Summerslam: Swagger (USA) vs Rusev (RUS)

The classic wrestling angle of the evil foreigner and the baby face American. It is as old as wrestling itself or so it seems. The latest version trying to cash in on this classic angle has been the feud between Jack Swagger and Rusev with their respective mangers Zeb Colter and Lana. In many respects, this feud has been made by the mangers with the wrestlers more in the background.

The Rusev arrival from NXT to get him to the point we find ourselves now has been a rocky road. He started, as the Bulgarian Brute and transitioned into being from Russia as go figure people hate Russia more than Bulgaria. Let us be honest, there are many things about this feud that could not have been foreseen.

It probably begins with Jack Swagger being turned baby face along with Zeb Colter. They have been booked as radical tea party like supporters that had very controversial opinions on America. Unexpectedly they come out and confront the evil foreigners and instantly they were turned. It kept with their logic as heels to come out and confront Lana and Rusev.

The real life issues involving Russia and their involvement in Ukraine and the downing of a commercial airliner. Lana referenced the tragic event in a promo on the last WWE pay-per-view. It was just a comment about people blaming Russia for “recent events in the world” and it was wrong. It caused a backlash in mainstream media that threaten this feud. This was set up with match between the two ending in a countdown out victory for Rusev leading to this flag match at Summerslam.

In the end, the WWE weathered the storm issuing a very sarcastic apology and moved forward with their plans for these two. It does remind me of the situation the WWE landed them in with Slaughter vs. Hogan angle that started just prior to the first Iraq war. This angle is walking a line that is similar in nature. . Let us hope for peace and not war and this angle to continue being totally secondary to that.

In any case, this is a feud that deserved to continue as Zeb and Lana have more than done their share as the soundtrack to this feud. While Rusev and Swagger both who lack the microphone skills are a good match-up in the ring. This is a feud that honestly shows you the value of some performers need for having a manager that can do their talking for them. Makes total sense that an Old School angle would point out one of the other aspects of Old School wrestling that can still work today.

You also have Lana who has become the pin-up girl for the WWE despite her less than American values of her character. Zeb has become the American patriot all of the sudden for America to rally behind. 

The outcome has been fairly predictable in this one as America always wins in the end in the WWE. Nothing a crowd of Americans especially wrestling fans love to do more than chant U-S-A. People claiming Jack Swagger is over and this has made him might be going too far. Ultimately, though a win here will help him a great deal.

In contrast Rusev does not have to be pinned to win a “flag match” if it is done in the last version of this we have seen it just takes claiming the flag off a pole. Therefore, he remains strong to some extent. Which is perfect wrestling booking, in which the match harms no one and everyone should come out stronger on the other side.

So America have fun chanting U-S-A like Hacksaw Jim Duggan for 2014. Rusev can be your Volfoff but Lana is in no way resembling Classy Freddie Blassie or Slick. Which males from all nations are thankful for that!

Check out the rest of our In-Depth Summerslam previews so far: 

Stephanie vs Brie     

Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins   

The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler   

Jericho vs Bray Wyatt

 

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WWE Shuffling the Deck With Character Changes.

A lot of people are getting some new hats in WWE coming out of Raw on Monday. A lot of shuffling of the deck is being done both by creative and by the fan base. Let’s start with the one that we all saw coming and was the most needed and that would be Paige.

Why they felt the need to wait to pull the trigger that took so long is beyond me. This was obvious from the night that A.J Lee returned to the WWE. This is perhaps the most obvious change and has the potential to be the most successful in my view. Paige was made to be a heel you see it in the aggressive nature that suits her move set. This is like a reset for her after a horrible start on the main roster and a forgettable first run as Diva’s Champion.

The beat down of A.J followed by mocking her skipping was just an excellent start to heel persona. This is who she always should have been from the beginning.

Another NXT alum, that didn’t take out of the gate, is getting a reset in Xavier Woods. He now has approached Big E and Kofi and looks like he is starting the Nation of Domination 2014. Which calls to question can you be the Nation of Domination in 2014?

The thing that does excite me about this is Kofi Kingston being a part of a heel faction.

