The Worst of Wrestling

[Filthy Sanchez]

over-saturation of a good thing until it's dead in the ground is a common wrestling trait. Something works well as a one time thing or a rare occasion. Then they see it's popular and give it to us so regularly it loses all shine.

An example is Sandow, when he came out as Magneto to Hugh Jackman it was a genuinely funny segment that worked really well. Then he started dressing us as different people each show and doing a nice skit. Not amazing but as filler for a three hour show it's not too bad. Even when he first joined Miz, it fitted the character and the 'one man wrestling' performances were something different. Now they've been tag champs and are doing some awful personal assistant storyline that takes up a good twenty minutes of raw every week. It's stale, boring and it's flogging a dead horse.

The other one is HIAC matches. Great as a once off event when it's appropriate for rivalries. Now there's a PPV with normally two cell matches with rivalries that have been going for three weeks. And don't tell me the death of the cell is a PG thing either, Undertaker and Edge had an incredible PG cell match before the HIAC PPV was created.

 

[PVF]

Ok did that comparison thing but before I get to that:

First off I got onto the WWE Network and went back in time to 2001 and WrestleMania 17 which is considered the greatest of all-time (I still think 19 is better but anyway). First match I watched was Angle Vs Benoit. Some notes from that:

- Chain wrestling! Bring that back please. Not for every match but I love the way it starts off a match, especially with two ring technicians going at it.
- You wouldn't believe it but the two commentators (JR and Heyman who worked great together imo) actually called the match and actually called the moves that were being used! Heyman did a great job of putting certain wrestling moves over aswell, didn't feel like anything they did was wasted.
- Now I started watching wrestling in 2004 but I have seen this PPV before but never the build up to this match. This match had such a small thing to use as a storyline but it made the match even more interesting. As I said, I never saw the build-up but the commentators filled me in with each guy (Angle and Benoit) wanting to make the other tap to their finishing submission move. Now I already have watched this match before but forgot who won so I was actually on the edge of my seat. The crowd was going nuts aswell whenever either guy was looking to hit their submission move. The ring psychology was great and the match told a story even though I only had that small bit of information before the match. This wasn't some throwaway match, it had a meaning to each guy. So basically what I'm trying to say is...IT'S NOT THAT ******* HARD WWE TO MAKE A MATCH MEANINGFUL WITH A STORYLINE!


Now onto the comparison matches. I picked Jericho Vs Regal from Wrestlemania 17 and Jericho Vs Punk from WM 28. The first one went for about 10 minutes (if that) and the second for over 20 minutes.

You can certainly tell the difference in the two. The first one which was half the length time wise had more wrestling moves than the latter one. I don't know if this is a fair comparison because before the WM 28 match start they added that Punk couldn't get DQ'd so for storyline purposes there was alot of punches and kicks.


Other thoughts:
- During the Regal/Jericho match Regal took off one of the turnbuckles. I thought to myself, wow I can't remember the last time a heel done that in a match.
- And then I thought to myself, why don't heel's do any eye pokes, low blows, scratching the back anymore?
- Bring back the black ropes for the Big 4 PPV's.
- Light the building up! Holy s**t matches look a heap more epic when you can see the fans in the background clearly with signs and look so close that it looks like they could breathe on the wrestlers.


Might think of some more stuff tomorrow when I'm not drunk.

 

[Maxwell110]

And then I thought to myself, why don't heel's do any eye pokes, low blows, scratching the back anymore?

Very interesting post!
I think the answer to this question is either PG, sponsors or WWE is stupid, I don't really remember. Although I do remember Stone Cold bringing this up, he was backstage talking to Cesaro once and was giving him some advice to do some heel stuff like that and Cesaro said they aren't allowed to do that stuff. I don't remember if Austin brought it up in his podcast with Vince.

 

[Cleavy]

chanting the promotion initials. it's so indy! I've never heard WWE fans chant WWE during a great match. Chant for the wrestlers instead!!!

