Can Dean Ambrose Be The Man To Make The Intercontinental Championship Matter?

Is Dean Ambrose the man to bring the Intercontinental Title back to its past glory?  In a year that Randy Savage is going in the Hall of Fame, it makes you think of what the Intercontinental Title once meant. While Savage had a yearlong run with the WWE Title and a second shorter run with that belt that are on his Hall of Fame resume.  He also some forgettable runs as WCW World Championship, but it is his time as the Intercontinental title run of just over a year that made him famous. In current times, even hardcore wrestling fans have to rack their brains to remember who the Intercontinental Champion is. If you don’t know, the answer currently is Bad News Barrett.

Dean had a long but really pointless run with the United States Title. I would venture to say it was the least title defenses in a title run until perhaps Brock Lesnar got his hands on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Dean unlike Brock was always around it is just as member of The Shield his title was secondary to that. Roman and Rollins at the same time had the tag team titles but were much more active in defending them. The state of United States title has been even worse. It has become a little more important since Rusev got his hands on it but it is more just a prop to his overall gimmick. The fact John Cena is challenging for this title in a few weeks and even people that dislike Cena would admit this title is beneath his status. This is part of the problem in how weak these championships have become.

Back to our original question is Dean the guy to take this title and bring it back to being a big deal? There was a time when Ambrose was the most popular guy in this company in the summer. The return of both Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan along with the rise of Seth Rollins as a top heel have left Dean in some sense stuck in this gimmick as this crazy unpredictable guy that loses more often than he wins. In fact, you would think in theory a guy with the Intercontinental Title would win more often than he loses. That hasn’t been the case though and perhaps it is time to change that. Dean needs more than just being unpredictable and crazy to remain over with fans. A strong title run with a champion that welcomes challengers and is a fighting champion might be a good role for Dean.

If he could have an extended run and come out of it gunning for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship it could be the best thing for that belt and for Dean. In the old days in WWE, you had two kinds of WWE Intercontinental Champions. You had guys like Savage and the Ultimate Warrior who were given the belt as a trial to see how they might do one day with the big title. This tradition carried on with the likes of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold and even The Rock. Somewhere along the way from the Attitude Era to the PG Era, the Intercontinental Title lost that role. There was even a period when the title was but in mothballs. I am not sure if there is a point or person that is responsible for the decline of the Intercontinental Title. It just seemed to erode into insignificance.

Wrestlemania in early days often had its second most important match on the card. Savage defending the title and having his over a year long reign come to an end produced one of the best wrestling matches of all-time. It was a lot to do with two of the greatest wrestlers of all-time but it also was about fans wanting to see Steamboat get his revenge on Savage. In the built to that historic match, Savage tried to take Steamboat out attacking his throat. Fans were invested and it makes even one of the greatest matches of all time that much better. In front of according to the WWE their largest crowd ever had Hulk Hogan’s favorite dome the Silverdome.

Dean Ambrose gets compared to a lot of old time wrestlers from back in 80’s. Maybe he is the guy to take us back to when the title meant something. His reason for wanting a title shot is bizarre and makes little sense but who cares he is the right guy for the job. Barrett while I like him has had several runs with the belt to no real success. In fact, name me the guy on the roster in the mid-card that has been here for more than 5 years that doesn’t have multiple runs with the belt. The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston and a list that could go on much longer. The title in order to get over truly needs someone fresh attached to it and hopefully can understand what it once meant and how to make it mean that again.

If there is anyone in the WWE that is capable of bringing this title back from the dead it is Dean Ambrose. While many would be disappointed with Dean vs. Barrett title match at Wrestlemania it would be worth it if we could see Dean return to Wrestlemania in Dallas still with that belt it might be worth it. Dean Ambrose needs something to be his legacy in this break-up of the Shield. Seth Rollins has his Money in the Bank win, Roman Reigns has a Royal Rumble win and likely World Title run in his future so what about Dean?  If he could have a long and meaningful title run that might be his ticket to be his legacy coming out of The Shield. He would be doing all of us a favor if he were able to restore the I-C title to what it once was.

