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411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Do You Want To See The Undertaker Compete At WrestleMania 34?
Image Credit: WWE
Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week are 411’s Ken Hill and Sean Garmer!
1. Following his poor performance at WrestleMania 33, you have no desire to see the Undertaker compete at WrestleMania 34.
Ken Hill: FACT – I mentioned on my WM 33 review show that out of what was a pretty okay Mania (aside from the too-long Rollins-HHH match and the IC Title phone-in), Taker vs. Reigns was simply just bad; WWE booked Taker, a man in the same age bracket as Goldberg, to wrestle in a 20+ minute match, knowing full well of his severe limitations given the severe hip injuries he’s accumulated over the years. The opening to the match was all well and good, but then as soon as Taker botched the Tombstone, it all unraveled in an instant and started to become outright pitiful to watch Taker struggle not just to put Reigns over (which bombed, big shocker I know) but also to merely finish the match in one piece. All due respect to the Deadman, but I’d be content to not see him wrestle again, as the last three Manias have done nothing to add to his legacy, if not outright tarnish it.
Sean Garmer: FACT – I also should add that I have the caveat of having seen him wrestle at both WrestleMania 28 and 32 live. Right now, the intention is for me to try to make it for WM 34 in New Orleans as well. I would be totally fine not seeing him in the ring again. Sure, you’d love to see him go out on one last great match. However, he already did the whole silent retirement in the ring at WM 33. The man needs hip replacement surgery too. I just don’t think he needs to go through this again. He went out “passing the torch” to Roman Reigns. I know there are some that wanna see Cena vs. Taker and all that, but just let this man live his life already. For me, it’s not about his “poor performance or anything like that. It’s just not really helping Undertaker, WrestleMania or WWE in general to keep trotting him out there with his body deteriorating like it is. Father time catches up with everyone, even the Deadman.
2. You are surprised that WWE signed former TNA Tag Team Champion Crazzy Steve.
Ken Hill: FICTION – Why would I be? He’s 33, relatively young with plenty of in-ring mileage remaining, and did a decent job of reinventing his dead-end clown gimmick into part of Impact’s popular “Decay” stable, which shows he has plenty of creative potential. He would be an interesting fit on the 205 Live roster, or on NXT along with the equally unstable SAnitY (They WOULD be needing a new “S”), and even eventually up on the main roster versus the Hardys; heck, you could even have him be the trigger man for Matt reverting to his “Broken” persona once the tag title run goes south. If I can see the potential, than WWE and Trips most certainly can.
Sean Garmer: FACT – I’d be surprised if there’s someone out there, who wasn’t just flabbergasted by this move. This was totally out of nowhere and I can’t say Crazzy Steve was a name I expected to see in NXT. He would certainly fit in SAnitY, if they wanted to immediately put him into something on the show. He may get some kind of a reaction, but it’s going to be small. Putting him in the stable hides him and allows him to organically get going in NXT. After that, he could work in a tag team title situation or even be on 205 Live as well. Not every signing to NXT needs to be a big move. Let’s face it though, Decay has been on deathwatch for a while. The stable worked in getting Rosemary over with the audience, but Crazzy Steve and Abyss were just hanging on. Perhaps he can carve out a niche in NXT. I give him a ton of credit for taking the opportunity and challenging himself. I’ll be rooting for him over there on the yellow brand.
3. Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins will be the match of the night at WWE Payback.
Ken Hill: FACT – I’m leaning a little more towards Neville vs. Aries II to knock it out of the park, but I can certainly see Rollins and Joe putting on the marquee performance of the night. Joe’s RAW journey has been relatively uneventful going into and past WM 33; his mini-feuds with Sami Zayn and Chris Jericho were effective in introducing WWE’s main audience to Joe, but he needs a high-caliber opponent and foil in Seth Rollins to showcase the beautifully brutish, technical savagery we’ve come to expect from Joe when he’s properly motivated, and there will be no better time and stage for Joe to put on his working boots than the first post-Mania PPV.
Sean Garmer: FACT – I’m going to say yes, because I feel like Samoa Joe needs that stand out match on the main roster. Seth Rollins is one hell of a dance partner to have to pull that off. These two have a story there and hopefully they get to tell more of it at Payback. Rollins can certainly bring it, as he’s shown on many occasions. Obviously, this match also has the potential to not live up to those standards as well. I believe it will though. Also, don’t rule out Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns putting on another outstanding match too. They’ve already proven they could do it once, they could do it again. Especially with these two having quite the history and the story from this feud.
SWITCH!
