Current WWE

[Slasher]

Aside from Big Show, are any big guys getting big pushes? Khali, Brodus Clay and Tensai only exist to job, Rowan and Harper are clearly viewed as being beneath Bray, Ryback just got out of a feud with Punk that had Punk beat him three times in a row and almost squashing him in the last one. I guess Roman Reigns, but he's getting pushed alongside two "smaller" guys in a faction. Big E. is getting one too, but it seems height always played more of a factor than weight when it came to Vince.

 

Khali has been positioned lately to serve as the babyface side's punishment for heels. Look at tonight, with Vickie charging Del Rio with a night's match against Khali. Maybe Bray Wyatt is the leader but Harper and Rowan aren't booked as some bumbling henchmen or anything. If anything, Bray is the wild card here, because these two guys do the bulk of the work and booked as credibly against the top names as possible. Ryback is still a major force. Just because he lost to the top two names in the WWE (Cena and Punk) doesn't make him any more a joke than anybody else. It's all in context, dude.

 

So, no then? Khali hasn't won a non-comedy match in ages. I never said Rowan and Harper were bumbling henchmen, but they're still Wyatt's cronies. Bray hasn't lost yet while those two have some losses to their name (Harper specifically). As for Ryback, you can't say the guy hasn't been damaged. Sure, he beats mid-card guys like Miz and Kofi, but he hasn't won a big match in a long time. Maybe the match against Jericho in July, but if Chris wasn't leaving, he probably would have lost that too.

 

I don't really know the answer to that, but they have seemed to just have decided to go big again. If the newsbits are true, I am certain we will see bigger people pushed more credibly than they have lately. Kane is a big man and he will likely be a huge factor in the main event angles moving forward. Obviously the Big Show is one. Roman Reigns is supposedly earmarked for a star turn as a big babyface hero in the vein of Hogan and Cena. Clearly Big E. has moved on up. It's only been two weeks or so since they concluded the Daniel Bryan push, and there's already a major upturn in emphasis on the bigger guys in the company. It's also not too hard to believe that WWE might favor that direction, seeing how they have looked for 20 plus years for a reason to do so.

[goodhelmet]

Did Ryback really use the Jackhammer on RAW this week... and lose?

[Steven]

Well...Billy Gunn used it all the time and never won with it. Seems only Goldberg knew how to unlock the true potential of the fancy vertical suplex.

[Slasher]

Did Ryback really use the Jackhammer on RAW this week... and lose?

He did it on Smackdown too, got a nearfall off it (losing eventually to John Cena). Maybe they are setting up a Ryback vs Goldberg match at Mania?

[Johnny Sorrow]

Did Ryback really use the Jackhammer on RAW this week... and lose?

Naw, he beat Khali on RAW with a meathook clothesline.

[rovert]

Shit news:

 

SURPRISING WWE NXT RELEASE

by Mike Johnson @ 12:07 AM on 11/9/2013

 

WWE released NXT star Kassius Ohno, aka Chris Hero, who has worked in main event level positions for Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling NOAH, CHIKARA, IWA Mid-South and CZW, among other promotions all over the world, PWInsider.com has confirmed.

According to multiple sources, Ohno was released by WWE officials while waiting to begin training Friday morning at the Performance Center. He had just returned to WWE NXT after being held off of TV for some time. What will turn out to be his final appearance, a loss to The Wyatt Family's Luke Harper, aired this past Wednesday on NXT. He had been signed to WWE developmental in 2012.

 

Ohno, a Dayton, Ohio native, broke into the business in 1998 and was trained by a slew of excellent trainers, including Les Thatcher and Dory Funk Jr. Similar to the career path that Daniel Bryan took, he traveled the world, most notable Germany, England and Australia, learning all sorts of different styles and adding them to his in-ring repertoire. I've always likened him to a young Barry Windham because of his tall frame and working ability.

 

Like a lot of other independent stars of the early 2000s, Hero made his name with a lot of travel, not just internationally but all over the United States, driving with a crew that included Antonio Cesaro (then Claudio Castagnoli) and the late Larry Sweeney and worked pretty much everywhere. He clicked in just about every major independent promotion of the era.

 

Hero originally built his name in Ian Rotten's IWA Mid-South, where he ended up having a great feud with CM Punk (as recounted on Punk's Best in the World DVD documentary) as well as a long run in CHIKARA, where he was a top name there as well as one half of the Kings of Wrestling tag team with Cesaro. He soon made his way to CZW, where he worked as a top heel there and began working regularly for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in California as well.

