A FEW THOUGHTS ON "THE GUY"...ROMAN

I was watching this video WWE put on on YouTube and it was showing how some of the superstars on the main roster got their start with the company. One of the superstars they showed was Roman Reigns and he was an NXT guy before getting called up. What's the main the reason we have for not wanting our favorite NXT people getting called up? Bad booking. Tyler Breeze, Baron Corbin, Emma, the Ascension, Becky Lynch, and The Vaudevillains are just some of the examples of getting called up from NXT only to get poorly booked. Some exceptions to that include Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Russev, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn.

Roman Reigns, bless his heart, has been poorly booked ever since The Shield broke up. It's not all his fault. I always say when he won that Royal Rumble 2015, He was a product of a poorly booked Royal Rumble. I would venture to say that was probably the worst booked Royal Rumble ever. At no fault of Roman or anybody else that was involved in the actual delivery of the match, maybe except Big Show and Kane, but nevertheless--

Now I will say that it's not all the booking's fault. Roman has to take some blame in this as well. I once heard Triple H, you know the guy you love on NXT but hate on Raw, say, "If you think it's going to work, then go out there an do it." I heard it said that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Especially when it's live TV. If it's on live TV, why not go out there and go for broke. Shawn Michaels made a living doing that in the early days of the Attitude Era. I think it worked out well for him. Not saying Roman is on Shawn Michaels' level of talent or charisma but something has got to give.

So let me bring up the obvious, his suspension. We in the IWC have been begging for a heel turn for Roman. Perfect time to do that is at Battleground. One thing WCW did right is when Hogan was getting booed, they turned him heel. I think that worked out, at least for the short term. Nwo was one of the greatest factions of all the times and a lot of it I feel had to do with the way it started. Back to Roman, he's already one of the most hated with the crowd. Why not turn him. He's on his way to becoming another Cena, and NOOOOObody wants that. There's a big but here though. Turning Roman heel may be a bit too obvious. May be a bit to logical. Oops. I say oops because logical and WWE booking go together like Trump and, well, anything.

I actually think Roman can work. He's good in the ring as far as having a decent match is concerned, in my opinion. I know a lot of people will disagree with me on that, and? I also think John Cena can wrestle. Gasp! What?

I think Roman needs better booking, and I also think Roman needs to do a better job of taking advantage of being live TV. And Roman needs to get off of what ever got him suspended, that would help also.

~Daniel Richerson

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Raw Review 4/12/2016: BULLET CLUB TOO SWEET!

From what I watched of Raw, most of the show wasn't that bad. When I wasn't watching I watched The Voice. For those that don't know, I keep the WWE timeline open via Twitter, and when it's something I'm interested in, I change the channel to USA to watch the promo or match. When I become uninterested I change the channel. I got that idea from a tweet I saw on Twitter, Never the less, I enjoyed most of what I saw. The show opened with Shane McMahon. That gimmick has a lot of people up and arms. Some are trying to make sense of Shane losing to Undertaker so why is he running Raw? It's all a work. Wrestling is a work. None of it is real. No matter how much we want it to be. There's a difference between reality, and wrestling reality. Sometimes, art and life intertwine, but most of the time, all the stuff that happens on TV is mostly a work. Some of us think way to hard when it comes to this sport. We forget that WWE is an entertainment company. It's not a wrestling company. Vince said it himself. "I'm not in the wrasslin business, I'm in the entertainment business." So most of us tend to forget that simple thought.

Maybe Vince figured that the Authority angle was running stale and something needed to change on the show. So Shane is probably part of that change. I personally expect a swerve to come along the way with all this. Maybe Stephanie McMahon and Triple H opening up the show and they make the statement, "Didn't Shane lose at WrestleMania? Why has he been running Raw?" And all that. I truly believe all the questions we have, WWE will try to answer them in the coming weeks, and it'll all come together, or apart, at SummerSlam, which is the next "big" PPV or Live Special.

We need to stop watching RAW expecting the same booking we see on NXT. Even though they're under the same umbrella known as WWE, Raw and NXT are two different shows. Raw is coming around to NXT's style of booking little by little, but still two different shows.

