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How many shows in a row can Bryan be left in a heap? If the WWE keeps up with this, then Night of Champions isn’t going to be well ordered. Who wants to see the fan favourite get beaten up each week, and have no chance of winning at the pay-per-view? Bryan has to at least look somewhat viable going into the pay-per-view, or it’s not worth the time or the money.
On the other hand, I’m loving that the WWE has really been stepping things up with their creativity lately, and that, at least in appearances, Steph and Triple H are becoming more important in running the company. We all know what we see on TV is not what’s really going on backstage, but it’s nice to see McMahon seeming to pass the torch – at least for the moment.
The face of the WWE!
The way Trip keeps telling us that Orton is “the face of the WWE” only makes it that much more obvious that he isn’t. Further, it was nice to see both Orton and Bryan take much of Trip’s 20 minute promo away from him. I was worried that the WWE was going to backslide into that when Trip started playing the heel boss. He’s doing a great job in the role, but his 20 minute promos were always a huge problem, and he could end up there again if he’s not careful. But Bryan and Orton really carried that segment well, and showed that they should be the ones competing for the WWE Championship.
Cody’s in trouble!
Cody really stepped in it without even trying, and I think showed that you can say something that wasn’t meant the way it was taken. Further, I wonder if that segment was aimed at Ziggler, and all the things he’s said that he shouldn’t have that have landed him in the doghouse lately. The saddest thing about this segment is that it was some of the best acting we’ve seen from Cody.
Fandango‘s pretty face!
I have to admit that it was pretty amusing when this match came back from commercial and King said that the match was stopped during the break because of Miz’s big boot just before. A simple big boot, a move that we’ve seen hit numerous times by numerous wrestlers, and this one time, one of the lightest looking big boots – nothing like JBL’s big boot – and it looks like Fandango’s nose was broken.
Now, I have to say that I’m very proud of Fandango for continuing the match, especially after the way Sin Cara bailed on his match a couple weeks ago over a finger. I also have to admit that I’m especially proud of Fandango as he’s a local boy, and there are very few wrestlers who make it big from my home state. As of right now, the biggest are Tony Atlas, Scotty 2 Hottie, and Fandango, so I absolutely have to cheer the local boy for toughing it out, though it would have been better if it had been a better match, but I can’t blame that on Fandango, as Miz looked rather blah in this match to me.
Tell me you did not just say that!
Was the WWE just trying to find a way to put Booker T on RAW so he could get a show bonus? It made little sense for Booker T to talk to Bryan the way he did, other than to let Bryan come out with Booker T’s catchphrase, which was adorable! And they didn’t need to send Booker T in to get his show bonus, as every Superstar and Diva was on the stage at the end of the night – including JoJo, Eva Marie and Ryder – so this whole segment made little sense to me. Honestly, more of a waste of time since it was only Booker T who did it. If a number of Superstars went in to talk to Bryan – and they might do more of this in the following shows leading up to Night of Champions – then Booker T would have made more sense and seemed like much less of a non sequitur.
Loose lips sink ships!
Well, as I said, Ziggler doesn’t seem to know when to keep his mouth shut, and it’s killing his career. He’s not even feuding with Big E any longer, it’s all about who doesn’t get along with the boss, or the direction of the company – in storyline, or real life. It seems to me that Ziggler really wants to work for TNA.
Big Show in the poor house!
Big Show
The WWE really needed to do something about ‘iron clad contract’ that became part of Big Show’s storyline when he was a heel. That he was standing by and watching Bryan getting beaten down without doing anything about it made less than no sense. I’m not sure that Steph talking to her giant helped the situation, or hurt it.
Now, I know she was very close to Andre, but I didn’t know she was close with Big Show like that. Further, she was talking about when she was twelve and Big Show looking at her like she was still that little girl. The problem with that is that Steph is 36 now, and Big Show didn’t join the WWE (was with WCW) until 1999. Steph was 23, so it is impossible that Big Show was the giant she looked up to when she was a little girl growing up.
The WWE took one plot hole and turned it into a bigger one. Further, this whiny, crying, blithering mess that Big Show has turned into is just horrible! What were they thinking?
Prime time swayers!
