February 29, 2020 - Evan Luebbe

Johnny Gargano’s Heel Turn

February 29, 2020February 29, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

It was a smart booking decision by Triple H and Shawn Michaels in NXT to turn Johnny Wrestling heel, and to do it gradually rather than abruptly, for two primary reasons:

It gave fans time to acclimate so that Johnny could make it a rather seamless character transition, and;
It serves to provide a new wrinkle to the seemingly never-ending rivalry between Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.

Gargano was a massive babyface for such an extended amount of time that Triple H and Shawn Michaels had essentially no choice but to make this transition gradual. No one would view it as being plausible if it happened on a dime. He developed edge to his character and incorporated the wearable aspect over a period of a few months, and it worked very well. The NXT universe was willing to accept Gargano’s term and found it to be very believable.

Tommaso Ciampa has also essentially turned face for the first time since his DIY days as a tag team champion with Gargano. This is very possible given the timing of a reunion of their team at Worlds Collide. This switch in roles for the two men will give fans a reason to remain invested in their story as I can’t even count at this point how many matches they’ve had over the last three years. Gargano and Ciampa can finally meet at WrestleMania weekend like they were scheduled to do last year but couldn’t due to the unfortunate timing of Ciampa’s neck injury.

WWE SmackDown 2/28/2020

February 29, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Cena’s Return!

Even Roman Reigns himself has admitted to WWE insider Ryan Satin that he would rather face a future star like The Fiend at Mania over Goldberg. It’s nothing against Goldberg, but he has really nothing to gain – the goal will be solely to put Reigns over as the face of WWE, which the company has tried and failed to accomplish multiple times before.

The Fiend attacked John Cena to set up a WrestleMania clash between them. WWE had the opportunity to book Cena to put Bray Wyatt over six years ago at WrestleMania 30, but the company decided against it. Bray Wyatt is more than ready to get the nod from WWE’s former Franchise Player after lasting a decade plus.

It will be interesting to see whether The Fiend’s loss to Goldberg impacts his WWE status as No. 1 merch seller. It doesn’t matter if he lost the Universal Championship because he is so compelling as a character that he does not need a title to make himself relevant.

Kofi Kingston had a compelling match with Robert Roode, which was surprisingly close given that the match had no stakes. Speaking of great matches on February 28, Jimmy Uso’s Samoan destroyer on John Morrison was unbelievable. WWE is clearly taking a few pointers from AEW, because fast-paced action like this is exactly what AEW brings every week.

Speaking of AEW, Matt Hardy should debut soon as the exultant one of The Dark Order. It’s a dead giveaway that Matt Hardy will reveal himself as the exultant one after the leaders of The Dark Order ended their promo this past week on Dynamite with the word “obsolete.” It’s a word Hardy used all the time when he brought his Woken gimmick to WWE in 2018 (which he used in TNA in 2016 and called it Broken).

Super Showdown 2/27/2020

February 29, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Goldberg defeats “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt to win the Universal Championship for a Second Time

I believe this was a mistake and a case of Mr. McMahon wanting to revert to his nostalgic attitude he has exhibited in the past rather than sticking to the plan of building the persona of The Fiend. This victory for Goldberg doesn’t do very much for his reputation at this stage in his career, and it basically kills the mystique of The Fiend before WWE even got a chance to showcase its new toy at The Fiend’s first WrestleMania. So now the Saudi Arabia shows are proven to matter with the Universal Title changing hands in the kingdom twice in a row, but the title changes need to make sense within the context of WWE storylines. They cannot be a detriment to one of the company’s biggest potential stars like The Fiend.

The company is doing its best to erase the narrative that these Saudi Arabia shows exist in their own realm of WWE. The company does have time to right its wrong, so the WWE universe does not have to worry too much yet. Perhaps this is just a small hiccup on The Fiend’s road to WrestleMania.

WWE has grown so much from a business standpoint over the last 20 years despite the product not getting much better largely because of the company’s reputation it has built over the years. Mr. McMahon seems to be less and less willing, as time goes by, to create new stars. Maybe he should take advice from Chris Jericho and not be so reliant on nostalgia. The wrestling business is ever-changing, so one needs to constantly reinvent themselves to maintain success.

A perfect example of this is Kevin Owens. With the charisma he possesses combined with his in-ring ability, there is no reason why he shouldn’t be booked like a top-five star in WWE. But instead, WWE is reluctant to pull the trigger with him and is not quite sure what to do with him. Owens is being drastically misused, and rather than putting him in a top-level singles match with Seth Rollins at Mania, the company is hesitant because of the negative reaction it might get.