4. There will be at least two title changes at WWE Payback.
Sean Garmer: FICTION – Quite frankly, I don’t know that there are going to be any title changes at Payback. The only one two I may consider, is The Hardyz losing to Cesaro and Sheamus. Only if, the issues in the court case over the BROKEN gimmick have been worked out. Bray should beat Randy Orton, especially since it is a non-title match. Then, this could set up Bray to make The Hardyz BROKEN and perhaps it’s a new Wyatt Family for a little bit. Leading into his feud with Finn Balor. However, we really haven’t heard how that’s going in a little while. Since The Hardyz won both of the singles matches on RAW, this could also indicate Cesaro and Sheamus win in the tag situation to save a bit of face. However, I’d think The Hardyz would still retain. Leaving Bray to control The Demon all on his lonesome. The other one, is Austin Aries defeating Neville. TJP being around leads to a possible avenue for a fluke win for Aries. But In the end, I feel like you need to further this heel turn for him. So, TJP screwing Aries seems more likely. I also think that with Sasha still involved in Bayley’s on goings, she’s getting involved in that match and helps Bayley get another win. Also, this is a case where they’ve mentioned Bayley’s hometown a little too much. So it works against Alexa here and Bayley retains. Kevin Owens is no doubt beating Chris Jericho to retain the US Title.
Ken Hill: FICTION – The Hardy’s return run is going strong, so I don’t see them losing the belts in their first PPV defense. Jericho’s clearly on his way out back to Fozzy, so him losing to Owens is practically a given. The WWE Title’s not even on the line at this point for Orton vs. Wyatt, since WWE clearly realized they wrote themselves into a corner by preemptively making Mahal #1 Contender, which erased any pretense of who would’ve won had the title been on the line. The only title I could possibly see changing hands would be the RAW Women’s Championship, and that’s only if they decide to heat up the long-simmering Sasha-Bayley storyline by having Sasha “accidentally” cost Bayley the championship to trigger her long-overdue heel turn.
5. Baron Corbin will win the MITB contract this year.
Sean Garmer: FACT – Smackdown has the rights to the MITB gimmick this year. Let’s look at the potential people in this thing. Sami Zayn is always a possibility they could do. AJ doesn’t need it. I can’t see Nakamura in a Ladder Match. You could argue Kevin Owens doesn’t really need it either, but he could be in the match. Dolph Ziggler isn’t winning, but he will be in the match. Jinder Mahal seems like a sure fire gonna be in there. Tye Dillinger is another possibility, especially if he keeps staying hot. However, Baron Corbin is the guy they’ve been grooming. He’s a Vince kinda guy. He’s gotten better on the microphone thanks to Talking Smack. He is what he is, in the ring, but I wouldn’t be surprise if the early reports ring true. Him with the Money in the Bank could be gold, if they do it right.
Ken Hill: FACT – While I find the MITB briefcase to be a rather annoying storyline crutch at times, it’s nonetheless effective in helping build heels towards achieving their main event potential. Edge (2005, 2007), CM Punk (2009), The Miz (2010), Daniel Bryan (2011) and Seth Rollins (2014) are the best examples; each man experienced a big boost or essential shift in their character that ultimately led them to bigger and better things in their career. Corbin has shown he can already hang with a number of main-event level talent on Smackdown LIVE like Styles, Orton and Cena. A MITB win and eventual title run most certainly could cement his status as one of the top-tier heels in WWE in the months and years to come.
6. How excited are you for Sunday’s WWE Payback PPV?
Sean Garmer: 6 out of 10 – I’d say I’m at about a 6 right now. Owens vs. Jericho, Rollins vs. Joe, Braun vs. Roman all will probably deliver. Alexa and Bayley could be good. I’m not enthused about Wyatt vs. Orton. Although the House of Horrors stipulation could be fun. The build has been just there. But the wrestling I’m sure will be very solid to great. Plus, you got Neville vs. Aries 2 and Hardyz and Cesaro and Sheamus who could tear the house down. I’m excited for the in-ring product, but I’m kinda just there with the PPV at the moment.
Ken Hill: 7 out of 10 – While a lot of the card is pretty predictable, it’s not lacking for fun matches like Rollins-Joe, Hardys vs. Cesaro-Sheamus and Neville-Aries II. I’ve got a morbid curiosity for the “House of Horrors” match; we’re either looking at WWE’s (second) attempted rendition of “Final Deletion” or a stinker right up along with the “Ambrose Asylum” match from last year. WWE generally puts a good foot forward with their first couple of post-Mania PPVs, so I’m not too worried.
7. Chicago style, deep-dish pizza, is completely overrated.
Sean Garmer: FICTION – Honestly, I’ve never been to Chicago, so I can’t comment from an authenticity standpoint. Any time I’ve had Deep Dish though, I’ve quite enjoyed it. So, I’ll say thumbs up. Not to mention, I can have Pepperoni and Pineapples on it, oh yeah!
Ken Hill: FICTION – I swear there’s a CM Punk joke in there somewhere, but let me take my wrestling-tinted shades off for a second. I personally love deep-dish pizza; more ingredients to swim through to the crust just means more to love. I can certainly see how some people would view it as little more than a lasagna with a crust or one of those “messes” you pick up at Comella’s, but I don’t have a problem with it
