LeBron James: Off the Ball
November 19, 2015Analyzing possible Cleveland Indians infield targets: MLB Rumors
November 19, 2015Welcome to another edition of WFNY on WWE. This week we preview Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. We have a tournament for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (necessitated by Seth Rollins’ real-life injury), a battle for who gets the right to control in-arena pyro, and a suddenly heated match for the still-unfortunately-named Divas Championship. For first-timers or relative noobs, this dictionary can help with any wrasslin’ jargon we mix in to the discussion.
Will: Monday’s go-home Raw before Survivor Series was solid as a brick house. Matches between Neville and Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose, and Cesaro and Roman Reigns all played out as well as one could hope. Owens, Ambrose, and Reigns all went over, joined in the WWE Championship semifinals by Alberto Del Rio. Aside from the Dudley Boyz squashing the Ascension in the pointless penultimate match, most everything on screen was worthwhile. Narcissist Tyler Breeze got his first win in a surprisingly well-contested bout with rapper-cum-jobber R-Truth. We learned that Kane and Undertaker will battle two of the Wyatt Family at Survivor Series, and we saw 100-pound druids get chokeslammed by the Brothers of Destruction.
There was some real wrasslin. Ambrose and Ziggler started their match with some good old-fashioned tests of strength, and both Cesaro and Reigns pulled out some neat tricks in a PPV-caliber affair. Cesaro stole the latter show as much as one would expect, but Roman hung in there and played his part in an excellent overall match. There were some real teases at Cesaro getting the win — he hit his trademark big swing into a sharpshooter, then into a crossface submission move — but LOLROMANWINS was the order of the day. We knew that order was coming, which is a shame. At least the dish was prepared well.
Derek: We all knew Roman would win, which makes me question why we weren’t treated to a Roman heel turn last week. Granted, I’m more interested in good stories than t-shirt sales, so I’m not surprised the fine people of WWE went the other way.
I thought it was a decent show, albeit full of controversy. We’ll hit all of that later. For now, let’s get our Survivor Series preview on.
Date: Sunday, November 22
Time: 8 p.m.
Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta
Available on: WWE Network (or one-time PPV purchase)
TBD vs. TBD in a traditional Survivor Series match
Will: It looked for a while like we wouldn’t get the match from which this PPV takes its name, but it seems that one will happen. We just don’t know who’s going to be involved yet. A traditional Survivor Series match is a five-on-five elimination tag team match. Unlike a traditional tag match, in which the first pinfall or submission ends the thing like Harry Potter catching the Snitch, a Survivor Series affair keeps going until all members of one team have been eliminated. Such matches tend to be thrown together willy-nilly and thus aren’t the most significant storyline-wise, but they make for a fun show nonetheless.
As for who might be involved in this bout: the three-man New Day is a lock to anchor the heel-leaning team, while the recently returned Usos will likely captain the faces. Basically anyone else not already on the card is fair game. Maybe the Dudley Boyz and Ryback will join the Usos, with the Ascension teaming with New Day? Look for New Day to come out on top regardless, with either Kofi or Big E getting the final pin. I’m looking forward to Xavier Woods’ terrific taunting more than anything. I hope he brings his trombone.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze
Derek: The fashion-obsessed Breeze will make his WWE pay-per-view debut, and I hope he enjoys it while it lasts. Breeze was jobbing in NXT, so he’s probably going to job on the main roster. His gimmick is kind of funny, but it doesn’t have lasting appeal. Much like Adam Rose and Fandango before him, he’ll enjoy this while it lasts before toiling on Main Event until he decides to change things up. I’ll say Breeze wins with help from his arm candy, Summer Rae.
Will: I’m a little higher on the selfie-loving Breeze than you are, but I agree that his gimmick is rather thin. He seems destined to play a comedic filler role like the Miz and take a pin every once in a while. He did have a solid showing in his first-round tournament match against Dean Ambrose, and it feels like he could get the win here. Will he go anywhere meaningful from there? Meh.
Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Semifinal)
Derek: If you missed it, this tournament is being held for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship after Seth Rollins suffered a serious knee injury. The tournament started with 16, but now we’re down to the final four.
We’ve already talked about Roman’s match with Cesaro on Raw, but I want to go back to it because it had one of my favorite WWE moments in months. Reigns was on his feet, but he was being pulled down by Cesaro, who was on his back but had his legs wrapped around Reigns’ neck. Reigns lifted Cesaro slightly above his head and into a sit-down powerbomb. This prompted JBL to say “The average person that wants to try that at home, try it! It’s impossible!” That was followed by seven seconds of silence, after which Michael Cole nervously said “I would suggest though that no at home try any of these moves. Leave it to the pros in the ring.” It was great. I’d love to hear exactly what Vince said into our esteemed commentary team’s earpieces during those seven seconds.
Anyway, I think we all know how this is going to turn out. Reigns will rip through the entire non-wheelchair bound population of MexAmerica.
Will: The excitement surrounding Del Rio’s return to WWE has quickly dissipated. He has looked less than completely invested in his matches over the last couple weeks, and his alignment with Zeb Colter — the formerly xenophobic and currently Rascal scooter-driving manager — makes less sense by the day. Their whole thing has been talking about forming a new country called MexAmerica that brings together two great nations. There has been little insight as to what that actually, you know, means.
Del Rio beating Reigns would be a bigger upset than Holm over Rousey, and by several orders of magnitude.
Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Semifinal)
Derek: This could very well be the match of the evening. It was clear these two would face each other from the moment the bracket was released, but this one’s a toss up. It’s likely that whoever wins this match will feud with Roman, making Owens the logical choice. Ambrose winning would lead to some face-on-face crime, meaning either Reigns or Ambrose would have to turn heel before the end of the evening. I don’t think WWE has the guts to do that, so I’m going to cautiously pick Owens to win.
It’s a bit of a shame that this match will probably be a one-off, though. Owens is my favorite heel and Ambrose is my favorite face, so I’d love to see them go back and forth for a few months. The Ambrose Asylum was on display Monday night, when Ambrose promised complete chaos that included replacing Michael Cole with a fish tank. He’s got my vote! If only Owens had more time to respond. The promos these two would cut on each other would be magical.
Will: Over the past couple weeks on Raw, we saw Triple H speaking with some of the tournament entrants about joining up with the Authority and effectively taking Rollins’ spot as the corporate-sponsored champ. Roman Reigns and Ambrose turned Trips down, while Owens seemed to at least think about it. It would be quite a move for Owens to make the jump to Authority-aligned champion, especially if he leapfrogs Reigns in the process, but crazier things have happened.
This one could go either way. An Ambrose-Reigns final would all but necessitate some kind of shenanigans (more on that later), while an Owens-Reigns final could see Roman go over clean. A triple threat championship match between the former Shield members (Ambrose, Reigns, and Seth Rollins) had been forecast for April’s Wrestlemania for quite some time. Rollins’ injury threw a kink in that plan, as he’s expected to be out 6-to-9 months, which seems to put ‘Mania just out of reach. The question is whether WWE wants to start a Reigns-Ambrose rift now or go to another stopgap solution in the meantime. I hope for the former, but I’m not holding my breath.
Charlotte (c) vs. Paige for the Divas Championship
Will: Your perception of this week’s Raw will largely depend on what you thought of the last segment, in which Paige invoked Charlotte’s brother Reid Flair, who died of a a drug overdose in a hotel room in 2013. That wasn’t just a throwaway line. It was the hammer of the closing segment, in Flair country of South Carolina, no less.
