The Monday, January 11th edition of WWE Raw did surprisingly well considering it went against the NCAA football national title game which drew far more viewers than any NFL game had done against Raw during the fall.
The show did 3.32 million viewers, roughly the fall season average. The Alabama vs. Clemson championship game did 25.68 million viewers head-to-head. Raw was sixth for the night on cable, but all five shows that beat Raw were ESPN shows that were related to coverage of the game itself.
The good news, in a sense, was the third hour was not their lowest rated hour, so the concept of WWE Champion Roman Reigns vs. everyone (spurred on by Vince McMahon) and the waiting for Brock Lesnar to appear led to a slight increase during a period that usually is a decrease.
It’s also the end of any kind of football hurting Raw ratings on Monday, so the hope is that numbers should increase on a regular basis starting next week.
Not wanting to be liars (again), the original alternate has actually kept its word, and recorded a show for the second consecutive week in a row. And while we’re slowly getting our groove back, the world of puroresu has been speeding along on another level. So, naturally, the main topic this week was the situation with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Who can they push? What they can do? Who would you like to see in the 2017 Dome show main? All that stuff, and a little bit of other stuff too. It’s the Adam and Mike BIG AUDIO NIGHTMARE~! proudly here at F4WOnline.com.
Submitted by Josh Long from Saturday, January 10th
Chris Jericho def. U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match.
JoJo announced to the house that John Cena is out due to a shoulder injury. She informed the crow refunds were available for the next twenty minutes. Before she could finish Alberto Del Rio interrupted and cut a promo on Cena. Del Rio received heat from the crowd during his promo. He even mentioned pro wrestling.
Chris Jericho interrupted Alberto to a big pop from the crowd. Lots of Y2J cheers broke out in the audience. ADR started cutting a promo on Jericho, until he took the mic. Jericho said “Welcome to Monroe is Jericho.” Jericho is majorly over with the crowd which is expected considering his resume. During the promo Jericho called Del Rio “Alberto Del Jackass” & said it was Spanish for jackass.
Fast start to the match, Jericho hits DEL RIO with mic and runs him into the corner. Jericho ripped ADR’s shirt off and started chopping him. When the action spilled outside, Jericho wiped his arm pits with the ripped shirt & rubbed it in Del Rio’s face. Alberto ran Jericho ran into guard rails and started arguing with Rick the sign guy. Del Rio doesn’t seem not to Rick very much so he took his hat and threw it. Rick even had a rubber chicken that Jericho used on Del Rio. Back in the ring, there were a few false finishes for both guys. Del Rio used the outside ropes to apply the cross arm breaker, but the ref broke it up.
Jericho tried to apply the walls but got super kicked instead on the reversal by Del Rio. Alberto got Jericho in another cross arm breaker and the crowd cheering for Y2J. Del Rio got caught in the Walls but Jericho was forced to break after Alberto managed to get the rope. Alberto used the ref as a distraction to rake the eyes. Soon after, Jericho hit code breaker for the 3 count.
Titus O’Neil def. Stardust
Titus got a good reaction from the crown on his way to the ring. A lot of people doing his signature bark or whatever it is. Sign guy has his hat stolen by Stardust, but luckily he has backup. Cody chants start to break out. Titus steals the hat back from Stardust and gives it back to Rick. The match has started but no action other than stealing & retrieving the hat. Stardust slides out of ring before any action takes place and gets some boos for his actions. More Cody chants break out among the crowd.
Titus gets upper hand early. Stardust needs a break, so he retreats into the crowd. Cody chants start again. Titus slaps Cody on the chest in the corner and the crowd wants him to do it one more time. Titus obliges and sends him into another corner and again another slap on the chest. Crowd asks for yet another so being the generous guy he is O’Neil gives Stardust another one and sends him into another corner. Stardust rolls out of the ring to escape.
Stardust gets heat from the after an eye rake & has the upper hand. Stardust goes for cover, two count. A lot of people yelling Cody. Stardust hisses at Charles Robinson after two count, Charles hisses back. Stardust has the upper hand. Titus chant breaks out. Stardust tried to use the ring post but Titus reversed. Soon after O’Neil hits the Clash of the Titus for the three count.