 

[Hawks1523]

Very interesting post!
I think the answer to this question is either PG, sponsors or WWE is stupid, I don't really remember. Although I do remember Stone Cold bringing this up, he was backstage talking to Cesaro once and was giving him some advice to do some heel stuff like that and Cesaro said they aren't allowed to do that stuff. I don't remember if Austin brought it up in his podcast with Vince.

He didn't bring it up to Vince, but he definitely did say it to cesaro talking about reverse mule kicks.

The dirty heel is something wrestling misses. Eye poking, low blows, using the ropes as leverage for a pin, expose the turn buckle, hit someone with a chair and then toss it out with the ref "distracted" to get a win.

Also the commentary adds to a match more than anyone gives it credit for I think. Call the moves, the action in the ring. JR was great at it, he was able to draw you in to how serious a match was. He almost called it like a fan with the enthusiasm he put in to it. If he was yelling "stone cold, stone cold" or something you got excited about it! These days they're fed shitty jokes, talking about nonsense, plugging networks and it just removes the importance of the match.

Well for me anyway

 

[gaskin]

chanting the promotion initials. it's so indy! I've never heard WWE fans chant WWE during a great match. Chant for the wrestlers instead!!!

Depends when it's done. If it's like with NXT and the crowd chant it at the start of the show then I don't mind it. During matches like Rhyno's this week when the started chanting ECW, that was stupid.

 

[Cleavy]

it has been done to death also.

 

[Damon_3388]

You can certainly tell the difference in the two. The first one which was half the length time wise had more wrestling moves than the latter one. I don't know if this is a fair comparison because before the WM 28 match start they added that Punk couldn't get DQ'd so for storyline purposes there was alot of punches and kicks.

Why does number of moves matter?

 

[Partridge]

Other thoughts:
- During the Regal/Jericho match Regal took off one of the turnbuckles. I thought to myself, wow I can't remember the last time a heel done that in a match.
- And then I thought to myself, why don't heel's do any eye pokes, low blows, scratching the back anymore?
- Bring back the black ropes for the Big 4 PPV's.
- Light the building up! Holy s**t matches look a heap more epic when you can see the fans in the background clearly with signs and look so close that it looks like they could breathe on the wrestlers.

Actually on this I disagree totally. It was cool initially for a change, but it's way overdone now. To me the arena looks like some half-arsed nightclub with all the lighting. Besides, all it does is detract from the ring and the wrestlers. That's who the stars are meant to be.

 

[Partridge]

The so called 5 moves of doom that Cena gets s**t on for is the exact same thing everyone else is doing it, it's part of their 'hulking up' that they ALL do now. I'm not sure why or whose direction it is though.

I can't imagine Vince or the creative team would give a s**t whether Cesaro does 5 variations of suplex in his match. Is it the agents? Is Billy Kidman or Pat Paterson standing there going, nah man, just kick him, don't lift him straight up vertical in the most perfect suplex, no need. Save your back.

The writers. That's easy.

You have to remember, the writers actually think it's a television show, or comedy drama, or whatever, instead of a wrestling show. That's why the wrestling content is so ignored; it's the one thing they can't script and control (contrary to popular myth, wrestling matches for 99% of the time it existed were NEVER scripted).

It used to be very simple and logical; you had x amount of minutes to get your match, yourself and (preferably) your opponent over, and aside from the finish, how you did it was up to you. The guys fed off the crowd and learned by trial and error what worked and what didn't. That's why it worked.

 

[PVF]

 

[NotAMagpieBogan]

Didn't he hold the championship for over a year and go up against Undertaker at Wrestlemania?

More than the majority of performers that have gone through dub-ya dub-ya e.

 

[PVF]

Didn't he hold the championship for over a year and go up against Undertaker at Wrestlemania?

More than the majority of performers that have gone through dub-ya dub-ya e.

While the reign was good he didn't get booked like he was the man.

