Its been a few weeks since I posted anything and this has been due to three reasons. Firstly I found myself working a lot more which has in turn sapped a lot of my energy, I was waiting to watch the Over The Limit PPV with my brother but then he didn't really get round to it and let me down meaning I was avoiding the internet as I REALLY hate spoilers and wanted to watch the CM Punk/D Bryan match without knowing the score, however after a week or so I realised increasingly that this match was the only one that truly held appeal (Although the Heavyweight title was pretty decent) - *Later upon learning Christian had returned to face Cody Rhodes I decided I'd changed my mind and that this one would also be great - it wasn't really, but that's another story.*
However there was a further reason that, in the time since WWE's recent PPV, I havn't posted. Another brother of mine recently donated me a Playstaion 3, a console I have never had much of a relationship with and with the loan of Assassin's Creed II, I have finally found Ezio Auditore and the joys of the Animus. To anyone who has never played a game in the series it focuses on a character called Desmond and his 'memories' of his Assassin Ancestors which he accesses through the means of a machine - the animus. Although the action and most of the story take place in the past, where the player is thrust into Renaissance Italy (at least in this second installment), it is the elements of the story that are clearly viewed by Desmond and the viewer (in the present) that hold the most interest and give the game its extra value. The clever idea in Assassin's Creed is that it emphasises the third person concept of the 'sandbox' genre in that we are controlling a character who is controlling a character, and in that sense Assassins Creed is a game within a game. The elements of puzzle solving in AC II is clearly a direct symbol of Desmond's quest to find the truth within the animus, where as the assassination missions and the gap jumping that fills the game play largely centres around the time period and the 'history' of Ezio's life.
So what I'm really trying to say is that playing this game has taken up a large portion of my increasingly limited free time, but I'm not gone. There is a strange thing however, about the 'gap'. Taking a break of even a few weeks from something that runs so intensely, can lead to a sense of distance - it happens with any serialised media - however it seems like in fact nothing has really changed.
- Kane is involved with the CM Punk/Daniel Bryan angle - I'm looking forward to one of them 'using' the Big Red Machine's aggression against the other.
- I've not really seen any Smackdown since OTL. But from what I can gather Christian is still IC Champ, I'm assuming he's in a rivalry with Cody Rhodes. I've got to say he's not living up all that Internet hype, his match at Wrestlemania 27 is still his crowning moment. Cody needs to step up.
- Sheamus vs Del Rio sounded pretty dull on paper, I like both guys but their rivalry seemed the weakest coming out of OTL. I suppose when both other guys get suspended that's what you get. Who could replace Del Rio if he really is out?
- I'm not even going to talk about John Cena. Except that for some reason this trend of the Cena Championhip being defended above the WWE Championship at every PPV is continuing. This time the Big Show takes on Mark Henry's most recent persona. If they threw in Brodus Clay to this match it would actually make it interesting.
Finally The Complex Heel has gone Twitter, you can follow me or I can follow you there @thecomplexheel
It seems that in times of transition between generations in
the WWE we see a wealth of talent being ‘promoted’ if you will. It happened in
the wake of WCW’s growth when WWE suddenly found its top talent poached. The
answer at the time was to look at companies with cult followings and take their
rising stars on to greater things, as was the case with ECW and the influx of
stars like Tazz, The Dudley Boys etc. This trend however seemed to disappear
for a while when WWE finally bought WCW and closed it down absorbing its top
tier talent.
In recent years we have seen the WWE continually attempting
to launch a new era (which has ultimately made that time into an era of its own
right), beginning with Ruthless Aggression and the rise of Brock Lesner, and
has ‘re-set’ every two to three years through various twists and tragedies. To
list a few, the deaths of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, the departure of
Lesner, the later (semi)rise and departure of ‘next generation’ stars such as
Ken Kennedy and Bobby Lashley, the departure and untimely death of Umaga and ultimately
and most recently the failed re-launch of an ECW brand, based on the cult
following of the original company, (it seems the WWE have managed to kill a lot
of the buzz around this through its own show). All this while new competition
would begin to rise in the shadows. Increasingly the crowd would begin to show
their dissatisfaction with the top guy. I have had an ongoing interest, as a
wrestling fan, in ‘who next?’ Who will lead the next generation of wrestlers?
