July 21, 2020 - Evan Luebbe

Arn Anderson’s Suggestion for Roman Reigns

July 21, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Arn Anderson, who is currently working in AEW as Cody’s head coach, recently gave his two cents on why Roman Reigns is still booed by the WWE universe to a degree (it has gotten a lot better in the last year since he returned from his recent battle with leukemia. It’s obviously not a problem right now because he is still on hiatus due to concerns over the current pandemic – which I fully support by the way). Arn feels that the WWE universe is confused because Roman is climbing in the on-screen role of a tweener character that is not fully heal or face, so the audience just boos him as a default because his character doesn’t feel authentic. Anderson also claims Roman has a movie-star look which insights at least a hint of jealousy.

AA’s suggestion would be for WWE to book Reigns as either a pure babyface or a pure ass-kicking heel. The latter of these two was the way Stone Cold Steve Austin was booked in 1996. The only reason he became a face as time went on is that the audience could sense that the character was right in line with Steve’s personality and was uniquely authentic to him. Maybe WWE could consider trying this same gimmick with Roman Reigns upon his return to WWE.

The reason why this suggestion could possibly be considered is that Anderson has almost 40 years of experience working in professional wrestling – and nearly 20 years working as a producer for WWE. However, one reason why it might not be considered is that maybe this tweener character walking the tight rope between face and heal is what is most authentic to Roman, and if so (which is very possible since he has done this for about six years since The Shield broke up) it has to be admired that he has talked to the integrity of his character so vehemently. I admire him greatly for his level-headed mindset and never being bothered that much by criticism – at least he doesn’t show it. As a fan, I am just missing the presence of Roman Reigns and am excited for him to return to WWE programming – whether that’s in a couple months or in six weeks. I don’t really care how he is presented to the WWE universe upon his return, just throwing out suggestions and thinking out loud.

WWE NXT 7/15/2020

July 21, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

The events Keith Lee engaged in are a prime example of why you have to love the business (that’s why I fell in love with it). Superstars who rise to prominence in WWE typically reciprocate back to their peers who helped them evolve as performers along their journey (Lee did this on July 15 by giving Dominik Dijakovic a match for both of his titles. The matches between Lee and Dijakovic in the latter part of 2019 made both men stand out in the eyes of fans – both men made each other better by reciprocating between one another). This is a very unselfish attitude and illustrates a very simple concept – you help people who have helped you in the past.

This can also be a basic metaphor for life. People generally have a reciprocal relationship with life – essentially you get out of life as much as you put into it. Think about it, life is nothing but an energetic exchange between people/objects. The more energy a person is willing to give (in an ideal world without receiving) towards anything, it only makes sense that they would get more energy for themselves out of the interaction which they can use for creative outlets or to be able to give that energy to other people. I try to be mindful of this in my own life by having the intention to make the lives of each person I come into contact with every day at least a little better because they came into contact with me.

AEW Dynamite 7/15/2020

July 21, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Fight for The Fallen

Let’s begin with the main event – Jon Moxley defeated Brian Cage, which was a smart decision given that Cage has only been around for about two months (he debuted at Double or Nothing). He is still a little too new to become AEW World Champion, however he definitely will be sooner rather than later. One thing I will say is that quarantining for a couple of months and not being featured at all on Dynamite hurt Moxley’s character to a degree because of the lack of exposure to the audience. However, there was nothing Moxley could do about that – it’s not his fault that his wife came down with the virus. It’s totally understandable because he was just doing what he had to do.

This virus has at least partially made people realize just how fragile life is and that there are some elements that people simply cannot control (Kobe Bryant’s death earlier this year made people come to the same realization, and the virus is kind of reinforcing that message). Take advantage of time with the people you love – because you never really know what direction it’ll take.

This could be the Beginning of a Shift in Character for Cody

I half wonder if this will be the very beginning of a shift in character (heel turn) for Cody. The reason I say that is because he employed a much more aggressive in-ring style against Sonny Kiss (especially with that unique piledriver in which Cody dropped Sonny right on his head). This could prove to be the very beginning of a gradual shift in the demeanor of Cody’s character. It just might be the avenue he needs from the AEW fan base to turn heel.

Orange Cassidy could be an Absolute Superstar in the Making

It’s a brilliant idea for Tony Khan and the rest of the team at AEW to orchestrate a full-length program between Chris Jericho and Orange Cassidy (which started July 15 with The DemoGod and the rest of The Inner Circle being doused in OJ). Orange has benefited in a massive way from being associated with Jericho over the last couple of months in particular and looked like an absolute star in the making in their match last week (despite losing). Sometimes in a match the wrestler who suffers the defeat benefits the most, and that may have very well been the case with Orange on July 8. This is a prime example of the primary goal of AEW – Create New Stars.

WWE Raw 7/13/2020

July 21, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Kairi Sane Progressing

The Kabuki Warriors – Asuka and Kairi Sane -came up short in their Women’s Tag Team Championship match against Sasha Banks and Bayley, but it was still very encouraging. Sasha, Bayley, and Asuka looked great in the match as they have for years. But, what is really encouraging is the fact that Kairi Sane (in my opinion) looked the most fluid and comfortable in the ring she has ever looked since being moved to the main roster from NXT in April 2019 after WrestleMania 35.

Sane is still a young superstar at just 31 years old, so it’s very encouraging to see so much growth on her part in a little over a year.

Lashley feels completely free to be himself with the Presence of MVP (I believe)

MVP has provided Bobby Lashley with that little bit of extra confidence – almost like a permission slip – to be his authentic self and allow the WWE universe to see his full personality (Lio Rush was a valuable stepping stone on this journey for Lashley). Bobby has clicked with MVP in terms of personality and it is probable on screen. This might be the perfect time for WWE to get the feud going between Lashley and Brock Lesnar for SummerSlam 2020. This rivalry has needed to take place for a long time but has never actually ignited because Lashley has never had quite enough momentum character-wise to be viewed on the same level of superstardom as The Beast. It would not have made sense within the framework of the storyline – but now Lashley’s character is at a point where it might make sense for him to be involved in a rivalry with a star as big as Lesnar.

As for Ricochet, he will most likely be around for the long haul (he said on his recent WWE 365 documentary that he plans on being around in WWE for many more years) because he is so unbelievable in terms of his physical gifts.

Randy Orton is clearly doing the Best Work of his Career at age 40

Randy Orton has easily done some of the best work of his career in the year 2020. The return of someone he is so close within Edge brought the best out of him in the first half of the year – and he has followed that up by taking out the likes of Christian. And, he is currently doing a program with Big Show. Orton is embracing his heel roots which made his character blossom back in 2005 (in a rivalry with The Undertaker).

Speaking of Big Show he has been extremely unselfish over the past few months. It started with him challenging Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship right after he beat Brock Lesnar at ‘Mania 36 (this went a long way towards establishing McIntyre as a prominent WWE Champion by defeating a legitimate threat right after slaying The Beast. He has also done comedy segments with tag teams like The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders.