March 9, 2019 - Evan Luebbe

Look at the Writing on the Wall for Samoa Joe

May 17, 2019March 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Joe is finally a champion on the main roster in WWE. He became prominent in the sports entertainment industry at about the same time that John Cena entered WWE in 2002 (Joe entered Ring of Honor, or ROH, followed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, or TNA, in 2005). It took nearly two decades, but it finally happened. It’s great to see that the trigger is finally being pulled on a feud between Joe and Cena, as it was advertised in 2017 leading up to the No Mercy PPV. WWE decided to go with Cena versus Reigns, and Joe may have been hurt.

The writing is on the wall for this to be a match at WrestleMania, as the groundwork was subtly laid this week on SmackDown during Joe’s post-match promo. R-Truth helped this by mentioning in the weeks leading up how he idolized John Cena. Based on what I am aware of, John has wanted this feud for quite some time. It should be very interesting, and exciting, to see it come to fruition. It’s very good from the perspective of Joe too. He is one of the most believable superstars in the company today due to his unprecedented promo skills.

Reuniting of The Shield

March 10, 2019March 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

The biggest topic of discussion from Monday Night Raw this week is the reuniting of The Shield. It’s a smart decision for WWE and for Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns respectively. From the standpoint of Ambrose, it’s easy to figure out why this is a good decision because he is leaving the company after WrestleMania. This will be the final opportunity WWE has in the foreseeable future to capitalize on this faction and get a big pop from the audience. For Roman Reigns, it will be a great way to ease back into in-ring competition by having him compete in a six-man tag team match after coming off of his illness (it warms my heart to see him back and doing what he loves). Seth Rollins is the odd man out, because he is the one who had to forgive Ambrose in order to make this work, but he was a standup guy for the sake of his brother.

Moving on, I need to give props to Ronda Rousey because she may indeed be a better heel than a babyface. It seemed like WWE was trying a little too hard to force Ronda into being a fan favorite, much like they were trying to do with Roman Reigns in recent years. She was beginning to come off as a white meat babyface that wasn’t authentic (that term has been largely done away with and was much more popular in the 80s he and 90s). Jason Jordan had the same problem (remember him? – he is now working backstage behind the scenes). WWE tried to solve the issue by bringing in Charlotte Flair to play the role of the villain but not even that worked, so WWE turned its top star classically rogue.

Triple H got emotional while talking about Richard Fliehr to better sell his feud with Batista. This is one of the main matches that will be at WrestleMania. I bet it will get some pops from the audience. I would not be surprised at all if Ricochet and Aleister Black win the Raw tag team titles from The Revival, who are just not meshing well with the WWE universe. It’s a shame, but it’s pretty easy to name off the list of incredibly talented athletes who WWE has had to let go. Not everyone resonates with a live audience (for the longest time, not even Roman Reigns did, and he’s the face of the company). Finally, will someone please give me the information on where Lio Rush’s funeral is located after being run over by Braun Strowman.

Pairing up Superstars

March 10, 2019March 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

From a business standpoint, WWE should maybe look into pairing up two superstars from opposing friends (could be men or women) in a match to freshen things up for the show of shows. One example of this occurred in 2017 when Bray Wyatt was supposed to have a match with Finn Balor, but Bray was sick (Roman Reigns was forced to miss this pay-per-view too with a case of the mumps), so he was replaced with AJ Styles. Styles put on a great match with Balor that night, probably the best of the night. It may be a way to freshen things up for WWE aside from the superstar shakeup every year after WrestleMania.

Finally, a Title for Samoa Joe

May 17, 2019March 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

It’s encouraging to see Kevin Owens maintaining his heelish tendencies, as cited by him calling the WWE universe a “pretentious jackass.” He is being positioned as the babyface in this feud with Daniel Bryan because Daniel cannot go face after he has been so much of a heel. There’s plenty of reason to be confident in the ability of Kevin Owens to personify a good babyface, as he has mastered this role on the independent scene. It’s great to see Owens strategically incorporating the roots of his WWE character into the new role he is being asked to fulfill.

The next topic is Samoa Joe winning the United States championship. It’s about time WWE pulled the trigger on Joe and put a title on him because they were running out of opportunities with Joe already having been on the main roster for two years and being just a week from turning 40 years old. He absolutely deserves it. Corey Graves has said this, and I completely agree, that he “expected Joe to be in WWE a decade ago.” It will be extremely exciting to see what’s next for the Samoan Submission Machine, especially as WrestleMania rapidly approaches.

One other interesting topic of discussion is the return of the Hardy’s, particularly Matt. While one could’ve easily predicted Jeff’s return at some time, it was unclear as to whether Matt was retired, or not. It’s great to see him, and worth noting that he mentioned he wanted to work with Roman Reigns before retiring.

Side Note: There has got to be a plan in place for Kofi Kingston to challenge Daniel Bryan for the WWE title. Can I get an AMEN to that!

Ciampa Storyline Takes a Turn

May 17, 2019March 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic got kicked off this week with four great opening round matches. It is disappointing that Tommaso Ciampa will be forced to miss Takeover: New York with a severe neck injury. He will undergo an anterior cervical fusion procedure, which is of particular interest to me because it is a type of spinal fusion surgery, and I have had that procedure done on my entire spine. Enough about me, WWE already has a storyline in place for Ciampa’s return.

I was also surprised to officially learn today – the final date Ronda Rousey is scheduled to work for WWE is the night after WrestleMania.

Hoping Balor Brings out “The Demon”

May 17, 2019March 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Finn Balor has had an extraordinary career in the wrestling/sports entertainment industry, traversing the world – mainly in Europe and Japan, and being most known in Japan for being a founding member of the Bullet Club. This was before being introduced in NXT’s lineup in 2014, and subsequently debuting on the main roster in 2016. He became the first-ever Universal Champion at SummerSlam in 2016 by defeating Seth Rollins. WWE had big plans for Balor. The plan was for him to hold the title for about the same length of time as Kevin Owens held it. That got derailed when Balor sustained a shoulder injury that would keep him out of in-ring competition until after WrestleMania 33. WWE proved that they never quite viewed Balor in the same light after his injury. His booking has been inconsistent to put it mildly. He came close to breaking that mold a few times. The first being at The Royal Rumble 2018 when he entered the match at number two and lasted all the way to be one of the final four in the match. The second was at The Royal Rumble 2019 when he gave Brock Lesnar a run for his money.

The WWE has never gained confidence in Balor, for whatever reason, to carry him as a main (or, an event superstar). Balor is the current Intercontinental Champion right now and does not have a WrestleMania opponent. He deserves to have a high-profile, singles match against another great opponent, maybe someone like Johnny Gargano. We all should be very hopeful that Balor brings out “The Demon” aspect of his character at WrestleMania. This would mark the first time The Demon has been introduced on a stage other than SummerSlam on the main roster. Personally, I think it would elevate him in a big way to bring some of the Sting element into his character.