Then we had Kevin Owens vs Cesaro. What a clinic that match was. If Cesaro hasn't grabbed that "brass ring" by now, I don't know what Vince is smoking or sniffing. Cesaro is one of the best athletes on the roster. The surprising thing about this match was that it was a clean finish. Cesaro won clean. Another thing this match showed that getting heat and selling is not a lost art that some of the old timers like to think it is. Cesaro sold that shoulder injury, and Kevin Owens had heat most of the match. He blocks people on Twitter. If that's not heat, I don't know what is.

The WWE Tag Team tournament. Who ever came up with that idea seems to have come with a good one. One match was the Dudley Boys vs the Lucha Dragons. Dudley Boys won and team of Enzo and Cass came out. The back and forth between them and the Dudley Boyz was a money segment to me. I missed their appearance on the Raw after Mania, and I missed their stuff on NXT, but they seem to be over with the crowd. They also seem to have the gift of talking on the microphone. I have to look up some matches on the WWE Network to see their ring work. But I'm already a fan of them because of that back and forth with the Dudleys.

The Women's Division gets better and better regarding match quality. But there's an old turd that still seems to have to get his stuff in, and that turd's name is Ric Flair. Ric was great for his time, but Ric Flair, it's time to go home. Charlotte is a grown woman. She can't grow as a character if you keep handcuffing her. Look I understand being a heel, and all that but Flair interfering in Charlotte's matches is not good heat to me. That's cheap heat. I said on Twitter after Flair interfered at WrestleMania that Flair needs to be put in a home. Flair, your time is up. Go away. The women's division doesn't need your old tired self to make it relevant. Other than the old timer, and the ending of the match, Natayla and Charlotte had a good match. Again, Flair needs to go away or at least get away from his daughter.

Dr Phil was on the show and that's all I'm going to say about that.

The Bullet Club. Luke Gallows made his return to the WWE and Anderson made his debut, I think. They saved what was a lack luster match between the Usos and The Social Outcasts. It was expected for them to make an appearance but it wasn't really known in what capacity they were going to show up. So after Usos pick up the W, Gallows and Anderson showed up and beat up the Usos. It was tremendous. I was at home holding up the too sweet. Hopefully WWE doesn't drive Gallows away, again.

AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn. Another match that was a straight clinic. I'm so glad the higher ups and in the WWE let these two wrestlers do their job. It was a great match. They woke up what was a dead crowd. They should've main evented the show, but of course they didn't.

I didn't watch what was the main event, because Reigns' character is not getting over at all, and it all seemed threw together randomly. Roman, in my opinion, is a great worker. His character has just become stale. But he does get a response from the crowd, so I guess that's all Vince cares about. Roman's character needs some upgrading. If Hogan of all people do upgrade his character, why can't Roman upgrade his?

And that's about all I got to say about RAW. From what I watched, it was an ok show. Thanks for reading. I don't claim to know everything, but I'm just stating my thoughts on the product.

~Daniel Richerson

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AND IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE!

So I was contemplating getting a WWE Network Gift Card to watch WWE Fastlane and to get back to watching NXT again. Well, when I went to the grocery store, I didn't see the card, and I didn't feel like driving to Wal-Mart just to get a simple gift card, so I made the decision not to get one. When I woke up, seeing Roman Reigns is booked to face Triple H at WrestleMania and the IWC is irate. Using the hashtag #cancelwwenetwork, and all that. It seems like WWE really messed things up. This kinds reminds me of the Wrestlemania when Daniel Bryan ended up winning the whole thing. If you remember, Daniel Bryan wasn't originally supposed to be in the main event. If I remember right, he was booked to have another match with Sheamus. But due to the reaction of Batista vs Randy Orton, WWE had to make a change.

So I feel due to the reaction of Roman vs Hunter, WWE has to make a change. Wrestlemania is supposed to be the wrestling event of the year. It's supposed to be booked as the best wrestling show. Let's be real, WWE has failed to reach that mark on several occasions. So what is Vince going to do? I don't think Vince is going to let another Wrestlemania go down the drain. I think Vince is the type of guy that if he has to bring the grand wizard Hulk Hogan himself back and get another title run, he'd do it for the ratings. Maybe some how or another Vince can give Dean Ambrose that Daniel Bryan push, and have Dean Ambrose close out the show. Could work. AJ Styles could work, but I doubt that Vince is going to give the fans what they want this early, but I do think and see AJ Styles being a main event player in the next couple of years at Wrestlemania with Samoa Joe.

