Shadow Previews - WWE Fastlane 2015

Hey guys and gals MrShadowAcers here. Lately myself and the PWManifesto crew have been real busy with our individual lives, whether it be work or school, which is why there has been a lack of content both on the site and on the Youtube channel. Luckily, I have found a little time to write up a preview for this Sunday's WWE Pay-Per-View event, Fastlane. These previews I write for the site will be called Shadow Previews, while the reviews will be called Shadow Reviews. So without further interruption, let's preview! For the record, MizTV and the Triple H/Sting confrontation will not be covered in this piece.

(Note: All images courtesy of WWE.com. I own nothing.)

Ryback, Erick Rowan, & Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins, Big Show, & Kane

I could have sworn Survivor Series was a few months ago. So why am I watching it again? Really this should be Ziggler vs. Rollins in a one on one match, but they did it on Raw and SmackDown, so they decided to add the other two formerly unemployed members of Team Cena, and what's left of Kane and Big Show's careers. I really don't have a whole lot to say about this match, so I'll just go ahead and say the babyfaces take the win.

Winners: Ryback, Erick Rowan, & Dolph Ziggler

Goldust vs. Stardust

This Goldust/Stardust breakup has needed to happen for a long time now, as the team is currently treading water right now. The fact that Stardust has finally been outed as Cody Rhodes tells me that the return of the young Rhodes is imminent. With that said, I didn't understand at first why they finally set up the brother vs. brother match at a throwaway PPV, but I kinda do now. Goldust should go over in this match, causing Cody to renounce Stardust and revert to being himself. Goldie would then challenge his brother to a match at WrestleMania; Cody accepts under one condition...Goldust must put his career on the line.

Will that play out exactly like that? I doubt it, but nonetheless, Goldust is my pick.

Winner: Goldust

Intercontinental Championship Match: Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Dean Ambrose

While I am certain that these two men will put on a pretty good match, the buildup was a little too hokey for my taste. It really is a shame how far the IC Title has fallen, especially when your five time champion BNB has lost nearly every non-title match he has ever competed in, plus the injuries didn't do him much justice either. I believe Ambrose will be the next IC champ, but I think that won't happen until WrestleMania. Until then, I pick Barrett to retain.

Winner: Bad News Barrett

Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd

This should be one of the two sleeper matches of the night if given a considerable amount of time. The other sleeper match? More on that shortly. With the looming reunion of the Prime Time Players and the recent debut of The Lucha Dragons, putting the tag titles on a heel team doesn't sound like such a bad idea. But with Rikishi being inducted into the Hall of Fame next month, it would look good for The Usos to induct their dad as champs, so the brothers retain here.

Winners: The Usos

Divas Championship Match: Nikki Bella (c) w/ Brie Bella vs. Paige

I'll let you all in on a little secret...that other sleeper match that I was referring to? This is it.


Okay, put down your torches and pitchforks and let me explain for a minute. Even though the storytelling leading up to this match was downright brutal as hell (Pale vs. tan? Seriously?), these two proved that they can have a good match earlier this year when they faced off on Main Event. If they can get about the same time they did in that match, things should go pretty smooth from there. I don't think Paige regains the Divas Title just yet, maybe post-Mania. Nikki retains after hopefully a solid near 10 minute match.

Winner: Nikki Bella

United States Championship Match: Rusev (c) vs. John Cena

Oh boy.

I've been going through three possible outcomes in my head ever since this match was announced. I, like I assume most of everyone, was expecting this match to take place at WrestleMania, but was wrong. Since it is taking place here with the U.S Title at stake, here are the three possible outcomes:

Outcome #1 - Cena beats Rusev and wins the U.S Title. The title is held by the number one guy in the company, giving the title a renewed standing. Rusev gets his rematch at Mania, where he defeats Cena and regains the title. Rusev gets a HUGE rub from defeating The Guy at WrestleMania. Likely since this is John Cena we're talking about, but not what I'm going with.

Outcome #2 - Rusev actually beats Cena clean, making him pass out to The Accolade. Notice I didn't say tap out. Cena never gives up after all, right? The loss takes its toll on Cena, with him believing he let his fans down. He is then not seen or heard from for weeks. Rusev and Lana claim they have finally drove Cena out of WWE, but he shows up a week before Mania with a new serious attitude. He invokes his rematch clause for Mania and defeats Rusev for the title. My personal scenario, but not likely.

