Can the cruiserweight classic change wrestling or wwe is catching on

 Braun strowman is a mountain of a man. To look at him is to see a physical specimen unlike most men. The big show is a spectacle to be seen. He could be picked out of any crowd solely based on his mass. Wwe has built its legacy mostly on the broad shoulders of larger than life size and strength of superheroes and monsters. There will always be a place for body wrestlers and big guys in mainstream pro wrestling but on the wwe network a different style is being showcased and receiving rave reviews from its fan base.
The cruiserweight classic exclusively on the wwe network is creating a shift on how wwe fans look at sports entertainment.  A 32 man international tournament is showcasing speed, technique, high risk and most importantly the character of sub 205 pound wrestlers who are performing high quality and psychological matches where each is better than the last. The strong style of japan, Mexican lucha, European catch are being melded into a wwe style of action and production could change the landscape of raw on Mondays and smackdown on Tuesdays. 
On Monday nitro WCW featured faceless luchadors doing a lot of random moves while the announcers talked about everything but the match in the ring. The cruiserweight division in WCW was clearly just a time filler and was rendered useless. The mismanagement of the smaller guys caused the leaving of future stars like eddy guerrero, Chris benoit, Dean malenko and Chris Jericho while WCW imploded from the inside out.
The cruiserweight classic has opened the door for the return of a cruiserweight division on raw. What is the major differences between wwe beginning this division and how WCW squandered it almost 20 years ago? First, triple h believes in this batch of lightweights; which is probably most important and secondly,  these cruiserweights are a far cry from faceless. These cruiserweights are having their stories told, backgrounds given and being allowed to showcase not only what they can do in the ring but also their distinct personalities. The crowds will know who they are be allowed to get behind individuals and have a vested interest in the talent squaring off in the ring. The tournament features wrestlers like Kota ibushi an incredible bona-fide star from Japan who has competed in ddt, Noah and new japan pro wrestling; zack sabre Jr a brilliant mat technician with a master level for reversals and grappling who has competed in Noah, wxw, new japan and pro wrestling guerrilla. Gran metalik with his superb lucha Libre style of high flying expressed in cmll in Mexico as well as TJ Perkins who may be best know as suicide and manik in tna wrestling was really not given the freedom to showcase all of his ability. Perkins has an indy style that blends all styles and does so with an American arrogance that keeps the crowd on the edge of their seats. Of the 32 combatants at least 25 of them are high level wrestling studs who utilize all the advantages of being under 205 pounds but demand the attention of any top heavyweight while entertaining any pro wrestling audience.
If wwe uses this cruiserweight opportunity to its fullest not only will raw have quality matches to fill part of a 3 hour raw but will also be able to easily create a fresh wrestling scene on its flagship show that could potentially build an audience. Wwe is being given a gift on a silver platter with multiple finely tuned veteran performers with unique talents and personalities and a ready made division that is made to keep fans on their feet and interested. Gone should be the dead skits that lull the live and tv audience to sleep or shaking their heads and arrived will be a fun energetic shot of adrenaline during a tough to fill three hours of sports entertainment.
Please, please, please wwe allow the new cruiserweight division to be what it should be: high quality in ring action that will blow the audience away, edge of your seat back and forth near falls that will have the fans ooohhhing and awwwing and it will be so fun to watch. Take advantage of this opportunity and make wrestling fun for the entire audience the way it should be. The pendulum is swinging in the wwe with champions like aj styles and Kevin owens.  I believe wwe should continue the changing of the guard while still focusing on the heavyweights but allow the cruiserweights to push wwe in its new direction where sports entertainment is more about character driven high quality in ring wrestling that fans can attach themselves too; but that is just this marks remarks.
That is just this marks remarks and if you like what I have to say or you would like to tell me what you think please subscribe to this blog, like the Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/amarkremarks and follow on twitter @amarkremarks thank you very much and please keep supporting.

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Is anyone watching tna or should anyone be watching tna

Coming off a wwe raw on Monday that had several long poorly executed and written terribly skits between gallows, Anderson, new day, sasha banks, Nia Jax and Alicia fox at times you felt there has to be an alternative to this.