If Dean can’t do it, I am not sure who can at this point. Dean seems well suited for the belt a great talker and solid worker in the ring. He matches the model of some of the great champions of the past and to me is a good fit to raise this title back up if only they book him in the correct way to allow him too. I am not suggesting anyone hold his or her breath that it will happen. I just see it as the best possibility for restoring the title and giving Dean something to focus on.

In the end, a title is only as strong as the person that holds it and how they are booked as the champion. If they believe, the belt means something and is important that is the first step. I only look over to current day Ring of Honor in which Jay Lethal their Television Champion considers his title the most important in the promotion. He will face Alberto El Patron (Del Rio) on PPV and it very well could be the main event on that show in Las Vegas. The Intercontinental Championship being the main event in WWE would be a laughable thought at this stage. The only time it ever did was in England at Summerslam when the British Bulldog challenged his brother in-law and champion Bret “The Hitman” Hart. It was one of the best matches of both men’s careers.

We don’t need to see that happen but we do need to see a Champion that we see as a main event talent holding that belt. Dean has already proven he can be that headlining a few shows with Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt. Dean and the Intercontinental Title is a marriage that could work for everyone.  

5 Talking Points Coming Out Of Raw In Denver

It was back to normal for the gang in the WWE as they hit Denver, Colorado for last night’s Monday Night Raw. It was a very interesting show followed by a Stone Cold Podcast with Triple H. This show had a couple of great matches and a lot of interesting moments giving us lots of talking points coming out of last night’s Raw. Some horrible stuff was mixed in but as Triple H admitted to Stone Cold, writing 3 hours of television is not an easy thing to do. So let us dive in with what most people would be talking about around the water cooler. If they ever get past, why Seattle didn’t just run the damn ball on Sunday?

1. Rehabilitation of Roman Reigns Continues: It was a mixed bagged night for the man the WWE want to crown the next king of the company in Roman Reigns. He finished strong I suppose that is the main thing. In the opening segment, he is forced into conceding his Wrestlemania title shot to have a match with the winner between Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan for that right. This ended up being the big announcement that Triple H had promised on the Live Smackdown on Thursday. This to me made Reigns look foolish and dumb not how I want to feel about my babyface making a run at the championship. WWE was going for more of this guy is not afraid to fight but it didn’t work for me.

The night seemed to continue to go down hill for Reigns as he yet again had to face the Big Show and worse yet he got screwed by Rollins and lost the match. Why you have your top guy or the guy you want to be the top guy losing to Big Show in 2015 is a mystery to me regardless of the circumstances. Later in the night, Daniel Bryan came to talk with Reigns and hoped he would not let his anger for Seth Rollins get in the way of Bryan's match with him later that night. He also informed Reigns that is was not going to be Rollins he would face at fast lane as Bryan stated he was going to win and move on to face him. A less than amused Reigns was rather dismissive of Bryan and told him to get out of his locker room. All making him look very much like a heel. Having his own locker room even gave the impression of being a heel.

At the end of the night everything would come full circle as Reigns come out and Spear the Big Show take out one half of J&J security and when Noble was caught trying to nail Bryan with Rollins briefcase Reigns would Superman Punch Rollins and Bryan would hit the running knee for the 1-2-3. Reigns in effect helped Daniel Bryan win and thus the two will square off at Fast Lane. A good night for Reigns but the real question will be what happens when he beats Bryan and retains his shot? That is what is going to happen, for any of you holding out hope for Daniel Bryan. I can say with full certainty he is not going to win this match. His job is to get a great match out of Roman Reigns and get him ready to battle the Beast Brock Lesnar. If fans accept, Reigns after that WWE will have pulled one over on them. I don’t sense fans not being smart enough to see through this whole charade.