It’s as if WWE can easily get superstars to a certain level, but when it’s time to make the big jump into mainstream, the company gets cold feet and doesn’t know what to do with the talent.

The Undertaker gets a Victory in the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy Gauntlet Match

Taker’s perspective: This was a fantastic way to begin building to a WrestleMania 36 match with AJ Styles (this generation’s Shawn Michaels – according to Taker. Pretty hard to disagree with since Michaels and Styles look like carbon copies of each other in the ring). It makes perfect sense for The Undertaker to make his presence felt in Saudi Arabia, as WWE always makes certain to bring back a few superstars from the past at these events.

AJ Styles’ perspective: The Phenomenal One got over in a major way as a heel by dancing when R – Truth was injured and orchestrating for The OC to attack Rey Mysterio before he even got the opportunity to walk out. Styles and The Undertaker at WrestleMania will have serious expectations to live up to because everyone will be comparing the match to Taker’s encounters with Shawn Michaels in 2009 and 2010.

R – Truth’s perspective: Truth was the sentimental favorite to win. He has done everything asked of him over the years and it would have been nice to see him get rewarded in the form of a high- profile victory. But it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe he will get the opportunity to work with Brock Lesnar before ‘Mania like The Beast has requested.

Mysterio’s perspective: Rey Mysterio is nearing his time to retire from in-ring competition. This will be a sad day, but his goal is clearly to put over as much young talent as possible and leave the business in a better state than when he was introduced to it. Styles is not young, but he is younger than Mysterio. The Master of the 619 will ultimately pass the torch to his son Dominic to carry his legacy.

Bobby Lashley’s perspective: The Almighty appears lost and like he is lacking direction for his character without his rival Rusev (who is in the midst of contract negotiations, and WWE probably doesn’t want to move forward with The Bulgarian Brute until they have him under a new contract).

Andrade’s suspension is now over and El Idolo can now resume his United States Championship program with Humberto Carillo. And no one cares anymore about what is in Erick Rowan’s cage because WWE has waited too long to reveal it.

The Miz and John Morrison defeat The New Day to become the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions

It was a smart decision by WWE to go with the fresher act to win the tag team titles. Both superstars are older and have been together before about 10 years ago, but most current WWE fans don’t remember that (or if they do, they are diehard fans). Most of them know that Miz and Morrison were going to win the titles eventually, so the company figured “why wait?” The New Day’s credibility is not hurt at all by this defeat. It will provide the WWE universe with new perspective if they are chasing the titles as opposed to holding them.

Angel Garza defeats his Cousin Humberto Carillo

This was a guarantee that Garza will become a regular on Monday Night Raw, and rightfully so because he has an immense amount of potential.

Seth Rollins and Murphy retain the Raw Tag Team Championships against The Street Profits

The Street Profits are an extremely entertaining duo and Montez Ford appears to be the ultimate breakout star of the team (because he is more verbal and has an awe-inspiring vertical leap), but it’s a smart idea to keep the titles with the most dominant faction on Monday Night Raw right now. For now, everything on Raw should revolve around the Monday Night Messiah and his disciples.

However, what might be more interesting is the possibility of Rollins and Murphy dropping the Raw Tag Team Championships to The AOP so Rollins and Paul Heyman can devote more attention to furthering Seth’s singles feud with Kevin Owens (who seems to be in creative limbo right now). This could lead to an ultimate match between them at WrestleMania.

Mansoor defeats Dolph Ziggler

WWE has proven that they will and absolutely should bring out the hometown hero Mansoor every time they go to Saudi Arabia. His next challenge will be to bring that success to the United States.

Brock Lesnar retains his WWE Championship against Ricochet

This is exactly what everyone expected. Realistically, Ricochet never stood a chance against The Beast Incarnate. He found out exactly why Lesnar is a draw, which is the answer to the question “why not me?”

Roman Reigns defeats King Corbin in a Steel Cage

This rivalry went on far too long, but I’m just thankful it has finally come to a definitive conclusion (even if it could have ended at Royal Rumble). Both men will now be able to turn their attention to WrestleMania and their respective programs. Corbin’s is undecided to my knowledge, but Reigns will look to win the Elimination Chamber match and go on to face Goldberg for the Universal Championship at the Show of Shows. The primary goal of this rivalry was to ensure that Reigns is still a fan favorite heading into WrestleMania, so it was a success from that perspective.