Outcome #3 - The match never actually happens, and the two fight to a no-contest. A rematch is set for WrestleMania, where Cena subsequently beats Rusev in a likely no-disqualification match.

So...uhh. Two out of three of those scenarios result in Cena beating Rusev at WrestleMania.

...Yeah.

Best of luck in your future Cendeavors, Rusev.

The match ends in a no-contest.

#1 Contender's Match: Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan


I'm about to make what may either be the smartest or the dumbest things that I have ever said as a wrestling fan.

Okay, here goes. (Deep breath.....)

...Roman Reigns should win this match.

Here's the deal, if Reigns was positioned to win the Royal Rumble and face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, then honestly Daniel Bryan should not have been anywhere near the Rumble unless he would win. Announce Bryan's return after the Rumble so that way it would not overshadow Reigns's victory. But what's done is done, so here we are now. The end of show brawl between these two on Raw was excellent, and I have no doubt that they will put on a hell of a match.

With that said, I believe that this match was set up to make sure Reigns is prepared for the beast by going 20 or so minutes with arguably the best wrestler in the company. And if there's anyone who can get Reigns the rub he needs, Daniel Bryan can do it. Reigns wins after a hard-fought battle after which both men shake hands and Bryan raises Roman's arm out of respect. Will Roman make it out of the WrestleMania fire? Only time will tell...


Winner: Roman Reigns

Well folks, that will just about do it for me. As always, follow us on Twitter @PWManifesto and follow me @MrShadowAcers. Until next time, thanks for reading.

MrShadowAcers's Raw Review for January 5, 2015

Hey guys and gals! Thought I would try something different for my next post. Going forward, I will be doing weekly Raw reviews, usually on Tuesdays. Note that this isn't quite the traditional "play-by-play" review as it is just me giving my thoughts on the segments and matches with a little commentary thrown in. My personal thoughts will show up in italics. Let me know if you like/hate/can't stand this format in the comments below. Enjoy!

Live from Corpus Christi, Texas, this is Monday Night Raw episode #1127...


Raw finally gets an opening intro and pyro for the first time in forever? Well, at least that's one good thing about this show...


John Cena/Authority Promo

John-boy basically cuts a promo apologizing to the fans and the wrestlers in the ring for bringing back The Authority last week, and says that 2015 will be a tough year. The Authority shows up to mock Cena and claim that everything has been made right again thanks to one man...Seth Rollins. Rollins walks out to the ramp. Triple H announces that Cena v.s Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble is now a triple threat match with Rollins added to the mix.

Very intriguing that Rollins is added to the match. I still think that Lesnar retains the title at the Rumble, though.

Cena Appreciation Night is announced, and Trips makes Dolph Ziggler defend the Intercontinental Title against the man who never lost it, Bad News Barrett. That match is next.

I've got a bad feeling about this...


Formal ring announcements are done for the challenger and champion.

Intercontinental Championship: Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett

Barrett tries to go for a slam, but Ziggler counters with a rollup for the three count.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

After the match, Barrett attacks Ziggler from behind doing such things as throwing him into the steel steps, the steel ring post, and other things. Kane then appears on the stage and says that he forgot to mention that the match is a 2 out-of-three falls match.


Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett (Fall #2)

Barrett hits a boot to the face and hits Wasteland for the three. It is now 1 all.

Winner: Bad News Barrett

Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett (Fall #3)

After six minutes of action, Kane distracts Ziggler long enough for Barrett to hit the Bull Hammer for the win and his fifth IC title.

Winner and New Intercontinental Champion: Bad News Barrett

While I am ecstatic that BNB  won the IC title, couldn't they have waited until the Rumble for the title change? The IC title is slowly turning into the "hot potato title" again, and I don't like it one bit.

Renee Young introduces Roman Reigns backstage. He says that Big Show can expect a beating later on tonight, and he also made Superman references, complete with theatrics and his own sound effects.

Didn't the writers get the memo that they need to make Roman's promos sound strong? Seriously, who writes this shit?