And I feel that the ongoing Internet disenchantment with, ‘ why aren’t they
pushing ______?’ would seem to suggest I’m not the only one…
With that said it now surprises me that I never paid more
attention to the indie circuit. However over the last few months it has felt
increasingly that the WWE have decided to once again look to ‘the indies’ for
inspiration. Namely Ring of Honor, and though there are young rising stars that
have passed through other doors it would seem that the focus on ‘wrestlers
wrestling’ is on the rise. The catalyst at the centre of this change has been
CM Punk, who to my mind the current roster is been built around – at least at
the lower main-event level. One time Ring of Honor favorite and still indie
hero today, he has shot to the top of the WWE and dragged some other names with
him and it has become apparent since the summer that a slight shift has taken
place in regards to the roster and its direction.
Daniel Bryan (or for the purists Bryan Danielson), has
quickly grown through the ranks in the E and has more or less followed CM Punk’s
rise completely; starting out as a young faced fan favourite, who was dubbed as
having little to no charisma (this still mystifies me, his very first
appearance on WWE television was when asked by Matt Striker to cut a promo he
snatched the mic and stearnly said, ‘You want me to cut a promo, you want me to
be charismatic well how about this… YOU TAP, OR YOU SNAP!’ The crowd went wild
and I knew in that second, with quite a lot of anticipation that he would be a
World Champion in WWE). In the beginning I had no idea about his history with
ROH and his huge Internet following. It’s funny how much people would complain
about Michael Cole putting him down every week, the whole point of that angle
was to make Daniel look better and Cole worse. He has gone on to show he is one
of the best when it comes to heel mic work and his in ring skill is second to
none. It interested me recently to hear that when Danielson left ROH certain
fans wondered whether the company could go on without him. His World
Heavyweight Title reign has been the most compelling in recent memory and his
‘YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!’ cries as he approaches the ring have Kurt Angle ‘you
suck’ or Austin ‘What!?’ crowd chant potential – in fact all the way through
the recent ROH 10th anniversary bash the NY crowd were hot with this
as a chant. I love Daniel Bryan’s current persona, which to me is a perfect mix
of Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit and a little bit of Ric Flair’s cowardice. I could
easily see Bryan as a future Undisputed Champion and a true threat to Punk.
NOTE: This section was
written prior to Wrestlemania XXVIII, I have written in depth about my
excitement about the way that ‘YES!’ has caught on and the impact that this is
having on the wider industry. I also, like many, am glad he’s gotten his main
event push proper – even if it did have a slight feeling that the section was
rushed a little.
In the wake of the current rise of WWE stars to main event
level opens up the vacuum of the mid card. Which in the very near future will
be filled with more former ROH stars. Seth Rollins (formerly Tyler Black of
ROH) has been touring with the main roster recently. Rollins currently holds
the FCW championship where he shares the locker room with many other ex ROH
faces, who I’ll get to later, and has proven himself as a fan favourite. From
what I can gather he was top guy in ROH a couple of years ago and still carries
a lot of anticipation leading into his expected WWE main roster promotion, even
though we may have to wait a while. His memorable feuds include a run with
Austin Aries (current TNA X-division champion) for the ROH championship. I’m excited
to see this guy break through. He recently toured with the Smackdown roster
where he had a match with Tyson Kidd
And this is a match he had against Dean Ambrose, another one of FCW’s stand out
characters who has had a lot of attention on the internet recently, from last
year. This is a PPV quality match – in fact they get longer in the ring here
than most main-eventers get at top WWE PPV’s – and the chemistry they have
together is outstanding. As a side note I’d also point out that Ambrose is
perfect as the creepy heel, but then again, you already know that.