What if there was a wrestling show that was simple but effective that focused on in ring work with well timed and properly executed promos? What if there was a gritty edgy wrestling show that had continuity to its storylines and built stars with programs that captivated an audience? Tna impact is not the answer. Holy smokes is it not the answer. But; it should be, it could be. Tna has the ability to be a legitimate mainstay number 2 brand in North America but they are in an interesting gray area where the mainstream doesn't know them and the die hard fan base doesn't appreciate them like they do some major indy or international wrestling promotions.
The very first thing I would do if I was tasked with fixing tna impact is separating my product as much as I pull from the name tna wrestling. The name is stupid, it was a cheap and juvenile way to draw attention to itself at the brands inception. All of this time later not only is it still stupid but it is now attached to so much failure and embarrassment that literally any name (wrestling related) would be an improvement. The name is tainted and it is tainting the product. But, how do you just change the name? Easily. Bound for glory, tna's only current pay per view, that will be headlined by the champion Bobby Lashley versus EC3. Bobby Lashley wins the match to retain the title when Billy Corgan, real president of the company, enters the ring and demands the tna championship. He then states that starting right now tna is dead and this title dies with it. We gladly bury that name and tonight crown Bobby Lashley the very first impact pro wrestling heavyweight champion. This scene could be similar to Shane Douglas throwing down the nwa title to inaugurate extreme championship wrestling and it's first champion. Change all the television graphics,  websites and merchandise to reflect impact pro wrestling and never look back from tna, ever.
Monday night raw averages approximately  3 plus million viewers per week, smackdown averages slightly less on Tuesday nights. Both shows have the power of the wwe machine behind them with rosters full of worldwide well known superstars.  Tna is on the pop tv network, which is not in HD, and averages a little more then 300,000 viewers weekly. The show features a handful of known commodities like Bobby Lashley, drew Galloway  and the re-energized and revamped broken hardy brothers. The roster is rounded off with a mixture of "tna mainstays" and young performers with potential. Tna has to accept the fact that they are not wwe and when they attempt to be wwe they are a bad version of the worst of wwe. Trying to out-circus the circus has been a failing formula for them for years. However, based on what is really trending highly right now with the die hard fan base such as cruiserweight classic tournament, nxt, new japan perhaps impact should look to be a more old school gritty wrestling show. Make the performers less cartoonish and take a darker more real approach with characters and storylines, it seems like no acts are more over than Broken Matt Hardy and Brother Nero who are certainly dark and twisted.  Also liked are the decay which is a very dark team and all of the success of champion Bobby Lashley is based on him being "real" and legitimate.  So, why not offer more product like this?  I don't want tna to do more of the final deletion videos because while entertaining those will be very easy to overdo and make unwatchable. But, perhaps more characters that are themselves turned up or feuds and rivalries based on realistic situations that can focus on and enhance the in ring ability I don't believe that could hurt this product.  With only 300,000 plus viewers there is an opportunity to grow tna even among the die hard fans and offering a simplier, more direct story with physical and psychological in ring work could bring the wrestling fans back to the brand.
Reports indicate that tna is in a better financial situation than previous times, which is great, they need to spend the added investment money to better the brand.  The production value of the show has to be made better.  People won't care about your product until it seems important and it won't seem important until it looks top notch.  The lighting, the arena, the camera production all have to give off the perception that tna is professional and a big deal because soon enough perception is reality.  So many people trash tna without even watching it anymore because they saw enough of the low rate over produced ridiculousness before that they will always equate that to tna.  Don Draper once said, "if you don't like what people are talking about then change the conversation".  Tna needs to change the conversation and the best way to do this is improve the production by presenting something that people will equate quality with.  Also, the commentary on the impact show is hurting the show. 

DeAngelo Dinero is not a commentator and Josh Mathews cannot lead a team.  He loses control of Pope (who is awful) and comes across like not only does he have something better to do but he might be doing it while announcing.  He is so handicapped by Pope and doesn't have the ability to make the two of them a fluent tandem, his emotion seems so fake and phoned in, he doesn't help the matches flow together to tell a story (in his defense not all matches in tna do that) and from what I understand he is texting and tweeting while doing commentary!  Which is the best way to describe him as a commentator: it seems like he is texting and tweeting during his job; like he is distant and distracted from what he is supposed to be doing and it effects his ability to even sub par work.  But, what are the options at commentator for tna?  I really don't think jim ross is interested but if you wanted to go with an outsider what about Joey Styles?  Styles is a cult favorite who has tons of energy and emotion specializes in calling the action in the ring and lends credibility to the brand.  A Joey Styles commentated show is probably more enjoyable than a non Joey Styles commentated show, especially in tna with a product he can get behind.  Is Mike Tenay still with the company?  Remember that tna had a completely serviceable lead commentator that they put on the shelf for Josh Mathews?  Tenay called the action and led the broadcast in a very safe way but his name and knowledge gave credibility to what you were watching.  He would be an excellent choice especially given the right color man to go back and forth with.  Color commentators?  What about Al Snow?  The guy knows the brand, knows the product, knows the business and has proven he can be a character.  I feel he may not have as many goofy catchphrases as Dinero but can be twice as entertaining and has the ability to offer insight that would add to the match which may help someone get over.  If you wanted to stay in house for a lead commentator why not Jeremy Borash? Borash has a more intimate understanding of the brand than anyone else, he understands the characters, he is a neutral voice who has an inexpiable passion for tna, he can work with almost anyone and does a really good job. 