During his reign which included 15 PPV's he only main-event 5 times:

Survivor Series 2011: Punk vs. Del Rio (Punk wins title) Main event: Miz/Truth vs. Cena/Rock

TLC 2011: Punk vs. Del Rio vs. Miz. Main Event.

Royal Rumble 2012: Punk vs. Ziggler. Main event: Royal Rumble

Elimination Chamber 2012: Punk in Elimination Chamber. Main event: Kane vs. Cena

WrestleMania XXVIII: Punk vs. Jericho. Main Event: Cena vs. Rock

Extreme Rules 2012: Punk vs. Jericho. Main Event: Cena vs. Lesnar

Over the Limit 2012: Punk vs. Bryan. Main Event: Cena vs. Johnny Ace

No Way Out 2012: Punk vs. Bryan. Main Event: Cena vs. Big Show in a cage.

MITB 2012: Punk vs. Bryan. Main Event: MITB Ladder Match (Cena won).

SummerSlam: Punk vs. Cena vs. Show. Main Event: Lesnar vs. HHH. Lesnar

Night of Champions: Punk vs. Cena in a draw. Main event.

Hell in a Cell: Punk vs. Ryback in the HIAC. Main event.

Survivor Series 2012: Punk vs. Ryback vs. Cena. Main Event.

TLC 2012: Punk is not on the card. Main Event: Cena Vs Ziggler

Royal Rumble 2013: Punk vs. Rock (loses his title). Main Event.


Cena was in the Main Event in 11 of those PPV's, only three of those were against the champion.

 

[NotAMagpieBogan]

Wow that's actually really not cool.

R-Truth and Miz vs Rock and Cena HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Cena vs Johnald HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA completely forgot about that one

 

[Filthy Sanchez]

PVF this is one of the things that annoys me so much about the Punk reign, especially as you've done, shown the main events that took place instead. Now in the interest of fairness at Night of Champions 2011 (three PPVS before Survivor series) Punk did main event in a match he lost to Triple H while Cena was on the undercard facing Del Rio for the wwe title. But that fact in itself shows how poorly Punk was used. Why was Punk feuding with Triple H when two months earlier he was the hottest thing in wrestling after that great win at money in the bank? Add to that the PPV before Survivor Series Triple H teamed with CM Punk to put over R-Truth and Miz. It's possibly the most shambolic booking of a main event star ever. His 400 day title reign should've started at Money in the Bank, so much of his momentum had fizzled by Survivor Series that he couldn't be 'the top guy' by then.

You can understand some of those places on the undercard. Firstly you can make it 5/14 because there's no need to count TLC 2012 and the Royal Rumble usually goes on last, there's some others that are passable too. But for me what sticks out is that Punk vs Bryan never main evented. Their match at Over the Limit was amazing and to have it followed by a Cena comedy match and of all things a Big Show heel turn, it's an absolute disgrace. I remember going to the live show that year, Punk fought Bryan for the wwe title and I absolutely loved the match, those two made the night so worthwhile but the main event was Cena vs Johnny and Show.

What is also interesting looking at those main events is that the world heavyweight title didn't main event once. It's either Punk or a non-title match, it goes to show how both championships were undervalued. Unfortunately Punk's going to get that Ultimate Warrior "flash in the pan" stigma but really WWE didn't hold up their end of the bargain on Punk.

 

[workhorse]

PVF this is one of the things that annoys me so much about the Punk reign, especially as you've done, shown the main events that took place instead. Now in the interest of fairness at Night of Champions 2011 (three PPVS before Survivor series) Punk did main event in a match he lost to Triple H while Cena was on the undercard facing Del Rio for the wwe title. But that fact in itself shows how poorly Punk was used. Why was Punk feuding with Triple H when two months earlier he was the hottest thing in wrestling after that great win at money in the bank? Add to that the PPV before Survivor Series Triple H teamed with CM Punk to put over R-Truth and Miz. It's possibly the most shambolic booking of a main event star ever. His 400 day title reign should've started at Money in the Bank, so much of his momentum had fizzled by Survivor Series that he couldn't be 'the top guy' by then.