FCW as an entity is an interesting beast. It is technically
the WWE training ground for future ‘superstars’ however it remains as a
separate roster – something that, if NXT could take itself a bit more seriously
could and looks like will, also begin to do, even if at times FCW in fact feels
like a more well rounded product. FCW’s association with the WWE is publicly
and intentionally un emphasised and while it is a far cry from the highest of
production values bestowed upon ‘The End of an Era’ it is shaping up to be a
fairly serious promotion. Even considering the recent set backs in the loss of
its television deal and possible reforms, it bridges WWE’s more independently
leaning audience and scratches their itch as well as teasing at the possible
future. It’s main criticism has been that it schools too much, moulding young
wrestlers into the WWE package and even Jake Roberts recently made some remark
about the lack of characters in the WWE today saying, ‘They've all been just
stirred up in a bucket and everybody's just the same.’ (Busted
Open Interview: Jake Roberts Hosts: Doug Mortman and Dave LaGreca on Sirius 94
XM 208)
And while that may, to some extent be true, I feel that FCW
is in a place it hasn’t necessarily been before. Its alumni are now prominent,
established stars and their heritage is reaching new audience levels – This
obviously goes hand in hand with the growth of independent audience generally.
We are at a point where Ring of Honour will get an odd name drop from the WWE
Champion, and this in turn makes the FCW roster look and feel more established
as well, even if WWE insist on inventing new gimmicks for its incoming
wrestlers. The Internet nearly exploded recently when Chris Hero recently
joined his old Kings of Wrestling teammate Claudio Castagnoli on the FCW
roster.
Hero, now renamed Kassius Ohno, has the same support group
as Punk and Bryan, he also shares CM Punk’s Chicago heritage and carries the same
fire that he brought in his early WWE presence. He has put a lot of work into
his character already, only having been active with the organisation for a few
weeks, which is impressive in itself. His gimmick centres around his initials
K.O, which is self explanatory, the extra catch that makes it that much more
interesting is the eccentric edge that he has given it. Kassius Ohno is Mick
Foley mic tactics crossed with Chicago/CM Punk/ROH attitude. Below is a clip of
his debut promo;
It’s the way he lingers on those words, it gives the whole thing a deliberate
yet improvised sensation and in my mind is one of the best promo’s since Punk’s
now infamous ‘shoot’. I have a feeling Ohno’s rise to the main roster will be
faster than most; he really brings a lot of status with him.
Similarly Claudio Castagnoli, rebranded as the more
manageable Antonio Cesaro, has been making his mark. Though I’ve admittedly had
less involvement with Cesaro, he like Rollins has had a taste of the WWE
undercard. His background has been across a variety of indy platforms and his
in ring prowess in undeniable, as seen here in a triple threat match against
Ohno and Bo Rotundo.
Both these guys seem to have really good singles characters, although a
personal notion I would like to put out there would be NXT getting its act
together and having a season of tag teams much like they did with the, ahem..
divas… But seriously, I feel an NXT tag team tournament would help rebuild the
broken tag division, and having the reformed and aptly named Kings of Wrestling
win it would up the anti in that division. However with last week’s Smackdown
debut for Cesaro this looks unlikely. With a quick look at the way that he has
been introduced, WWE are again hiding his immediate connection with the company
pushing his European rugby player image which creates a distinction with his
‘real’ history that many smart fans will already know. I was pleased to see his
ring attire cross over to his televised WWE debut however, and his in ring
performance was pretty interesting by comparison to the three other squash
match style intros the E have been parading of late.
I understand that while these guys all bound by their ROH
background, the FCW roster is also housing wrestlers form other established
organisations but there is something important happening (or has been
happening) in ROH. I feel that the style that ROH embodies is shaping wrestling
globally as ‘ROH originals’ have established themselves in the mainstream.
Within ROH currently there are a number of inspiring performers (adversely to
this blog’s suggestions actually housing ex WWE superstars Haas and Benjamin),
including ‘Die Hard’ Eddie Edwards, Roderick Strong, and the current champ
Davey Richards, who all seem great in the ring. However there is one man
currently ruling the ROH roster.
I didn’t want to like Kevin Steen - he is the ‘Internet Snark’
lived out as a wrestling character but his mic work, especially that seen on
Young Wolves Rising (the 10th Anniversary show), steals the show.