Bray Wyatt cuts a promo stating that tonight is the end of his journey with Dean Ambrose. He says the devil is real and that he walks beside him. Run!

At least Bray is around to give me a nice palate cleanser.

After the break, The Ascension makes their entrance for a match. They cut a promo comparing themselves to tag teams such as Demolition and The Road Warriors.

Horrible idea for them to mention the Road Warriors. They really don't need that comparison at this point.

The Ascension vs. Who Cares

Basically a squash that ended with the Fall of Man after a minute.

Winners: The Ascension

Worth noting here that JBL absolutely buried The Ascension on commentary after the Road Warriors comment. Dude, I know that comparison is ridiculous, but don't bury new NXT talent that are trying to make it on the roster! Come on man. Be better than that.

Rusev and Lana get a little promo time. Rusev isn't actually that bad of a talker, I hope they'll let him speak a little more in the future.

After a Cena Appreciation Night video and a commercial, we get our next match...

Big Show vs. Roman Reigns

The story in this match is that Big Show is working over Reigns's ribs as the announcers mention his recent hernia surgery. Show uses punches and also utilizes a bearhug. Reigns tries a Superman Punch, but Show sends him to the outside. Show then hits Reigns with the steel steps, causing a DQ.

Winner by DQ: Roman Reigns

Afterwards, Show tried to hit Reigns with the steps again (slowly, mind you) and gets met with a spear.

I don't know how many more of these Big Show-Roman Reigns matches I can take. Can't they get a more convincing heel to put Reigns over? The only heat Big Show gets at this point is library heat. (Hi JP!)

We get a replay of the Authority's promo from earlier (Why?!) and another reminder of Cena Appreciation Night later on (Seriously, WHY?!).

The Bella Twins are in the ring. Divas Champion Nikki has a match with Natalya up next.

Nikki Bella (w/ Brie) vs. Natalya (w/ Paige)

Yep, that's right. Paige comes down to the ring, hugs Nattie, and is apparently in her corner. Nikki hits the forearm shot on Nattie, but is distracted when Paige throws Brie into the barricade. Nattie then rolls up Nikki for the non-title win.

Winner: Natalya

So I guess Paige is a face now? Okay then. This match had "Total Divas promotion" written all over it.

Dean Ambrose cut a brief promo saying all he cares about is putting Bray Wyatt in an ambulance. (Good promo from Ambrose as always.)

The announce team acknowledges the passing of ESPN broadcaster Stuart Scott, and they send their condolences on behalf of WWE. (He passed away of cancer at age 49. RIP Stuart Scott.)

Erick Rowan enters the ring for a match. His opponent is his former tag team partner Luke Harper. Before the match starts, Eden announces the special guest referees...Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury.

Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper

Rowan hits a spin kick on Harper and goes for a pin, but J&J can't decide who will count. Rowan yells at the two, then Harper hits his spinning clothesline. Noble counts the fast three count win.

Winner: Luke Harper

Afterwards, J&J attack Rowan, Harper hits another clothesline, and J&J hit a double dropkick while Harper held Rowan's head up.

Yet another Harper/Rowan match given away on free TV. The Authority punishing Team Cena storyline continues. Whatever.

Another Cena Appreciation clip, this time it's from when he was drafted to Raw in 2005, nearly ten years ago. (Nearly ten years ago?? Oh the humanity. I feel old, yet I'm only 22.) Then another reminder of Cena/Lesnar/Rollins at the Rumble. The Usos & Naomi v.s Miz/Mizdow & Alicia Fox is later on.

Backstage With The Divas!

Every time there is a backstage segment with two or more divas, I'm putting it in its own heading, whether the segment is good or terrible. All you need to know about this segment is Alicia Fox turning Big Show and throwing Naomi into a table. So yeah, terrible.

Video package time to set up the ambulance match. It's next.

The ambulance drives into the side of the arena. Dean Ambrose makes his entrance first followed by Bray Wyatt.

