AuthorSharing my thoughts, opinion, and historical facts on everything WWE both past and present Archives
February 2024
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Ricochet Problem5/20/2021 After Humberto Carrillo's injury a few weeks ago, Sheamus needed a new opponent for Wrestlemania Backlash. That answer came when Sheamus issued an open challenge to the roster and Ricochet accepted the challenge. After watching the match I noticed that Ricochet likes fighting from underneath as the underdog which is fine, but I think there needs to be some form of aggression to add some depth to his character. At this point, Ricochet could use some depth or a new addition to his character after being on the main roster.
Knowing that Ricochet proceeded to steal Sheamus's hat and jacket following the match, in my opinion, is an unneeded way for a feud to keep going. Such a lame act doesn't make for a good look for Ricochet as in my book it makes him seem like a loser or a joke. It is a lazy way to get a feud going as Ricochet is 100% better off looking to try and prove himself worthy of this position. Ricochet hit hard times with no clear direction since his call-up to the main roster and could've used this chance to show he's more than just an agile high-flier. Ricochet needs a refresh or even a heel turn to add a fresh coat of paint to his image on the main roster. Reality is that Ricochet could take the spot once occupied by Humberto which could then spark a jealous heel turn from a one time friend this could add more depth to the US Title picture especially if the winner would fight Sheamus. A basic feud that would just be designed to allow the United States title to mean something again. Essentially Ricochet needs to show what he's fighting for rather than being just another unnamed fill-in.
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Eva of Mistakes5/7/2021 This week on Raw we saw a vignette promoting the return nobody asked for or expected Eva Marie. Since her departure in 2017, most fans have felt that the women's division has seen the perception of the division raising the bar a little higher than where it was when she was in the company. Marie more of a personality never having a hard time getting heat from the fans. I believe if they bring her back in as a manager that might help save a little face, but not really avoiding the main question you fire three top women's wrestlers to hire. Rehiring Eva Marie will need to prove as a positive and not a negative, or she will be never be taken seriously in WWE.
On Raw, we also saw the end of Benjamin and Alexander as a tag team which is a joke as they likely were broken up for no reason. I've said it 100's of times at this point that WWE never makes a decision with any foresight or long term thinking. I don't understand how WWE doesn't see the importance of long term booking when running a wrestling company or the stability that tag team wrestling can bring to underused wrestlers. Before their inclusion in the Hurt Business neither Shelton nor Cedric had much of anything going on, and then they were removed from the faction. Critics questioned why the company would move to break up the faction at the first sign of tension instead of keeping a strong group together. The first questionable decision was breaking up the group the next questionable decision was breaking up the tag team. Benjamin and Alexander are more than capable depth pieces to solidify a lacking mid-card. Again though that requires some long term planning for non-main event talent. Imagine giving Benjamin one more run to try and capture the United States title or Cedric actually getting a push and giving his new attitude some depth.
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24/7 The Questions Never End5/2/2021 Questions never end with WWE with the recent comments from both Carmella and Mickie James coming to light it brings a real question to the forefront. The question is why are there still limitations placed on Women's wrestling. In my opinion, any halfway decent booker or creative writer understands that they can change the perception of any wrestler under contract to help fans get invested if they want to. It isn't limited to certain types of wrestling like a cruiserweight can sell tickets and draw fans in if given the chance to be perceived as a threat and someone fans care about. I am in fact talking about the fact that Mickie James said a current WWE employee told her that women's wrestling doesn't make money. This employee showed his ignorance considering the fact that Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks main evented Wrestlemania night one this year. Given the opportunity to develop a character and gain fans interest it is possible to fans care about women's rivalries and again Banks vs Belair is proof of that as was Asuka vs Ripley. In a recent interview, Carmella declared that it isn't justifiable that within one episode Raw we see one woman's feud. One takeaway was her pointing out that if she's watching Raw and doesn't see a glimpse of a women's wrestler until 10pm that's a problem. Lazy booking, no prior planning, limited interest in actually investing in the bigger picture. WWE have a wide talent roster, but aren't invested in developing attachment to every member of the roster. Back in the day Impact Wrestling would have sit down interviews with talent to allow the fans an inside look into seeing a different side of their favorite stars.
In my opinion, WWE could use this type of segment to help give more time to developing more depth to characters that women's wrestlers have. Since the start of AEW I've said many times that the company needed to invest time into giving fans a reason to care about unknown wrestlers that fans aren't familiar with. For the most part a lot of the WWE roster is full of women that fans have seen before, but that doesn't mean that fans are invested in every wrestler. Long term booking is something that I've put over in the past and is something that is lacking within women's wrestling in WWE. Another quote from the current WWE employee who Mickie James spoke about said that WWE Evolution (aka the first all Women's PPV event was the lowest rated PPV ever). I completely disagree with for two reasons he didn't provide proof, and it is doubtful that any PPV would do worse than December to Dismember. One other point is that if Evolution was poorly received then it is on WWE for that failure due to them never promoting it. I remember how bad the build was for the event almost crossing the line of we only did this show to silence our critics. |