WWE’s goal by the time WrestleMania 36 comes around is to have Roman come out a huge babyface. Maybe Mr. McMahon is worried about having him go against a heel the audience loves so much in The Fiend. Perhaps instead Mr. McMahon will go with a Reigns-Goldberg encounter. I’m not saying I love it, but it may be a passing-of-the-torch moment between Goldberg and Reigns.

Bayley retains the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Naomi

Naomi and Carmella have been most likely buying time over the past several weeks for Sasha Banks to heal from her ankle injury. Then she can begin her program leading to ‘Mania on April 5 with Bayley, which was supposed to start right after Royal Rumble.

Jon Moxley on Unrestricted

February 29, 2020February 29, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Jon Moxley was utterly fascinating on AEW’s new Unrestricted podcast hosted by AEW referee Aubrey Edwards and commentator Tony Schiavone. He opened up about topics like the dynamic between him and his wife Renee Young – with her being in WWE and working separately from Jon, how his name originated, and when he felt he hit rock bottom as far as character direction with WWE.

AEW fans would be reasonable to anticipate Moxley winning the AEW World Championship from Chris Jericho at Revolution, and if not, he should get the nod at “All In” in May. He is simply over and beloved by fans all over the world too much to ignore. His regular appearances in Japan have him embraced all over the world.

WWE Raw 2/24/2020

February 29, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Paul Heyman’s Spoiler

It is all but guaranteed that Brock Lesnar will quickly dispose of Ricochet at Super Showdown. Ricochet gave Drew McIntyre an assist in eliminating Lesnar from the Royal Rumble match by delivering a low blow to The Beast. If Brock dominates Ricochet, it will stack the deck against McIntyre even more by making the task of taking down Lesnar seem even more impossible. This will serve to make the payoff when McIntyre wins the WWE Championship at WrestleMania even greater.

Speaking of Drew McIntyre, he proved again on Raw exactly why Mr. McMahon views him as a great potential face of the company. He presents himself in the public eye in a very articulate and humble manner. There is a quiet confidence about him, and my thought is that it’s because of the maturity he has gained throughout his 20-year wrestling career. He is a man who has grown up in the business.

Kevin Owens questions Randy Orton on why he attacked Edge, and like Matt Hardy, Owens gets no real answers out of Orton

Edge should be expected to make at least a couple more appearances before WrestleMania to build for the match with Randy Orton. Otherwise WWE wouldn’t be revisiting the topic of Orton’s attack every week. Edge is so beloved by the WWE universe at this stage in his career, and because of that there’s much anticipation surrounding his WWE return. His wife Beth Phoenix is sure to get a huge pop from the crowd on the March 2 edition of Monday Night Raw.

Randy Orton defeats Kevin Owens thanks to distractions by Seth Rollins and his disciples; Owens powerbombs the referee, who may or may not have been a disciple himself, through a table

This served as a very organized way to set the stage for a potential ‘Mania feud between Rollins and KO. The Street Profits were also placed in a position where they were elevated, as they will be at Super Showdown. Kevin Owens got a big pop in his native country of Canada.

As if there is any doubt who will win the Women’s Elimination Chamber match and go to WrestleMania to face Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship – we all know it will be Shayna Baszler. The only other storyline in this match that is being focused on even slightly is the one involving Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott.

Aleister Black’s next credible opponent after Murphy will be AJ Styles

This little rivalry will serve to provide valuable experience for Black with a savvy veteran like Styles before going into his WrestleMania program. It will also buy time for Styles before entering his own program for the biggest show of the year with The Undertaker, who he’s never faced before. Black may have made himself into an effective babyface for now by overcoming his injuries from being attacked by The OC to defeat Erick Rowan.

Ricochet defeats “The Big LG” Luke Gallows

Ricochet has now defeated the bottom 2/3 of The OC two weeks in a row. This will give him a little more momentum, but not too much, in preparation for his WWE Title match with Lesnar. The One and Only will serve as a steppingstone for The Beast on the road to WrestleMania 36 to make it seem like even more of an impossible task for Drew McIntyre to take the WWE Championship from Brock. The match itself will tell a similar story to the match between Brock Lesnar and Finn Balor at Royal Rumble 2019 – a David vs. Goliath story.