2. Bray Wyatt Calling Out Taker?: It has been widely speculated that Bray Wyatt has been being build strong with the hopes for a match with the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 31.  Bray after another big win in which he pretty much no sold on Dolph Ziggler to hit his own finisher. He later would cut a promo that seemed to be geared at the Undertaker. It could be in reference to others if Taker isn’t the guy but the tease is clearly implied at Taker. Bray is asking a man who was once feared and now is a shadow of himself to come find him. If this ends up being true, it will be two huge names for Bray Wyatt in back to back Wrestlemanias. He lost to John Cena last year it would seem likely he would lose to Taker if he does in fact show himself this year. Still it is yet another big match potentially for Bray on the largest stage of them all. 

3. Mizdow vs. Miz starting to come to a head? Miz last night fired Mizdow as his stunt double and re-hired him as his personal assistant. Miz has been growing more and more frustrated with Mizdow stealing the attention that he feels he deserves. Give WWE credit on this one they took a character that most of their audience felt had X-Pac type of heat and have used that to make a star out of Damien Sandow. They also have been patient building this mid-card angle slowly with more care than almost any other mid-card angle you can name in the last 6 months. It has been a good job and should land the two a singles match at Wrestlemania. Sadly in might be on the pre-show but will see it has been a great feud and Mizdow is insanely over with the people. I hate to admit this but it is not just of his own doing but the great work of the Miz in his role. I will never like the Miz and if he left WWE T.V, tomorrow I would never miss him. He has done a remarkable job in this angle and really, in the end the person who will get the most out of this isn’t himself. So good for him for acting like heel and getting someone over that is rare today in wrestling. Someone has to do it, as it is clear the people on commentary on Raw can’t get anyone or anything over. I would complain about the horrible job they do but we can do that every week. Booker traded out for Lawler has fixed nothing and things are status quo.

4. Randy Orton Return Teased: Seth Rollins and Triple H made mention of Randy Orton who since making his movie has been in MIA from the WWE. Triple H referenced him in stating that Seth needed to step up and make the most of his opportunities unlike how Randy Orton never did. Referring to his failed title run at this time last year at this time Rollins also reminded us all how he was the one that took Orton out of action by curb stomping him on the announce table. This is likely going to be Seth’s Mania program with Randy Orton and I have it as my earlier favorite for match of the night at Wrestlemania. I do this with full realization we could have a Daniel Bryan against Dolph Ziggler match. I still give the nod to Seth and Randy. They have a better story and more reason to be invested in their match. Bryan vs. Ziggler would be a great match but I am not sure what  exactly I am suppose to be rooting for in that match other than that. Faces against face matches are tough under any circumstances but without a belt or reason for them to fight it become even tougher.

5. Triple H talks with Stone Cold: It was an interesting chat between the two. I would not consider it even half as compelling as the McMahon and Austin interview. Triple H gave what I expected, which were very politically correct answers and even on topics that were designed to get a reaction and Austin got none. Triple H stated the choices Chyna has made since leaving the WWE are why she would never get into the WWE Hall of Fame when asked if she was worthy. Triple H did put her over and say based on her resume of work she deserved to be inducted. In terms of C.M Punk, it was pretty much nothing topic. Triple H referred to Punk being distant and odd at times. When he heard rumors of Punk’s discontent, he would go to him only to be told by Punk that everything was fine. When asked If Punk were to ever-return, Triple H said, he would not be opposed to it and claims to have no beef with him at all. In talking about the current product and the fallout of the Royal Rumble and his work at NXT Triple H made it fairly clear where to direct your blame. It wasn’t at it him, it was at Vince McMahon. He didn’t say it in such a direct fashion but when you contrast his talk about current main roster issues and NXT it was fairly obvious that as he stated the buck still stops with Vince McMahon. It was a friendly chat that never seemed to get the least bit hostile which if you had listened to first time Triple H was on with Austin should not have shocked you. Both freely admit to being friends and the interview always stayed in that tone. This was an interesting interview but not the compelling must see T.V that Vince’s sit-down with Stone Cold was. Speculation on who is next to sit in Austin’s chair? My guess would be Stephanie McMahon. Not sure, how that one would go as Stephanie tends to be the most guarded of the three family members active in the company.

