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[misac]

Day 94.

I watched Ring of Honor on SBG from last Saturday. Kind of a weird episode. They acknowledged that it was taped before Showdown in the Sun, so that helped in one sense. But in another sense it was a deal where guys were cutting promos that built towards matches at SITS or pre-SITS storylines that no longer work (i.e. Jay Lethal or Tomasso Ciampa talking about the stolen TV championship). Where this is a problem is that none of these promos took place in-ring, so I don't know why they felt a need to air them since they were backstage segments or whatever.

Anyway, tonight continued the March Mayhem tournament. I don't know if I've talked about this here, but this type of stuff is getting rather dumb. It seems that one of Cornette's methods (and I say Cornette because it's all happening more recently than when Delirious was booking solo but it could be all of Delirious' ideas) is silly match titles and silly monthly themes. Last month was "Fighting February" or something similar. This month is "March Mayhem." It's cool if they do it every once in awhile, but month after month makes it not-so-special and kind of lame, really. Then there are the silly match titles. It started last September with the Ringmaster's Challenge. Then the Proving Ground (a play off an old show title). Then the Rise and Prove Tournament. The Dual Duel. Matches can be sold off the strength of a storylines and talents involved. Not every match needs a silly title.

OK, so enough ranting about the dumb stuff. The show was decent, if pedestrian. The opener was Tomasso Ciampa vs. Kyle O'Reilly. I used to complain about Kyle not showing enough personality. Now that he is, it's coming off lame. Tomasso is a guy I think has a huge upside in ROH or pro wrestling. He cuts a really good promo and is very solid in the ring. The match was good but the finish was wonky. I'm getting kind of over the MMA-fad ROH is going through right now, to be honest, and the MMA-finish (Ciampa caught O'Reilly with a knee-strike and knocked him out) - while not unprecedented in ROH - left me kind of wanting more than that.

The main event was Eddie Edwards vs. Mike Bennett. Being with Eddie helped Mike have an excellent TV-style match, which ROH officially has now as the style of work on TV is a lot more subdued than what you get on DVDs or iPPV. There was tons of fun stuff with some killer commentary from Nigel McGuinness ("That's the type of outfit you need two haircuts for!" and "I've seen better acting on RedTube!"). Mike Bennett getting the fluke pin off of Maria interference was a good way to go as Eddie has found himself on quite the losing streak. I like Eddie a lot so it'll be interesting to see where they're going with this.

The big part of the show was a middle portion. Davey squashed a local guy and it segued into a Kevin Steen-promo. Steen and Davey had some actual in-ring interaction and it came off great. In fact, whether intentional or not, Davey came off like a teacher's pet to Cornette begging Cornette to let Davey kill Steen. At the end of the segment, Davey actually sucker-punched Steen. This is going to be quite the feud, I believe.

So between TV (RAW, ROH, and Smackdown!), PPV, PWG DVDs, ROH DVDs, IVP DVDs, WWE DVDs, NWA/WCW PPVs, and soon a Monday Night War-thing, which is an insane amount of wrestling to watch mind you, I've decided to drop the YouTube matches. So there's that.

Match of the Day goes to Eddie Edwards vs. Mike Bennett.

I love Nigel! I cracked up at his line about not wanting to see Jimmy Jacobs orgasam on the PPV.

Yeah the silly match names are getting out of hand.

[misac]

Strong style represented, that's for sure. It was nice to finally see Sabu and Low Ki wrestle, and El Generico made a surprise appearance, which was 1000% icing on the cake. I'm surprised the convention center didn't kick us out for our Ole chants. Probably would've been my favorite show ever if I hadn't also gone to WrestleMania and the following Raw at the American Airlines Arena (hereby dubbed "the Daniel Bryan Show").
I went to Colt Cabana's live $5 Wrestling show about an hour later in the same building and sat next to New Jack. Good news, everybody! He didn't kill me!

[misac]

I don't think Daniel Bryan lost much momentum in that squash (esp. considering the next night on Raw) because he can blame AJ for the distraction (which he'll deal with on Smackdown, read the spoilers) and talk about how Sheamus is a huge cheap shot artist. (Sheamus also cheap shotted Del Rio on Raw. He can't hit people when they're looking directly at him, apparently.) This squash might have been a catalyst for the WWE Universe to turn heel and support Bryan through such a tough time.

I was thinking that on Monday, real heel move!

[misac]

He's gonna get hate no matter where he goes, that's just the nature of the business right now.

That makes it sound like he's not to blame for getting booed.

[doombug]

He's gonna get hate no matter where he goes, that's just the nature of the business right now.

No it's because he's boring and stale.

Instead of having him show actual emotion monday, he was calling out the rock so you could congratulate him. That's stupid.

Not to mention the guy was grinning like a moron and no selling the impact of Brock....just like he does everyone else.

Troy I understand you're a huge Cena fan and I respect that but...you have to understand why the way he is currently and how he does things is just not healthy for his growth or the growth of the WWE.

[Doc Jon]

Cena is so odd. I've never seen a wrestler be loved and hated at the same time as much as he is.

[Thor-El]

No it's because he's boring and stale.

Instead of having him show actual emotion monday, he was calling out the rock so you could congratulate him. That's stupid.

Not to mention the guy was grinning like a moron and no selling the impact of Brock....just like he does everyone else.

Troy I understand you're a huge Cena fan and I respect that but...you have to understand why the way he is currently and how he does things is just not healthy for his growth or the growth of the WWE.