I can’t get over how many groups of fans threw arms around each other swaying as O’Neil and Young headed to the ring. Young comes out of the closet, and I’m so proud of him for that, but there was no way they could stay heels after that, and the fans are loving them! I also have to give Young props for that belly-to-belly he’s added to his ring arsenal. He hits that thing beautifully every time!
Walrus is a weasel!
Watching Trip gloat over Heyman’s possible beating being good for business had me on the floor. The way those two men work off each other, and use their real past to make their segments that much better, is something that every superstar should be doing.
Fire is your friend!
Bray Wyatt stole the hour with his video about Kane. We all know that Kane being gone means that they’re trying to brainwash him into their cult, so they have to be setting up for something big, and giving Kane some time off to heal up from the constant bumps and bruises they all deal with. Also, Kane might be off filming See No Evil 2, I’ve heard rumours that it was in the works, sooner rather than later. The way they integrated the chain and hook into Kane’s character last time was fantastic, so I’m excited to see what they will do this time around.
Fight for your life!
Cody Rhodes
This was the first five star match we’ve seen from Cody Rhodes, and it’s sad that it had to be for fear of being fired. I know it makes sense that he’d pull out all the stops for this match, but dang, I wish we’d seen this from him all along! Cody would be leaps and bounds ahead of where he is now if he had.
We all know that Cody isn’t gone from the WWE. He must be taking time off for his wedding and his honeymoon. Besides, the feud with Sandow is far from over! He was the perfect person for Trip to fire, to show what a mean boss he is, and prove that he’s in ultimate control over the roster. I’m sure Cody will be back, and I hope the storyline for him returning is strong, because after the holes in the Big Show storyline, I’m worried.
13 days!
Punk, as always, handled himself really well on mic here. I loved that he said there really wasn’t anything he needed to say, and that he was too riled up to remember what he’s supposed to say next. Punk has such a different style on mic, and because of that I really enjoy watching him. When he’s given the freedom he needs to blossom, you really never know what he might say, and that’s good for business!
I’m going to beat you!
Big Show going to talk to Bryan backstage made complete sense and worked really well. I still don’t believe he’s completely broke, but it’s the direction they’re going with it, and if he’d just stop blubbering, it might actually work.
Divas destroy the flow!
How hard is it for a couple of Divas to beat down AJ? Obviously too hard for them to handle. Total Divas is doing wonderfully, and AJ was just fantastic on mic last week, but it seems as though the Divas haven’t been able to handle ring work for about a month now, and this time it wasn’t that dang ref! Just when the Divas start getting the ball again, they fumble it. What is going on with these girls?
Yawn!
I hate to say this about RVD, but this match was a snooze-fest! I adore Sandow, but it seems as though his matches have not been at all interesting. I adore him, but he’s not been exciting in the ring lately. Even in the ring with RVD, Sandow wasn’t overly exciting, and I think that’s a serious issue. I hope he picks things up soon, because he’s really lagging behind his former bestie Cody.
They put him in polka dots and made him dance!
Cody rocked my socks off with this segment. As great as Cody was earlier on mic, he blew that out of the water as if it was nothing with this later segment. Cody really stepped it up here and I’m in awe. If Cody can continue along at this level when he returns, he could be a top competitor very quickly.
Don’t make me hurt you, please!
Big Show handled himself really well early in this segment, before he started blubbering like a toddler whose ice cream just fell to the ground. It just wasn’t good when he fell apart, but before that he impressed me, as he always does, when working with smaller wrestlers, yet makes them look like a viable opponent. Big Show is one of the few big guys – and probably because he’s one of the biggest he’s figured it out – who can work with smaller wrestlers and make the matches believable. Only when Big Show was in the ring with Rey Mysterio or Spike Dudley did it look really off, but Bryan isn’t a big guy, but I believed that Bryan was able to take Big Show down and work him over.
Bryan sold it well and made it work as well. He always looks strong in the ring, no matter who he’s facing or the beating he’s taking.
But then things fell apart. As I said before, Bryan can only take so many beatings before the fans are not going to believe he can handle himself and won’t pay for Night of Champions. And how long will the fans hold on to the underdog who never gets his moment to shine? I know it’s only been a couple weeks of this, but each show is ending with Bryan in a heap, or worse, and that’s not going to be good for business in the long run.