Therefore, the road to Wrestlemania marches on as we hit a little off-ramp heading towards Fast Lane. While it promises to add some stakes to Wrestlemania, it will merely confirm the directions we were already heading. Keeping in mind the network is free for new subscribers and here in Canada free all month as well they needed to make this special event before Mania mean something beyond just being a throw-a-way show and they have attempted to do that. I am much more excited to see Triple H’s latest vision in NXT with their special coming up on February 11 being headlined by Kevin Owens challenging Sami Zayn for the NXT Championship. In any case, the WWE seems to have steered the ship out of troubled waters for now as they hope for clear sailing the rest of the way to Wrestlemania. Something tells me the water will get really choppy when Daniel Bryan losses to Roman Reigns. This might have been a very bad idea or a brilliant idea time will tell. My guess is this like the Rumble will end badly if the goal is to get Roman Reigns over as a babyface heading to Mania.

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 2/2/15

Welcome to this week's Raw preview for Monday February 2nd, 2015 as the WWE is back to schedule and we're on the road to not only WrestleMania 31, but also WWE Fast Lane on Sunday February 22nd. The WWE sure had one of it's most hetic weeks as a company, but just like any obstacle that's put in front of them from the government, to the networks, to mother nature and fans, the WWE puts it's best foot forward as Raw tonight emanates from Denver, Colorado. If you're a first time reader of this Raw preview, what you'll see is a forecast as to what you'll probably see on this week's edition of Raw. This preview includes a take at current storylines, and what's the most realistic options for those particular storylines to progress in the positive direction. Take a look back at our previous Raw previews, and what you'll see here on Condo On The Moon is the home for the most accurate Raw previews that you can't find anywhere else. These previews don't represent the personal taste of I Joshua Lopez. My goal here is to not only showcase my expertise if you will on the WWE product, but also to show you why these storylines are happening and how we can turn negatives to positives. WWE had alot of controversy coming out of the Royal Rumble PPV, and how will WWE's flagship show respond to the offering from the Royal Rumble PPV? Well, here's five things to expect on tonight's Monday Night Raw.

1.) Triple H Announcement

Why not start off Raw with a bang right? If you missed the live SmackDown this past Thursday, WWE COO Triple H came out and said that he was going to make an announcement on Raw tonight regarding the controversy surrounding the Royal Rumble match and Triple H said that this announcement will shake the WWE Universe to it's very core. Now what can this announcement be? I mean to be honest with you despite the backlash one Roman Reigns has recieved in this past week in storyline sense, Reigns won the Rumble fair and square. There's alot of people that feel that Roman Reigns is not ready for the WrestleMania main event spotlight. Will Triple H announcement be that Roman Reigns will be stripped from winning the Royal Rumble due to the fact that The Rock came out and took out The Authority even though, Kane & Big Show were already eliminated? You need intrigued for the WWE Fast Lane PPV right since the WWE Network is for free in the month of February, so what a better way to have Roman Reigns put up his title match on the line against Daniel Bryan. There's many variables that can come out of this announcement and to me I still feel that Roman Reigns will be the main event of Mania. With that I think we'll something where Triple H will either strip Roman from the Rumble Match or forced him to put up the title match on the line to take on either Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match like previously advertised in Memphis, or we can see Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan? I think it would be best to have this announcement start the show, I know people are not into the 20 minute promos, but this one will have meaning to it, so let's what happens and we'll go from there.