I do understand that. I was very disappointed how things went down with Cena on Monday night. I would have much rather him come out pissed off about the Rock and demanding a rematch or something like that, but at the same time I don't want him to turn full on heel. WWE seems to be having a very hard time finding a middle ground for Cena and are keeping him at one extreme to avoid going to the other extreme when he really just needs to be some where in the middle.

There is no one else that is going to be able to step in and take Cena's spot as the top FACE of the company role that he has been in for the better part of the last decade, at least I haven't seen anyone. This has hurt his character and the business but I still like the guy. My like is based on his ability for the more part entertain me that bore, his actions outside of the ring and business itself, plus he is my sons absolute favorite wrestler. So yes I am biased about Cena and will give him more benefit of the doubt than most but at the same time I will call a turd a turd when I see one. What Cena did when he came out on Monday was very much a turd and deserved to get F5'd like he did.

[S.F. Jude Terror]

A "top face" should really be cheered. Just sayin'. That's basic.

I would have liked to see Cena with shaken confidence and self doubt. That seemed to be the jist of all the promos throughout the night, but then when he came out he was all like "well, sometimes you lose."

[Thor-El]

A "top face" should really be cheered. Just sayin'. That's basic.

I would have liked to see Cena with shaken confidence and self doubt. That seemed to be the jist of all the promos throughout the night, but then when he came out he was all like "well, sometimes you lose."

I knew after I typed that I should have re-worded it. I think you know I don't me the "top good guy" when I say "FACE" of the company referring to Cena. Right now he is not the most popular or even the most over guy in the WWE but he is still the "FACE" of the company when it all comes down to it.

I agree with you Jude about how if he reacted shaken and unconfident that it would have been a better reaction than what he did do, which was pretty much nothing but standing around and wait for Lesnar to come out.

[rdrsfn82]

A "top face" should really be cheered. Just sayin'. That's basic.

I would have liked to see Cena with shaken confidence and self doubt. That seemed to be the jist of all the promos throughout the night, but then when he came out he was all like "well, sometimes you lose."

I agree. Throughout the show they kept making such a big deal about how he felt the WM match was a big deal, but then he comes out and says it doesn't matter and is cracking jokes and smiling halfway through the promo, with no desire to compete or redeem himself or anything.

He had the attitude of a loser that thinks it's all a big joke, like the worst kind of corporate stooge, the son of the boss who fucks up but knows he won't be fired. It's hard to see a guy who reacts like that and feel like he should be cheered as a face or held up as a paragon of virtue.

It's one thing to rise above hate, but once you start acting like the outcomes don't matter and that winning is meaningless, you've crossed a line and become part of the bullshit "participation medals for everyone, we don't keep score, everyone is a winner" crowd. It's good to want to win, and you can be the guy that wants to win the right way and won't stoop to the hate, but still care about wins and still be a gracious loser while also showing that you are pissed that you lost and have a strong desire to win. Cena didn't do that, at all, even though the whole show had seemed to promise that's what we would see when he finally came out.

[rdrsfn82]

Cena/Rock turned out to be one of those comic events that will "CHANGE EVERYTHING FOREVER!!!!!" but that has no actual impact after the book ends, and everyone is acting just like they were before. Rock is not going to be a regular on TV, Cena isn't reevaluating who he is or working to improve to win a rematch or realizing he has slipped and trying to prove himself to be the best or really anything (and if we do see a change in character, it will be due to Brock and this new storyline), and really it was all just a lot of time spent building up to nothing.

That is why people are irritated. No one was expecting anything more from the Rock, he did all that people expected just by showing up and having a single match. The surprise of seeing Rock win, combined with the words Cena had spoken about how important this win was for him (and repeated all night long before he came out for his promo on Monday), combined with the fact we know he's going to be around all the time, led to higher expectations to see how this would impact him. Then instead of any real growth or change or even a real honest emotional reaction (well, real and honest by wrestling standards) we get him saying "Just kidding guys, that meant nothing, let's all move on, LOL"

I don't care if he's the face of the company or the greatest nicest guy in the world, his character is broken.

[jeremiahvedder]

Ironically, you seem to be butthurt he does like Cena. It's a vicious circle.

I don't care if he likes Cena. Read anything I've ever written about Cena in this thread. I care that I had this really amazing experience and all he did was shit on it for six pages of a thread because his beloved Cena didn't get felated by the crowd (and me, by extension) and all he could do was bitch, bitch, bitch and call us stupid. The whining got really annoying and insulting after awhile. Sorry this crowd wasn't full of six year old Cena sheep who only cheer because he's never allowed to lose a match, same reason why every kid from the early '90s is a Bulls or Cowboys fan.

[jeremiahvedder]

A "top face" should really be cheered. Just sayin'. That's basic.

I maintain that he's turned Heel by not turning Heel.

Just like Danielson is about turn to turn Face by not turning Face.

[jeremiahvedder]

I think, well I hope, Brock wins the title before Royal Rumble, Rock beats Brock for the title at Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber, Cena wins Royal Rumble, and then Cena beats Rock for the title at WM29.

Cena's not gonna get a rematch, at least not at Mania and not one-on-one. They may meet again in a three-way or Armaggedon Cell or whatever but "Once In A Lifetime" will stick.

I suspect Brock will win the title some time in December and retain through Mania, and Rock will win the Rumble to set up a huge title match at WM.

If I had to guess, Cena will be fighting Sheamus for the World Championship while Punk fights Austin.

[syxxpakk]

It wasn't cool. That Tensai crap was lame and that's why nobody gave a shit.

Day after Mania was a terrible time to debut a guy in a squash match anyway.

I don't see why some of you guys are ripped we didn't give a shit.

Brock Lesnar debuted the day after 'mania. I think Sin Cara did as well. I think it's kind of a WWE-thing to do.