Jeremy Borash replacing Josh Mathews would be a huge improvement that would make television better but I also bet would get the wrestlers over, stories over and brand over so much more than currently.  If your new broadcast team is Jeremy Borash and Al Snow tna has spent zero extra dollars to improve their show (and they already did it by leaps and bounds) but they have to spend that money on the talent roster.  The roster is not terrible but needs more familiar faces even for the die hard fans and the talent is out there.  Wrestling Observer reported that Cody Rhodes has brokered a deal (not a contract) that allows him to work bot TNA and ROH television.  This is excellent news for fans if tna is not afraid to broker more of these deals, but get them in writing.  If I had my way, which I don't, I would try to convince ROH and TNA to merge; if these two companies combined resources they would have the perfect mix of serious technical grapplers, characters, comic relief and so much athletic talent that the sky could be the limit on the potential that brand could have.  Maybe, with this

Cody Rhodes deal, ROH and TNA would be willing to work together a little bit.  With the addition of Cody Rhodes, recently added Aron Rex (Damien Sandow) I would probably go after wrestlers that have not been with wwe for a little while.  I would look at guys like Carlito, Chris Masters, and people that didn't sign deals with wwe during the CWC (to bolster the x division) offering them non-exclusive contracts so they pay can be less and the talent doesn't feel like they are being slighted.  I would also really try to bring back MVP, I know he left tna for certain reasons, but MVP is a big time talent that has wrestled all over the world for the biggest promotions and has a multitude of knowledge to offer young wrestlers.  He can still work, his name still has a lot of value, he can teach and he does a podcast, the VIP Lounge that gets exposure nationwide.  I would offer MVP the keys to the castle from a future perspective and use him as in ring talent first but try to also transition into behind the scenes production and creative. 

MVP has seen a lot of changes in pro wrestling and seems to be ahead of the curve socially and has a head for the wrestling business.  I would offer a similar deal to Tommy Dreamer suggesting that he wrestle as he wants but would try to transition his house of hardcore as a developmental brand for tna so that they can start creating a farm system to continually build their future.  Dreamer seems like a very smart guy and could offer young up and coming guys seasoning to be ready for the main brand, just like nxt without training wrestlers.  Which leads to bringing back Bully Ray to television being he was the most over character in the last several years.  Give bully the freedom to be Bully Ray and let him end his career as a top guy.  Also, allow the Dudley Boys to create a pipeline from their wrestling school to tna.  It seems to make sense that someone may train at the Dudley's school, gain experience at House of Hardcore and eventually debut in tna already knowing the systems, expectations and nuances of the promotion.  TNA needs to use these veterans in the wrestling world (beyond my few suggestions) as behind the scene decision makers and creative minds because they came up at a time where wrestlers had freedom to learn what worked and what didn't work, had the passengers seat to the decision making and brand building of ecw, wcw and wwe at each brands zenith of success. That is a resource that a lot of wrestlers share and I believe; based on interviews, perspective and reading, that the right guys have the ability to run a successful major wrestling brand.  Tna needs to tap into that to create something special that will pull fans to their product and get they could get behind it.  I would, however, put proven executives in executive non-wrestling positions.
The current creative, production and delivery of the tna brand needs adjusted.  As massive as that sounds i don't think it is far fetched to fix and probably fairly soon.  TNA doesn't really have house shows and only runs one live pay per view a year.  All they have to focus on is television.  So, you refocus the creative on simpler more realistic story that are meant to develop over time and build towards big shows.  Allow certain aspects of the story to live organically and then react to the natural direction that the talent is given the freedom to take it.  Allow the wrestlers to be wrestlers not actors.  Give them bullet points and give them opportunities to get over with the crowd based on who they are and how believable they are.  Giving freedom to wrestlers allows them to sink or swim; work with the sinkers and showcase the swimmers.  Tighten up the in ring action by producing matches that do not push everyone towards crash and burn after crash and burn.  Tna wrestles for the replays when they should be wrestling for the memorable match.  Generate matches that tell stories, create emotion and allow the audience to be invested in everyone involved; not just your move now my move now your move and i dive then you dive and then film it like it is special.  Like every week instead of tuning into a show I am watching an event. Focus on everything making sense and building so by the end of the match the crowd was emotionally invested and want to see the particular performers involved not just any other guy doing flips.  Lastly, tna needs better television exposure!  In the worst way.