CM Punk rumors have been debunked, but that would've been an open heaven. Think about it. The backstage feud that CM Punk and HHH apparently had. Would've made all the sense in the world of wrestling, to have CM Punk come back and beat HHH for the title. But since CM Punk is apparently not returning, that won't happen.

How bout finally giving Dolph Ziggler a chance? I don't know. Maybe that would work. Dolph Ziggler has been performing his but off for years, I mean his time has to come soon, right?

In all seriousness, Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, and the WWE has to do something. This is bad. This probably worse than the Batista/Orton thing. What ever they're going to do, they need to do it now. To quote the late great Owen Hart, "Enough is enough and it's time for a change!"

~Daniel Richerson

The Main Roster is still the Main Roster...

I hear a lot of fellow smarks, yes you're a smark embrace it, say that going to the main roster is a downgrade as far as going from NXT to Raw. Ok, I understand that the main roster has been none too good lately. I understand that NXT has had the better product lately. Now that that's out the way. NXT is on the WWE network. Not everybody has the WWE Network. Raw is on USA. Raw gives you more exposure than NXT. Raw gives you more money. I'm pretty sure they don't come to NXT to stay at NXT. I'm pretty sure if you sign a contract with WWE, your goal should be on the main show, right?

We want Raw to be better. We want Raw to create better stars. You can't create better stars if the NXT stars stay in NXT. Samoa Joe will never have an opportunity to main event a WrestleMania if he stays in NXT. Like it or not, Wrestlemania is a main roster show. Royal Rumble is a main roster show. AJ Styles is on the main roster. AJ Styles is on RAW like it or not. He's not in NXT. He's on RAW. In my opinion, Samoa Joe should be on the main show right now. But the only problem with the main roster is the bad booking. That was my main problem with the Royal Rumble 2015. It was a poorly book Royal Rumble match that year. I feel it was more than the fact Roman Reigns won, it was how he won. My opinion, Big Show and Kane ruined that match.

But back to the topic at hand. The main roster is still the main roster. No matter how bad the show is. It's still the main roster. I know we all want the main roster to be better, but to say that moving to the main roster is a down grade. It's still the main roster. One of the problems with the main roster is like the "it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission" mentality is none existent. When DX was just the Kliq, they did stuff that got them in trouble every week. HBK is now in the Hall of Fame, and HHH is basically Vince's right hand man.

So yes, NXT is the better product in most people's eyes. You tune in to NXT expecting the great, and you tune in to Raw expecting the worse. I get that, but that doesn't change the fact that Raw is still Raw. There's a lot of people that think Football is not as good as it once was, yet people still tune in. Some people don't think the NBA is as good as it once was but people still tune in. I think Raw will get better. Vince still micro-manages the product, which is a major issue that no one talks about. I feel that as soon as Vince lets go of the reigns, not a shot at Roman,  a little bit, that's when the product will get better.

Daniel Richerson

DOES VINCE EVEN CARE ANYMORE?

I didn't watch the 2/23/2015 edition of RAW but this is just going off the reviews of the tweets I saw and from what I watched on Fastlane.

It seems to me that Vince is throwing in the towel. Bad booking all the way. Between NXT and the main roster is night and day as far as booking goes. NXT is the wrestling that most of us long to see when we turn into Monday Night Raw or Thursday Night Smackdown. The booking of Roman Reigns getting stuffed down our throats to get him over is not best idea. I saw someone that said that the fans really want to care for Roman but they just don't like the booking. I'm not a fan of bad booking in any fashion. I hate it in reality as well as entertainment.