 

The one promotion he wasn't getting booked for was Ring of Honor, which was considered the top independent promotion in the landscape, so when he showed up as a mystery opponent representing CZW against then-ROH champion Bryan Danielson (aka Daniel Bryan), it was a huge, legitimate shock for that audience and helped kick off a CZW vs. ROH feud that drew great numbers for ROH as well as an audience that was as legitimately split down the middle as a New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys game.

 

Hero morphed into a regular member of the ROH roster, capturing their Tag belts with Cesaro, who he held a number of other tag straps with. He began training and wrestling for Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan and did well there, including having the mate Mitsuharu Misawa "gift him" the roaring elbow, which Hero used even in WWE as a finish.

 

When Hero was signed in 2012, it seemed like just a matter of time before he joined Punk, Bryan and others on the main roster, but for some reason - whether it be politics or mistakes made, he never made it to the main roster. I don't even believe he was sent on the road for dark matches, which boggled my mind. His work in the ring was good. He had obviously, based on his last TV appearances, worked on his physique. He had a decent speaking ability and his charisma always sort of reminded me a quiet version of a young Mick Foley. As a heel, he portrayed a great d***. He knew all sorts of different styles and honestly, should have been training the same talents he was instead training with in the Performance Center. All the elements were there, except, apparently, WWE didn't see it.

 

Note from Mike: This release will go down, to me, as one of those moments in history where you wonder what the hell went wrong, and how WWE couldn't see the potential in someone just about every independent promotion in the world will be scrambling to book once they read this. This is absolutely going to be a case where this, long term, will be WWE's loss.

[jm29195]

That's bad news, a shame they never gave him a chance on the main roster. At least some of his standard NXT matches are out there and easily available as a record of what he did manage. Vs Regal in particular was awesome, and I look forward to seeing vs Harper from this week.

 

On an unrelated note, does anyone else think 2013 has been the best year for ages for WWE televised matches? Thge Shield vs everyone has consistently delivered, with the Rhodes brothers and Usos coming along really well in the latter part of the year. Mix that with Bryan's consistency and great stuff from Cena and Punk on occasion, along with random NXT stuff and I wish someone could put together a decent comprehensive comp of just the WWE TV matches to show what a year it has been...

[Dylan Waco]

WWE has had tons of strong tv matches every year for years now. I think this year gets talked about more because acts like The Shield and Bryan are net darlings and because the three hour RAW format and Main Event allowing long matches, has given us very good matches that have gotten time.

[Big Rob]

This week had the 20 minute one.

Not to be a pedant, but unless the UK broadcast is cut up more than the US version, it only went like 13 mins of TV time. I really dug it though, Harper's great and a nice throwback to a time when guys didn't have to do tons to get over or have good matches.

 

I'd totally agree that this is the best year in WWE's history for great TV matches. There's been times when one of the shows has been on fire, but we routinely get really good matches every week on multiple shows, to the point where a Raw can have two top notch matches on but still be regarded as not worth a watch due to the regularity that we've been getting all these grand TV bouts.

[Matt D]

I feel like I went on and on last year about how many good matches we had. It might have been the year before though.

[hammerva]

Hero is very similar to his best friends CM Punk and Colt cabana in their attitude. All three of them have the mentality that they are damn good as they are and there is no need to change or tweak it. some call it arrogance some call it confidence. Punk was lucky that he had a guy like Paul Heyman to support him and ride with him in OVW and the beginning of ECW. Cabana and Hero didn't have that.

 

If the stories are true that hero was going to be brought up to the WWE if he got more bigger and cut and he refused then unfortunately he has only himself to blame. And while he was still solid in the ring you can see his look was getting worse and worse.

 

Sucks that he wasn't given the chance that guys like Daniel Bryan and Punk did but it isn't that surprising. I don't think we will need to have a Ian Rotten like benefit show for him. He always loved to work every day every where and he will get plenty of bookings. And if he gets a couple matches in TNA against guys like Aries and Samoa Joe then oh well.

[Matt D]

I definitely think he was the weaker part of that Harper match, though, especially towards the end of the match in his final comeback, so if they had to have one guy or the other I'm glad they have Brodie (and it's an interesting comparison since they were born a week apart apparently).

