raw review / wrong guy wrong time

Another Monday night raw has come and gone and while I thought it was a decent show two things really stood out to me and neither were positive for the show.

 Raw started with a "hall of fame" panel of Ric flair, hulk hogan and Shawn Michaels where they debated if john cena could beat the beast Brock lesnar. Flair and Michaels agreed he couldn't while hogan believed in cena. The brief discussion brought a much more stoic john cena came out to ringside. Stoic in the sense that he barely waived his "never give up" towel and when he saluted the camera man he was smiling like a goofball. The promo he cut, however, was stoic and serious. The promo had to be serious after the match he had with lesnar and cena kept it short but said all the right things delivered the right way.

 The john cena promo was rebutted later in the show by a taped sit down interview from Brock lesnar and Paul heyman. This video package was excellent, not surprising, but was predominantly lesnar talking, which is surprising and lesnar was great. Brock lesnar has the presence, body language and attitude of the unbeatable bully. He has really found his stride in this part time role with heyman doing most of the talking and with wwe protecting him he is succeeding.

 The uso's are quickly becoming a great tag team and if wwe allowed the tag division to build it would guarantee at least one very entertaining match per night per show. With the uso's, rhodes', Wyatt's, rybaxel and even Los matadores the wwe has some pretty polished teams and building teams with less utilized guys like Kofi Kingston and big E could potentially turn their careers around. Tag team matches are so easy to watch and always offer entertainment value for a solid 10 minutes it seems like it would be a no brainer to put some spotlight on the tag division but wwe continues the stop/start focus on tag team wrestling. It is a shame because there is a lot of talented teams out there who seem content being successful tag teams.

 Nikki Bella proved last night that it is not necessarily Stephanie McMahon making brie Bella appear below average as an actor but it really is just brie Bella being below average. I thought Nikki Bella did pretty good in the family reconciliation segment on raw; however, I just don't care about the story or its players (aside from Stephanie), the segment was given too much time and it is way too much "wwe theatrics" for me. It will sooner rather than later have "change the channel" heat for me.

 But, that was not one of the raw disappointments for me those are as follows.  Roman reigns interrupted a good effort of cementing Seth Rollins as a top heel last night and it led to a handicap match between reigns versus Rollins and Kane. Roman reigns has already become stale to me. He does the same four moves in every match, like a lot of wrestlers use the same signature moves, but reigns doesn't do any other moves. None! I understand that he has the look, the size and he lineage but what he doesn't have is psychology or wrestling moves to fill the time he is not doing signature moves. Reigns is approaching a level where he will have to work longer matches and this is only going to expose him. I watched his match from raw and instead of being interested or excited I just got the feeling that it was another quick roman reigns match where the whole idea is to position guys for his punches, jumping foot, superman punch and spear. There was really nothing else and it was disappointing.

The worst part of raw was the main event. John cena taking on bray Wyatt with the Wyatt family. In an effort to make john cena, the most over and recognized star in the wwe, look more ferocious than ever wwe chose to have him destroy bray Wyatt. Bray Wyatt currently has the most upside of any young superstar in wwe, has gotten over with the wwe universe and is the most unique character wwe has developed since mankind or the undertaker. Wyatt is on the ascent to being a, or the, top star.  Wwe chose to have him get absolutely destroyed at the hands of john cena getting zero offense and being beaten to a pulp while the Wyatt family watches on. The demonstration, al be it short, did nothing but make bray Wyatt, a major part of their future, look like a bum. Wyatt looked weak in a way a wrestler can't afford to look weak.

But, you say, the same thing happened to john cena at summerslam? John cena is the only wrestler on the roster that could allow a defeat like that with no lasting negative effects. John cena is the established top guy in wwe and has been for the last 10 plus years, cena has made a career out of rising above and coming back with his super strength. Cena preaches never quit, don't back down and is a role model to kids; he can afford a beating like he took from lesnar and bounce back because of his spirit and it can make him stronger. Beating up cena like took place two weeks ago st summerslam gives him credibility when he comes back to fight another day.

 Bray Wyatt is a brain washing lunatic who leads his followers while getting in the heads of his victims with his words and his mind games. He has a mythical element to his character the way he can appear out if thin air. He is also just coming into his own as a potential top superstar, with a failed character already under his belt, and he still benefits from rivalries with established competitors. Beating the tar out of bray Wyatt the way he was on raw doesn't set him up for any kind of redemption and only makes him weak and vulnerable, things bray Wyatt shouldn't look like. Raw saw john cena humanize bray Wyatt when he destroyed him in a lopsided main event. Humanizing bray Wyatt is the worst thing wwe can possible do, why make the unique become regular? John cena beat up the wrong guy in the wrong time last night and it won't effect john cena in anyway. But, it will effect the guy that could potentially be the top star as a heel or a face going into the next 10 years and I don't believe bray Wyatt can afford that right now and wwe should not have done it. That is just this marks remarks.