R-Truth def. Heath Slater
R-Truth out first for his match. He raps down the aisle. Good reaction, a lot of people saying what’s up. Leads crowd in what’s up chants. Slater out next. No social outcasts with him. Little to no reaction on his way to the ring.
Some boos when he hits the ring, Slater gyrates on the apron some. Truth does a what’s up chant with a good reaction. Slater tried one man band, only to be met with a lot of boos. After truth plays to crowd, slater tries & Immediately met with boos. Both wrestlers exchange dabs. Match has started but no action. Slater asks crowd if they want a dance off and kicks truth which got some heat. R-Truth gets win in a 5 minute match after a roll up.
Ryback def. Heath Slater
Slater demands the music be cut & requests a new opponent. The big guy accepts his request. Ryback got a good pop. Slater cuts promo saying Ryback doesn’t want to eat him because he’s filthy & he stinks like everyone from Monroe. Ryback hits spine buster followed by meat hook. Shell shock delivered for the 3 count.
Connor’s cure video package played.
Dolph Ziggler def. Tyler Breeze
Breeze doing his usual reclining in the corner. Ziggler runs towards him forcing him to move. A Tyler’s Gorgeous chant broke out. Crowd firmly behind Dolph in this match. Breeze arguing with the sign guy. Lockup around the ring to start the action. Breeze wins the exchange & reclines in the corner. Dolph working the arm pretty fast. Tosses Tyler with arm drag & mocks him. Ziggler on offense sends Tyler out & when he tries to escape Dolph brings him back. Breeze sends Dolph out of the ring. Ziggler makes it back on 9.
Tyler on the offensive. Crowd urging Dolph. He explodes for some punches but misses a splash attempt in the corner. Crowd starts chanting Ziggler while he gets worked over.ziggler explodes for a flurry & hits a spinning neck breaker after a splash in the corner. Famouser attempt misses. Breeze back on offensive. Dolph hits famouser, kick out. Both men have traded false finishes. Ziggler hits a good super kick for a two count. Zig zag off a power bomb attempt from the corner gets a 3 Count.
> Intermission
Brie Bella (w/Alicia Fox) def. Tamina with Summer Rae as ref
Tamina out first. Brie is out to a major pop, accompanied by Alicia Fox. After getting pummeled, Brie works an arm. Tamina works her over. Brie kicks Tamina with “yes” chants from the crowd. Taunts w/ happy bday. Brie rolls up Tamina for two. Tamina back on offensive. Bella manages to gain the upper hand but the running knee can only get a two count. After help from the ref, who had been barking at Tamina to get off the hair during the match, Brie gets the pinfall.
– Dean Ambrose video promo plays
Kalisto and El Torito def. Los Matadores
Lucha chants break out. Kalisto starts but tags in el torrito upon request. El torrito gets pressed by his former partner outside the ring. Kalisto gets the hot tag & cleans house. He hits his finisher for the three count.
Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens
Owens attacks before the bell. Shows off to the crowd with the belt. Owens beats down Ambrose & teases throwing an Ambrose Asylum shirt to the crowd, but drops it on the floor. Owens chops Ambrose in the corner, but Ambrose reverses with his own chops but meets a head butt. Two count for Owens. Ambrose locked in a submission attempt and manages to escape. Owens getting great crowd heat. Owens grabs the stick and calls it the Kevin Owens show on the mic. Missed running senton by Owens & Dean is on the offensive.
Nice running bulldog by Ambrose & Owens rolls out after Ambrose climbs the ropes. Dean flies through the ropes to the outside taking out Owens. Owens back on offense after sending Ambrose throat first into the ropes. Dean gains the advantage & hits a suplex from second rope. Dirty Deeds attempt blocked.
Owens sends Ambrose into ropes for pop up power bomb. Ambrose hits his trademark clothesline from the ropes. Ambrose kicks out of popup power bomb. Owens argues it was a 3. KO takes off the turnbuckle cover and gets caught. He tries to use a chair but gets stopped by the referee. Dirty Deeds gets a three count.