Ambulance Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

This was a wild brawl, as was expected. They brawled over to the ambulance, where Wyatt would work over Ambrose's knee by closing the ambulance door on it, rolling the stretcher on it, and slamming it into the ring post. After more brawling around the ring and ringside, they made their way back to the ambulance. Ambrose would get multiple white tables with a red cross in the middle; he set one up across from the ambulance. He set Wyatt up on the table, climbed to the top of the ambulance and drove an elbow on Wyatt through the table! Awesome spot! Ambrose was still selling the leg, so he couldn't capitalize. Wyatt recovered and hit Sister Abigail on Ambrose on the ambulance doors. He tried to put him in the ambulance, but Ambrose would somehow escape. Wyatt hit another Sister Abigail on the floor this time, and Wyatt finally put Ambrose in the ambulance for good.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

One of the better ambulance matches I've seen in quite some time. Wyatt going over is no surprise, if you believe the supposed opponent he is being built up for for Wrestlemania. Great effort by both men.

The Authority's promo from earlier is replayed (Seriously, WTF?!) as well as another reminder of Cena Appreciation Night (FML...).

This Friday on SmackDown, it's MizTV with guest Seth Rollins. It's also the last SmackDown on Fridays as it moves to Thursdays next week.

The Usos & Naomi vs. The Miz, Damien Mizdow, and Alicia Fox

The divas started out, then Miz was tagged in while the fans chanted for Mizdow. Pretty much all the bumps Miz took Mizdow took as well. Mizdow was finally tagged in but only lasted a few seconds as Miz tagged back in and hit an axehandle smash on Jey to the outside. Later, Jimmy gets the hot tag and hits a Samoan Drop. Alicia tries to interfere, so Naomi hit a headscissors. Jimmy was distracted long enough for Miz to roll him up (What is with these damn rollups??) for the duke.

Winners: The Miz, Damien Mizdow, and Alicia Fox

I believe that's the third rollup win I've counted tonight. How creative. Another Miz/Mizdow showcase here, although I'm wondering how long they will last as a team. I expect Mizdow to break out on his own post-Mania.

Ryback v.s Seth Rollins is next. Ryback enters first followed by Rollins with J&J Security in tow. Kane comes out in his ring gear and announces it will be a handicap match with himself and Rollins v.s Ryback. (I do not need nor do I want to see anymore Kane/Ryback matches. Groan.)

Ryback vs. Seth Rollins & Kane

The heels spent most of the match getting quick tags and working Ryback over pretty good. Ryback gained some steam with a spinebuster on Rollins. He hit the Meat Hook clothesline and went for Shell Shocked, but Kane pulled Rollins off. He hit Shell Shocked on Kane instead. Rollins hit a Curb Stomp on Ryback followed by another one for the pinfall victory.

Winners: Seth Rollins and Kane

More of "The Authority makes life miserable for Team Cena" storyline. Whatever. Rollins continues to be the best heel in the company when Brock isn't around. I guarantee he becomes WWE World Champion post-Mania.

Cena Appreciation Night blah blah blah later on. Next.

Big E (w/ The New Day) vs. Adam Rose (w/ The Rosebuds)

After a little action, two rosebuds in black outfits attacked The New Day. They destroyed Big E with a powerbomb/top rope blockbuster combo. They are revealed as Cesaro and Tyson Kidd.

Winner by DQ: Big E

Can we get Adam Rose off television now? His character is stale beyond belief and he is just floundering right now. The New Day is not catching on at all. They should have done what they were going to do this summer and become a heel trio. Hopefully it will happen soon. I loved Cesaro and Kidd showing up and wrecking house. I am a fan of these two and I hope good things will come for them as a tag team.

The Authority is shown backstage. Cena Appreciation Night is next. (Yippie...)

Cena Appreciation Night

Stephanie McMahon and Triple H come out for the main event promo. After a few words, they bring out the guest of honor. Cena is out next with a morose look on his face. They spend some time sucking up to Cena saying they appreciate him. Cena asks if they are through, but Trips says that they are just getting started. He calls out Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, and Erick Rowan; they come out and stand in the ring with Cena. HHH says that all three men will have to face the consequences for being a part of Team Cena. He says maybe they will suspend Rowan for 30 days, Ryback for 60, and made Dolph suggest 90 days. Stephanie and Hunter walked up the ramp as they needed a moment to make a decision. Stephanie announced that all three men were fired. They said they could all thank and appreciate John Cena. Confetti and balloons fell while celebration music played in the arena. Hunter and Stephanie kissed while Cena, Rowan, Ryback and Ziggler looked sad as Raw went off the air.