2.) Daniel Bryan YES! Movement Part 2 

The leader of the YES! Movement sure hasn't had the best start to 2015. Not only did he fail on his goal to come back from injury and win the Royal Rumble Match, but Bryan's favorite sport team the Seattle Seahawks just lost the SuperBowl to the New England Patriots who by the way are The Authority's favorite team, go figure. Last week on Raw with a sit-down interview with Renee Young, Bryan explains his displeausre with not winning the Royal Rumble Match. In that same interview he kinda takes a dig at Roman Reigns for the fact that Bryan didn't have the WWE feeding him his whole enitre life. Bryan finally I hope put a end to his feud with Kane this past Thursday on SmackDown in a very physical Casket Match. Daniel Bryan & Daniel Bryan fans are heading into this Road to WrestleMania with unrealistic expectations. While yea it would be nice to see Brock Lesnar vs Daniel Bryan, we had this storyline last year and Daniel Bryan is no longer the underdog character no matter what you think it's the truth. I understand that he didn't have the opportunity to have a long run as champion, but for the people that say that Daniel Bryan is treated like crap from the WWE is totally ridculous. Daniel Bryan in the 5 years he's been in the WWE has competed in either a title or main event level match at WrestleMania. I'm not sure yet what Bryan's doing at Mania, but as we're building towards this FastLane PPV. I say you have two realistic options here for Bryan. 1.) He can take on Roman Reigns for Reigns WrestleMania title shot. 2.) He can take on the man that eliminated him from the Royal Rumble Match Bray Wyatt. Now I'm not saying that a feud with Wyatt & Bryan needs to brew over to WrestleMania, but for a February PPV, I think Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt would be the best thing for both guys. As far as tonight is concern I think we'll probably see Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt or Big Show.

3.) John Cena vs. Rusev 

One of the already announced matches for the WWE Fast Lane PPV is John Cena vs. Rusev. Is this match for the United States Championship? I think we're seeing this match a month early because of two reasons. 1.) Like I stated already you need to give the people a reason to care for this Fast Lane PPV especially with networking being free this month. 2.) I don't think we're seeing John Cena vs. Rusev at WrestleMania. Last week on SmackDown, John Cena & Rusev had a really good in-ring segment. I thought we saw character building from Rusev with the fact that he didn't have Lana cut the entire promo for him and secondly John Cena took this upcoming challenge seriously. Now that we're 3 weeks away from the PPV, i'm interested in seeing where do Cena & Rusev go from here, and what's there actually beef with each other. If its what Rusev said last week on SmackDown that John Cena is the past and that he needs to be CRUSHED! then okay I'm fine with that. I think tonight you'll probably see another in-ring promo with both John Cena & Rusev. I think it will also be good to see Rusev in the ring tonight. You'll probably see Rusev vs Dolph Ziggler tonight. As far as John Cena is concern I think that he takes on someone like Bad News Barrett or Luke Harper to make a statement to Rusev. Either way I'm intrguied by match quality with John Cena & Rusev, but what's their storyline and why should we care. I think we'll get a good jist of why these guys are feuding with each other and it's not a bad thing that these guys are fighting at Fast Lane.

4.) Bray Wyatt & The Mid Card 

The MVP of the Royal Rumble Match this year for me was Bray Wyatt. Make sure to check out Bray Wyatt's promo from SmackDown last week it was very creepy and maybe it's a subtle reminder as to who Wyatt may face at WrestleMania this year. Now that the mid-card is not strangled from the gimmick PPV, now we can see more title matches & mid-card feuds for this PPV. I think you can see The Usos vs. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro for the WWE Tag Team Championships I can buy into that match at Fast Lane. You'll probably see Cesaro vs. Jimmy Uso tonight on Raw. Where do Miz & Mizdow go now? There was tension rising between both Miz & Mizdow at the Royal Rumble. Is tonight the night we finally see the split between Miz & Mizdow. You'll probably see a The Miz & Mizdow vs. The New Day and that's where you'll see the split. We found out at SmackDown that Nikki Bella will be defending her WWE Divas Championship against the beautiful Paige at Fast Lane. You'll probably see Paige vs. Brie Bella tonight or Paige vs. Alicia Fox with The Bella Twins on Commentary. Who's the next challenger for Bad News Barrett's Intercontinental Championship? After seeing what happen at the Royal Rumble the most realisitic option for a challenge for BNB championship is Dean Ambrose. Now I don't see Ambrose winning the IC Championship from Bad News Barrett, but if you don't have anything for Ambrose at Fast Lane put him in a match with Barrett. Lot of options tonight for the mid-card heading towards Fast Lane & WrestleMania 31, I like that because it gives you a reason to tune into Raw, Main Event & SmackDown each week.

