2020 Royal Rumble Predictions

My predictions along with the other writers’ will be going up on ringthedamnbell.WordPress.com this weekend, but here’s an early look at mine:

Shorty G vs. Sheamus – SHEAMUS

sheamus-wwe-tournament

This one is a no-brainer. Shorty G has zero momentum and is in a tailspin right now, while Sheamus is the returning heel looking to re-build credibility and at least get himself into the mid-card title picture.

Continue reading “2020 Royal Rumble Predictions”

The Disgrace That Was the HIAC Main Event

Well that was fucking bullshit. Just when you thought they were finally understanding how to book Bray Wyatt, they go and pull something like this. Normally I’m one who chides the fans for shitting on stuff, but in this case, I’d have been with them 100%. People are sick of investing in characters only to have WWE destroy them. This one is going to take a long time to come back from, if it’s even possible, since the trust was broken once again. Maybe irrevocably broken this time. I just don’t understand how it can be so blatantly obvious what your fanbase wants, yet you fuck them over in the worst way possible. How did you feel about it? Let me hear you sound off.

Kreepin’ with the Koopa Episode 2 – Inanimate Objects Everywhere

Welcome back to the first and possibly only 2nd episode of Koopa Kreeper Supreme. I’m your host, as always, Goomba from the Tekken series’ Flavor of Love DLC, and I will be guiding you through the wonderland of mischief that is the Duba-you Duba-you… E. Specifically, we will be addressing the dumpster fire that had a secret cash of fireworks laid in the bottom of that sweet receptacle known as TLC: Inanimate Objects Everywhere. So get your butts in a chair, and watch out that someone doesn’t hit you with it, put your drink down on a table that… someone might put you through… and get ready to climb that proverbial lad- alright let’s just get on with it. And don’t you dare mention stairs.

Continue reading “Kreepin’ with the Koopa Episode 2 – Inanimate Objects Everywhere”

TLC Review

KICKOFF SHOW

 

WWE CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: CEDRIC ALEXANDER VS. BUDDY MURPHY (c)

Fun action early with both guys showing the crowd what they’re in for with dueling displays of athleticism. An appreciative “205” chant breaks out. Tremendously quick pace and great chain wrestling by both guys. If you’re not watching this show, START! You can watch ANY TIME on demand! And it’s only an hour! Much less demanding than Raw or SmackDown, and lately it’s been much better TV.

Continue reading “TLC Review”

Bring Back Vignettes

As a long time wrestling fan, I have always been in love with the characters presented in pro-wrestling, be it WWF, WCW, WCCW, Mid-South, etc… but one thing that those companies always did well, until WWE’s recent history, is introduce wrestlers to their audience. However, this art seems to be lost in the present day.

Firstly, we should note that WWE is the major game in town anymore, and has the vast majority of fan attention. As a grown man with a full-time job, side hustles, and relationships to maintain, I cannot give 5 hours of my attention to the companies weekly programming, nor to the NXT content that is produced weekly. I keep up on it by reading news and results and watching when I can, and one thing that has stuck in my craw is the lack of pumping up new main roster wrestlers or personalities, and I blame this on the way that WWE, and most likely Triple H, view NXT.

NXT is well regarded by hardcore wrestling fans for it’s logical storytelling, fleshed out characters, and great in-ring action, but those same fans often fail to acknowledge that NXT is a niche product, only presented to the less than 2 million subscribers of WWE Network, many of whom, such as myself, don’t view it. This is an issue, as it is the formative, minor league arm of WWE, but many within the company view it as a brand on par with their Raw and Smackdown shows, which is very misguided.

It is this thought process that leads the company to doing no more than having these NXT wrestlers show up on the main roster, expecting most fans to know who they are, know their journey and backstory, and be excited for their arrival. This is lunacy

For years, WWE introduced new personalities through the use of vignettes that would play for weeks or even months, building up anticipation for a wrestler’s debut while also explaining their character and adding depth. Think of the classic vignettes to build up Ted DiBiase, Mr. Perfect, Razor Ramon, Goldust, Val Venis, Kurt Angle, and even Nathan Jones. Before these characters ever stepped foot in the ring, fans knew who they were, what to expect, and even their heel/face alignment.

The current model of having generic music played while a strange individual walks out onto the main roster stage to cheers from neck beards and indifference from everyone else is a far cry from what we used to get. It is not the fault of the wrestlers, but is definitely an issue with management who decide to just throw these performers into the fray without any proper build up or exposure to their wider audience. It can be simply remedied by filming some vignettes and promos at the performance center, but it’s been years or this same issue and nothing has changed.

Has WWE sucked?

So obviously since Survivor Series, this blog has taken a nose dive. I’ve been overwhelmed with work, getting off back pain meds, and adjusting to a new schedule, and I don’t have energy to keep up with WWE, let alone the blog. But from what I have seen, is it just me, or has WWE since Survivor Series been just plain bad? Of course Becky Lynch has been awesome and the Daniel Bryan heel turn has been terrific, but it feels like Raw has almost zero appeal and outside of those two, SmackDown has been stale. Is it just me? Sound off and let me know what you think of the product lately.