Tuesday, September 2, 2014

raw is wary / cautious handling of John Cena

This edition of Monday night raw was the last episode before the return of NFL football, it also fell on labor day. Wwe raw was cautious to make any big moves creatively because labor day raw typically doesn't have the viewership of other raw television shows, because of this, wwe gave its fans a program that didn't offer much and fell short most of the show.  The show at its best times was flat and really poor at its worst but there was something to be noticed on this Raw that speaks volumes to me as a fan.  WWE has its largest crop of potential stars in probably 12 years right now.  Be it on Raw weekly, nxt on the wwe network or preparing at the performance center there are proven talents with the ability to work at a high level.  However, wwe will not pull the trigger on any of them to catapult someone to the top tier and continues to push old reliable.

John Cena has been the top guy in wwe for the last nine years after being drafted to Raw from Smackdown in the summer of 2005.  He was champion before that but I feel moving to the flagship show was the move that determined him the face of the wwe.  To put nine years as the top babyface in perspective Hulk Hogan's initial run in the wwf was from 1984 to 1990, six years, when wwe opted to put the title on the Ultimate Warrior.  Hogan was champion again in 1991 after beating Sgt. Slaughter at wrestlemania 7 but was out of WWF for good by 1993. (until his nWo return 10 years later) So, even if you include when WWF tried to use a new top babyface in the Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan was the top guy in the company for nine years and really during that time Hogan was not always the focus of the wwe.
Would anyone put John Cena on the same level as Hulk Hogan from a character stand point?  John Cena has earned his credibility as top babyface superhero by doing everything and then some that wwe has asked him be it make a wish, personal appearance, wrestling injured, you name it and the guy has done it to maintain his spot and perform for the fans; but during that nine years there was never anyone that got close to replacing John Cena.  No matter how you feel about John Cena it is a pretty remarkable run on top.
Now, it seems that wwe is ready to crown a new face of the empire.  There just seems to be something inside of John Cena that makes you feel he is ready to step down a notch and let someone else take the major bumps and bruises on the top of the card, Cena has a number of nagging injuries including his neck and he is approaching the age where wrestlers start to slow down.  Cena has also started to put other guys over more than he ever has with feuds like he had with Bray Wyatt, which really helped elevate Wyatt, giving the rub to the Uso Brothers, and using his shine to try to raise Roman Reigns stock.  All the signs are there for a new "superstar" to step up and take charge.
WWE, however, seems very reluctant to pass the reigns to the next chosen one just yet.  The obvious selection from wwe is Roman Reigns.  WWE has been grooming him since the shield was together and there is no question why, Reigns has everything wwe looks for in a top star; he has size, athleticism, the look but the only thing he lacks is experience.  Roman Reigns is not gaining experience fast enough and he is not improving at the pace he will need to in order to be the top guy.  I would assume his time line is wrestlemania, and his opponent is Brock Lesnar.  WWE has done everything right with Lesnar by giving him the streak, dominating Cena and becoming an unstoppable beast so if Reigns beats him on the grandest stage it would be a huge deal. 
However, if the fans don't buy it then it won't be nearly as big as it could be.  In my opinion, if the fans don't buy it then wwe should call an audible for that main event.  The problem is that audible would have to be called by Royal Rumble since the main event and crowning of a new face of the wwe would have to be a wwe world heavyweight championship match.  Ultimately that means Roman Reigns has 4 months to prove he is the right guy for the job. Unfortunately, on Raw last night when Roman Reigns announced he was adding his name to the title mix the crowd was very underwhelmed.  WWE had to hoping that when Reigns delivered that line, which he delivered awkwardly, the crowd would erupt in support and it just did not happen.  I do not believe Roman Reigns will be ready to be the top guy in the company in less than a year.
The biggest problem with Reigns not being ready by wrestlemania is that is squanders the amazing opportunity to have Brock Lesnar put him over.  The guy that beat the streak, dominated Cena and has become an attraction losing makes that person an instant mega star and wwe can't afford to miss that chance.  So, who, if not Reigns, can step up to be handed the torch?
 The long shot pick is Daniel Bryan.  Why it is a long shot is because no one knows his health status.  His second surgery has been postponed for more tests and the expected return, from what I understand is 3 months, which puts him close to the Royal Rumble.  It is an easy story for Bryan to win the Rumble and go on to wrestlemania to challenge Brock Lesnar as the unrelenting underdog who conquers the bully.  The issues are two fold, first, the comeback is uncertain because of the health and second, I don't believe wwe wants to have Daniel Bryan as their long term face of the company and beating Lesnar can't be a hot shot move to push a guy, it needs to be the dawning of the new top guy.
 My pick, and not likely choice, is Cesaro.  Cesaro is a technically spectacular wrestler with, what appears to be, superhuman strength.  He also has a presence in the ring and natural charisma.  He certainly doesn't have John Cena type charisma or natural charm but I believe he could get over with all demographics as well as do the appearance and be a respectable ambassador for sports entertainment.  Most importantly, he would have an international appeal that could bring more exposure from an audience that sees wrestling as a more legitimate form of sports and entertainment.  I don't know if wwe is ready or will be ready to put the hype train behind Cesaro so I do not see him being the selected top guy but he has a lot of tangible and intangible allure for that spot.
 The real top contender for the next big time babyface should be Dean Ambrose!  Ambrose and his never say die mentality and approach to wrestling would lend itself perfectly to challenging Brock Lesnar.  The lunatic fringe toppling the beast would surely elevate Ambrose and the crowd would completely rally behind him and his character.  If you could turn back time and remember the story that developed after Stone Cold Steve Austin won his first title from Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon tried to mold the texas rattlesnake into a corporate puppet; this story could be almost completely redone using Triple H and Dean Ambrose and it would work. 
Now, I am not saying Dean Ambrose is Steve Austin, he is Austin-like, and the closest thing to having the ability to catch fire with the crowd and they could live vicariously through him against the authority.  An added bonus to Ambrose becoming the top guy, and champion, is that Seth Rollins has the money in the bank briefcase so there is a ready made championship feud waiting for the next top heel and babyface.  This run would allow them to get comfortable with their new spots while putting on tremendous matches with each other.  Dean Ambrose can completely pull off the blue collar hero while Rollins is a completely believable sell out the corporation would get behind. 
Making Ambrose the face of the company, a kin to Austin, would begin the youth movement (which wwe is totally ready for, see nxt), shift the focus of the product back to a faster more athletic style and still offer compelling stories.  This move would also allow Roman Reigns to hone his skills and become the number two face in the company, which worked out well for Reigns cousin The Rock.
The style of wrestling pushed to the forefront buy Ambrose and Rollins being the two top guys is tailor made for the future roster wwe will boast with guys like ziggler, barrett, cesaro, sheamus, big e, kofi, sami zayne, tyler breeze, bo dallas, neville, kenta, prince devitt, kevin steen and daniel bryan.  This roster is so stacked with talent on the cusp of breaking out that if wwe pushed a wrestling style fit for all of the young talent they are stock piling sports entertainment would become a lot more sports and a lot more entertainment.
 I believe that wwe will make Roman Reigns "the guy" but if they ran an audible and made the leap of faith putting Dean Ambrose in that role wwe could domino into a really special time in professional wrestling and no one would suffer from it.  The next four months will be very telling as to who can handle the top spot and who may not be ready for the spotlight, either direction will be interesting and should be worth watching; something Monday Night Raw on labor day really wasn't.  That is just this marks remarks.
 For those reading the blog I appreciate the support and have been getting some really good feedback.  If you like what you read like the facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/amarkremarks and consider subscribing to the blog via your email from the main blog page, thank you very much.

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