Kofi is a good solider and always been a baby face and never been a problem in WWE. I want to see him get an honest shot as a heel run. I am not sure if this gimmick will be able to work and it does seem like a very reactionary move by WWE. In response to some poor press about their record in terms of minorities. It reminds me of when the WWE created the “Right to Censor” in response to criticism from a parental group.

Still I like Kofi and I do like Big E so I am hoping this is a vehicle to help them get over but I am very suspect if it will actually happen and work. We are just at the very start of this so will see how it goes.

Bray Wyatt and his real life brother Bo Dallas both seem to be in the land of Tweenerville. Bray seems to be really getting over and WWE is already testing the waters having Bray do some media recently with Between the Ropes and a few other places. This seems a sure sign they are testing the waters for a face run for Bray Wyatt.

While Bo Dallas on Raw was paired against Damien Sandow in a weird pairing but Bo Dallas has a lot of growing fans that BO-lieve in Bo. It probably is less likely we see Bo become a face as WWE still should keep him as a heel even if his fan base grows.

While Rusev and his push and expected rematch with Jack Swagger maybe on the ropes after a media backlash over the promo Lana cut at Battleground which in all honesty was tame and really made no direct mention of the tragedy in Ukraine. Like I said over on the Between the Ropes post show for Battleground, I felt all four performers had earned the right to continue this program.

Also feel bad for Cesaro who I wrote a few days ago seems to have been left for dead.

Miz has a new coat of paint on his tired persona. I buy Miz as a Hollywood star as much as I do John Cena. The other thing they seem to have in common is endless chances to be successful. Lots of changes in the WWE landscape but the constants remain the same and that is the former members of the Shield, John Cena and for whatever reason Orton and Kane. Oh and of course the returning Brock Lesnar who never changes except he seems to get bigger.

 

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Details On Jericho's Return To WWE

Some follow up on Chris Jericho’s return to the WWE it looks like he is here until late September. He says he will be working 10-12 dates per month and will be on the upcoming tour in Australia. He says the he wanted to work with either Daniel Bryan or Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania but seeing as they were involved in programs that they had. It seems Fozzy had an opening in their schedule. It also makes sense for Jericho as Fozzy is about to release an album.

This info came from his most recent podcast on Podcast one that obviously will continue during his run in the WWE which likely will draw him even more attention to it with him now being on the inside in the WWE. Something that both Jim Ross and Steve Austin’s podcasts will not have. Not to say either is not able to know what is going on in the world of WWE but Jericho will be on the front lines. Jericho did not make any mention on anything about his podcast and how that impacted on his returning to the company. Obviously the WWE was cool with it as it continues on post his return.

The Australian tour might explain the strange day it was for WWE Diva Emma that was fired and hours later un-fired by the WWE. That is speculation on my behalf but seems like a viable reason as to why the WWE had such a quick change of heart. Emma was arrested for a shoplifting incident in which the item in question was a 21 dollar I-Pad case and happened at a Hartford area Wal-Mart on Monday. Between the Ropes had the details on the un-firing of Emma. One other thing that seems to have helped her stay employed was the fact Cameron and Jack Swagger were not fired for larger offences in terms of being charged with DUI’s with in the last couple years.

In any case it has been an eventful week in the WWE with returns of Jericho, The Miz and A.J Lee and this on going Emma saga that honestly seems to be one of the most overblown things I have seen in a long time. How on earth someone is being arrested over something worth 20 dollars that bought of items according to reports is beyond me. Emma was having her struggles as it was and I think the initial reaction was more the WWE had a reason to get rid of her but than came to the realization they were heading to Australia. Who knows if will ever get to the bottom of all of this nonsense. Emma is a free and employed woman last we checked.




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10 People That Might Not Have Much Future Left In WWE

WWE has not made cuts from the main roster in a long time. It’s not like the WWE can’t afford to have the deepest roster of any wrestling company on the planet they can. Still with all the talent in the NXT system you would have to think looking over your shoulder might be wise at this point. Here are ten wrestlers that from the outside looking in might not be long for remaining in the WWE.

I would say JTG should be number one on this list, but at this point I see him as almost a mascot for employment in the WWE.  This list is based completely on observation and has no inside information attached too it.