Kalisto is the new U.S. Champion after upsetting Alberto Del Rio. Brock Lesnar, despite protests from Paul Heyman, will be in the Royal Rumble. Basically, Heyman lost a negotiation with the McMahons to have Brock main event WrestleMania and skip winning the Rumble.
Show Recap:
Various members of the roster where on the stage when Vince and Stephanie McMahon came out, so I was wrong about Vince and Stephanie wanting to avoid the CFP title game. The New Day danced to Vince’s music. Vince said one of the 29 men on stage were going to be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion. You had people like Fandango, Damien Sandow (back in his old wardrobe), R-Truth and Stardust out there. Vince singled out Dolph Ziggler for possibly reaching out for the brass ring. You’d think he’d drop that phrase at some point. Stephanie mentioned Kevin Owens possibly concluding the best first year in company history.
Then the Wyatt Family appeared, with Bray Wyatt appearing at the announcer’s desk and repeating his “Anyone but you” Roman catchphrase. Roman Reigns came down. Reigns asked Vince “What happens if I win?” Stephanie laughed and called him delusional. Vince said he wanted to give Roman a chance in a match called a “1 vs. All” match, where Reigns would face as many as 2/3rds of the roster tonight. Stephanie mentioned Reigns could face his brother Dean Ambrose, but Vince corrected her and said Ambrose already was booked in a match. At that point, Sheamus hit Ambrose from behind, and Vince announced Sheamus as Ambrose’s opponent in a match that started immediately.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and Sheamus went to a double countout (14:08)
Sheamus took the match to the outside, where he threw Ambrose into the barricade several times. Ambrose turned things around and sent Sheamus into the post twice, the last of which led to Sheamus bleeding heavily. Apparently, Brock Lesnar gave Sheamus lessons on how to run into the post entirely too hard before the show. Ambrose cleared the announcer’s table like he was going to put Sheamus through it when Owens ran out and jumped him. Owens left Ambrose laying again with punches and tried to power bomb him through the table before he was pulled off by the referees. Match was strung together well but the crowd lost interest by the end.
Rene Young went to the trainer’s room to check on Ambrose, who stormed out saying he still had a pulse and that should concern Owens.
Vince and Stephanie compared dance moves in the back when they stumbled upon Paul Heyman, who put over Vince’s 1 vs. 100 concept. Heyman didn’t want Lesnar in the 1 vs. 100 match and wanted to fight in the main event of WrestleMania. Vince asked Heyman not to change his plans again. Heyman tried to talk Vince into having Brock face the winner of the Royal Rumble. Vince didn’t like the idea. Stephanie tried to keep the peace by having the two meet in private. They all gathered in a small conference room with Vince looking pissed. This is probably a scene that unfolded countless times in the runup to the last December to Dismember.
Chris Jericho will host a Highlight Reel with the New Day later tonight.
Drew Brees was in the audience. He got no reaction at all, which was shocking unless you consider he may have played his final game as a Saint.
Titus O’Neal defeated Stardust (3:23)
JBL used the match to throw in as many David Bowie references as possible, including “Ziggy Stardust” and “The Man who Fell from Earth.” Titus O’Neal won with Clash of the Titus. I could have sworn I saw this same match last week. O’Neal celebrated with the fans until Stardust, who had his face painted like Ziggy Stardust and the Spider from Mars album cover, jumped him.
Jericho came out showed off various tweets trumpeting his return and his return to the Royal Rumble. He wore a blazer with a tie and black scarf. New Day came out, with Jericho getting a nod to Lemmy saying “Overkill” and trying to get the crowd to chant “Rooty Totty Botty.” Big E. talked until the Usos showed up with their Slammys. The Usos wanted a match. Xavier Woods said the only tag team worse than the Usos were Ricky Gervais and Mel Gibson. Jericho arranged a match with Big E. and Kofi Kingston with Woods in their corner against the Usos with Jericho in their corner.