His wrestling skill also seems surprising although this is kept to a minimum
for sensational over the top assaults. His use of props utilises ROH’s spirit
of knowingness while also referencing the past – the ‘Jim Cornett’ with his
tennis racket was/is great and Steen plays it with a sarcasm that comes off as
wit, how threatening can someone make a tennis racket look? Well when Steen
ambles around with it (displaying the face of current ROH Champion Davey
Richards), it actually does appear to be menacing, but that comes down to the
wrestlers demeanour and intent. The downside to Steen’s persona however in my
mind is the nWo style anti establishment idea. I feel like his hatred is
misplaced, why would he want to destroy ROH? Because he wants to re build it in
his form… well on the other hand perhaps there is something to that. For all
that ROH has achieved it does feel as if its own prestige is outweighing it
somehow. The top guys in the company don’t really carry the same explosive
personality as other names to pass through the gates and although the in ring
ability is stellar, the charisma does seem lacking; perhaps this is something
that Steen’s persona alludes to? Regardless of all that Steen delivers on sheer
creativity and although I cant quite see him with WWE I’m sure he will have a
bright career (although I’m sure many said the same of Mick Foley). With the
spotlight on Ring of Honor getting brighter, It seems that the company is
attracting stars in their own right, the forthcoming PPV will see another
return of in ring legends and fan favourites Lance Storm and ‘Fit’ Finley and
with the looming title match between Davey Richards and Kevin Steen perhaps its
time once again for personality to rule in the Ring.
The influence that CM Punk and now Daniel Bryan have within
the WWE will undoubtedly alter the companies direction somewhat, and though its
obvious that the E are pushing their internationality through the richness of
the current roster, it should be noted that the characters being produced are
either informed by the WWE Champion’s connections – see the emergence of Cesaro,
or by his influences – see Lord Tensai; if CM Punk is the Bret Hart of his era
then Tensai would surely be his Yokozuna (by extension in this scenario John Cena
would be Hulk Hogan returning at Wrestlemania to ruin the event). There are a
number of ROH alumni leading the pack, and though it’s true that TNA got there
first with Hernandez, Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, WWE seem to be utilising the
talent better now. Perhaps this next three weeks will be memorable in more ways
than one, there are potentially two era defining main event matches running
parallel to one another, ten years in the making, at one end of the scale the
WWE championship between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan at the other the ROH
Championship between Davey Richards and Kevin Steen. Ten years in the making, two
new era’s rising.
With this Sunday seeing The Miz relegated to the pre show for Extreme Rules, where does this leave the former 'Most Must See WWE Champion in History'? Everything seemed to be in place for Miz and he was heading to the magical face of the WWE position. Then CM Punk dropped his pipebomb and stole his spot. For a few months The Miz fought really hard to keep it, but in the end he just isn't as far developed as Punk. I actually feel that a CM Punk/Miz feud would be brilliant, but since we've probably had that feud in that Chris Jericho is basically the original Miz and the fact that The Miz has had the biggest de-push in history due to a couple of un-fortunate mistakes, this probably wont happen soon, if ever.
It's a shame because he was involved in some pretty entertaining moments, (usually ending up with him being humiliated) including the genius idea of inverting the WWE logo to represent his name and in turn his own logo, (which in turn again is intrinsically tied into the WWE's corporate logo and so on), which purely speaking is a first, and a threatening repertoire that echoed Marvel Comics character Arcade, who creates fun-house/arcade game assault courses for his opponents, during his Cena feud. I think that the 'Face Turn' that was expected by some at Wrestlemania XXVIII was a golden opportunity to keep The Miz relevant in the imminent shift in focus toward new(old) faces (but then I suppose they'd only just made a point of him being conniving and nasty in wanting to team with Daniel Bryan). I also think his victory for Team Johnny in the same moment should have been the ideal way of keeping The Miz a Heel but remain relevant in a 'Team Johnny Faction/Corporation' kind of way (but then I suppose they'd only just made a point of him being untrustworthy in a team scenario).
I really hope that The Miz runs in on the WHC match or something, because it would instantly remind people he's a good prospect. And seeing as they missed his face turn perhaps he should go even further down the ridiculously self confident, arrogant and bullyish yet ultimately unskilled and cowardly while actually being a mastermind route.
With the shock of Brock Lesner’s return to WWE wearing off
and mass anticipation as to what his next move will be. I thought I’d take this
opportunity to have a look at the scope the WWE currently has and where this
all fits into ‘People Power’.