#10 Great Khali: It is time for him to go for his sake and all of our sakes as well. I have seen him dance and sing enough and don’t ever want to seem him do that or have a match. What is left for him outside of that? Nothing so enjoy retirement big man.

#9 Damien Sandow: Was the X-Men costume a sign that you can’t go much lower? Sandow has been in the WWE system for a long time and is not getting younger.

#8 Jack Swagger: We gave him the boot in are game of Push, Repackage and Fire. It the real world his firing seems to be something to really be concerned about happening at this point. He has lost his more over tag-team partner in Cesaro and for the moment has Zeb. I think he could be replaced and the gimmick moves on without him.

#7 Jo Jo: She got the boot from Total Divas and supposedly is still training at NXT. But honestly in a divas’ division that is full. She failed to get attention on Total Divas and that may be her only shot in the big time.

#6 Brodus Clay: Recently demoted to NXT and had his gimmick stolen by Xavier Woods who has got nothing out of it. Clay meanwhile mixed it up with the NXT Champion. Is he doomed to go the way of Mason Ryan only faster? It seems like a realistic thing to think at this point.

#5 Yoshi Tatsu: I saw him on NXT a few weeks ago and was stunned he was still in the company. WWE really is almost to the point of like the old WCW with no real competition their roster has got to the point that you honestly forget some of the people they employ. Sadly Yohsi has become one of those guys. He never really had any significant run or chance to be anything. He just has lingered around as a very infrequent jobber. He is now doing his jobs on NXT for that roster.  His next job is not going be with WWE.

#4 Evan Bourne: I feel that Evan Bourne has become an urban legend at this point. He is always rumoured to be returning from injury. I assume he may have been healthy for years at this point. I honestly could walk by Evan Bourne on the street and not remember what he looks like.

#3 Zack Ryder: We all know the story here but let’s put everyone out of their misery and say WOO WOO GOOD BYE!

#2 Alberto Del Rio: He has had more pushes than a shopping cart on a Saturday at the local grocery store. He has faded into the abyss of the mid-card. He was booked in a match with Daniel Bryan the world champion and he was an after thought to the horror film awful storyline and lost clean and tapped out. He may want out before the WWE pushes him out.

#1 Dolph Ziggler: WWE and Dolph seem to be playing a game of chicken and I am betting on the people running the show not trying to steal it. Dolph has been told to slow down and shut his mouth. He has failed to either and remains buried at the bottom of the card. The latest blow, being eliminated from the U.S Title Battle Royal by Santino’s Cobra a new record low.  I can’t see Dolph suddenly finding God and doing what he has been asked to do for several years now.

5 Things We Need To See Coming Out Of Extreme Rules

So Extreme Rules is almost here and we are going to look ahead to after it is all said and done what we need to have coming out of this event . Every PPV or as they are calling them now special event needs to have some reason to it for us to stay invested as fans. The first major event after Wrestlemania is usually a time to start building some new feuds and ending some old ones. We always have some new stars to get over and make look good. So with all that being said let’s look at 5 things we need to see coming out of this event. After reading this go have a listen to our podcast where we preview this event and talk the news of the week in WWE.

5. A Stronger Paige: We saw Paige from NXT make her long awaited debut on the Raw after Wrestlemania winning the Diva's Championship from A.J Lee. It wasn’t the best debut for Paige to show of her ability in the ring with a bit of a screwed up finish to the match. Adding to the problems we had A.J Lee stepping away for some time off, to move to Chicago we are told, as she has become engaged to CM Punk who remains in limbo with WWE. So instead of an A.J vs. Paige feud that many have looked forward to we get an under promoted Paige vs. Tamina Snuka match. This match not only needs to see Paige win but do it impressively in order to validate her to the larger WWE audience that may not be familiar with her work in NXT. A stronger Paige and returning A.J Lee should make for a great feud.

4. A Strong NEW I-C Champion: We don’t hate Big E Langston but maybe we are not crazy about Big E. Jokes aside, it has been fairly clear that him retaining the I-C title is not going to be in the cards. We had all thought that new champion was going to be Cesaro and that might have been confirmed with a WWE Script making it’s way to the internet. Suddenly things changed and now Bad News Barrett is the man that sits on the verge of his fourth run with the I-C title. Rumours are that Vince McMahon himself has been the driving force behind the Bad News Barrett character so safe to say he has some support behind him if that is true. Much talk has been made of unification of the U.S and I-C titles. Dean Ambrose in a rare title defence for that U.S Title retained it on Smackdown. Regardless of this happens Barrett is deserving of having a long run with this title and maybe if he does the belt that once meant so much in the WWE can once again. I would feel more confident with Cesaro in this role honestly though.