The Usos defeated Tag Team Champions The New Day (C) in a nontitle match (15:18)
Good match with Jey Uso getting the hot tag. Jey went for the splash on Kingston, but Woods distracted the referee and Kingston crotched Jey. This led to Jericho taking Woods’ trombone and blowing it full throttle in Woods’ face. Woods took a bump. Jericho then destroyed the trombone, which brought a reaction from Woods that was absolutely priceless. He acted like his pet puppy had been thrown down a well. In the midst of all this, Jey pinned Kingston with a schoolboy cradle. In the opening minutes, Woods did some ringside banter that sounded like a takeoff of HHH’s late-90s interviews. Looks like Usos vs. New Day for the tag team belts at Royal Rumble.
Michael Cole acknowledged John Cena’s shoulder injury and that he would miss WrestleMania.
Heyman and Stephanie emerged from their meeting with Vince. Stephanie said Paul was driving her father nuts. Stephanie wanted Brock in the Royal Rumble. Paul told Stephanie to tell her father that Brock Lesnar says no. Stephanie, since she has to get the last word in with any segment involving Heyman but all characters that you see on Raw are purely fictional and in no way resembles real life, told Paul that Broke would in the Royal Rumble because her father owns Brock’s contract. Paul said that would be stupid because it would telegraph the finish of the Royal Rumble two weeks early. Well, no, he said he would handle this for Stephanie.
JBL got in the ring and announced Sting as the first member of the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame. Boy, does Sting need the WWE production team to create something for him to get into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. Then again, they might have just done it. They had a piece that featured Kevin Hart talking about how Sting was his favorite wrestler as a child. Cena talked about how he got a blond flattop because he loved Sting in 1989. Robert Flores showed up to put him over. Seth Rollins spoke of having a Sting t-shirt. Ron Simmons talked about how he had the “it” factor. Bret Hart, Booker T and Daniel Bryan were also featured. A great package. If that wasn’t enough, they highlighted a tweet from LeBron James, congratulating Sting and saying he was one of his favorites of all time.
The Wyatt Family started to do a promo but the Social Outcasts showed up. Heath Slater said grab your penicllin because we’re going viral. It ended with Bo Dallas saying they were together like the Four Musketeers. Curtis Axel and Adam Rose looked at him like he was a geek, as if he was supposed to say “Four Horsemen.”
The Wyatt Family and Social Outcasts went to no contest (1:19)
Ryback ran in to go after the Wyatts. Social Outcasts helped Ryback, so they’re comedy babyfaces.
Kalisto, after a nontitle victory over Alberto Del Rio on SmackDown, talked about facing Del Rio for the U.S. Championship tonight. Which leads us to our new segment: “Did Josh Norman cut a better wrestling promo than any wrestler on Raw today?” And the answer is yes.
Del Rio did a prematch promo where he took credit for Cena’s injury, forcing him to miss WrestleMania season. It was such a devastating injury that they never showed how Cena got hurt. Couldn’t they do an injury angle of some sort? Instead, nothing. And they wonder why Del Rio got total silence in this promo that should have had a lot of heat. Newsletter readers and writers used to totally massacre WCW for lapses like this.
Kalisto defeated Alberto Del Rio (C) to win the U.S. Championship (15:16)
Kalisto got the surprise win after he reversed a German Suplex attempt into a victory roll for the pin. Pretty good match, but JBL’s commentary gave telegraphed the result. Del Rio didn’t look happy about losing. It was your standard big man-little man match. Kalisto tried several attempts at the Solinda del Sol, but Del Rio blocked both of them. Del Rio went for his Sh! Kick, but Kalisto rolled out of the way and hit a Frankensteiner for a near fall, one of several in the match. Kalisto tried a tope, but Del Rio threw him against the barricades, which looked liked it sucked. They came back from a commercial and Kalisto was already up, where he took another bump after missing a crossbody block.
Charlotte and Ric Flair did an interview with JoJo. Charlotte said she beat Becky Lynch “Flair and square.” Did I mention that Josh Norman promo? Charlotte said if anything, she was the victim and Lynch the villian.