Thinking it over, I'm going to give the divas the benefit of the doubt. I've complained and complained about the divas for years, but after thinking it over, you have to most of the blame on Vince and the "creative team." The good ole days when you had Trish Stratus, Lita, Victoria (Tara), Jazz, Chyna...the divas actually got time. Speaking of Chyna, did y'all see that twerking video? Chyna still on drugs? Anyway, I read that the divas only got 30 seconds on Raw. 30 SECONDS! How can you have employees show off their skill in 30 seconds? Especially in business like wrestling. I do see that the women get time on House Shows or "Live Events", but I'm sure they would want some time in front of the camera other than to be eye candy. I admit, I'm not the biggest Bella Twin fan in the world. I'm a fan of Paige, AJ Lee, Natayla, those who actually had a wrestling past not coming in for a "divas search." Just making a joke of the profession. Granted, search winners like  Layla has gained experience over the years, but seriously tho.

Bryan Danielson aka Daniel Bryan seems to have the Shawn Michaels mentality in that he tries to make every match the best it can be. He made Roman look great at FastLane. It was a good match. Everybody knows Reigns has a lot to improve on, but the talent is there in my opinion. Reigns needs to learn had to follow what the crowd is giving each night. He seems to have script and sticks to it, but with a live audience, you have to make tweaks here and there to make it work better. In church we call it, following the flow of the spirit. If the spirit is leading to something that's not according to the program just follow it. If the live crowd is not liking what the product is producing in the ring then the performers should have the mindset to call an audible to follow the flow of the crowd.

How great is Rusev as a heel? He's the kind of heel JR likes. If you listen to the JR podcast, JR has complained about there's no more real heels in the business. Hopefully he's satisfied with Rusev and Lana. Lana has become one of the better valets of this era. I've heard she's wants to actually work in the ring, but I've also heard because of injuries she can't. Though with this role as a manager/valet, she's doing great business.

Sting and HHH is going to be money. They sold that match so well at FastLane. I'm in agreement with a lot of people when they say that the Sting and HHH segment at FastLane was the best of the night. Sting didn't say a word and still made his point. WWE is already booking Sting better than TNA ever did. As a fan of Sting, it's cool for me to see him in a WWE environment and properly used.

Bray Wyatt's undertaker promo at FastLane was so good. Completely had me fooled. That's the kind of stuff I miss as a wrestling fan. The joy of being surprised. Bray Wyatt came out in a coffin and cut a promo from the casket. It was done so well. Can't say enough about how good that was. A lot going around how old Taker looks now. Well, you can't been the clock folks. It was bound to happen. Now he's dyed his hair and is working out. Now who should go over in that match of Bray vs Undertaker? Bray, but that's just me. Bray is the young guy, Taker has had his time. He's still a HOFer so the streak being over doesn't hurt his legacy at all in my opinion.

All in all the yes the product could be better. Not all is bad, but not all is good either. Vince is old. Triple H is going to have the book soon. It seems like Vince is on his way out the door. Vince would deny that, but you watch the product, it seems that way.

~Daniel Richerson

RAWFUL!

Next week, WWE is going to be competing with Monday Night Football. For a build up to next week show they present to the fans, botchamania. Let's start with my favorite part of the whole show, the highlight wheel. Triple H, adding another W in WWE. Of course being the kind of guy that I am, I had fun with it on my twitter timeline. @big_dusty. You can catch it there.

Through out the night WWE showed vignettes of #GrowingupBella which went over like an atheist joke at a church convention. The story would work, if the performers knew how to work. With Brie and Nikki stinking up the joint literally, why push them in our faces. And with that give Nikki a title shot? Word? That storyline needs to end, it doesn't need the title.When something is not working it's best to nip it and call an audible. To involve quality talent like AJ and Paige in that story is dumb. Beyond dumb, actually.

Best part of the show to me was John Cena showing some attitude. I liked the spot at the end where Cena gave Roman the tag so he could get the win. That was best for business. And Cena getting in HHH's face and AAing Seth Rollins on the table while staring HHH and Stephanie down. Too bad that couldn't save the show. As for the rest of the show I'm going to be honest I didn't really watch because i was watching the Miami Hurricanes lose to Louisville. Bleh.

Going by my timeline on Twitter, the rest of the show wasn't that better. I missed Heyman's promo which I'm sure was epic. Heyman has been the highlight of Raw for months. Anyway, Raw is promoting Michael Sam, first openly gay drafted player for the NFL next week. Also for next week Jericho vs Bray Wyatt in a cage. And Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton. Next week has potential, but one would think they would use this week to build up next week.