15 minutes for all of this? What a weak ending. The "firing" angle has been done to death so much in WWE that nobody believes it anymore. I wouldn't be surprised at all if all three men are rehired before the Royal Rumble.

Final Analysis

This show gets a 4 out of 10. I am being very generous with that score.

When I started to re-watch this show, I got a nosebleed. That pretty much sums up how I felt about Raw tonight. With the exception of Ambrose/Wyatt and Ziggler/Barrett, nothing about this show interested me at all. The continuous pushing of Cena as the focal point of most shows is getting real old real fast. The first Raw of the year should have been loaded with fresh matches and a supposed "huge angle" to take place on that show. What the hell was that "huge angle?" Give me a break. WWE's next pet project, Roman Reigns, is sinking in a pond of quicksand and they need to find a way to get him out before it's too late. With Daniel Bryan returning live next week from New Orleans (Hometown Pop!!) hopefully there can be some added excitement for this show. The build to the Royal Rumble needs a major kickstart, and hopefully they do it in the Big Easy next week.

Until next time, thanks for reading and stay classy, everyone.

Follow me on Twitter @MrShadowAcers

Operation OverPush: The Roman Reigns Story

by Joey Evans/MrShadowAcers

At Survivor Series 2012, a dominant trio of wrestlers known as The Shield made their WWE debut. One of those men is a strong 29-year old Samoan American named Roman Reigns. This is his story.

It seems that since The Shield debuted, WWE was looking to position Reigns as the alpha male of the group. In most six-man matches The Shield competed in, it was Reigns that would deliver the final blow with a devastating spear. Apparently, backstage it was no different either.  According to CM Punk in his recent podcast with Colt Cabana, The Shield (which Punk claims was his idea) was going to consist of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Kassius Ohno aka Chris Hero. Management turned down Hero, and instead suggested Reigns, who was going by the name Leakee at the time. Punk begrudgingly accepted, knowing that WWE wanted “the pretty one”/”their guy” in the group. In part two of the podcast, Punk tells the story on his match with The Shield at TLC 2013, noting that an agent told him to make Roman Reigns look “really, really strong” in that match. Every two minutes after that,  person after person would remind Punk to make Roman look strong until he finally told them to shut the f---k up and let him do his job. From that story alone, we get a clear picture of how WWE wants Roman Reigns to be booked. On a side note, the next month at the Royal Rumble, Reigns broke Kane’s record of most eliminations in a rumble match when he threw out 12 men.

Now, we have a huge problem. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE. Andre the Giant huge.

In September, Reigns was sidelined with an incarcerated hernia that required emergency surgery. During that time, he would cut promos via satellite that mostly fell flat. He also won the 2014 Superstar of the Year Slammy award WHILE STILL INACTIVE.  Did I also mention his promos fall pretty flat? Seriously, watch his promo from last week’s Raw and tell me he didn't stare directly into the camera for a good five seconds at least. It looked like the camera was slowly eating away his brain. However, the icing on the cake came at last night’s Christmas Raw when Reigns faced off against Big Show. That’s right, Big Show.  The same Big Show that changes alignment like he changes underpants. Their match was so slow and plodding that the fans chanted “boring” and even chanted for Daniel Bryan at one point. The same Daniel Bryan who is also currently inactive and unsure if he will ever return or not.

What I’m saying is, things are not looking good for Mr. Reigns. Wrestling Big Show on Monday night did him absolutely no favors whatsoever. The less than favorable reaction he received kinda makes me think that WWE might want to reconsider pulling the trigger on Operation OverPush. If Reigns is pushed too much too soon before he is ready, the crowd will turn on him faster than you can say guacamole. Sound familiar? To make matters worse, this year's Royal Rumble will take place in Philadelphia, home to the Philly cheesestake, the Eagles, oh and also ECW. I guarantee you those fans will eat him alive and spit him right back out. As a longtime wrestling fan and supporter of the company, I challenge WWE to think over what they are doing with Roman Reigns. You must make sure he is ready and able to be the new "man" of the company. Or you can begin the first stage of Operation OverPush in January. If you thought last year's Royal Rumble was a disaster, you haven't seen anything yet. WWE holds the career of a promising young superstar in their hands, and I hope the Roman Reigns Story can come to a happy ending for all of us. 