  I'm sure there are a lot of people that see pop tv as a good channel but tna needs to be on a reputable network to seem like a reputable wrestling promotion.  I'm glad tna is able to be on tv but if anyone is satisfied with them being on pop tv then that person should be given up on and not part of the future.  Being on that channel is embarrassing, being cancelled by Destination America is embarrassing, and frankly, tna can't afford anymore embarrassment.  Someone should be working around the clock to get on a channel that people recognize that could offer them a good lead in and people are able to find so they can watch regularly.
  If it feels like a big deal then the audience will believe it is a big deal, if the commentators make it sound like a big deal the audience will believe it is a big deal and if the brand makes the fans believe it is a big deal then it will actually be a big deal.  I would build my tv following establishing a firm viewership growth before considering a traveling show but that has to become a goal.  Aside from the revenue source house shows make you seem like a commodity that people are interested in and a great way to gauge the level of interest in performers and stories without crashing and burning on television.  Finally, the ultimate goal has to be getting back to at least quarterly pay per views.  Pay per views that can draw an audience creating a buzz for the next show and the next show.  If in 5 years tna is putting on 12 live pay per views per year and there is interest that would be a true triumph.  Tna success will certainly not happen overnight but the ship needs righted and it doesn't seem that incredibly far fetched that it could happen; but that is just this mark's remarks.

That is just this marks remarks and if you like what I have to say or you would like to tell me what you think please subscribe to this blog, like the Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/amarkremarks and follow on twitter @amarkremarks thank you very much and please keep supporting.

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The curious case of brock lesnar

Brock Lesnar is a special attraction in professional wrestling. He is chiseled out of granite, he is a legit bad ass and his performances have a big event feel. Lesnar came on the scene destroying guys left and right throwing around massive men with cat like quickness. His meteoric rise within the ranks of wwe was that of no other man. Brock had the ncaa championship pedigree with Goliath like strength and a George Nada kick ass attitude.
He was clearly the next big thing in professional wrestling. Until, he decided not to be. Lesnar was not suited for road life with all of its ups and downs tempting all of its "demons". So, he quit. Lesnar gave his notice going into a huge match with Bill goldberg, who was also finishing up wwe, at wrestlemania 20. Goldberg versus lesnar was the irresistable force taking on the immovable object but the crowd, knowing both men were leaving, never gave the match a chance and the epic battle that could have been became an infamous gaff at wrestlemania.

Lesnar tried football not playing since high school and was the final cut player of the Minnesota Vikings. He wrestled in Japan with limited motivation and won the iwgp title mainly because of his look and reputation but wasn't long for trips to japan. Then brock lesnar found ufc and even with a debut loss people were pretty certain this guy would find some success inside of the octagon. Lesnar decimated heath hearring, overwhelmed randy couture, destroyed frank mir and withstood Shane carwin.  Brock was chiseled out of granite could seemingly take people down controlling them at will and becoming one of ufc's most marketable stars. Unfortunately, a contest against Cain Velazquez and a very dangerous life threatening battle with diverticulitis ended his mma career. Immediately after brock announced his retirement after a loss to Alistair overeem the buzz began about a wwe return.

Lesnar made a triumphant return to wwe Monday night raw after wrestlemania 29 and has become a destroyer ever since.  He has left superstars like John cena, triple h, the Undertaker,  Roman Reigns and most recently randy Orton in a heap as lesnar stood victorious. In a typical brock lesnar match the crowd goes bananas for the spectacle that is the beast incarnate welcoming his prey to suplex city. Lesnar brings a real feel to each of his matches as was proven when he cut randy Orton wide open, hard way, with a stiff elbow shot. Lesnar, who tried his best to protect Orton left a gash in Randy's head that needed 10 staples to close up. However, the reaction I saw after the summerslam match was a need for something new from brock lesnar. It seemed like people are beginning to sour on the prototypical brock match of suplex, suplex, suplex, suplex, suplex, suplex, suplex, suplex and f5 for the win. Randy Orton is a top star representing one half of the newly separated brands and he got almost no offense what so ever and was made to look like a meager bum against raw's beast. Plus, lesnar then f5'ed the commissioner of the smackdown brand leaving raw to look far superior to the smackdown brand, which needs to appear strong. The question has to be asked is brock lesnar's shelf life coming to an end? If the answer is yes then wwe has to use lesnar's next big time challenge (wrestlemania) as a means to create a new major star. Lesnar had to be signed by wwe with the intention to build a new big time guy, lesnar has been booked starting at wrestlemania when broke the streak to build a new big time guy and a win over lesnar would certainly build a new big time guy. Everyone has a suggestion as to who should receive the big win and I am no different. Seth Rollins is an established top guy, Roman Reigns is an established top guy and with Kevin owens just winning the universal championship he will quickly become an established top guy. I believe the win should be given to someone who can gain the most; a guy who has the experience to handle the big win but is also unestablished to the wwe universe while also being believable and real so that the wwe universe will accept as a legitimate entity. Samoa joe is the best and most deserving challenger to defeat brock lesnar. A motivated joe can be credible, big enough and agile enough to match up with brock making it an epic battle. Samoa joe has the ability to handle the physicality of brock and believability to topple the conqueror. Samoa joe will step directly into the new monster role creating fresh match ups in the wwe with guys joe has already had high profile matches with on the independent and international level. Brock Lesnar does have a shelf life and I believe with his ped usage found in the ufc, the info of his special treatment being discovered as well as his act in wwe reaching a plateau the time to pull the trigger on a lesnar loss catapulting a challenger to the top of the card. Samoa joe is the guy, the time and venue is wrestlemania. The match would be a huge spectacle and the result would help change the landscape of the wwe for the future allowing samoa joe to end his career where he belongs: a top spot on the biggest professional wrestling promotion in the world; but, that's  just this mark's remarks.

