Now not to sound like an IWC member but I have followed Seth Rollins's career from his days back in Ring of Honor as Tyler Black. Fact is though we don't need to cover his career on the Indies too much as he really didn't start hitting what many thought his potential was until close to the end of his time in ROH. It was in 2010 that Tyler would defeat former champion Austin Aries to become ROH World Champion and hit his stride with the company. Tyler would drop the title to future NXT Tag Champion Roderick Strong and soon after would actually sign his developmental contract with WWE. Not sure who saw what in him or how his run got started but it was clear very early on that someone high up saw something in him and pegged him for great things.
The company would begin to invest in him right away by positioning him as an upcoming star ahead of moving to NXT where his stock really start to rise. Sometimes things in wrestling just fit together and chemistry usually follows and that was the case when it came to The Shield coming together with Roman, Ambrose, and Rollins. Soon after The Shield came together it would Seth & Roman winning the Tag Team Titles to find their first taste of gold on the main roster. Fast forward a few years though and Rollins has become the most successful member of his old group far none. Currently, Seth is working as if it's the 1990's and the Intercontinental title is still the belt for the workhorse. Since WrestleMania there is no doubt that Seth has been the best in ring talent in the company having great matches almost every time he enters the ring. For the longest time it seemed like Miz was the only person that could help bring the IC title back to it's former glory but now it's clear that Seth is right up there with Miz as someone who can do a lot for the title that was once second in the WWE as far as prestige and value. Rollins at 33 years old still is one of the more younger people on the roster and as long as his body holds up he could be a top star in the WWE for a very long time.
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Though I think that comparing Big Cass & Jason Jordan's heel turns and the starting points of their singles pushes is a good comparison. I think though that Jason's injury hurt his momentum a little bit more because partially due to the rumors going around that Jason was suppose to face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania. But also when he went down he was finally starting to find his footing as a heel and finally find himself. Sadly he hasn't able to find his way back yet, but according to PWInsider he was backstage last week at Raw which is a good sign. However, it is still very unclear when he will be returning even though their were rumors of him coming back this month it seems possible that this will not be the case anymore.
Now don't get me wrong when Jason Jordan was first reveled as Kurt Angle's son last year it wasn't by far one of the worst ways to blow off the angle. However, once Jason began to move to being a heel the cause it made a lot more sense than it did with him being a "forced good guy." I think that Jason has the skills to handle a major push as he can handle himself in the ring, but ahead of him landing on the IR it was clear that he needs to be a heel and not a good guy. I think that if they let him be a heel and continue to develop that character then Jason could become one of the more underrated members of the roster. Overall though this just comes down to the waiting game and keeping an eye on things to see when Jason will make his return to the main roster. Backlash 2018
Pre-Show: Bayley vs Ruby Riot Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn This is a clear indication of how weak the companies tag team division is especially for Monday Night Raw. Even though right now I do think that a tag match might be the best way for Strowman to stick out as he has a built in feud right there. I don't really think that at this point the WWE really know Strowman, but are really trying to keep him protected. However, they shouldn't be trying to protect either Lashley or Strowman at the expense of Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn. For this reason I think that Kevin & Sami need the win tonight and that's the reason they will get a fluke win. WWE United States Championship: (c) Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton Recently, it has bene very clear that Randy Orton has hit a snag with his in ring skills and match quality even admitting that he would prefer being a heel. However, it does seem like he can hit his stride with the right opponent. Flipping things to the other side of the track with the champion he has simply showed how good he could still be a top level commodity. The one underlying thing that is also apart of this match is seeing if the booking of the United States title will finally change. Over the last few months the booking of the title has been incredibly poor and the title has been looked at as more a placeholder and less like something worth fighting for. I think the best place for the title though is with Jeff Hardy, because unlike Orton his quality of matches is still very high. Hardy retains. Daniel Bryan vs Big Cass I am still getting over the idea that Bryan is actually back in the ring at this point and even though some might be disappointed that he is feuding with Cass I am not one of them. I think there are ways to get through this match without having one of them look bad and I hope WWE handles it that way because they really need to. However, I think there is no doubt in anyone's mind that Bryan needs to win here in some