Charlotte was supposed to wrestle Brie Bella, but Lynch ran out and attacked Charlotte. Lynch had to be pulled off of her. Flair then claimed Charlotte was too injured to wrestle and left with her daughter. So basically, Brie flew to New Orleans to do a ring entrance. Good work if you can get it. Lynch did a promo saying Charlotte made a promise when they started in NXT that she would never use her father to climb to the top, but that’s what she’s done. Lynch said she’s going to make Charlotte tap out and win the Divas title. Good promo.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns vs. Owens, Del Rio, Sheamus, Kingston, Big E., Woods, Konnor, Viktor, Stardust, Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper, and Tyler Breeze ended in a no contest (17:18)
For the 1 vs. All match, Stephanie and Vince came out with Owens, Del Rio (why would he be out there after losing his title?), Sheamus, Kingston, Big E., Woods, Konnor, Viktor, Stardust, Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper, and Tyler Breeze. Stephanie explained to Reigns that he would fight every one of these men until he collpased. The heels appeared confused over the rules. They started to line up on the apron like it was a tag team match. Then Vince said it would start one-on-one, so Reigns started working against Owens.
They went for about 16:00 with Owens controlling using mainly chinlocks. Crowd was totally dead and seemed to be waiting for the Lesnar run-in. Finally when Reigns started the comeback, Konnor and Viktor jumped up on the apron to collect a Superman punch. Breeze ran in to get speared. New Day, Sheamus and Del Rio ran in to attack Reigns. Del Rio gave him a Superkick and Sheamus followed with a Brogue Kick.
Finally Lesnar’s music played. Cole, the genius, thought Lesnar was going to help the heels. Of course, he destroyed the New Day, Del Rio and Sheamus. The Wyatt Family just watched the whole time and simply went to the back. Lesnar pulled Reigns to the center of the ring, then pulled him up and gave him an F-5. Crowd didn’t seem to know how to react. Reigns recovered enough to give Lesnar a smirk as he left, and it’s clear that Lesnar and Reigns will be in the Royal Rumble for a showdown of some sort.
SUMMARY: Final hour was poorly booked. If the Kalisto title change is going to happen, it needs to happen next week when more people are watching. It also needs to last a few months in order to get him over. Del Rio is already getting a rematch on SmackDown. If they change the title right back, it was get Kalisto under. Either way, it does nothing for Del Rio. The company hasn’t clue one how to get him over, which shouldn’t be the case if they’re paying him seven figures.
The 1 vs. All concept was a bad idea because if Reigns was going with the odds stacked against him, why were most of the heels previously in matches on this show? And why were the ones who weren’t jobbers? The rules were vague and all but told the audience that Lesnar running in was going to end the show. Which was fine, as long as we didn’t have to wait through 16:00 of rest holds. First two hours were good.
Post-Show Notes (Thanks Collin Makamson):
– The two ‘trainers’ in the backstage segment were Wild Card J Spade and Luke Hawx, owner and promoter of the local Wildkat Sports.
– After the cameras went off, Roman recovered from his beatdown and laid out the New Day.
WWE officially announced today that Sting will headline its 2016 Hall of Fame Class to be inducted Wrestlemania weekend in Dallas, TX. He was expected to be the lead inductee this year given he lives near Dallas and that the timing worked out.
Steve “Sting” Borden was one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling during the 1990s with WCW, where he was a six-time WCW world champion and two time International world champion. He was also a two-time NWA champion and four time TNA champion.
Borden started his career working for Jerry Jarrett in late 1985 after only a few weeks of training under Red Bastien and Billy Anderson, as Power Team USA. He was discovered working in a Southern California gym by Rick Bassman, who was trying to put together a group of bodybuilders to capitalize on the popularity of the Road Warriors. Borden and Jim Hellwig, who became the Ultimate Warrior, left the camp and Bassman on their own after sending photos to all the different promotions. Only Jarrett responded, but the team only lasted a few weeks before Jarrett got rid of them.
Bill Watts hired the two based on potential. Watts had trouble with Hellwig, who quit and went to work for World Class wrestling, and then found his way to WWF. Sting started as a heel and was put under the wing of Eddie Gilbert, who turned him face just as the UWF was being sold to Jim Crockett Promotions. Most of the UWF talent got buried, but Sting was kept on as a prelim guy, who started gaining popularity.
