WNS Column: Wilds' War Cry: Just Hit Play!

So Sunday is the big day I guess.

Before I get ahead of myself though, I do want to talk about some of the things I really liked and hated this week in the rest of wrestling.

Lucha Underground has been killing it the past couple of weeks with one of the best cage matches I have seen in a long time. It was between Johnny Mundo and King Cuerno and the match felt devastating and had a solid ending, but I was surprised when this past week topped it with a coffin match. Fenix rose from the ashes of a brutal confrontation that spilled out over the entire building; a match that had me rooting for the underdog. I was glad to see Son of Havoc got his balls back and pulled off an impressive win. Cool to see Sean Hernandez of LAX and TNA fame as well. I had some troubles with a couple of the smaller matches, but enjoyed the last few episodes of this show overall more than anything else I am watching. TNA had some good multi-person matches with a triple threat knockouts match and an Ultimate X event with three talented teams, but it was the Bobby Lashley and Kurt Angle match that lived up to the hype, with Lashley looking like a real beast. After Ares and Joe had their fight though was when I celebrated, as my man Spud used his briefcase to become the X-Division champion. Good job little buddy. I am an episode behind on TNA because I have been watching past Wrestlemania events, so it will get more time in the future.

On to WWE…

NXT went to Ohio and owned it. I enjoyed Alex Riley versus Kevin Owens way more than I thought I would, and that ending set up an excellent build for Owens and Bálor. Frankly, I love the new Emma and her realistic attitude. Bálor and Owens were given thirty minutes to build and make something cool, and they did. There were some good spots, some tense moments, and although I knew Bálor was not going to win, I was watching closely just in case. NXT continues to impress and I am elated they will be represented at the big show.

Smackdown had a great gauntlet match for the participants of the IC title ladder match, with Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan teasing at what they could do in a feud together, and Wade Barrett establishing dominance finally after all of those losses. This week was what I expected from the show though, a traditional pre-Mania Smackdown with two decent matches. It did not hurt, but considering how weak some of the builds have been, this was valuable time that could have been spent better. The divas did not get much of a build on Raw this week other than the confusion between Paige and AJ Lee, but their brief promo on Smackdown reminded me how personal this fight could be for both teams.

“I think Brock Lesnar worked more than you did last year.”

I do not like celebrities on Raw, but the week of Wrestlemania is certainly not the time to have them on muddying up segments. JBL’s reaction to Bill Simmons was mine—whoopty doo!—especially since I wasted time googling who he was. Snoop, whom I love, was not bad. He is a natural entertainer, but one again, a celebrity, with his skinny ass arms, tossed a professional wrestler out of the ring like it was nothing. Not as bad as that Florida Georgia Line crap, but what is? The ladder match and Cena versus Rusev were both given time on Raw and made me want to see those matches. I am pretty sure John Cena will win, but I still want to see it, and I want Rusev to look like he could slay the face of the company with ease. It has been too long since fans have seen a ladder match at Wrestlemania, and whoever wins, the audience looks to be in for a real treat. Is this the show stealer?

The rest just did not do it in my opinion. I wanted more from Sting and Triple H. I needed something other than this WCW crap. Bray Wyatt gave a great promo, but Wrestlemania is not the time for a one man build. If WWE was going to try though, Wyatt was a good choice, but I think the match will speak more than the build in this case. I think the same thing about Seth Rollins and Randy Orton. We had some good stuff but their match will say so much more than any words could. The worst offender however is of course the world title match. I don’t know what creative and Vince were thinking with that ending between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, but this was not the way to go. One knockout punch, a spear, almost anything could have saved this segment, but instead we get joke memes and laugh at the re-signing superstar. This would have been so much worse had Lesnar not announced his new contract, and that is SCARY.

I am trying here, guys. I want to be hyped!

This could be the last match we see for Sting and/or The Undertaker. It could be a new era of domination for Lesnar. Prestige—or just some damn interest—could return to the IC and US titles, and the divas could shock everyone. We could see The Future cement his place with one motion to cash-in and RISE. I am so excited to see what happens in the next few months because there is change in the air, but that is no reason to look past tomorrow night. The feuds may not make enough since, the builds may have sucked; the audience may not be getting the match they wanted, but now is the time for those men and women to go out and show us why we should trust them to entertain us.

Get hyped. Say screw the negativity and let’s do this.  

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