SummerSlam is building to the future and well... it looks promising

If you are wrestling fan you have noticed a slight changing of the guard at the top level of WWE in the last several months. If you are a fan just coming back to pro wrestling then you have chosen a good time.  The future stars of Raw and Smackdown are being discussed recently and it is probably due to a huge influx on very talented young men and women being featured, or not so featured, on television every week.  Also, with the unveiling of the WWE Network fan are now able to have NXT at their viewership disposal, really getting a glimpse of the athletes as they are groomed for the big leagues.  I for one find the next wave of "superstars" as something to be very excited about.  But who really has a good shot at being the next top tier level stars in WWE?
Roman Reigns is clearly being groomed to be the next top superhero of WWE going into the future.  He was very protected by the shield as a performer being showcased in ways only to make him look strong.  He was seen as the power of the team and was has used his high level of athleticism to build a move set that is very popular with the crowd.  Reigns also has the look of a superstar, being big and muscular makes him stand out from the crowd.  It doesn't hurt either that his cousin is The Rock!  Samoan family genes can do wonders for a guy in WWE, unless you become a super hero in training.  However, Roman Reigns still has a lot of learning to do; his in ring timing sometimes leaves something to be desired and unless he is doing one of his "signature moves" it seems like he is lost at times.  Also, his work on the microphone is somewhat effective he always keeps in short and sweet, because he has to, he will need to start stepping out of his comfort zone to prepare for when he is the top guy and has to carry programs with his promos.  The foundation is there with Roman Reigns it is just a matter of how well they can fine tune him before they place him in a top position.  There is a big difference between Goldberg and Stone Cold; right now Reigns is Goldberg but that can change and hopefully will.
On the subject of The Shield breaking up SummerSlam, this Sunday, will do great things to propel Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose' names into the upper echelon of sports entertainment.  These two men are much more polished then Roman Reigns in every aspect of wrestling, be it in the ring, on the mic, or controlling a crowd; the two guys have "it" to be big time stars in WWE.  The only thing Rollins and Ambrose have going against them is that they are not Roman Reigns, who is WWE's pick, but as Daniel Bryan has show the wrestling universe you don't have to be WWE's pick to become the top guy.  I believe that Seth Rollins is settling into his heel character very nicely, he is so technically sound inside the ring and he has that look about him that you want to boo, that smarky jerk look, he has it and it works.  I see him very much in the same light as CM Punk, a natural heel, and if Rollins can emulate Punk's rise within the WWE that would be a major success; minus the leaving of course.  But, the true diamond is Dean Ambrose!  Ambrose has that "it factor" charisma pouring out of him and the fans are really rallying behind him.  His in ring style, his promo methods, his voice, his attitude it all makes him seem different from anyone else.  Different in a very very good way.  I could see Dean Ambrose stealing away the Daniel Bryan crowd reactions and adopting a Stone Cold type of following.  I AM NOT SAYING HE IS STONE COLD! Steve Austin was a once in a life time phenomenon, but Ambrose has all the characteristics to catch lightning in a bottle and I feel the only that could slow him down is the WWE machine but I really hope they give him the opportunity.

Ladies and gentlemen the future... It's here.  Bray Wyatt is the most unique character created since The Undertaker or Mankind and the man playing him has it all almost figured out.  There is not a misused minute of television time for Bray Wyatt and the Wyatt family, every movement, stare, laugh, gesture they are all perfectly executed.  Bray Wyatt turned 27 years old in May.  Did you read that?  What were you doing when you were 26 years old?  Were you in a headlining match with John Cena at Wrestlemania?  Bray Wyatt is 5 years away from his prime and he is this far ahead of the game and that is pretty unbelievable in my mind.  He has been able to more than hold up his end of the bargain in feuds with Daniel Bryan, The Shield, John Cena and Chris Jericho while also mesmerizing crowds with his promos and vignettes and wrestling history says the best is still yet to come.  This third generation star is in a league all by himself as far as potential is concerned and as a fan of wrestling for 30 years I am excited to see where he goes, if his current success is any indication then we are watching a legend in the making.  Just to put things into perspective to how ahead Bray Wyatt is; Roman Reigns is 29 and has a lot of learning to do.  Wyatt is the future.

See this guy doing the giant swing to an essentially immobile 450 pound man using no momentum and only his own strength?  That is Cesaro, he has been awesome on the independent wrestling circuit for the last almost 10 years; amazingly, coming into the wwe he is also awesome. Cesaro is such a technically sound grappler with the ability to be an effective heel or face that he demands any fans attention.  Not to mention he is probably the pound for pound strongest wrestler on the roster, a roster that includes Big Show, Mark Henry and Brock Lesnar.  Cesaro wrestles with such fluidity and grace that you almost forget how powerful he is and then he dead lifts a guy over the rope in a suplex or swings gigantic man for 30 rotations and you are reminded that Cesaro will be a major player in wwe as soon as they allow him.  The ability to do anything in the ring with any opponent is a skill that not many possess and that trait will be what separates Cesaro from every other superstar on the roster.  Cesaro is one of the few guys, as he is now, that would have been a star in any era of wrestling and will help lead wwe into it's next era for sure.

There are also a number of future stars just arriving from or about to break out from wwe's  developmental division NXT.  If you have the wwe network you should be tuning in Thursday nights to watch this show.  It is one hour long and easy watching and has featured the likes of Bo Dallas, Rusev, Wade Barrett, Sami Zayn, Big E, Aaron Neville, Tyler Breeze and so many more that are being molded to be on Raw and Smackdown very soon.  And, they deserve it because there are some excellent performers there honing their craft.  Wait, wait a minute, what is that smell?...

Oh that is the internet wrestling community collectively crapping itself with excitement.  This is Triple H officially signing Prince Devitt, Kenta and Kevin Steen and if this is a sign of things to come and how wwe is going to recruit talent then as far as the future of wwe is concerned we have nothing to worry about.  If you don't know them you will, and you will be very entertained.  But that is just this marks remarks.