You can understand some of those places on the undercard. Firstly you can make it 5/14 because there's no need to count TLC 2012 and the Royal Rumble usually goes on last, there's some others that are passable too. But for me what sticks out is that Punk vs Bryan never main evented. Their match at Over the Limit was amazing and to have it followed by a Cena comedy match and of all things a Big Show heel turn, it's an absolute disgrace. I remember going to the live show that year, Punk fought Bryan for the wwe title and I absolutely loved the match, those two made the night so worthwhile but the main event was Cena vs Johnny and Show.

What is also interesting looking at those main events is that the world heavyweight title didn't main event once. It's either Punk or a non-title match, it goes to show how both championships were undervalued. Unfortunately Punk's going to get that Ultimate Warrior "flash in the pan" stigma but really WWE didn't hold up their end of the bargain on Punk.

The whole booking of CM Punk post "pipebomb" promo was pretty shocking to be honest. They had a chance to create this era's Austin/Rock but failed due to complete and utter ineptitude and lack of planning. Punk was the hottest thing in wrestling and had recaptured a whole section of disconnect wrestling fans. Every time Punk and Cena feuded it was awesome.

I actually didn't them taking the title of CM Punk, as Del Rio had money in the bank, so getting his cash-in out of the way meant that Punk would be able to lose it without looking weak and eventually win it title back and go to WrestleMania. What they should've f'n done is do the Punk/Triple H feud properly, though. Have a double countout at Night of Champions due to Kevin Nash again or some other dodgy finish to set up a Hell in a Cell match where Punk wins. He's then established as the real deal and can win back the WWE title at Vengeance. Triple H can move onto the Miz/Truth feud which should've led to a Survivor Series match between Team Triple H and Team Johnny. Have Triple H banned from competing only to bring in The Rock for his team. Do Miz/Truth/Nash/Christian/Ziggler vs Rock/Cena/Sheamus/Kofi/Evan Bourne or something similar.

I just don't understand them trying to stunt CM Punk so much. A different Punk vs Cena feud every year or so with an eventual WrestleMania match would've been amazing. Unfortunately not though. In my opinion Wrestlemania 29 should've been CM Punk (500 day title reign) vs Cena (RR winner) and have Rock face Taker.

That's just my sourness towards the booking of one guy who I think most people can appreciate was misused to a certain extent.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

 

[kool kangas]

Predictable endings.
Always winning matches with finishers. So sick of it.
Constant interference from outside the ring
PG rating matches....
Stupid storylines ,catering for the PG rating

 

[NotAMagpieBogan]

Predictable endings.
Always winning matches with finishers. So sick of it.
Constant interference from outside the ring
PG rating matches....
Stupid storylines ,catering for the PG rating

Would a little extra HLA or live sex celebration help?

 

[Baird]

Every match in WWE is the same nowadays, and the fans have been conditioned into thinking that a couple of false finishers are "awesome", hence the this is awesome chants 30 times every Raw.

Lets say for example, it's The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler and the match lasts around 12 minutes. The first 9 minutes of the match will be the heel (Miz) dominating the face with restholds. And then in the final 3 minutes, the 2 wrestlers will use their 3 shitty moves (and a false finish will occur after every move) to a chorus of 'this is awesome' chants, Ziggler (the face) will come back and win and Dave Meltzer will give it 3 and a half stars out of 5.

 

[NitroFan]

i hate this is awesome chants, especially when they occur after the crowd has been sitting on their hands for most of the match.

 

[Maxwell110]

This is awesome, this is wrestling and marking out are 3 chants I hate. Also at the start of Final Battle '14 there was a We want wrestling chant that annoyed me.

 

[Igloo]

This is awesome, this is wrestling and marking out are 3 chants I hate. Also at the start of Final Battle '14 there was a We want wrestling chant that annoyed me.

I know it's not exactly the same, but...


Caution, bad language