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Summerslam preview or what should happen at Summerslam

The wwe is offering us Summerslam next weekend and the card is stacked!  It is expected to be four plus hours of pro wrestling and the matches top to bottom range from should be excellent to at least good.  Summerslam also offers the rare occasion to really elevate some big names into top guy territory with correct booking.  This eleven match card has the potential to really help the wwe landscape and the outcomes necessary to do so seem very possible.
Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton 15 years in the making:

This is the second 15 years in the making match this year (styles v cena) but wwe is really hyping this up to be an event.  Brock Lesnar should win to stay strong for a more important opponent (see samoa joe) but Randy Orton has to give the perception in this match like he could beat the beast.  I think this match should see your typical lesnar destruction early and have orton be resilient.  Keep fighting and fighting and fighting while lesnar keeps dominating and dominating and dominating.  Everyone loves a hero that never gives up, Orton should build momentum and set Lesnar up for the punt; which would almost certainly put down the conqueror, only to have lesnar catch him with a F5 outta no where for the win.  The announcers must do a terrific job of reminding the audience that Brock Lesnar won but Orton was closer than anyone to beating the beast.  It keeps lesnar strong by winning and destroying Randy but also makes Orton look strong by standing up to Brock and holding his own.  This match should be a win for both men if done right and the announcers tell the right story.
Seth Rollins vs Finn Balor to determine the first WWE Universal champion:

Seth Rollins is the man.  He is great. Probably pound for pound the best wrestler wwe has (or styles or nakamura or... well you get it).  But, as per Raw, tonight will be the debut of Finn Balor's demon king.  He will be dawning his body paint, awesome entrance and his killer instinct.  This means that Finn Balor has to win.  Finn Balor should win.  I think wwe should have saved the debut of "the demon king" for the pay per view but the match will far overshadow the mistakes this build has made. Two guys will become superstars but this is wwe's chance to really create a new top guy in balor and him reigning triumphant will be a great stamp on the "new era" of Monday night raw.
Dean ambrose vs Dolph ziggler for the world heavyweight championship:

Dean ambrose as a champion has made hay as world champion on smackdown live. He has become legitimate and should be seen as a real top guy. Dolph ziggler has been given a second chance of his wrestling career. He went from mid card enhancement to number one contender and I believe people bought into it. I do not see ziggler winning but I see these two guys putting on a very great match. I foresee ziggler putting it all on the line and maybe losing by something that wasn't his fault pushing him to turn heel and becoming a Shawn Michaels type heel that will probably lead to a big time face turn at some point. This match has to be excellent because if Dolph isn't excellent then this storyline doesn't work. Ziggler has the most at stake for this show and I hope he succeeds but if he is just good I think he will fall back to the mid cards.

Sasha banks vs Charlotte for the women's title:
These two ladies put on an excellent television match on raw a few weeks ago. They have excellent chemistry and there was a high level of emotion during that match. I am not sure that they will be able to top their TV match but I am hoping they can at least match it with a different dynamic being that Sasha is the champion. I hope they can have Sasha win while Charlotte stays strong because these two women are the top of the line of that division. If Charlotte wins it opens the door for bayley to debut but Sasha banks is due a long title run so I believe it is her time to retain.
John cena vs aj styles:

John cena doesn't have bad matches on big shows. Summerslam is a really big show. Aj styles is the best wrestler in wwe (maybe the world). This match is going to be incredible. The crowd will be so hot for it, the story is going to be excellent and the in ring will be top notch. The most exciting part of the match is that aj styles will win. John cena is the face that's runs the place who claims the future goes through him; at summerslam he is facing the right guy to beat him. What cena represents as the flag bearer of the company who is ready to pass the torch is finally, after all the attempts and fails (some unreasonable, see bray wyatt) will face the guy who deserves to beat John cena. Aj styles will be crowned the top heel at summerslam when he beats John cena clean in the middle of the ring. Styles should have a break out calendar year starting with summerslam where he will be the top guy on smackdown and it's champion. All of this starts by beating John cena and the crowd will go wild. Oddly enough this will probably also mark the turning point where the fans stop hating John cena for no reason and respect him for what he means to pro wrestling. By him losing to styles the wwe universe will finally praise him for "doing the right thing" even though he has been a positive staple of wwe for years.