I think the best way to sum up the significance of Brock
Lesner’s return to WWE is simple – listen to the enormous crowd reaction upon his
entrance last Monday. The last few years have seen the WWE attempting to
‘relaunch’, so to speak. We have seen various young stars emerge and then
disappear again – either on to MMA (following in Lesner’s shoes) or on to
another company (see Ken Kennedy), the other option has been somewhat more
depressing with the ever on going number of deaths that have occurred in the
last 15 years. It is certainly true that Lesner has broken the mould, in that
he made such a lasting impact on WWE in such a short time (roughly 2 years) and
went on to become a bigger star in UFC, the rise of which has in fact been the
biggest rival to WWE in recent times. His return to WWE opens up a massive
potential fan base, many of who before now might have dismissed wrestling as an
immature package and further possibly, is the notion that there may be a draw
for other MMA stars to convert working the aspiration ladder in reverse. As a
manifesto for a new era in WWE it has to be said that Lesner was the
exclamation point and where I would have said previously that the roster would
be built around CM Punk it would appear that, in fact, it will be built around
Lesner, at least in the short term.
Of course this roster in itself is altering, I would still
invest a lot in CM Punk. He is at the centre of everything in the WWE (literally
actually always ‘headlining’ the first hour of Raw), and still champion. It’s
also clear that he will be sticking around for a while – I think WWE will be
giving him a lot of exposure in the months to come and with rumours circulating
that he could face Steve Austin at next years Wrestlemania I don’t think any
fans should panic just yet, he is a star that will continue to rise. However, in
my mind he could do with a strong Wrestlemania feud for the title with someone
of his own generation.
This week has seen the introduction of a number of ‘new’
superstars who will surely be major players, one of whom possibly more so (or
at least more quickly), than others. Lord Tensai (Prince Albert/A-Train/Giant
Bernard) had less build than Jericho, Sin Cara and Kharma, however he somehow
feels more important for it. I imagine that his push will be into the WWE title
picture and the clue that he may go into a feud with Punk came when Big Johnny
said Punk would be facing a natural disaster soon. I saw someone write
somewhere that Tensai is Japanese for natural disaster, it isn’t, it means
Genius or Prodigy. But I still think a Punk/Tensai feud would be a classic. For
what Lord Tensai actually brings, he is important. After he left WWE he would
go on to become a major star in Japan under his Giant Bernard gimmick, a name
that is so over the top and cartoonish it seems that WWE decided to go that way
with his attire, which comes over as a Shinobi boss or something, but either
way he’s great in ring and will draw some attention from the East. It is also interesting that the E are referencing his past and the fact he has been away returning as the monster, think Apocalypse Now or The Deer Hunter or Homeland as a wrestling character and I think you'll agree it a promising concept, there's a great article on Tensai here which expands on this a little. I just hope
he changes his face paint a bit – I’m not a fan of his run-over-with-a-tyre
look.
With all this said it does beg the question what of the
likes of The Miz? The mainevent card seems like it may be splitting off – I
believe that the WWE championship will now represent the ‘upper mainevent’, while
the WHC will represent the ‘lower mainevent’ and as a result may have quite a
crowd targeting it. I think while CM Punk and Randy Orton may float between the
two sections, with John Cena, Lesner, Tensai and later, The Rock, making up the ‘top card’, it
will be Sheamus, Del Rio, Miz, Barrett, Rhodes, Henry, Christian and D.Bryan
all gunning for the WHC, which is a much richer scene than we’re used to.
There are two honourable mentions before I close this down
and that is to just once more speak of Daniel Bryan’s breakout, he could be big
news at this rate. And finally the debut (at least gimmick wise) or Ryback who
was Goldberging all over the place on Smackdown! Major face push to the midcard
anyone? With the introduction of a couple of big time names the WWE has enriched
its roster and officially entered a new era, the only question left now is with
a roster this stacked where are all these new FCW faces going to fit?
The phenomenal fan support for Daniel Bryan is, to me, the biggest thing to come out of Miami. When you think about the amount of hype in WWE post Mania that's saying something; Brock Lesner's return, Lord Tensai's Debut, The Rock's homecoming and victory (clean over Cena), An amazing Hell in a Cell to see off an Era and the dawning of a new one under the rule of Big Johnny. However, there has been one thread that has bound the events of Wrestlemania and Raw and it began with a squash match.