3. Continuation of Steph vs. Bri: We have not seen Stephanie McMahon in a WWE ring in a match since 2003. This was just prior to her real life wedding to Triple H as she fought he father Vince in a match. The couple you love to hate in storyline have 3 lovely daughters and perhaps the time has come to see Steph get back in a ring. In the PG world of WWE when they script the word bitch into a program you notice. The woman dropping that B-Bomb was Bri who is married to Daniel Bryan of course. This is not the first time we have had a feud for Stephanie teased as she and A.J Lee had some interactions that made you wonder where it was heading. Some may cringe at the idea of this match with Bri and Stephanie taking place, but I say why not. If you’re looking for a mat classic this likely will not be it, but no one would expect it to be. In any case, the feud itself I like and would not mind seeing more fuel added to the fire coming out of Extreme Rules.

2. More Heroics from the Swiss Superman: As we mentioned there is a lot of circumstantial evidence this was not the plan for Cesaro for this show. When you get lemons you can be a rosebud or make lemonade. So, seeing as Cesaro is not likely to become an Adam Rose fan will go with the ladder option. Basically it seems in this 3 way it could go a few ways. It could serve as continuation of the Swagger vs. Cesaro break-up that has involved Paul Heyman and Zeb Colter. It also could lead to a program with RVD a former Heyman Guy and a legendary performer in wrestling. Ideally Cesaro should get the win in this match-up and draw some conclusion to his feud with Swagger. You could easily make that happen with Heyman screwing RVD and Cesaro getting the pin on Swagger. That likely makes the most sense to build Cesaro for what many are speculating could be a future feud with Brock Lesnar. Continuation of a Swagger feud is only holding Cesaro back. However it ends up Cesaro needs to shine in this match and build on the momentum his Battle Royal win and next night manger change has given him.

1. A Dominate Daniel Bryan: We need to see a strong first title defence for the new WWE World Champion. This feud needs to be one and done for Daniel Bryan as a feud with Kane despite the history with the two has not captured anyone’s imagination at this point. This is the Randy Savage on Saturday Night’s Main Event vs. One Man Gang type of title defence. The first for a new champion against a much large opponent to showcase he can beat the big guys. It is nothing more than that and why The Shield vs. Evolution is likely the main event of this show. We have Daniel Bryan entering a match selling an injury yet again which makes the chances of him looking dominate a bit less likely. However he entered the title match at Wrestlemania 30 with the same restrictions but was able to put on a great performance. The days of Daniel Bryan beat downs need to be less and he needs to establish his title reign as a strong champion. If he looks like anything different from that, it is a failure and does not speak well for his future as the reigning champion.
  

1(B) Bray Wyatt Words Need To Have Action: So you thought we forgot about Bray? Not at all and following Bray Wyatt's example, we will not conform and giving you 6 things in a list that is only suppose to be 5. It is important that Bray Wyatt comes out of this event not being all talk and no action. He needs to win this match or have some validation for what he has been saying. Ideally we get both to happen in his match with John Cena. This is a much better version of the feud between John Cena and Kane, that was used to fill in the gaps for Cena as he prepared for his first encounter with The Rock. Bray Wyatt just like Kane wants to expose a darker side to John Cena that he claims exists. John Cena is showing some doubt on if the fans are really behind him on this one and that is already a partial victory for Bray in comparison to the Kane vs. Cena feud. If Bray fails to get a win the only way this feud to continue with any kind of logic is if Cena some how cheats to win. Given this is a steel cage match with no real room for that to happen logically Bray needs to win. Bray may not care about his win/loss record but for the fans to believe in him they need him to win. This feud has elevated Bray to being in the conversation as one of the best talkers in the WWE. Part of being a great talker is being able to take those words and turn them into action and that time is now for Bray Wyatt.