Summerslam is a stacked show with very high expectations to be a tremendous show. There should be a lot of positives that come out of this show creating a lot of momentum for wwe moving forward. The only negative of the show is bray wyatt is not featured on the show at all and I really believe the time is now to push him through the roof but I will be happy if wwe does what is needed and summerslam weekend ends with superstars made, elevated and motivated to propel wwe into the new era.

That is just this marks remarks and if you like what I have to say or you would like to tell me what you think please subscribe to this blog, like the Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/amarkremarks and follow on twitter @amarkremarks thank you very much and please keep supporting.

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NXT stays strong or how to run a promotion

Following the brand split and draft one thing became abundantly clear: the nxt roster will be changing drastically. Finn balor, American alpha, Mojo rawley (who cares), Alexa bliss, Carmela and Nia Jax all got drafter to raw or smackdown during the draft; bayley is only a matter of time. Samoa joe and nakamura have to counting down the days and I feel the revival is not far behind either. Not to mention sami zayn before and Apollo crews, Enzo and Cass, the vaudevillains and baron corbin were called up right after wrestlemania. That is 19 potential known commodities leaving nxt within four months. That would cripple just about any major television wrestling brand to its core; however, nxt just rolls along without missing a beat.

They are using samoa joe, shinsuke nakamura and bayley the best they can but, more importantly, what they are doing is bring in fresh faces behind all of the top talent. Austin aries arrived and is making no way jose seem legitimate, American alpha put of author's of pain very strong, Bobby roode was introduced seemingly being put at the top of the card, wrestlers like Johnny Gargano, Tommaso chiampa, ty dillinger, Andrade almas are being featured now. They have completely rolled over the entire women's division aside from bayley and Asuka successfully. Not to mention hideo itami has come back. Finally, with the success of the cruiserweight classic I'm sure some of the wrestlers will join nxt before starting on raw.  Nxt managed to refill almost their entire roster seamlessly and successfully. As a wrestling fan for a long time I have never seen a roster turn done so well. To have so much talent leave without a let down on the show speaks volumes of the strategy of focus on top guys while building the under card so that everyone is ready to step up as the top stars are elevated to the main roster. The amount of focus on featuring the mid card guys so they are constantly growing and progressing is remarkable. Why is this strategy not being used at the main roster level is beyond me. While Undertaker, Bret hart and Shawn Michaels carried the main events performers like Steve Austin,  triple h and The Rock honed their craft en route to being the next top stars. This worked with stars like Jericho, angle, edge, guerrero, batista, Randy Orton and John cena! Then it kind of stopped, unexplicably.

NXT has resurfaced this archaic strategy and it is working like a charm. The perfect mixture of building stars with established veterans and time to develop characters, grow as performers and hone their skills before they are rushed to main events before they are ready makes NXT easy must see television.
Could you imagine if raw was focusing on Seth rollins challenging Finn balor and Roman Reigns versus rusev while also allowing cesaro, owens and zayn to build legitimate credibility instead of lousy win some lose some meaningless stuff that gets no one over? So, when the main events inevitably become stale they can rotate guys in and out and the fan base actually believes it to be viable. What a wonderful wrestling world it would be. If cesaro finally got to challenge Seth rollins or Finn balor for the universal championship and it actually meant something the product would be so much more interesting and entertaining. Imagine if you didn't know for certain who was going to win a royal rumble because wwe was able to have multiple established bona-fide challengers involved in the match. It would be incredible! It's not impossible, nxt shows you how to do it every week. And, amazingly, nxt is a very good show most all the time. 

Are you not watching nxt, yet? You should be. It is easy to watch and a tremendous show. NXT is a great reminder of how good wrestling can be, how simple cohesive stories and quality in ring wrestling can produce great wrestling shows that are just so good. Summerslam will be the biggest wrestling event of the summer in North America but nxt takeover: Brooklyn will likely be the better performance of that weekend. It will have all the emotion, drama and athleticism of summerslam without the convoluted mish mash that pro wrestling has become.

That is just this marks remarks and if you like what I have to say or you would like to tell me what you think please subscribe to this blog, like the Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/amarkremarks and follow on twitter @amarkremarks thank you very much and please keep supporting.

Ambrose becomes legitimate or good guys on smackdown?