The two Divas women were in the ring for a contract signing for their title match at Survivor Series — the paper was never signed, far as I can tell — and the verbal sparring began. Michael Cole, in an admirable tryout for a daytime talk show host, asked what came between the pair after they were so close for so long. Charlotte was moved to quite possibly real tears speaking of how Paige helped her climb through NXT and was like a sibling to her, even more after Reid passed. Paige, catty as ever, said she’d been using Charlotte, pure and simple. They went back and forth, and Charlotte said she’d keep on fighting proudly like her whole family did. Paige responded by saying that her baby brother didn’t have much fight in him, now did he?
Whoa.
It boils down to a simple question: Was it over the line or fair game? I certainly understand anyone who thinks this went too far. It worked like a charm on me. I didn’t care about this match all that much Monday afternoon. I almost turned Raw off after Del Rio and Kalisto’s match because what could really happen at a contract signing besides dueling promos that turn into a brawl? The story between Paige and Charlotte seemed rather garden variety, and not executed well enough to make it compelling. Paige’s promo changed that. Now I want to see those two in the ring. They don’t need to be flanked by teammates or part of arbitrary factions in the name of furthering a nonsensical revolution. They just need beef to fight over. They have it now.
Derek: The reference to Reid’s death was jaw-dropping. I wonder if Paige checked with Charlotte beforehand to see if that was okay. Charlotte’s dad sure didn’t know about it, and he sounded pissed.
But you’re right; I care about this match more than I did before. I just about turned it off mid-promo because Charlotte was so bad. Ever since she joined the main roster, her most notable personality trait has been “cries a lot.” I had my head buried in my hands after Charlotte broke out a “YOU. SHUT. YOUR. MOUTH.” I felt like I was watching an American Idol reject — an odd mix of sympathy and embarrassment. Then Paige busted out that tasteless remark, and I’m in! Who doesn’t want to watch these two fight now?
My only problem with it would be if no one ran it by Charlotte’s family. Ric already said no one checked with him about it, but surely Paige ran it by Charlotte. If not, I’m siding with the “that’s pretty messed up” camp.
This kind of stuff is nothing new. In the interview I linked to, the interviewer referenced Randy Orton telling Rey Mysterio that Eddie Guerrero is in hell. CM Punk used Paul Bearer’s “ashes” as a prop in his feud with The Undertaker. The Punk thing was tough to watch at times, but apparently Paul’s family signed off on it. I can’t work myself into too much of a lather if his own family was fine with it being part of the show. But there’s a line, and only the people directly involved get to decide where that line is. This was truly bad form if the Flairs weren’t involved.
The Undertaker and Kane vs Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman
Derek: We don’t know which two Undertaker and Kane will face, but my guess is Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman [Ed’s note: that team has since been confirmed]. Fans of nostalgia will likely enjoy this, while fans of agility should probably look elsewhere.
So, the way the story goes is The Wyatt Family tried to … steal Undertaker and Kane’s souls. But they didn’t, I guess? It was probably their first time. I remember my first time stealing a soul. It takes practice. The shame will always be there, though. Always.
Since the Wyatts botched the soul job, The Brothers of Destruction reunited to prove that their lightning-striking and fire-shooting are way more metal than soul thievery. That’s debatable, but I understand their anger. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go take a long look in the mirror.
Will: Bray Wyatt reminds me of DeMarcus Cousins. Both are exceptionally talented, yet neither can seem to be on a team (or a feud, in Bray’s case) that consistently works. Boogie always seems to find himself bickering with a coach, teammate, or referee, while Bray can’t find a dance partner to make his spooky (and increasingly supernatural) schtick work. We’ve seen him in a program with the Undertaker before, effectively calling the Dead Man out of semi-retirement to challenge his claim as WWE’s resident scary heel. Now they’re at it again, but I’m not sure it’s any better this time around.
