Last week I started with the positive things that the WWE have done in 2017 and now we can look at the negatives from 2017. This has been very much an up and down year for the WWE with more moments that left us saying "I never thought I would see that." Now some might say that there was a lot more negatives than positives this year, but I would have to disagree and I think that this might be tough to come up with two negatives like I did last time, but I am going to try.
One negative that comes to mind is the lack of long term booking that seems to plague the company nowadays. Though it might seem hard to believe based on todays product, but back in the day they would plan shows 6 months ahead or sometimes a year out. However, now it is clear that the WWE goes week to week or sometimes even day to day with plans never really planning that far ahead. Considering the booking of Jinder Mahal this year and his interesting title win it is pretty clear that they don't plan ahead like they use to. Truth be told yes the booking of Braun Strowman may show the opposite but did it really show the opposite. Fact is long term planning or even just having a rough idea of where you'll be going in the future allows it to seem more real in my opinion. Because giving the talent a heads up that they will be working with each other a few months in advance could give them the opportunity to start planning things out ahead of time. Once again let me point to the idea that talent use to say that they would work with someone ahead of a feud on house shows. For example, Kevin Nash mentioned that the reason a lot of matches looked good at the time was due to the fact that talent would work together for months on a house show ahead of them feuding. Even though I don't know for sure it seems to me that talent don't work together on house shows until they start feuding on TV. This is a problem due to the fact that talent have to start a feud at square one instead of having an idea of where they are going before the feud kicked off. Also working together on the house show ahead of a feud it allowed the wrestlers to focus on getting the feud over instead of the feud & in-ring stuff as this is how things are when they just kick off a feud on TV. Though it might be a little complicated the underlying idea is that long term booking matters & is a major negative of todays WWE.
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Over the last couple of months I have done this series for a variety companies some where very in depth and other I surprised myself by how depth. However, I did want to cover all the companies ahead of the new year next Sunday. For this reason we are focusing now on the WWE and issues that 2017 has brought up but also the positives. The company has had quite the 2017 with both ups and downs but either way it has been an interesting year for the company. With tournaments and sights that most fans never thought possible this year has been crazy. I will say that the best way to get going with this is by focusing on the positives first before getting to the negatives.
In my opinion, the highlight of 2017 for the company is another tournament that took place in the latter part of the summer. This unlike last year was really a sight that I never thought I would see due to the idea of WWE actually giving woman the opportunity to showcase their skills in the ring. Based on this I think that the Mae Young Classic both in magnitude and just exposing the WWE fan base to new faces. Also the tournament was a great way to introduce fans to Kairi Sane and other talent that might be signed. The way this year has gone for woman has really shown just how far the division and the booking of the division in recent years. The other positive thing in my opinion from 2017 is once again the change of pace from how the WWE had booked the tag team division in recent years. If the brand split didn't exist than the tag team division would be incredibly deep but also in a way very over bloated. Which is something in itself considering how many teams broke up this year but how many they still have. From New Day to Uso's to The Shield to The Bar the division is incredibly deep but could still be booked better. The reason I could criticize the company is because of how poorly the company has booked a number of their tag teams. Which basically is my way of saying they have the bodies but they aren't all totally credible. Even though they have the bad parts it is a lot better then it once was as it use to be very clear that the WWE didn't care about the tag teams but with the Ambrose & Rollins story being given the time it has shows how the companies perception has changed. WWE Clash of Champions 2017
Pre-Show: Zack Ryder vs Mojo Rawley Breezeango vs Bludgeon Brothers I don't have much to say about this match other than I believe it will be a short match but not squash level short. I think Bludgeon Brothers win as it is too early in their new run to have loose mystique. WWE United States Title Match: (c) Baron Corbin vs Dolph Ziggler vs Bobby Roode So far Corbin's run with the United States title has been weak at best with his run being as hot as Dolph Ziggler currently. Not going to lie the WWE had their chance to go all the way with Corbin's push after last year but they didn't looking at you Wrestlemania 33. Either way I think this match is built for Bobby Roode to be US Champion. WWE Tag Team Title Match: (c) The Usos vs Benjamin & Gable vs Rusev Day vs New Day Since their debut on Smackdown Live the New Day have been showing why they are among the best in recent memory & the Usos finally entering their primes. This tag division has been incredible & with the addition of Rusev Day it has gotten deeper. If the WWE was capable of long term booking then I would say The Usos. But I think they will go Rusev Day to win this one. WWE Women's Title Match: (c) Charlotte vs Natalya After seeing these two wrestle a few times you come to see that they aren't perfect all the time. Instead I would say these two are hit or miss in the ring, and hopefully they can pull one out tonight because I still feel like the division is coming out of a really bad booking period and needs momentum. Either way though I think with in fusion of heels for a face champion to face I think Charlotte winning is the best choice. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura Far and away the best thing going on WWE TV since almost the start of Owens run on the SD Live brand. Zayn & Owens have always had chemistry and I am glad they are working together especially since they haven't been a team in a long time. I do like the Orton & Nakamura tandem as it keeps two top stars on TV. I kinda think Owens & Zayn win here just to push the Shane and Bryan tension. WWE Championship match (c) AJ Styles vs Jinder Mahal w/ Singh Brothers Styles has deserved the title since he lost it to Cena back at the Rumble and in his first at the title he got it back or second shot. I think long term the belt needs to be with a guy like AJ while they build Jinder up to be an actual main event player and not a fluke. With that being said I think there is no doubt that AJ winning is the way to go. Even though older fans may remember when the WWE had their very own themed restaurant in Times Square. However, not many fans are aware of the purchase that the WWF made in late 1999. The company would win the bid for the property of the then Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel when the building would go up for sale in 1998. You read that right at one point the WWE owned property in Las Vegas to attempt to build a WWF Hotel. They paid 10.65 million for the land and would strip out the interior and look to redo the entire inside. The initial plan for the building was to make a 35 story wrestling themed hotel which sounds awesome in my opinion. For those wondering exactly where this would've been or where the Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel was the property was located on 305 Convention Center Drive in Las Vegas. This investment does show exactly how successful the WWF was at the time how much money they had to toss around for fun. The company would change their mind about the casino when coming to the thought that the land wasn't big enough. According the WWE Corporate site the company would sell the property on December 26th, 2000 with the company selling the property for a little over 11 million. The sale of the land did net the company a profit overall but not by much once again according to the article on the WWE's corporate site. At this point the land is abandoned with the last hotel featured in the video below as the Clarion Hotel would be torn down in early 2015. Where we move next for the series is too another member of the kliq and another recent inductee in the Hall of Fame. During his career Kevin Nash began as nothing more than just another big man jumping in the business to try and make a quick buck. Seeing how things went during his career in WCW, I do think that Vinnie Vegas was the first hit as a gimmick. However, once he moved on to the WWF and the verge of becoming a major star in the company as Diesel.
From 1994 all the way to 1996 when he would walk away from the company to move back to the WCW and formed the NWO. Nash would become a triple crown champion in the WWE as he would hold the Intercontinental, World, and Tag Team titles. However, Nash would help change wrestling when he jumped to WCW with Scott Hall to form the NWO with Hulk Hogan and set WCW up for a crazy run. Overall, Kevin does deserve to not only be in the WWE Hall of Fame, but based on his legacy in wrestling he deserves at least to be a two time inductee from his NWO association. At one point Kevin was destined to be the top star of the future for the WWE, but then became legend instead just by walking out on Nitro. In my opinion Kevin made an impact because still today people notice him and cheer when he comes out on the show which means he did something right. Based on buy rates and the build of the event there is no doubt that this event is the worst PPV in the history of WWE. This really was the beginning of the end for the brand and the sad part is that the brand had begun just 6 months ago. Though the brand did have a good balance between both originals and new faces it just didn't garner the interest needed to run an exclusive PPV should. The event is a dark spot on the history of WWE as it is more known for talent leaving then anything else. Following this event both Big Show & Paul Heyman would leave the WWE for an extended period of time. Show would head for the door and really go on a hiatus from the company returning in February 2008 to start his feud with "Money" Mayweather. Paul on the other hand would leave after growing tired of butting heads with Vince especially on the booking of this event and wouldn't return for six years. When Brock Lesnar made his WWE debut some knew it was only a matter of time before Paul would join him once again in the company. December to Dismember 2006
Stevie Richards def. (pin) Rene Dupree dark Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy def. (pin) Joey Mercury & Johnny Nitro Balls Mahoney def. (pin) Matt Striker "Striker's Rules Elijah Burke & Sylvester Terkay def. (pin) Little Guido Maritato & Tony Mamaluke Daivari def. (pin) Tommy Dreamer Ariel & Kevin Thorn def. (pin) Kelly Kelly & Mike Knox Bobby Lashley def. (pin) C. M. Punk, Hardcore Holly, Rob Van Dam, Test, The Big Show (c) "Extreme Elimination Chamber" ECW World Heavyweight Title |
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April 2023
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