form or fashion. WWE Smackdown Live Women's Championship: (c) Carmella vs Charlotte If anyone can get a good match out of Carmella it would be Charlotte not to say that Carmella hasn't come a long way since her time in NXT it's just that I don't know if she hit that next level just yet. Either way though keeping in mind the build through her holding onto the briefcase for as long as she did and then finally cashing in it would be pretty deflating for her to loose so soon. With that being said Carmella gets the win tonight and keeps the gold. WWE Raw Women's Championship: (c) Nia Jax vs Alexa Bliss Insert the same logic I used in the previous match with this one, but you don't have to go back as far to find it. Because that same logic could be found in the build to their WrestleMania match. On the Road to WrestleMania they made Alexa out to be a bully and a mean one at that which made Nia's win at Mania all the more rewarding. To have Nia then loose so soon after winning it and having her moment would be an unneeded and in some cases unwanted turn of events. Nia retains tonight. WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: (c) Seth Rollins vs The Miz Even though in recent years nobody has done more for the IC title then the A-Lister basically single handily fixing the prestige of WWE's once second tier belt. However, with the ascension of Rollins in the picture for the title it's clear that Miz doesn't have to do it alone anymore and maybe we could see Miz move to a different title picture like the WWE title after Shinsuke Nakamura. Either way though this will be a great match between two of WWE's best and might be the highlight of the show. But I don't think there's a way that anyone other than Rollins gets the win tonight. Roman Reigns vs Samoa Joe I don't know where this charisma has come from for the Samoan Submission Machine but week in and week out Joe has stolen the show with amazing promos and just his intense delivery. I think him moving to Smackdown was one of if not the best move from the Shake up this year and he will thrive on the Blue brand unlike the mixed up red brand. However, the golden boy has been on a cold streak and needs to begin his recovery, and even though I think letting Joe win is the right choice I think it would be crazy to think that way. Roman Reigns gets the win tonight. WWE Championship Match: (c) AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura The "dream match" was more like a weak match and then things got a little better at the Greatest Royal Rumble Ever, but still not were it was. At this point I don't think they can reach the match they had in New Japan and I think there is a reason for that, but it wont be discussed here. Nakamura's run on the main roster has been a clear flop and even if he does win the title they will have to start from square in terms of not having Shinsuke end up looking worse then Jinder last year. Keeping that in mind I think that AJ Styles will likely get the win and keep his title for another month. Though this might be a little behind from the actual event, but it really should be put over about how important Bruno was for early years of the WWE. Now even though Buddy Rogers did become the first ever champion he would only hold the title for around three weeks before Bruno became the champion. Bruno's first run with the title lasted for an amazing 2,803 days which was his incredible 8 year run with the title. During this time he helped the territory rise from just another territory to become one of the most profitable & top areas in the country.
Though in reality Bruno wasn't the most spectacular in ring talent, but he did pose a tremendous amount of charisma which helped him carry his career. Sammartino would end up dropping his title in 1971 in the most shocking moment the company had at that point and time when Ivan Koloff defeated Bruno. In modern wrestling this would mean that Bruno would get the win back and defeat Ivan for the title again, but things were very different in this era with title reigns lasting a long time. Ivan did end his title reign after only three weeks it would two years before Bruno would win back his title. Even with this reign lasting four years it is more than likely remembered for Superstar Graham defeating him and became the first heel champion to have a decent run with the gold. However, the impact that Bruno has left behind on the WWE is that he was the first "face of the franchise" for WWE and the first leader for the brand. In a period where fans seem to find leaders like Roman Reigns, John Cena, and others it is fair to say that without Bruno there would be absolutely no WWE. Bruno was the first leader of the company and handled the load as far as setting the course for the expansion that followed. Now even though Bruno did have a falling out with the company in I believe the late 1980's or sometime in the 1990's they were able to reconcile a few years back with Bruno taking his seat in the Hall of Fame. Though it might be fair to say that Bruno is a product of his era as a territorial talent and that he likely may not have had the same success in other areas. This doesn't change the fact that Bruno was the first to shoulder the lead of the new company and give them a stable force to build around. His legacy has given fans a number of great memories and moments to look back on in fondness as a number of fans tie their past to Bruno and his career. Thank you for the memories Bruno!! You will be missed and never forgotten as the first banner holder of WWE. |
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April 2023
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