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Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 7/4/16: Independence Dud
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 7/4/16)
Independence Dud
– WWE and holidays never mix if you seek quality television. It was the Fourth Of July and America celebrated it’s 240th birthday with greasy grilled goodness and such. WWE threw on a three-hour Raw with the agenda of half-assedly pushing Battleground with holiday filler. It worked in some ways and was missable in many others. Case in point – the opening segment was your general locker room food party. The Golden Truth performed on stage before The Vaudevillains forced them off and then Aiden English had food thrown at him. WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz/Maryse warned everybody not to let it end in a food fight and sure enough, that’s what happened. Kevin Owens also got pied by someone in the face off-camera, Heath Slater went through a table, Darren Young sat with other heels and we knew we were in for one of “those” nights.
Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown 6/30/16: The Best Fighting The Best
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 6/30/16)
The Best Fighting The Best
– We’re actually fans of SmackDown’s occasional “cheesy promo mash-up cold open” where they’ll announce a match and then mash together promos from the competitors with fancy music in the background. This episode was one of them, as it was announced that a fatal four-way between Cesaro, Apollo Crews, Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio would determine who’d fight WWE United States Champion Rusev later in the show for the belt. Cesaro’s promo was probably the coolest since he literally drove a van in his secret agent suit, rolled down the window and “invited his opponents to an uppercut party.” Crews put over his underdog status being the reason he could win. Sheamus questioned Crews’ involvement in the match (assumedly to presume their feud) and proclaimed he’d have fun kicking off Crews’ head before ultimately dethroning his old buddy Rusev. Del Rio finished it off as he made fun of Sheamus’ hair problems (given their tensions on Raw, this wasn’t new) and dismissed Crews as a threat. True – this could be cheesy as hell, but we got a big match and heard from all the competitors in the first two minutes. Job done.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 6/27/16: Let’s Talk About Roman Reigns
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 6/27/16)
Let’s Talk About Roman Reigns
– Just when we thought maybe WWE would duck their way around a month without Roman Reigns with no mentions, they went right to it thanks to Seth Rollins and the opening segment that also involved WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, John Cena and Stephanie McMahon. Now, the way Rollins did it was fine, but WWE relies on big screen graphics a little too much. Took the fun out of that, but at least it grabbed our attention. Rollins milked himself up at Reigns’ expense to get cheers and tried to push for a one-on-one rematch which drew out Ambrose, who stood by Reigns and said everyone made mistakes. Styles was a good fit in the segment since there was a chance now to add more people to the Battleground match and once Styles was out, Cena was only going to be next. Styles and Cena also had valid reasons for being added separately. It also fit Steph’s character to despise Ambrose as Champion since he goes against the “corporate image” and anything to increase his odds of losing wasn’t unheard of. Plus, it gave us two matches to make the show more interesting as we learned Cena and Styles would be added respectively to the match if Cena beat Rollins and Styles beat Ambrose. Everyone essentially got what they wanted.
Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown 6/9/16: Momentum In The Bank
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at then bottom of the post.
(Aired 6/9/16)
Momentum In The Bank
– The opening in-ring segment with The Club and Enzo Amore/Big Cass solidly hyped for the fatal four-way Tag Title match at Money In The Bank, which would involve Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson, Enzo/Cass, The Vaudevillains and WWE World Tag Team Champions The New Day. We also had AJ Styles talk up his big match with John Cena and sold it as “bigger than WrestleMania” to an extent. He also threw in some good heel logic when he mentioned that it was time for a change and the “New Era” didn’t truly start until he took out Cena, which was his plan all along. Enzo/Cass delivered their lines nicely for the most part, even if they spun their wheels a bit on the material. Did like how Gallows/Anderson sold their global credibility, while Enzo/Cass had “Mr. Clean Dream Team” as a retort. Gallows may have even threw a rhyme down there. Overall, a decent interaction that set up the match to follow.
From Bulgaria With Fear
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Anthony Zevoteck
If I began to describe a six-foot tall, 300-pound man possessed with the ability to attack his foes with furious strength and also fly around like a human wrecking ball, you’d probably think it’s the latest James Bond villain or my newest created superstar on WWE 2K16.
That’s not the case however.
The man previously described is best known as current WWE United States Champion Rusev, the big Bulgarian whose already had an impressive career complete with a long once-undefeated streak, a lengthy US Title reign and a freaking tank entrance at WrestleMania 31 before he got to work with John Cena in what fans considered one of the show’s best matches.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 4/18/16: Shane Takes Another Power Swig
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 4/18/16)
Shane Takes Another Power Swig
– This Raw emanates from London, which automatically meant a rambunctious crowd synonymous with WrestleMania weekend. Without any matches or segments hyped, that alone was enough to make us see what craziness would occur. Things kicked off with the “Ambrose Asylum” in-ring segment with Dean Ambrose, Shane McMahon (running the show once more), Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Chris Jericho. Got a kick out of the fact that the “Ambrose Asylum” set’s a mockery of Jericho’s “Highlight Reel” set, potted plant included. Ambrose’s lines bordered on cutesy, but not enough to turn the crowd off and he seemed delusional by talking how he was in the “talk show business” now, but it worked with his character. As far as Shane’s agenda of ushering in a “new era” and his reference of people like Sami Zayn, AJ Styles and Sasha Banks, it made sense on the surface, but not really. These people were around when The Authority was in power and isn’t it every year that WWE brings in new stars after WrestleMania? What’s so different about it happening because Shane’s in power? And again, why’s Shane in power for yet another week, when the original WrestleMania stipulation didn’t call for it? When will we get answers for these growing questions? We’ll let it slide because the shows are better creatively speaking, but as time passes, the logic holes get bigger. Owens as the role of skeptic worked and we liked his view about being “punished for being an honest man,” accusing Shane of being “drunk with power,” a line that resonated throughout the night. He also laid down some bold lines about Zayn “riding his coattails for a decade,” which drew out everyone’s favorite underground underdog. Zayn got some decent mic time, reminding us that he was signed by WWE before Owens, which he called the driving point for their own friendship and that ate Owens up. Jericho’s lines were short and sweet, but he stood on the “Shane’s drunk with power” side of the argument. Shane’s announcements of Zayn-Owens and Jericho-Ambrose at Payback were predictable, but lacked a certain excitement to them. The end of the segment was good too, with Shane purposely clearing the ring (and Ambrose getting his potted plant out of harm’s way) before a brawl broke out, with the faces clearing the heels from the ring. We also found out that Ambrose-Owens would battle later.
Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown 4/7/16: Eye-To-Eye
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 4/7/16)
Eye-To-Eye
– It’s no secret to see WWE dragging out WrestleMania’s spectacle throughout the week with dashing highlight videos, and that’s what the opening video did yet again. You’d think they focus on Raw After Mania, but we’ll just sip our tea.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 4/4/16: The Energy Of Change
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 4/4/16)
The Energy of Change
– Another year, another loud, vocal crowd of “international marks.” Such is the usual with the Raw after WrestleMania, which is now hyped up to the point of a spectacle of itself. As you could probably imagine, the opening video highlighted various happenings of WrestleMania 32 to the tune of Flo Rida’s “My House.”
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 3/28/16: Bombs Away
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 3/28/16)
Bombs Away
– With a hyped-up Brooklyn crowd, the show got off to the right start with the hot opening segment with Shane McMahon and The Undertaker. Again, while this whole feud/storyline severely lacks strong logic, it does hold a certain entertainment factor to it that can’t be denied. Say what you want. You’re looking forward to this match. That said, their exchange on the mic was entertaining, with Shane proclaiming he was fighting to win to bring change, while Taker was fighting not to lose. Also some nice jabs at Taker’s legacy tarnished two Manias ago. They amped it up by having Shane walk down the ramp and into Taker’s face, to which Taker called Shane his daddy’s bitch, which started the memorable physical exchange. Didn’t think they’d take a chance with Shane’s signature elbow drop through the announce table, but they did it and the crowd went bonkers. This feud actually needed that “aha” moment to get people even more excited and gave us a taste of what could potentially come at Mania.
Open Your Mind To A Divas Tag Team Championship
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Anthony Zevoteck
Tag team wrestling – regarded as one of pro wrestling’s best forms, allows multiple wrestlers to work together and come up with fitting movesets for fast-paced in-ring action. When performed right, it can make fans excited, especially when their favorite team gets the “hot tag.”
For a long time, it has only been the men who get Championships to display any tag team excellence. The women haven’t gotten that chance since 1989, yet how many times have we seen a two-on-two or three-on-three Divas tag match?
For many years, this topic has been thought of as unnecessary or ridiculous, but nowadays, there’s a strong case for it.
The branded “Divas Division” has seen its ups and downs (mostly the latter) over the years with poorly written storylines and characters with “all hair and no care” or “all face and no grace.” There was a time that little fans cared about the Divas and looked at their in-ring time as a bathroom break.
In the modern era, we’ve seen a resurgence of genuine fan interest in women’s wrestling thanks to the uprise of hard NXT workers like Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley. There was a time where any of those four ladies could be counted on to steal the show and were thus, even given the main event of a WWE Network Live Special.
In 2015, with a higher demand for women’s wrestling, the main roster tried to emulate this by bringing up three of those four NXT ladies and teaming them with and against some already-established main roster Divas, all branded the “Divas Revolution.” Although this was an experiment that had its few highs and many lows, the aftermath has started to show some positives that came of it.
It seems lately there are too many Divas going after one Title and causes a lack of fan interest because of mindless feuds over a Title that honestly doesn’t change hands often.
With a stacked roster with talent like Paige, Natalya, Tamina, Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, Cameron, Naomi, Summer Rae, Lynch and Banks, you have all these ladies (with the exception of two) currently involved in a feud for the Divas Championship. Give them another Title to compete for. Give other Divas matches some meaning.
Don’t forget, there’s even more talent on NXT due for an eventual call-up, like Bayley, Asuka, Eva Marie, Nia Jax, Carmella, Alexa Bliss, Dana Brooke, Emma. Some of these ladies are already notorious as duos – Naomi/Tamina, Brie Bella/Alicia Fox, Emma/Brooke, Jax/Eva, etc. They can easily fill spots necessary for such a Division.
Many fans will probably disagree with this based on the grounds that the men should get another singles Title to allow more guys opportunities to get over with fans. I fully understand that point of view, because I’d absolutely love to see the day where the Cruiserweight or Light Heavyweight Championship are resurrected. However, with that not happening anytime soon, give that spotlight to the women.
They could easily knock this out of the park. New ideas give ladies new motivations, new reasons for fans to care about them and thus, they would go hand in hand. Maybe a Diva isn’t primed for a Divas Championship match and can develop skills in a tag team until she is. Either way, there need to be a second level for the Divas because the storylines alone aren’t enough to go off of.
There’s an unexplored side of modern WWE waiting to be discovered, almost 30 years hidden away.
WWE, give a WWE Tag Team Divas Championship a chance.
Pro Wrestling Opinion 