[Eduardo]

I liked Cena-Ryback on SD. Nothing worth going out of your way to see, but catching it on Friday night, I thought it was a fun, good TV match. I really like that Cena's added a flying crossbody block as one of his new signature moves.

 

Also, the match made me think how Punk hasn't been able to have any fun matches with Ryback, while Cena, Bryan, Kane, and a few others I'm forgetting have.

[Jimmy Redman]

For a really random example, Ryback had this amazingly fun match with Justin Gabriel on a Smackdown sometime around the middle of the year. Gabes got a surprising amount of offense in and they worked a great 'little guy-big guy' match up.

 

I feel like he had a similar match with Kofi on SD as well, where Kofi just kept coming and coming with offense until finally he was stopped and killed dead.

[Eduardo]

I think I remember that. Was that the match where Gabriel went after Ryback's leg? If it is, that was also pretty fun.

[Steven]

Gabriel is a guy I don't really care for, but I'm surprised he hasn't been pushed more than he has. When NXT first started, I thought Wade, Bryan and Gabriel were the guys who would amount to something in the company. Bryan for obvious reasons, Wade because he has the look* the company wants while being fairly decent in the ring and Gabriel for having that Jeff Hardy heart throb look and being able to fly. Aside from the initial Nexus push, he hasn't really been given that many opportunities.

 

(*Ryback obviously had the look, but I don't think "Cornfed" Skip Sheffield would have gone too far.)

[Big Rob]

Main Event is pretty much a the undercard show now, but this week had two real good tag matches - I particularly enjoyed the Wyatts vs PTPs which I'd probably rate above Harper's match with Bryan later on in the taping for Smackdown. Usos vs the returning Hunico and Camacho was a lot of fun too, and both got a decent amount of time, which is refreshing for Main Event in recent weeks.

[sek69]

Gabriel is a guy I don't really care for, but I'm surprised he hasn't been pushed more than he has. When NXT first started, I thought Wade, Bryan and Gabriel were the guys who would amount to something in the company. Bryan for obvious reasons, Wade because he has the look* the company wants while being fairly decent in the ring and Gabriel for having that Jeff Hardy heart throb look and being able to fly. Aside from the initial Nexus push, he hasn't really been given that many opportunities.

 

(*Ryback obviously had the look, but I don't think "Cornfed" Skip Sheffield would have gone too far.)

 

I agree that Gabriel seemed custom made to be the next Jeff Hardy "high flyer with a bit of danger the girls like", and they even seem to sort-of push him that way at times. Not sure why they never went all out with it. I guess the emphasis on less car crash type bumping would be the reason.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Finally watched the past two RAWs, Cena/Sandow stood out as an excellent match, the Six-Man had one of the best home stretches in forever, and Punk/Harper and Orton/Langston were both good.

 

I usually only do match reviews, but when I was younger I loved to do booking analysis. Here we go with some booking analysis of Current WWE:

 

It is funny if I was not going to Survivor Series, I would have said Big Show/Orton is logical and applauded them for sound booking. Given the pop, the Big Show/Triple H confrontation got on the 10/28 they have clearly done an excellent job with the Big Show. HOWEVER, I am going to the event and am not excited about that main event in the least. I have actually enjoyed Orton since Wrestlemania and especially since the heel turn. His headbutts and his cutoffs are usually really well-timed. His Langston match was a really good champion vs rising mid-carder. He gave a lot to Langston, but everything was earned and it felt like a real struggle (the one exception was the pop up backbreaker after the splash, but the rest was really sound). He was powdering, headbutting and clawing, but Langston was always overpowering him until he crashed and burned on a cross-body. There have been other Orton matches this year like the No DQ match with Bryan when he was still face and the Miz beatdown that I enjoyed. Big Show, I know he does well in these parts, just has never done much for me. He is actually my Dad's favorite wrestler and my Dad is pumped about this news. So at least there is that.

 

Bryan/Punk just makes sense. During the stretch without Cena, it felt like they were caving to the hardcores just like in 2004 with Benoit & Eddie as the top two faces now Bryan and Punk were positioned as the top two faces. It makes sense they needed to return on their Wyatt investment. The Wyatts came in at a horrible time and clearly after Summerslam they had nothing for them. I really see this as Bryan/Punk moving into the number two storyline and one where they can give the fans what they want without Punk & Bryan being overshadowed by Cena.