To the shock and awe of the WWE fanbase Daniel Bryan was beaten in a mere 18 seconds in the opening bout of Wrestlemania 28. During the entrance segment for the World Heavyweight Championship it was clear that Bryan has mustered a great deal of support with chants and crowd signs in abundance. Once Bryan had lost the match the increasingly popular 'YES!' chant began to escalate and would punctuate the evening. I first noticed that this was catching on at Ring of Honor's 10th Anniversary show and I'm really happy that its caught on in the WWE. The entire arena would chant this consistently throughout an epic Raw on Monday and the genuine excitement for Bryan is inspiring. Even John Cena would have to acknowledge the chant - even if in a skewed fashion that only Cena could manage and somehow lay claim to the chant?! In a strange way, the Wrestlemania squash may have been a blessing in disguise, as at this point, he is getting a better reaction than Punk - and he's a heel who continuously bullies his girlfriend - which hopefully will continue to translate across arenas. Great breakout moment for D. Bryan.
Here comes more of the same! Monday saw the return of Brock Lesner. It garnered a massive reaction from the crowd and though he didn't look quite as agile as he did in his original debut, he did look as mean and dominating as ever. I especially liked the little touch when he kicked away Cena's hat after the F5. The commentary team were right - the landscape has changed...
Only because I feel that it would be disrespectful to let
Wrestlemania pass by without writing something, here I am with my thoughts on
this years event.
I’m not going to do predictions, I really don’t like reading
them. Instead I’m just going to put down general thoughts and the excitement I
have for the matches that have especially grabbed my attention. Oh and I’m not
going to say anything about the ‘Divas’ match other than it has absolutely no
draw for anyone. I don’t even know who Maria Menounos is, I know I probably
spelt her name wrong but that just proves my point.. Good with that out of the
way…
YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!
The World Heavyweight Championship match should be great.
Daniel Bryan is my current favourite (see more in the forthcoming ROH study).
His title run has been fantastic in my mind. While many have said he wasn’t
ready to pick up the belt, I’d argue that he has provided some of the best
entertainment in recent months and while the match against Sheamus hasn’t
really been built on story, in a sense its stronger for it. The match is just
what it is, two rising stars fighting for the title. It also has the extra
attraction that this match was cut (rather confusingly) from last years card.
With such a backlash from fans I think WWE made the smart move holding it this
year, it reminds me of Leeds/Reading festival one year – The White Stripes were
scheduled to play and then Jack White broke his hand. As a solution they were
announced as headline act for the next years event, this could also be likened
to the Cena/Rock match. Obviously outside of all this the idea that D.Bryan has
become a twerp is the main story – Sheamus just happens to be the top face that
can take him down, its just a good old fashioned wrestling angle with a fresh
face. I’m really looking forward to this match and am thrilled that it’s
happening.
Punk and Jericho has had some real ups and downs throughout
the feud. I’ve enjoyed the highs and I think Punk is coming off really well.
I’d almost be happy if the match just consisted of Punk repeatedly elbowing
Jericho in the face for his recent playground bullying. But by that I mean the
result of this feud is exactly what it should be – making the audience
desperate to see Punk get his revenge. I’d also add Jericho’s trolling since
his return has been frustratingly fun and keeping him off TV for the last two
weeks has only made him seem more manipulative.
I’m excited to see where the battle for the brands goes,
should be good midcard mayhem and I’m really pleased with the fact Cody Rhodes
has a singles match for the IC Title.
I really don’t need to say anything about ‘The End of an
Era’ match. However I would like to offer an alternative take on the title. To
me the era in question is actually the era since ‘Ruthless Aggression’.
Although its true that the Triple H and ‘Taker were involved with the ‘Attitude
Era’ and the stipulation for their match this year reinforces that, ‘The
Streak’ has only been a major selling point for the event for the last five or
six years. Before this the streak was increasingly involved with Wrestlemania
but never to its recent extent. In my mind ‘End of an Era’ signifies the end of
the current era in WWE and the beginning of a new one.
Rock/Cena – I have posted on this before. It should be epic
and has been built really well in the last couple of months. I hope it
delivers.
That’s about all the excitement I can muster for now, so
until next time, make mine Mania!