Dean ambrose cut a promo on smackdown to start the show that cemented him as a legitimate leader of the the smackdown roster. Ambrose had a cadence to his promo and a control over the crowd that resembled that of a prime dusty rhodes. I'm not saying that ambrose is on the level of Rhodes but that he cut a big time promo on Dolph ziggler that both elevated the champion and helped set the tone for an important smackdown main event at summerslam. Ambrose built himself up as fighter who constantly look adversity in the face and ran through every road block. He mentioned how ziggler was a complainer and used the crutch of people holding him down while ambrose never made excuses always pushing forward fighting to get to the top. Ambrose made himself feel like a true champion and a deserving top star, even it is on the "b show". I was very leary of ambrose being the face of the brand being that John cena will start slowly stepping back. However, Dean ambrose on the second smackdown of the new era made himself a legitimate top star based on the way he carried himself and conveyed an aura over the crowd. 
 

Dolph ziggler was ran down by ambrose as the guy who makes excuses, gets held down, doesn't focus on winning, only tries to pander to fans and steal the show. Ziggler tried to compare himself to ambrose with little success and was thwarted at every turn by the current champion. Ziggler talked about no one believing him and proving people wrong. The problem with this exchange is that ambrose was right about everything he said, all of his points about ziggler were right on the money and Dolph has really been set up for a few years as a second rate contender. Ziggler has been used to elevate guys and has lost quite a few (a lot) matches on television. So becoming a number one contender on smackdown is out of left field and doesn't seem that he should win the title. Therefore, based on the promos and Dolph saying everyone is against him ziggler should turn heel after he loses to ambrose at summerslam. Ziggler is a better "bad guy" than "good guy", it is a more natural fit for his attitude appearance. Dolph can be a chicken shit heel with no problem, he can take the heel bumps with no problem, and should be able to be disliked with no problem. During his career he has found more success as a cocky villain then being the sympathetic hero. His style will also be helped by working as a heel because it will force him to slow down, do less moves and sell.  Changing sides could potentially resurrect his career from being just another mid card guy to being a top tier rogue.
But, if ziggler turns (which is the better option) who is left on the good guy side of smackdown? Holy smokes will that roster be thin on hero's especially if cena becomes less of the focus. You'll have dean ambrose, who is a top guy, and then... Apollo crews? Smackdown does have randy Orton who is coming back hot but he is wrestling brock lesnar at summerslam and the odds of him looking strong at the end of that match are slim. So the top faces on smackdown will be ambrose, cena (becoming part time), Orton and crews? Those house shows will be something. The villain side would become aj styles, bray wyatt, ziggler, miz, and corbin. Aj styles may be the best wrestler in the wwe and bray wyatt could still be a very special type of villain but smackdown shaking up the sides really showcases how the brand split and draft did smackdown no favors to not be the best show. 

Smackdown needs more bodies, quality fan favorites that the wwe universe can get behind. The only guy in nxt that could walk in and be a top hero, immediately,  in shinsuke nakamura. Like, right now. He has charisma to spare, he is an international superstar and a great in ring performer. He is learning English very well and has that swagger in the squared circle that transcends language. Plus, he is fresh to the brand. Every feud he would have on smackdown would be new, unique and refreshing to the wwe audience. Nakamura could be and should be the savior of the brand because he solves a lot of current problems with depth, to many die hard he is a huge name and his styles lends itself to gaining popularity quickly.
If not nakamura to smackdown  (which I don't see in the immediate future) wwe will have to rely on bringing back older stars that are already established. Rumors are always circulating about Kurt angle and bill goldberg which would be a band-aid on the problem but does not benefit the brand long term. Now, if they use the older "legends" as a feature act while they build middle guys to become stars then that is a different story but history shows that doesn't happen  consistently. Smackdown is a work in progress. Hopefully they recognize the issues of top tier talent,  especially on the face side, and remedy the problem. The shows so far have been pretty good but if they want two "a shows" they need to start building likeable stars to become top baby faces otherwise a lot of these shows will revolve around the same stuff week in and week out and really expose a weak roster. I don't have an issue with Apollo crews or even zack Ryder being considered relevant faces but wwe will have to build them to that point. Nakamura is the key, in my opinion, but success will happen over time; which could prove to be smackdown live's toughest opponent. 

That is just this marks remarks and if you like what I have to say or you would like to tell me what you think please subscribe to this blog, like the Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/amarkremarks and follow on twitter @amarkremarks thank you very much and please keep supporting.

A New Era of WWE or How Wrestling Could Change

The WWE's brand split and roster drafts had come and gone, most people accepted it with little fanfare and focused on how the draft had been done before.  It flopped then and it will flop again they said.  Too many titles they said.  Not enough stars they said.  But, something crazy happened on the way to Monday Night Raw this week.  I was in attendance at the show with my best friend and his 13 year old daughter.  She, so politely, asked me what had been going on because she was more caught up with Total Diva's then the recent episodes of Raw and Smackdown.  As I looked her in the eyes I told her a lie, I told her that this will be different then previous weeks because they separated shows and now there is a Raw roster and a Smackdown roster.  I explained what a great time it was to get back into focusing on the shows because it will be all new.  I didn't believe it would be all new, I kind of expected the same Raw formula from every other week just with less guys.  But, something crazy happened on Raw this week...