...well, maybe some of us.

On a much lighter note, since Christmas is just around the corner, I thought I would share this special song that was featured in the comments section of  The Best and Worst of Raw written by a blogger named Brandon Stroud. I encourage readers of this blog to check out uproxx.com/prowrestling and follow him on Twitter @MrBrandonStroud. He's a funny and talented dude who loves pro wrestling. Anyway, here is the song, by the user Spitty with a slight modification provided by yours truly!

On the 12th day of Christmas creative gave to me…

12 Wins by DQ

11 Pins by roll up

10 Rosebuds raving

9. 99

8 total divas

7 pointless angles

6 Boring Promos

NO BRASS RINGS

4 Champions losing

3 Black guys dancing

2 minute matches

and I wish I was watching NXT

Happy Holidays from PW Manifesto!

My Perspective on Wrestling

January 27, 2001.

That was the day I can say that I fell in love with this crazy sport we call professional wrestling.

On that night, I attended the 2001 WWF (not E) Royal Rumble which took place from my hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. There were some good to great matches which included Chris Jericho v.s. Chris Benoit (yeah I said the name so what) in a ladder match for the I.C Title, and Triple H v.s. Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship. But the undisputed match of the night was the Royal Rumble match, which I would certainly rank in my top 5 rumble matches of all time. In one of the greatest moments I have ever seen live, Stone Cold Steve Austin eliminated Kane to win and go on to the main event of Wrestlemania 17, which in my opinion, is the greatest Wrestlemania of all time. The Royal Rumble was the first really big wrestling event I ever attended. After that night, I was hooked and I never turned back.

I have been watching pro wrestling since 1997. The first promotion I watched was WCW, while the N.W.O was in full swing and the company was dominating WWE in the ratings. Later in the year I started watching WWE, during the time when Steve Austin was on the rise and Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were embroiled in their blood feud. As the years progressed, I began to watch WWE as much as I did WCW. I also watched small amounts of ECW and own both ECW video games on the original Playstation…there’s your nostalgia fix of the day! I watched both major companies until WCW finally folded in 2001.

Following WWE’s purchase of WCW in 2001, I began watching wrestling on a more consistent basis. While WWE’s business began to wane following the end of the Attitude Era, the in-ring product improved immensely. During my teenage/high school years, my perspective on the wrestling business became more jaded as I learned more about the “dirt sheets” and other forms of wrestling news. There was a brief period where I stopped watching wrestling; that was when I was forced out of New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina. Around that time I was introduced to TNA Wrestling and that became my other alternative to WWE. As the years progressed, I came to discover other indy wrestling promotions such as Ring of Honor and PWG.

Fast forward to my college years and it is somewhat challenging to be a wrestling fan these days. WWE is so focused on being a publicly traded entertainment company – more so now than in the past – that some of the stuff that they put on television turns off the viewers. TNA, well, do I really need to go into detail at this point? No? Yeah, I didn’t think so. However, my love for pro wrestling came full circle this past April when I attended my second big wrestling event in nearly 15 years…Wrestlemania 30 in New Orleans. It was then that I returned back to where it all started for me. I had realized why I had become a wrestling fan in the first place; moments I witnessed live such as The Undertaker’s streak ending at the hands of BROCK LESNAR to Daniel Bryan’s ultimate victory gave me memories that will last me for the rest of my life, just as it had been 15 years earlier. In a way, wrestling helped me find my passion for New Orleans again, as it had been lost since high school.  For once, it was wrestling that gave back to me.

Hey everyone! My name is Joey Evans aka MrShadowAcers. As stated in the article, I am originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, but moved to Central Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. JP asked me if I wanted to contribute to the blog, and I accepted. I am excited and humbled to be a contributor to PW Manifesto going forward, and I thank JP for the opportunity to write about a thing I love. Be sure to comment and tell me what you think of my first piece!