So why do we not see any mention of The Shield and Evolution? Reason for this is basically because you could have a number of acceptable outcomes to this one, without one standing out as better than another. I think regardless of who wins this feud is not finished and thus the result here is only this first step in a much larger war. It is not to say it won’t be potentially fantastic and a great match. It very well should be that. It is just that nothing NEEDS to happen here to any degree. No one in this match will be hurt by a loss and no one gains a ton from a win at this stage if this program continues on as expected.

We Book It: Push, Re-Package, Your Fired

I came up with a concept for Aubrey Sitterson’s Straight Shoot You Tube series it is a simple but fun concept. It is called Push, Repackage and Fire. We get to play booker and take three talents and decide what to do with them. Pretty relevant given that WWE will likely face a lot of these choices with their roster growing and looking to push new talents while making hard decisions on the future of others. Basically it is the wrestling version of screw, marry and kill game.

So now that you understand the concept it is TIME TO PLAY THE GAME. So today let’s introduce the three talents that we are going to play the game with:

Brodus Clay, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler

Push: Dolph Ziggler

Ok, I know that this seems obvious choice from this group. Everyone loves Dolph and wants to see this happen but his popularity has faded or he has been buried however you see it. So how do we make this push happen?  Dolph basically starts his push by admitting that he has fallen off a cliff and is not getting anywhere on his own. He seeks out someone to manage his career so he can just focus on getting it done in the ring. He makes an attempt to become a Paul Heyman Guy that will eventually fail and result in a feud with Cesaro. He will not get wins but will have great matches as a result. You introduce a new character that comes out and watches a couple of the matches between the two. This mystery man or woman will become Dolph’s manager and will basically keep Dolph from going to far both with his in ring style and with his promo’s. Dolph eventually gets frustrated and leaves this to manager despite the success he will have. Finally he breaks away and the success continues. Perhaps winning an I-C title and unifying it with U.S Title while with this new manager would work as part of this push.

That is a rough outline as for the manager I am not sure who you would use for it. I prefer someone more serious in the role rather than comedic although with Dolph someone like a Sylvester Lefort would make sense if you are familiar with him from NXT. He would not be my first choice personally.   

Repackage: Brodus Clay

Clay popped up on NXT and I suggest we give him a brand new gimmick like they did with Husky Harris now Bray Wyatt. I have the ticket for him and it works with a current NXT Performer actually you could use one or two but I am going with a guy that is remaining in NXT for the moment. Tyler Breeze has a tremendous gimmick going in NXT and I am going to give him another accessory to the product. Clay as many know was in real life a body guard for Snoop Dogg/Lion. Art will imitate life as Breeze will hire Clay to be his personal security. This will not be comedic like Jericho with Ralphus back in WCW. Clay is going be the hitman for Breeze and help him climb to the top. Think more like Diesel and Shawn Micheals as how this gimmick will work. Clay won't call your mom he will take her out if she gets in the way of Tyler Breeze. Dress him up in a suit and maybe even get rid of the funky hair style. 

Fire: Jack Swagger

WWE has done all they can to get Jack Swagger over and he has just dropped the ball over and over again. I mean we had a forgettable run as World Champion that most people probably forgot even happened. He got a new gimmick and Zeb Colter and a World Title match at Wrestlemania and almost instantly got busted for DUI. Swagger is great in the ring but has never been able to cut a promo and he has let opportunity after opportunity pass him by. So once Cesaro puts the boots to him he is done. Wait though we can’t get rid of Grandpa Zeb right everyone loves him. No worries he will become part of the Wyatt’s and act as a manager for Luke Harper and Eric Rowan as you look to push Bray Wyatt more as a singles star. Zeb doesn’t have to change all that much as the Wyatt’s could easily believe in his radical agenda and world view. 

So that’s a wrap did you like what I did or does my booking suck? You can let me know on Twitter @Dinonationblog or better yet like us on Facebook and tell me there. In addition I want to make this segment interactive with all of you so make your suggestions. Make them realistic or be off the wall I will try and make it work and come up with something creative for everyone to enjoy. They won’t always work out but that is part of the fun. It is like our very own spit ball booking session that you can enjoy every week in the Condo on the Moon on a Monday.