5.) The Future?

After watching one of the greatest triple threat matches of all-time at the Royal Rumble there's no doubt in my mind that Seth Rollins is without a shadow of doubt the future of the WWE. Seth Rollins is sure walking with a big chip on his shoulder these days even though he's The Authority chosen boy and that he still has the Money in the Bank breifcase. Last week on SmackDown, Seth Rollins was issuing out an open challenge and we saw Ryback, Dolph Ziggler & Erick Rowan going after Seth Rollins. You'll probably see Seth Rollins vs. Ryback. As far as Fast Lane is concern i'm not sure because it's been two months where I tried to come back with the perfect scenairo to have Randy Orton come back and seek his revenge on not only Seth Rollins, but also The Authority. So this is what I had in mind for both Orton & Rollins at Fast Lane. Rollins beats Ryback and The Authority tries to take out Ryback, and then Orton makes his return, and Rollins runs for his life. You'll probably see Randy Orton vs. Kane at Fast Lane and then you'll see Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler for Rollins Money in the Bank breifcase. I think that's the best options for both guys before they face at WrestleMania.

Before we head off I would like to remind everybody that Triple H will be on the LIVE Steve Austin Show Podcast on the WWE Network right after the show is over tonight. I've been waiting for this interview for months. I can't wait to see what Austin ask Triple H not expecting any particular questions, but it should be very interesting, and unlike the interview with Vince, I think we'll see Triple H expand on his thoughts on certain topics. That's a wrap for our Raw preview. I hope you enjoyed if you have any questions please comment below.

Follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Enjoy Raw Everybody!

Condo on the Moon Podcast #46: The Rocky Start To Roman Empire

It was an interesting week in the WWE to say the least. We had a rumble that had fans ready to revolt. Raw and a Smackdown taping losing to Mother Nature. WWE announces they have reached a million subscribers after a much publicized mass cancellation of the same network in reaction to the Royal Rumble. Along with a live Smackdown and Raw with no matches live. Roman Reigns week was just as roller coaster like as fans hated him Sunday, some loved him on Monday and by Thursday he was transformed into the next John Cena with a very split reaction to him on a live Smackdown. Almost lost in all of this was a little used WWE talent asking for his release from the company and leaving to much less fanfare than C.M Punk.

All this and talk of NXT where the WWE still shows they can entertain us and some ROH and PWG talk as well. A jam packed 90 minutes.



If you are unable to listen here head over and download or listen at Podomatic.

That is all for this week if you enjoy the show please help spread the word. If you ever want to reach out with your thoughts give us a shout on twitter machine @Condoonthemoon. Also go check out our latest poll and tell us what match coming up in WWE has you the most excited to see in the Wrestlemania Season?

Rusev vs Cena Being Rushed Into The Fast Lane

It has been a series of odd booking choices of late for the WWE. Having John Cena taking on Rusev at Fast Lane, the new WWE event that has replaced the Elimination Chamber is the latest. Why the WWE if you will pardon the pun is rushing this match now remains to be seen. Rusev had long been pegged as Cena’s dance partner for Wrestlemania 31. What the WWE hopes to accomplish with this match is fairly unclear at this point.

John Cena is coming off losing a WWE title match in which he failed to regain the Championship from Brock Lesnar yet again. Logic suggests Cena is in need of a win but at this point do wins and loses even matter with him. Still WWE has never had Cena go into any kind of prolonged losing streak. He is after all the guy the moves the most merchandise and is considered the face of the company.