PW Manifesto Episode 3 : There is No Crying in Pro Wrestling

On this episode, JR returns with Ursin, and Justin to talk about

- ROH Final Battle 2014

- The Booking of Monday Night Raw

- The "legitimacy" or lack thereof of the Slammy Awards' results

- Predictions for TLC 2014's outcomes

PW Manifesto Episode 2: The Empire Strikes

So despite the lack of JP Ursin Deroche and Justin Tassin carry the show in this episode and the cover

- The Vince Mcmahon Podcast with Austin

- The Backstage Reaction to Punk's podcast with Colt Cabana

- The Reaction to Vince Mcmahon's "apology" from Punk

- The perceived marginilization of Dolph Ziggler

- The Tables match between Rollins and Cena

- The quality of this past Raw

- The New Day gimmick

[Editorial]: 2 Year Plan to Improve WWE's Product

IMPROVING WWE

by JP

I've actually posted this on a couple forums but I feel the need to share this on here since all of the problems in WWE covered are still relevant issues that I think should be fixed within the WWE:

 YEAR ONE

Encourage Vince Mcmahon and Kevin Dunn to retire

This would be the most critical step one can make in improving WWE because those two are the biggest cancers to the product and have been for years now due to being out of touch, discriminatory and short sighted. Last thing we need is two racist old self serving a-holes ruining the chances of stars being made because their preferences aren't met by these talents. Talents such as Cesaro, Paige, and Emma in recent months/years have all been victims of being screwed over solely for being international, having accents, and not fitting Vince's mold. On top of that, it's like those two are a treasure trove of wasteful, unfunny comedy skits and convoluted scripts for the shows. It is also clear as a bell that as far as direction goes HHH would be better running this company here on out. NXT shows he can handle blending wrestling with "entertainment" in a well balanced way while keeping the storylines simple, focused and yet still interesting.


Cutting Down The Writing Team

NXT is proof that a small creative team is ideal because of there not being too many cooks in the kitchen. If you have a head writer and a writer under him then it should all be fine for the most part.

Plus every year someone from creative seems to get fired anyway. So just revert to a less micromanaged booking style and writing these shows will be easier to  do.

 
Giving More Freedom to The Wrestlers

When I say this I mean both on the mic and in the ring. For instance, instead of forcing wrestlers to follow scripted dialogue verbatim at the risk of sounding stiff, start giving them talking points but allowing them to say things in their own way. Not only that but instead of micromanaging how the wrestlers work in the ring, I'd just give them a small list of safety hazard moves and tell them "Put on the best match you guys can put on for this amount of time". Some will say "Psychology is what really matters" but with the limitations championed by the main roster they are almost limited to only the most basic form of psychology. I understand making every move count but not every wrestler needs to follow the "punch.........kick.........punch........resthold. .......stomp.........resthold.....5 moves of doom" format to put on great matches. Same thing goes for not needing a Dean Malenko like arsenal. Just strike a balance between having a somewhat diverse arsenal and maintaining good in ring storytelling. Because when in ring versatility and psychology is put together there are more possibilities for the types of stories that can be told in the ring. All that aside, the above outline may work for certain wrestlers but they usually need the right mannerisms for such a thing to work well and not everyone is Jake The Snake.

Which brings me to.....

Ring Time

*This is something that can be saving grace to ANY wrestling show regardless of how weak the storylines may be because it's essentially the meat potatoes of the business. Call it "Sports Entertainment" if you want to but ultimately what the talents do is WRESTLE and when you let them wrestle good to great matches it can become a redeeming quality for a product because fans will know that have that to look forward to even when storylines become a mess. For example, when the booking went down the drain in the Fall/Winter of 2013, WWE had a great in ring product with several MOTY candidates happening throughout each week, either involving The Tag team division or whomever Punk and Bryan were wrestling. Along with Cena even adding to his own arsenal to fit in with what was going on.

Ultimately Good wrestling can be the glue than holds a show together because interestingly enough if you get a great promo but a weak match, everything will feel anticlimactic and disappointing but if you get Mediocre promos and story but a good-great match it'll feel like it's been redeemed.

