb cash-in attempt, I’m n

What’s Going On, Enthusiasts! Well, I don’t know what’s happening on with RAW , maybe someone’s sick or Ric Flair’s hospitalization distracted but last night felt just a touch phoned in.  Yet, it wasn’t all bad.  Mickie James turned in a solid match against Emma, solidifying her veteran status.  In addition, Akira Tozawa performed beautifully alongside Neville to give the CruiserWeights a well-deserved shot in the arm to win the title.  It was a gutsy performance that showed that this Tozawa can gain your interest if you let him.  I’m charmed by his energy.  Though I enjoyed the WWE's other displays,  I'm pretty sure   these 2 examples weren't exactly what the general Enthusiast would expect to be the defining moments.  That being said, the send off left Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman held back by the B-Players as they ampped up not being able to wait until Sunday to wring each other’s necks.  It’s a standard ploy the WWE uses and last night felt particularly so.  No

Greetings, Enthusiasts! Well, we last left RAW with Samoa Joe salvaging a poorly set-up contest between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman and let’s be honest, Enthusiasts.   This contest fell flat because it was set-up with lackluster promos.   Neither of these gentlemen are known for their mic skills which is why the timing for that sort of set-up should probably be reconsidered.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for pushing people into the pool.   They gotta learn to swim but, since we’re heading into Summer Slam, I would think the WWE would like to lead with strength rather than expose  weaknesses.   The goal should be drumming up business not driving it away.   Promo experimentation can happen at just about any other time.   I would stick to compelling confrontations for now.   Let those who can rock the mic, rock it and let others do what they do best.   You know, just sell this shit!   Sell it in honor of the festivities to come.   Retool/test after or well before, in my humble o