Rusev has been slowly and methodically built into a huge monster heel that has never been pinned or submitted in his time in WWE. Cena has in his career been billed as a super hero and champion of the American military at times based on that it seems unimaginable he would lose in this showdown.

This leads us back to why we have Rusev and Cena heading towards a match with very little time to build the match and no real outcome that makes any sense. If Cena wins, the idea of a re-match at Wrestlemania seems unlikely to unnecessary. If Rusev were to win, a re-match makes sense but much like the feud with Bray Wyatt last year for Cena, you have Rusev losing on the big stage killing his momentum. If the match ends in some sort of non-finish you have ripped off people in Memphis given them a match with no conclusion and wasted everyone’s time to some degree.

There has been a lot of talk of the WWE’s lack of long-term planning and this seems to be an example of it. I find it hard to believe the plan was to have this match. In fact, it was being advertised that Cena would team with Reigns to take on Rusev and Rollins at Fast Lane in the local market. So there is some prove a change in plans was made. Perhaps the reaction to Roman Reigns at the Rumble is the reason behind it. The idea of tagging him with John Cena would not be a good one under any circumstances but with the negative reaction, he was given in Philadelphia even with The Rock’s endorsement makes teaming with Cena a death sentence to Reigns as a baby face heading into Wrestlemania.

In any case, the WWE has decided to go with this program a month earlier and I have to imagine it will take away from a match at Mania by having the two be involved in a match the month prior. Unless they have some other opponent in mind for Cena at Wrestlemania and Rusev is out. Who that would be would be a complete mystery at this point. Only thing that makes any sense is a rematch with Bryan perhaps for the number one contender to face the WWE Heavyweight Champion. Still Rusev and Cena seemed like the money program that WWE was banking on.

Vince McMahon has always been a fan of very patriotic based angles despite them not always getting over as well as he might have hoped. A great example tied to Wrestlemania was the Slaughter against Hogan World Title match the headlined Wrestlemania 7. That Mania was originally scheduled to be at the L.A Coliseum a huge outdoor venue. It was moved to the L.A Sports Arena it was said out of fear or terrorism concerns but was in fact due to poor ticket sales for the event.

Ready on not Rusev and John Cena is being given the green light to kick off a month earlier at WWE Fast Lane. It will be interesting to see how this program influences Rusev and if it has a similar negative impact that it did for Bray Wyatt coming out of the Cena program last year.

WWE Network apparently has passed the million-subscriber mark and perhaps they are hoping to get a few extra subscribers to hop on board prior to Wrestlemania where subscriptions ate likely to get a temporary bump for the company’s biggest event of the year. Perhaps a vision will be made clear with the live Smackdown tonight that in effect will be Raw for this week with forced cancellation of the event due to the massive snowstorm in the U.S northeast.

Ready or not, it is Rusev vs. John Cena for the hopes and dreams of America. Something like that!

The Rehabilitation of Roman Reigns Has Begun

The rehabilitation of Roman Reigns has begun. It took a little help from Mother Nature but it maybe off to a decent start after the disaster that was the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia.

It was a Raw that we will likely never see again as the show was cancelled in Hartford and they showed the two main events from the Royal Rumble on free T.V. They also had a number of sit-down interviews that felt very unscripted. It made for some interesting television in the shadow of perhaps the worst Royal Rumble event of all-time. In all of it, there was a lesson to be learned not to say the WWE will learn it.

Roman Reigns the man who was booed out of the build less than 24 hours earlier in Philadelphia did some of his best work on the microphone in his career. It speaks to how Roman has been more a victim of bad creative more than he is a terrible performer on the microphone. Is he actually ready to main event the biggest show of the year in Wrestlemania? It still remains a question, but perhaps it now is the time as Reigns getting a year to build to Wrestlemania 32 makes better sense than having him get the main event at that massive event.