His star exploded in one night when he was booked to do a 45 minute draw with Ric Flair on the first Clash of the Champions in 1988. From that day on, he was always considered a major star, and when Crockett Promotions told to Turner Broadcasting in 1989, Sting was considered the heir apparent as the company’s top star after Flair. The decision was to change the title in February 1990, ironically, on Flair’s 41st birthday in Greensboro. However, Sting suffered a bad knee injury in an angle building up the match, and the title change was moved to Baltimore and the Great American Bash that summer.
He remained as a top star with WCW until the promotion closed. He retired after not making a deal with WWF, but then came back for a lucrative deal with TNA. He agreed to come in 2006 and every year, he expected it to be his last. And every year, Dixie Carter offered him a new deal and he remained with the company until his last contract expired in early 2014. At that point, TNA could no longer afford him, and he opened up talks with WWE, later debuting at the 2014 Survivor Series in the show-closing angle.
Sting wrestled a few matches with WWE until suffering a neck injury at the 2015 Night of Champions after taking a power bomb into the turnbuckles in a match with then-World Champion Seth Rollins. He noted when talking with Ric Flair that he requires neck surgery, although has not gotten surgery yet.
The worrying sign coming from the hype on WWE.com is that they may group all four men with Finn Balor as part of a NJPW alumni group. This would be a grave mistake. Styles, Balor and Nakamura are all headline acts that shouldn’t be playing second fiddle to anyone else in a faction – putting them together just means you’re inevitably failing to maximise the potential of at least two of the stable’s members.
The pathway for the two Americans is clear: Anderson and Gallows should be reunited with Finn Balor as part of Balor Club. They have a natural chemistry together from their time in Bullet Club, and two big heavyweights acting as muscle for the smaller champion is easy heat. Also, together they may be able to plug the gap in WWE programming created by the asinine decision to break up The Shield.
For A.J. Styles, I would recommend WWE looks more closely at his TNA run than his more recent success in NJPW. Styles only truly convinced fans he was a heel in Japan because he was paired with already hated heels and matched against genuinely beloved babyfaces. WWE has neither of these and so should go with the grain and book him as a babyface. Styles had his most success in TNA as a modern-day reimagining of a mid-eighties WWF Intercontinental Champion, the secondary champion that is the connoisseurs’ favourite, and WWE should book him accordingly. Part of me thinks they’ll book him against Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania.
The more interesting, and challenging, person to successfully introduce into the WWE Universe is Shinsuke Nakamura. As somebody who only came aboard the New Japan bandwagon when NJPW World was launched, I’m confident that if presented properly he can become a huge star in WWE. While he may not be as verbally eloquent as the typical WWE superstar, he is a man who oozes visual charisma that naturally draws fans in. Don’t just take my word for it — my seven year old son has been similarly impressed with the matches he’s watched with me.
What’s more, the fear that WWE fans won’t accept someone from Japan is overblown. Vince McMahon may never have treated Japanese pro-wrestlers seriously, but that didn’t stop Taka Michinoku, Yoshi Tatsu and, above all, Yoshihiro Tarijii from getting far more over than their pushes. Likewise, indie fans have regularly accepted visitors from New Japan as big stars, and the success of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan shows that indie sensibilities are not as far removed from WWE fan tastes as some on both sides of that divide may wish was the case.
However, there’s no doubt he needs to be introduced very carefully by WWE if he’s to be successful. As crazy as it sounds, I believe the man he should be programmed with is none other than Brock Lesnar.
Nearly four months after the strangely rushed climax of his feud with Undertaker, we are still no nearer to knowing who Lesnar will face at Wrestlemania. Worse, there seems to be no good options given that the WWE can’t risk pro-Lesnar fans turning on Roman Reigns if they were rematched while the rest of the roster is a sea of mid-carders. The natural response is therefore to bring an outsider in to face Lesnar. Alas, even here there are slim pickings. The dream match of him facing Steve Austin has been emphatically ruled out by all concerned, while no one is entirely sure whether actors The Rock or Batista would be available to wrestle.