Soul-stealing has indeed played a large role in their current program. Bray and his boys attacked ‘Taker after his loss to Brock Lesnar at Hell in a Cell, then hauled him from the ring into the backstage area. They dispatched Kane — now in demon garb full-time — in similar fashion shortly thereafter. Bray explained in a promo that he had usurped their powers. He now controlled the (in-arena) thunder; he alone could conjure fire out of the turnbuckles.
Then Undertaker and Kane just showed up and kicked his ass. It doesn’t make any sense, if that much isn’t already clear. WWE is pimping this as Undertaker Week to celebrate his 25 years with the company, so smart money is on him and Kane winning. I hope that the Wyatts at least look strong, because none of this soul-stealing nonsense is worth a damn otherwise.
TBD vs TBD for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Derek: Our semifinal match winners will throw down in the main event, and as I said, I think it’ll be Reigns vs. Owens. Regardless, it will be an upset if Roman isn’t holding the title over someone at the end of the night. I just hope Seth Rollins is well enough to show up and taunt Reigns afterward.
Will: Reigns is indeed the likely winner. The elephant in the room, as in any title match, is Sheamus. He is the current holder of the Money in the Bank briefcase, which grants him an immediate shot at the championship any time he wants. That offers a bunch of possibilities. Sheamus could interrupt a potential Reigns win, setting off a feud between them. He could interrupt a potential Ambrose or Owens win, unwittingly leading to a Reigns victory, or he could beat one of them.
My favorite theory came from David Shoemaker on this week’s Cheap Heat podcast.1 Let’s say it’s a Reigns-Ambrose final. They have a hell of a match, leaving both exhausted. It doesn’t even matter who wins, but let’s say it’s Ambrose. They’re still boys, and Roman begrudgingly shakes Dean’s hand. Then Sheamus comes screaming down the ramp for his cash-in chance. He gets the upper hand on a battered Ambrose, setting him up for his Brogue Kick finisher. Reigns does nothing to help his brother in arms. He just watches. Ambrose loses the belt moments after winning it, and he can’t believe it. Reigns turns heel without having to say a word, which is frankly optimal given his mic skills. Boom — Monday night’s opening segment is set.
Or, Ambrose will lose to Owens and Owens will lose to Reigns with no additional intrigue. There’s a solid chance of that happening too. WWE has put forth some better programming over the past month or so, but some healthy skepticism is still warranted, especially with how much Reigns’ push has been telegraphed.
Roman’s reign on top feels inevitable. But it’s not too much to ask for him to get there in a compelling way. Is it?
- I’m paraphrasing and may have altered things a bit. [↩]
3 Comments
Can’t say I’m all that excited with the SS card. Even giving the tourney a pass because of the Rollins injury, the rest of the build has been p*ss poor.
The Taker/Wyatt feud initially looked interesting, but it has degraded into the same old – rants, special effects, Wyatt losses. Paige/Charlotte, despite the last-ditch cheap heat, hasn’t had any real build. And I see zero possibility of the tourney providing a surprise. Reigns, like Cena, could use a heel turn, but it ain’t going to happen thanks to Vince.
Some other thoughts – what is the deal with Del Rio? I’ve read that he did some amazing work in AAA and Lucha Underground, but he comes across as totally disinterested. Not that WWE has given him much to work with. But still, he’s just boring.
The championship tournament matches, while very good on average, have suffered from the same problem that plagued the Cena Open. No matter how great the in-ring work might be, I don’t care about a match where I know the outcome. Next to the first round, the tournament has been completely predictable.
All of which is weird since Raw has actually been entertaining since the last PPV.
If the Demarcus Cousins/ Bray Wyatt comparison doesn’t garner a pulitzer, there is something wrong with the world
I think Reigns/Ambrose is set in stone with Reigns going heel while winning the belt
…..would love to see Sheamus make an appearance though
My prediction is a teased Reigns and/or Ambrose heel turn, a Reigns victory, and then some sort of Authority sponsored beat down followed by an easy 1-2-3 for Corporate Sheamus (a.k.a. a better dressed Sheamus).