After a months hiatus I have returned with a new installment of Wrestling with Mediocrity. Apologies for no new articles in recent weeks but between a busy personal life and loads to do in the gaming space I just haven’t had the time to sit down and write about WWE. It doesn’t help that the shows have been either piss poor or boring either. I did fear we could be in for an extended slump over the next few months but the record low ratings for the shows this week now gives me hope that Vince is going to panic and react in a newsworthy way. I’m not saying it will be good (let’s be honest, it will almost certainly be bad) but I’m sure it will create some talking points.
So… The Viking Experience eh? Jesus fucking christ. I have seen many fans online giving WWE credit for changing the name after a week, but let’s call a spade a spade here. How on earth did that name make it to TV? The War Raiders was a cool name and there was absolutely no need to change it. Also this double pin they are using needs scrapped as well. Why on earth would any referee count the fall? It’s a cool visual, but it makes no sense under normal tag team rules.
I had hoped after nothing advancing the story last week that the Shane/Miz feud was dead but unfortunately we weren’t that lucky. The segment this week was genuinely painful to watch. How Shane McMahon can’t throw a worked punch after 20 years in the business is beyond me. I’m not looking for a technical classic from him, but basic fundamentals shouldn’t be too much to ask. Shane will jump off the cage at Money in the Bank, Miz will pin him and we can finally move on from this garbage.
It was nice to see Ricochet picking up a big win this week. It does however make his loss to Robert Roode last week even more perplexing. I get that they wanted to kick start this tweaked character of Roode and I am all for him portraying a sort of modern day Rick Rude, but when a guy has been treated like a jobber for over a year you need to build him up slowly. Many will think it doesn’t matter, that’s because WWE have convinced you that wins and loses don’t matter. The problem is, this is one of the main reasons the product is in the state it is.
WWE desperately needs some breakout stars to get the product hot again and Ricochet was one of the only guys who hadn’t been defined down yet. Whether fans are consciously thinking about it or not, when you have a guy like Robert Roode pin Ricochet clean it plants the thought in fans minds that Ricochet isn’t someone you need to bother getting behind. The lack of long term planning is on full display here, last week wrestler A pins wrestler B clean; one week later wrestler B is chosen for Money in the Bank and wrestler A isn’t even on TV. It removes stakes in the matches and if the results don’t matter, why bother watching?
So Becky Lynch is going to defend both belts in the one night in two separate matches. I don’t see Vince wanting to keep both titles on Becky for long, so expect whoever gets the Money in the Bank briefcase to cash in on her pretty quickly. In-fact I expect the Becky/Lacey match early in the show and Lynch to retain. Then the MITB winner to cash in during the Charlotte match. That outcome protects Becky because the odds were just too insurmountable while also protecting Charlotte, because it’s Charlotte. Speaking of the women’s MITB match. Competitors include Naomi and Alexa Bliss… they better start practicing this one immediately.
I had to laugh that they chose to play a charity commercial during the Ryder/Hawkins entrance. It was charity at WrestleMania that got them the belts and much like when Ryder won the IC belt at Mania a few years ago I cannot wait until they decide to get serious again and move on from this. This everyone gets a belt like a participation award nonsense needs to stop… but more on Kofi Kingston during the SmackDown section 😏
I’m sure most of you figured it out immediately, but Sami Zayn’s new character is basically a vehicle for Vince to express how he feels towards the fans and his critics. Sami plays the role superbly and it’s a shame that this type of gimmick generally has a very low ceiling. Hopefully the character can evolve more as the weeks go on and result in a push for Zayn.
I honestly have very little to say about SmackDown this week. They announced the MITB participants for both matches in the most bland way possible. Roman Reigns feels flat already despite just arriving on the blue brand and as I said a while back, since his return from illness fans are reluctant to boo him because of what he has been through, but they also aren’t behind him as a top babyface, so it ends up resulting in weak reactions. Cena being booed while selling merch and being a role model for kids made Vince believe that was acceptable for a top babyface. One thing he is unlikely to tolerate for long though is a muted crowd.
The absolute state of the SmackDown tag division eh? B Team, Nakamura & Rusev, Heavy Machinery and Gallows & Anderson. That is what we are left with until Big E returns and New Day presumably batter the lot of them and hold the titles until next year’s shake up. I have said it a million times, but WWE doesn’t have the tag team depth for two titles. They should take the template of the women’s tag division and have one set of champions who float between brands. Also please do it better than the women’s tag titles because the Iconics are rotten.
Last thing on SD this week is Kofi Kingston. I’m sorry, but this title reign is as flat as the pancakes they throw to the crowd. Fans like Kofi. I LIKE KOFI. The guy just isn’t world title material though. Add to that he’s still out there playing member of New Day instead of world champion and I honestly think it has been abysmal so far. Kofi is a good wrestler and could have improved on promos if given a proper chance 10 years ago. But you just cannot treat someone as a midcard act for a decade and then expect fans to care about him as world champion. Sure, he got the biggest pop at WrestleMania by far. It was a great moment. Fans wanted to see a guy they like get rewarded for dedicating his life to the business. But now Mania is well and truly over and while the average fan is unlikely to realise it, Kofi being on top is one of the things that makes the product feel less important.
The harsh truth is, Kofi will lose the title one, two, maybe even three months from now and I’d put money on him returning to the exact same spot he was late last year. In years to come people will remember the WrestleMania win with great fondness, but likely have no recollection of his reign. Sometimes that is alright. Sometimes the magnitude of the moment is worth the time that is sacrificed around it. But with WWE ratings in the gutter like they are right now it feels like a very risky move.
In some good news, according to Dave Meltzer, Daniel Bryan has once again been cleared to return to action. He has been out since WrestleMania with many fearing another head knock thanks to scarce information from WWE. I still haven’t heard what the actual injury was but the fact that he has been cleared is brilliant news. Both rosters have a small amount of people that Vince is willing to book as a star so Bryan is always a big miss when out.
Well that will wrap up this weeks edition. The aim is to be back each and every week from this point on, but I’m sure life will happen and weeks will be missed. Get in touch via Twitter @VizualDze or leave a comment below. Make sure you vote in the polls as they will be an ongoing feature to gauge my audiences opinions on all things wrestling. Peace!
