Roman Reigns we hardly knew Ye!

I just realized today that it's been about 2 weeks since I last viewed any wrestling from WWE and to be honest I'm not all that bothered.  I still listen to podcasts and peruse the wrestling news websites so I have a general understanding of whats going on with the current storylines and who is set to fight at TLC this weekend.  Usually if this were the case I'd make sure I had at least watched the go-home Raw before watching a PPV but I'm not going to bother as I don't have time and I will just go ahead and watch TLC anyway.

The reason I don't feel the need to watch the shows before the PPV is because I don't feel I'm missing out on anything.  I know the matches that are on the card and that in 6 months time no one will remember or care what the stories were that got them there.  I'd actually not be surprised if no-one cared this time next month and here is my fear of why that is..... Wrestlemania Season Magul!

So next month sees the Royal Rumble.  This has always been my favourite PPV of the year however the last few years it has left a bitter taste in the mouth.  Now unlike most people I wasn't all that bothered that Daniel Bryan didn't win in 2014 or 2015 but I wasn't a big fan of how either one went down.  Both years the winner was virtually announced before the event even took place in Batista and then Roman Reigns and the reaction of the fans kind of soured the whole thing.  Rather than build the superstars up beforehand WWE now seem intent on using the period between the Rumble and Wrestlemania to sell the legitimacy of their main event.

I can understand why WWE were naive when it came to Batista as he had been in that position before but having been away for 4 years it required a bigger build up.  Roman Reigns was completely untested before winning the Rumble last year and the fans simply resented WWE for assuming they should care.

WWE needs to start using the full twelve months to build superstars' momentum so that by the time the road to Wrestlemania is upon us we are already at full speed.  The company needs to start playing to the best of their ability for the whole season not just holding off 'til the Play-offs.

Thanks for reading!

AP

This all feels a little familiar

It's been a while since I wrote anything to do with WWE.  I have just looked back at my previous posts and I think the reason for that mainly lies with the fact that I have really struggled to get over the loss of CM Punk and simply can't believe that it is almost 2 years since he walked out on the company.

CM Punk saw the loss of a superstar who knew how to make the most of a microphone and gave a masterclass in how to use it to connect with the fans.  He was REAL.  This is something that seems to be completely lacking from today's crop.

In my opinion the best and most popular superstars were an extension of themselves.  I always felt when Bret Hart, Shawn Micheals and Steve Austin spoke it was coming from deep inside them.  That they had harnessed a part of there own psyche that felt that everything that happened on a Monday night to their character was in fact real.  They lived in the moment which in turn lead the fans to live it with them.

When you go to a theater to watch a play you are asked to be quiet and you comply.  And it's quite easy because you know you are watching actors playing parts.  You can still get swept along with the story but you are not going to stand up in the middle of Macbeth and shout "he did it!" because you know it won't affect the outcome.

In WWE there used to be a belief as a fan that you were interacting with the show.  The superstars were people just like us and we lived their experiences with them.  Now when I watch the show I can see the fans aren't invested in the action because they are sitting watching a play.  It is my belief that the reason that the YES chant was so popular was the fans were just begging for an opportunity to interact with the show and Daniel Bryan was one of the few people who knew how important that was.

A few weeks ago Roman Reigns was asked by Triple H to join the evil Authority.  This would have been the perfect opportunity for Roman to interact with the live crowd and ask them what they though a-la Stone Cold. Instead he stuck to the script and instead he said he was going the hard route but due to a lack of character development it didn't really bother people either way.

Micro management is killing today's product and there are no longer the guys who have the guts to challenge it. I only watch the one hour Raw show now because three hours of pre-written dialogue and hopeless comedy is just a waste of my time.  I really hope for the return of Daniel Bryan but he alone cannot save this ship.  I say let the wrestlers loose like 1997 and see what happens.  You may lose a few along the way but this is the best way to establish some REAL superstars.

AP