 Raw was live from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the show delivered.  Big time!  WWE used this brand split as a reset point and in one night laid out major plans for the future of the brand, created a new superstar and solidified a division ready to break out.  It was as impactful a Raw as I can remember in a long time.  Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon and GM Mick Foley announcing that two fatal four way matches would take place to determine the number one contender to the number one contender Seth Rollins to crown the first ever WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion at Summerslam.  The contestants were announced as Jericho, Cesaro, Rusev, Owens, Zayn, Sheamus, Roman Reigns and then Finn Balor and as he was announced he slid his way from the back of the crowd into the forefront of the stage and there was an eruption in the crowd.  A sensation went over the live crowd as if something special was about to take place.  Finn Balor!?! All of a sudden Raw had a feel like something new was happening.  Now Raw was going to be highlighted by Kevin Owens, Sammy Zayn, and Cesaro combined with the seasoning of Chris Jericho (who has never been better), Rusev and Sheamus.  But, Roman Reigns would clearly be the winner when it was all said and done going on to face Seth Rollins, again, at Summerslam.  Ho hum, the more things change the more they stay the same I guess.  Well, an odd thing happened on the way to the end of Raw this week; wwe did it all correct.  Finn Balor won an excellent four way to earn a spot in the nights main event taking on Roman Reigns.  Here it comes, the match where Reigns beats the new guy and takes his sit on the throne of his own empire.  But, that isn't what happened.  Raw ended with Roman Reigns, the heir apparent, getting pinned clean in the middle of the ring.  Pinned.  Clean.  In the middle.  You could hear the collective breath being taken away from the wrestling die hards and casual fans alike as they had just seen a star created in one night.  A star you could get behind, a change that you could get behind. 

Finn Balor won the main event on Raw over Roman Reigns.  This is the biggest move that WWE could have made to make the statement that they are ready for change.  The future is on its way.  Raw featured four very good wrestling matches all of which had championship ramifications and all of which delivered at a high level.  Raw also peppered in some squash matches to emphasize some of its new, and not ready for prime time, performers as well as entertaining interview segments and for the most part was a home run.  It was a very easy to watch and enjoyable three hours.  However, the Finn Balor stuff may have not even been the best action of the night.

Welcome back to women's wrestling!  Sasha Banks and Charlotte put the new crop of young, beautiful and talented women where they belonged in wrestling on Raw.  Banks and Charlotte had an emotionally charged and action packed wrestling match that solidified a division that is ready to take the next step into not being women's wrestling but just being seen as wrestling!  These two girls, who may be stand outs but are hardly the only capable wrestlers in the women's division, worked so hard while putting their bodies on the line for the sake of women's wrestling.  They were not divas or models or wearing their bras and panties; they were high quality professional wrestlers telling a story in the ring that created a roller coaster of emotion for the WWE universe.  Make no mistake, this was hot shotting a title change to create buzz for Raw's new era, but was the perfect type of hot shot because everything was made better for it.  A ton of eyeballs saw Raw give the deserved time to two women who busted their butts to put on an amazingly entertaining match.  Would the title change have meant more at Summerslam?  Maybe.  But having the women's title change hands like this on Raw may have meant more for the credibility of how WWE sees it's women performers and just how good those performers are. Sasha Banks delivered an emotional promo holding the title after the match and there was no question how much that moment meant to her.

Something awesome happened during Raw last monday.  As I stated I went with one of my best friends and his daughter.  While my friend used to be a die hard he really isn't anymore, his daughter likes wrestling but it is clearly not her life let alone one of her favorite hobbies; but she likes it.  Neither really knew who Finn Balor was, they were only slightly more familiar with Enzo and Big Cass and she is a bigger Total Diva's fan then of a divas revolution.  However, by the end of the show she gladly shouted "new...day rocks", "How you doin'?", she went bananas when Sasha Banks won the title clearly stating she was the boss and by the end of the night this 13 year old girl casual fan knew exactly when to throw her arms in the air like Finn Balor and the rest of the die hard wrestling fans.  She couldn't wait for the next show she could attend as she tried to convince her dad to take her to Summerslam in New York.
The new talent is being showcased on weekly television, there is still a large crop of talent in NXT ready to be added to the main roster (both male and female), most importantly the casual fans and young fans can and will get behind them.  Perhaps WWE is right this is the dawning of a new era; one that satisfies the whole WWE universe.  An era where they have the performers to showcase and the talent all fans can support.  If WWE keeps offering product like this then it will be a great time to be a wrestling fan, but that's just this marks remarks.
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