Paul Heyman did a brilliant job selling this match and if this leads to Reigns turning heel and siding with Paul Heyman it could be great. Imagine a year out Roman Reigns complains that the Rock tried to steal his moment winning the Royal Rumble. It was the Rock’s fault the people booed him. Rock against Reigns with Heyman as Reigns advocate could be a great main event for Wrestlemania 32.

The key is that Roman Reigns needs to be distanced from how John Cena is presented. They have tried to present Reigns like Cena and it has been a massive failure. Reigns made the point that he has a massive opportunity and it is up to him to take advantage of it. Ultimately, Reigns needs to learn to say the word NO to creative that is awful and hurts him and his long-term career.

This is certainly a crossroads for Roman Reigns and the WWE as they face something they truly have never had to deal with. John Cena is not going anywhere and this is the first time the WWE has made a choice to move to a new top guy without having it forced upon them. Hogan left the company so did Bret and Shawn and Steve Austin was injured and Rock went to Hollywood. This is the first time they have not been forced into making a change at the top of the company as its face.

I have never had this hate and hostility for Roman Reigns that the fan base seems to have developed. Daniel Bryan is never getting back to the place he was at and that is just the reality of things. If you’re the WWE can you honestly have faith Bryan can remain healthy for any lengthy period of time? I would have to answer no to that question. He will still have his moment from Wrestlemania 30 and it will be a question of what might have been had he remained healthy and had his proper reign as champion. The reality is though we still could very well be in the same place we find ourselves now. If Bryan ever faced Lesnar as champion, I would not have favored him to win that match. So we still could be on this same path to Reigns against Lesnar main event for Wrestlemania 31. 

How the WWE presents Roman Reigns in the next 60+ days will greatly determine both his future and their future to a large degree. This is a high stakes time for them and honestly, something the WWE has never truly done by replacing their face of the company with the other still remaining. C.M Punk was always in the shadow of Cena similar to how Savage was to Hulk Hogan. This is different and WWE is counting on Reigns to be the guy to carry this company for the next decade more or less.

It certainly has got off to a Rocky start if you will pardon the pun. Still if Reigns is allowed to make the position his own and fans are willing to give him a chance it can work. Those are two major factors that are easier said than done.

The Roman Empire eventually crumbled this Roman Reigns empire has started from the rumble in ruins. Time will tell if he becomes one of the great names that we talk about in the history of this company. If he doesn’t get there, the blame is on the WWE for how they handcuffed his launch into this position of prominence in the company. Reigns has come a long way in a short time and is being asked to take on far more than he should be at this point. This is his opportunity though and he needs to make the most of it regardless of if he is ready or not. He might not get another one, or maybe he will get many, but none will have the potential that this one has for him to solidify himself as a top guy.

Raw Cancelled: Live Smackdown Thursday

Well call it ironic but the night after WWE fans were calling for people to CANCEL the WWE Network. The WWE was forced to cancel it's Raw event in Hartford due to blizzard conditions in the area. Here is the statement issued by the WWE early Monday Afternoon:

STAMFORD, Conn. – Due to the impending blizzard in the Northeast and statewide travel bans, WWE has postponed tonight’s live event in Hartford and cancelled tomorrow night’s live event in Boston; however, WWE will emanate live tonight at 8 p.m. ET from its studios in the Stamford world headquarters.

Ticket Information:

• Hartford, Conn., XL Center: Tickets for tonight’s show in Hartford will be honored for a SmackDown event this Thursday, January 29 that will air live on Syfy.
• Boston, Mass., TD Garden: Fans with tickets to tomorrow’s event in Boston will have the option of either exchanging tickets for an upcoming WWE event on Saturday, June 27 or obtaining a refund at point of purchase.

It is unclear what this will mean for Canadian fans as Smackdown normally taped airs on Sportsnet 360 on Wednesdays. Raw will still happen via the WWE Studios which should be interesting to say the least given last night's rumble. Maybe a 3 hour lecture from Vince McMahon who knows. In any case this has been a terrible 24 hours for the WWE.