Alongside that if every match on the shows are given 15 to 25 minutes. Raw is 3 hrs, that's just the right amount of time to put on good matches and develop all the necessary feuds simultaneously*

Taking more risks with the format of the show

*One of WWE's biggest problems right now is the predictability regarding the show's structure. They often, open and close their shows the exact same way and we see the same type of segments throughout the show.

It's pretty much open the show with a lengthy promo, then have matches, backstage talking, run-ins to close the show. Rinse and repeat.

Why not begin the shows differently each week. One week a promo to open the show, next week a match opens the show, on a different week begin the show with a pre-taped "on-location" segment or a simple backstage ambush for example?

Hell....use "on location" segments more often in the show period.

Take the female wrestlers more seriously

This is one of the most aggravating aspects of the products, whether it's marginalizing the divas that can wrestle to emphasize the ones that can't, Total Divas, that retarded looking championship belt or referring to them as "Divas" in the first place instead of letting them identify as Women WRESTLERS. The solution to this would be making every "Total Diva" not named Natalya, Paige, or Summer Rae not wrestle and only be ambassadors for the division by appearing in Total Divas and promoting the product through interviews Etc. Not only that let divas like Paige, Charlotte, Natalya, AJ, Becky Lynch and the like be front and center in the divas division while having someone like Summer Rae, Sasha Bank or even Brie Bella be the stuck up girls that identify as divas and not wrestlers on occasion. But that would require referring to the division as the "Women's division" and bringing back the "women's title".

Alongside that let them be in wrestling oriented feuds and not daytime TV oriented feuds*

Long term investment in developing an undercard

Instead of depleting the tag team division and treating the US and IC title divisions like they don't matter, they should be building up and letting more guys in those divisions get promo and ring time. No more random start and stop pushes and no more breaking up tag teams with no real plan in sight. The more sources of income/star power the better. People need a reason to care about THE WHOLE SHOW not just parts of the show.

More "Grounded" interview segments

These work well in UFC, NXT, and even feuds of WWE past because it not only allows the performers to be comfortable in their own skin but it gives the viewers a more intimate view of who these guys are or atleast gives off that impression to the viewers that they are seeing the "real side" of these performers. Now not every feud should call for this especially if they involve more eccentric and fanstical characters like Bray Wyatt, Undertaker or Sting but at the very least this should be used for all the feuds revolving around the championship belts.

Make Championship belt feuds revolve around the title

The simple storyline of "who is better" or "You have this belt and I want to take it" makes the belt feel more important because it shows how much the wrestlers want those belts and how important they are to them. As opposed to the belt just being a subplot in a feud revolving around a handful of other stuff. The belt is supposed to be what separates certain stars from the pack by either showing they are the best in the ring, or the most cunning and clever with their underhanded tactics in a storyline sense and showing that they are the premier talents within their divsions. Alongside that, the wrestlers need goals to strive for and the belts give them that goal. Without those belts being there, why would the performers be wrestling and busting their ass to be noticed by the fans? The answer is, there would be no point to it all. So devaluing the importance of those belts is like telling fans that nothing in these shows really matter in the longrun.
 

YEAR TWO


Let the Midcard titles headline PPVs

*This would be a good way to use positive momentum from Year One to resurrect the importance of the non World titles. These belts were at one point able to headline live events in their respective heydays(except the Women's title) and the IC title even closed a Summerslam once.

Not to mention that with the WWE Network, there is a significant amount of leeway to take more risks with PPV buys being less of a factor. Sometimes in the company, the network is seen as an excuse to be lazy and treat PPVs like they are Raw episodes but if WWE wants more subscriptions they should use it as a platform to take risk that can ENHANCE their product

Offseason for Performers

*To be honest this is more like making wrestlers sit on the bench for a while but anyway....

This is something that WWE has actually considered from time to time but don't have the star power to do but with the ideas from Year One that should be rectified. Which would also come into play with letting the other titles headline different PPVs. It not only recharges the wrestlers and reduces injury rate but it gives other talent chances to be in the spotlight and forces WWE to have put more effort into developing stars.*

Have all Titles defended simultaneously only once a year

When I say once a year, I mean once at Summerslam and once at Mania during the new year, if this is done in this way, having all the titles defended with a new prestige will make these big PPVs feel that much more special and generate more revenue due to the fans that are into what each title has to offer all paying to see said events.