This reminds me of bad husbands. That screw up week after week, and when they go to far, they bring chocolates and flowers and do everything right thinking that one thing would fix all the issues. Not so. Do right every time. Maybe that makes too much sense.

~Daniel Richerson

MITB: Cena wins again!

First let's go to the start of the show which was the tag team title match. What a classic this match was. It's awesome to see WWE  put some interest back in the tag teams again. The Usos and the Wyatts started the show with a bang. Rikishi has to be proud of his boys. They were taught well.

Now to a match that I think got under appreciated by the fans. The Divas Championship match. I know this is coming from a guy that has been very critical of the divas division in the past, but I gotta say, Naomi and Paige put on a solid match at Money in the Bank. Cameron playing the part on the outside of the ring is obviously building to a turn. My only issue is that Cameron or Ariane Andrew is kafabing on her instagram account which is not even a gimmick account. It makes no sense, and it tells me she knows nothing about the wrestling business. If you're going to kayfabe at least do it under a gimmick account. Not to mention that the business is so wide open now anyway. So trying to kayfabe in 2014 is not going to be easy to begin with. But again as far as the match itself? Solid match.

Adam Rose vs Paul Revere aka Damien Sandow. This was obviously a filler. I got to give respect to Sandow. Get your money Sandow. This poor guy has been doing some ridiculous things for months now, and yet he still shows up to work everyday. If I can be honest I like the Adam Rose gimmick. He's over with the crowd. Yes he has some growing to do but who doesn't? But I like the road he's taking. Personally. This match was ehh.

Now the Money In The Bank contract match. I have to be honest I really didn't pay attention to this one but from what I did see, it was another classic ladder match in the WWE. The rivalry between Ambrose and Rollins is only just beginning and I think this is going to be the WM main event for years to come. Let me talk about Ambrose for a sec. Ambrose is like a mix of Roddy Piper and the late great Brian Pillman. His promo skills are refreshing. This guy is money in my opinion. Seth Rollins formerly known as Tyler Black has always had "it." I've been a fan of his since his days in Ring of Honor. Seth Rollins in the ring reminds me of CM Punk. His promo skills need work, but again, that will come with time. Rollins wins the MITB.

The Rhodes brothers vs Rybaxel. I don't know how to feel about this Stardust gimmick yet. I can't really say I like or dislike it. But the Rhodes brothers obviously have chemistry. The Rybaxel team's a total waste in my opinion. So was this match, although I did like the spot when Ryback was getting crowd to chant feed me more and Ryback looks at the crowd and sayid, "I still got it."

Big E vs Russev. It happened. what else can I say? I think this whole Russev storyline needs a hero and Big E is not it. Especially with this baptist preacher type promos they got the guy doing now. He's not over at all. Russev is a massive heel and for anyone not to come out as a better face after being in a match with him is pathetic. Lana is great at what she does. Even though she's from Florida she's doing the Russian gimmick. Nobody has pointed that out yet. But nevertheless.

I will discuss the backstage segment with the Bellas and Stephanie McMahon. Talk about a build up! When Stephanie and Brie finally clash, it will good in my opinion. Not just because Stephanie and Brie are attractive....

Layla vs Summer Rae....

Now we get to the WWE World Championship ladder match. Why they haven't combined the belts yet, and yes I said belts, is beyond me. But this match was a good one. Roman Reigns became a bigger star because of this match. Kane playing the role of lapdog is an embarrassment of sorts, but get your money Kane. The home crowd advantage wasn't really an advantage for Cena. Not breaking news but I think it's worth pointing out. Also we got some color from Randy Orton. Blood if you will. That's a win, right? Cena ends up winning the match, and the internet wrestling community loses it's mind. Cena winning again is not the end of the world ladies and gents. Cena believe it or not is actually good at what he does. Yes I wish he cut more serious promos, but he has to give this boss who's stuck in the 80s what he wants. Cena gets a reaction and that's basically all you can ask from a performer on the main roster of the WWE.

All in all it wasn't a perfect show but it wasn't the worst show either. It was much better than last year's which isn't really saying much, but still.