Nakamura is the perfect man to step into this breach, not just because he’s a terrific pro wrestler who has not been defined down by inept WWE booking but because there’s a ready made story. For the uninitiated, Lesnar and Nakamura have already met with Lesnar crushing Nakamura to successfully defend his then-IGWP title. At the time, Nakamura promised to regroup and hone his skills by wrestling all over the world, so that eventually he would be strong enough to avenge his loss.
Using this backstory is the perfect springboard to introduce Nakamura. It gives him a clear rationale for moving to the WWE, and immediately slots him in as a top star. By revealing that Lesnar once held the IGWP belt, it would also validates the credentials of both Nakamura and Styles. But above all else, a feud with Lesnar is the best chance to hide Nakamura’s limitations and extenuate his positives.
Nakamura’s key limitation is that there’s nothing to suggest that he could deliver the monologues that WWE believes are effective promos. That can’t be solely blamed on the fact English isn’t his first language as even his Japanese promos seemed less smooth than some of his contemporaries. What’s more, New Japan rightly doesn’t place any emphasis on talking for 20+ minutes. However, it’s fair to say that Lesnar also lacks the verbal diarrhoea that WWE usually demands of its headliners.
So, pairing them together would allow the emphasis to be moved away from in-ring verbal confrontations that do neither man any favours. Just as Lesnar’s best promo work was in sitdown interviews before his match with Cena, both men would be able to deliver quick quips to put into video packages. Just as Lesnar relies on Paul Heyman to act his advocate, you could easily use either Mauro Ranello or Jim Ross to explain how great Nakamura is based on their previous roles with New Japan. Indeed, there may be an argument for doing a ‘Jim Ross meets Mick Foley’-style series of interviews.
And in a battle of two former MMA fighters (ahem), you could work to expand the build beyond the sometimes claustrophobic environment of RAW by using a HBO 24/7 style series of documentary segments to present a richer narrative of both men’s preparation for the fight.
Such an approach would allow you to introduce Nakamura as a big deal i.e. have him deliver his challenge to Lesnar to a (maybe worked) press conference in Tokyo, work with New Japan to splice in footage of their erstwhile Intercontinental Champion in action (maybe in return for allowing him to work Dominion), showcase his genuine presence in Japanese pop-culture and bring in outside figures (such as Kurt Angle) to vouch for how good he is. Given both are legitimate athletes, you could showcase their training preparations in the same way fans were given a look backstage for Lesnar’s preparations for his match against The Rock.
Done right, such a match would allow the WWE to build interest for the match without wasting too many of Lesnar’s dates or exposing Nakamura. Keeping the debuting Japanese superstar away from the WWE ring would also build intrigue for the match — as long as the pretaped hype packages have convinced people he’s a big deal, the fact they won’t see him until his characteristically elaborate entrance is only a positive. And of course, Lesnar vs. Nakamura is as sure to be as good a match as you could book.
A throwaway show was transformed when they put Kevin Owens against John Cena. Whilst they wasted the momentum generated from Owens’ victory, the lesson was clear, WWE fans want fresh matchups and for new superstars to prove their worth against the biggest stars. Shinsuke Nakamura has drawn more money than anyone the WWE has hired since Goldberg speared Rock, and they should treat him as such. Put him straight into a featured match, protect him during the build, and watch him immediately repay the faith shown in him.
– After the National Anthem, U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio came out first and cut a promo saying he didn’t have a opponent tonight and that he was leaving because of Cena’s injury. Jericho interrupted Del Rio and said they should wrestle.
– Chris Jericho defeated U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio via pinfall by codebreaker
Y2J came out to a very loud pop. Both wrestlers played well to the crowd very well. The match was very action packed as both men were able to hit their finishers.
– Titus O’Neil defeated Stardust via pinfall by Clash of the Titus.
It was a very simple match. The crowd yelled “Cody” most of match.
– R-Truth def. Heath Slater
Truth got a very loud pop. Both wrestlers played with the crowd as truth would shout whats up and crowd would shout it back. slater would get booed. Truth won in a very quick match.