 

Do we really live in a world where Cena is the number four babyface? When you are feuding with Sandow and Del Rio, that sure as hell what feels like. Two weeks in a row he was in the match of the night on RAW and two weeks in a row he has not cut a shitty promo. I am a reformed Cena hater on ring work. I truly think he is best worker of his generation in the WWE. I still he think he fuckin blows on the mic more often than not, but past two weeks he has been fine. His JBL impression may have been his best impression ever and was actually relevant. Sandow's promo where he is divorcing himself from the Intellectual Savior to a real person that wants the title that happens to be really smart is a good direction. Sandow has potential I think, but I have never said to myself that Sandow fella needs to be pushed. Del Rio's character work sucks. He was openly mocked on commentary by everyone and he did nothing about it. He is enjoyable in the ring now that he has ratcheted up the aggression, but Mexican Million Dollar Man he is not.

 

Glory be, in 2013, WWE has a real tag team division. Goldust is so fucking awesome. He owned that match from an offensive perspective. Cody just reeks of midcarder to me. He is a solid mechanic, but I don't see main event. I like Jack Swagger. I always felt like he should be better. I remember being impressed by his ECW run. Cesaro rules. I don't watch the B-shows. Has Cesaro vs Goldust one on one happened yet? I like the Usos more than Matadores, but I really enjoy El Torito so it is a push. Then again Titus' bark is one of the best things about the WWE. 3MB needs to drop Mahal and add somebody worth a damn. McIntrye and Slater are perhaps the greatest JTTS in history. Slater is the best bumper on the roster and Drew has enough high-end offense for heat segments.

 

 

They need to get the title off of Curtis Axel and put it on Langston pronto. He is dead in the water and he needs to be repackaged in a tag team to even up the sides between faces and heels. Langston has a shitty finisher, but he tries and the Orton match was pretty good. Ryback and Ziggler, who I both like, seem fucked. They are both above the midcard titles. Ryback has feuded with Punk and Cena already. Ziggler wrestles a good Randy Savage formula match, but I don't see any where he can break through the main event. Maybe they will feud against each other. I would like that a good deal. The Shield also seems directionless. Roman Reigns has been my favorite member of the Shield since the outset and I am excited at the prospect of his push. but I agree it is too early. Ambrose has had a real lackluster US Title reign due to lack of opposition. I dont see that changing anytime soon.

 

WWE is so babyface-laden on top that I can see why Daniel Bryan feuding with Wyatts would be considered a "de-push", but I think the way the story is structured he is just being down cycled. It is just like Austin feuding with Undertaker in late '98 while Rock/Mankind feuded for the title. Bryan is still very much at the top of the card and I would argue ahead of Cena. I truly believe they think they are appealing to smart marks by teaming Bryan with fellow internet darling CM Punk against the Wyatts. From my scanning of other forums, the Wyatts are heel internet favorites with their cryptic, esoteric gimmick. Personally, I think Bray Wyatt's promos suck, but Harper friggin's rules so you got to take the lumps with the sugar.

 

Here's my projected Survivor Series Card:

 

Orton/Show

Punk/Bryan/Ziggler/Miz vs Ryback/Wyatts (Im a Ryback mark, FEED ME MORE!)

Cena vs Del Rio vs Sandow

Rhodes Family vs Real Americans

Axel vs Langston

Ambrose vs Kofi?

Shield vs Usos

Womens Match

 

So when does Sheamus come back turn heel and feud with Cena in a bunch of **** matches. I can dream right?

[Log]

God, Goldust vs. Cesaro just has to happen soon, right?

[The Chief]

Main Event is pretty much a the undercard show now, but this week had two real good tag matches - I particularly enjoyed the Wyatts vs PTPs which I'd probably rate above Harper's match with Bryan later on in the taping for Smackdown. Usos vs the returning Hunico and Camacho was a lot of fun too, and both got a decent amount of time, which is refreshing for Main Event in recent weeks.

Hunico and Camacho are back? Seems like they've been off TV for years. I really enjoy Hunico. Haven't seen enough of Camacho to form an opinion yet.

[goodhelmet]

Who are the Matadors?

[Jimmy Redman]

Primo and Epico.

[Superstar Sleeze]

El Torito >>> Rosa

[Eduardo]

El Torito >>> Rosa

True times a thousand.

 

Rosa's Spanish gave me nightmares at the time. Her valet work was cringeworthy.