– Kalisto and El Torito def. Los Matadores
Crowd very dead in this match. Quick back and forth match. Kalisto and El Torito won after kalisto finisher.
– Dolph Ziggler def. Tyler Breeze
Ziggler came out to a huge pop. Good match as both guys fought hard back and forth. A lot of close pinfalls. Ziggler won via pinfall by using Zigzag.
– Brie Bella def. Tamina with Summer Rae as guest referee
Tamina was the aggressor most of the match. After a close pinfall Tamina and Summer got into a shoving match until Brie snuck up and rolled up Tamina for a pinfall victory.
– Ryback def. Rusev
Match started with chants for Lana. Crowd was very involved in this match. The fight was back and forth until lana tried to interfere by coming on to the apron. Rusev got the upper hand by superkicking. Ryback escaped Rusev’s submission hold and hit the Shellshock for the win.
– IC Champion Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens
Owens dominated first half of match then the match went back and forth. oth men were able to hit their finishers. Near the end, Owens exposed the turnbuckle and grabbed a chair but wasn’t able to use it. Ambrose then hit Dirty Deeds for the win.
– Rich Swann defeats the debuting Chris Gerard (aka Biff Busick) with his standing 450. Good showing here by both newcomers.
– Elias “The Drifter” Samson defeated Steve Cutler w/ his neck breaker finish. A lot of heat on Elias now with “Drift Away” chants.
– Eva Marie, Emma & Billie Kay w/ Dana Brooke & LeFort defeated Liv Morgan, Adrien Reese, & Carmella. Eva held the tights and got the pin on Reese. A lot of booing for Eva here, two heel managers at ringside got a lot of distractions going.
– Promo segment w/ Noah Kekoa saying he no longer wants us in his Friend Zone before Bull Dempsey came out to talk to him about being friends. Noah got upset with Bull and called him fat over and over before Bull laid him out and did his seated splash to teach Noah a lesson.
– Tye Dillinger defeated Levis Valenzuela Jr. Fun match with comedy early on, the crowd chanted diece for Levis as opposed to Tye’s ten. Dillinger got the upper hand and picked up the win with his knee finisher.
– Hype Bros defeated BAMF w/ Alexa Bliss & Tucker Knight and Hugo Knox in a triple threat tag match. Crowd was hot for Tucker and Hugo, singing the Silver Boots song for Tucker. Blake and Murphy heckled the crowd for cheering the other teams so much. A lot of action before the Hypes got the win.
– Apollo Crews defeated Alex Riley w/ his big slam. Tough guy match here. Apollo had a lot of support so Riley taunted the crowd back.
– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley defeated Peyton Royce in a NXT Women’s Title Match w/ the Belly to Bayley. This Citrus Springs crowd was even rowdier than the recent Full Sail taping, singing both Bayley songs. Bayley danced along to them as Peyton sassed the crowd. Bayley even did some mat work tonight such as a surfboard. After doing ten punches in the corner, the crowd chanted Ten as per Dillinger so Bayley did his hands routine and even a cartwheel to a huge pop. Peyton escaped one Belly to Bayley but couldn’t avoid it the second time. Great match here. Hope to see more.
– NXT Champion Finn Balor, Enzo Amore, & Big Cass defeated Tino Sabatelli & NXT Tag Champions Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder. Dash & Dawson got a lot of heat on Big Cass in this match before the hot tag to Finn who cleared house and scored the win. Faces went around the ring for high fives to send everyone home happy. Enzo even stopped to talk to some younger fans and pose for pictures, these three are great.
Les and Vic cap off a very newsworthy week in the world of wrestling with lots of thoughts about the New Japan 4, the rash of shoulder injuries, and 50/50 booking in WWE.
After starting off with New Japan, we’ll tackle a couple of issues mentioned in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: the eye opening stats regarding 50/50 booking in WWE during 2015 (23:25) and the proliferation of shoulder injuries within WWE and the strength and conditioning program (28:18). Les has an interesting take on the injuries and workout regimens given his time a wrestler, wrestling trainer, bodybuilder and certified professional trainer for a number of gym and organizations. We’ll wrap by emptying the mailbag (49:28).
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