wrestling / Columns
411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Is Orton vs. Wyatt The Worst Feud of 2017?
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 Jeremy Lambert and Justin Watry!
1. Braun Strowman is the breakout star of the Wyatt family.
Jeremy Lambert: FACT – Is there any other answer? Erick Rowan has been injured 90% of the time and Luke Harper had a nice two-week run before being forgotten about. Even if you consider Bray, Braun surpasses him for the simple fact that Bray is terrible at every aspect of professional wrestling. Braun has become the biggest star on Raw and brings the entertainment in every segment he’s in. He’s not only the breakout star of the Wyatt family, he’s the breakout star of the year.
Justin Watry: FICTION – This is a prisoner of the moment kind of question. The answer is Bray Wyatt, and it is not even close. He has been the leader of the stable from beginning, has a decent past in NXT (and as Husky Harris), feuded with Randy Orton, The Undertaker, John Cena, The Rock, The Shield, and countless others in the past four years. Oh, and the man beat AJ Styles and John Cena earlier in 2017 while walking into Wrestle FREAKIN’ Mania as WWE Champion! Um yeah, not even close. Luckily, there is still plenty of time for Braun to continue his dominant run AND Luke Harper to finally leave his mark. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it has been a rough go for him as of late, but he was one of the few guys I followed on the independent scene before getting signed by WWE – I know he has the talent. Long story short, Bray is headed and shoulders above everybody else with Strowman and Harper being more than capable of catching him down the road. Erick Rowan? Funny.
2. Billy Corgan buying the NWA is a positive for the wrestling business.
Jeremy Lambert: FICTION – I can’t really argue that it’s a negative, but I also can’t say it’s a positive. It’s just a neutral. No one knew the NWA existed anymore, which is why Corgan was able to purchase it for the price of a Happy Meal, and I highly doubt Corgan does anything worthwhile with it. What is the NWA in 2017 anyway? Regional companies have established their own identity with their own titles. Does the NWA title still exist? I hope Brayden Walker is champion.
Justin Watry: FICTION – It is not positive or negative. Thus, I am saying fiction. You know what it is? A headline. That’s all it is currently. No different than Jeff Jarrett and his countless GFW teases or NFL/MLB/NBA contract details. They created waves and stir discussion, but when all is said and done, you realize there is not a ton of substance there. Oh, Jarrett and GFW went nowhere. Oh, cool. Glad I wasted two years talking about all the endless possibilities (I didn’t). Oh, so and so is set to make $100 over the next five years in sports…well, if he hits every single incentive and reaches the Super Bowl every year by making the Pro Bowl for his efforts. In other words, the contract is NOT what it appeared to be in the first place? Right. That is Billy Corgan and his latest adventure in the professional wrestling business. Yawn! Let me know when something actually happens.
3. WWE holding off Shinsuke Nakamura’s main roster in ring debut for the Backlash PPV is a smart move.
Jeremy Lambert: FACT – It’s a smart, but at the same time, they have to make me care. Alright, maybe not me, because I already love Nakamura and will watch every WWE event. But they have to make the casual fans care. Why should they get exited about this in-ring debut of this man? Bad Dolph Ziggler comedy and Ziggler going 50/50 with Sin Cara certainly isn’t the way to get fan excited. It’s a real shame they switched Miz to Raw because he would have been perfect in the role. He’s about the only guy who draws any real heel heat and gets people invested in the guys he’s facing.
Justin Watry: FACT – Absolutely the right move. Heck, if you follow my Jay’s Ways column (on another website), you know I had this pegged from the second he went to Smackdown LIVE. He is being built as a special attraction for the blue brand (like Brock Lesnar on Monday nights). You can’t present him like that if he is wrestling every week or even appearing all the time. Nakamura is a special talent who has been used to sell the WWE Network for the past year via NXT. Now, his goal is to sell the WWE Network via Smackdown LIVE special events. With ratings and viewership (back) in the toilet, stir up some buzz and announce a Nakamura match on TV for late May and ‘pop’ a number. By then, fans will understand it is a BIG deal to seem him compete on the show.
SWITCH!
4. Jinder Mahal will defeat Randy Orton at Backlash to win the WWE Title.
Justin Watry: FICTION – No explanation needed? I mean, I was the one who wrote a lengthy and in-depth column entitled “Defending Jinder Mahal” just two weeks ago. The premise was pretty simple. Why not give the guy a chance and see where it goes? Bradshaw had a near overnight transformation into JBL, and you just never know when (or with whom) you can catch lightning in a bottle. Sadly, whether his fault or not, the blue brand has seen a steep decline in momentum the past two weeks, and Backlash is being held together by the under card. Not the WWE Championship main event. While I was more than okay with giving this all a fair shake, the early results are not promising. Unless we get a report of record business in India or a huge boost to WWE Network subscriptions, Randy Orton SHOULD win easily at Backlash and simply move on…
Jeremy Lambert: FACT – At least, I hope so. It’s the Network era. You don’t need to sell PPVs and USA Network isn’t pulling the plug anytime soon. Take some chances. Orton is as stale as ever and coming off two of the worst matches of the year. I don’t think much of Jinder, but he’s at least a fresh challenger and someone different. Put the belt on him, laugh at the reaction, and be better.
5. Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton is the worst feud of 2017 so far.
Justin Watry: FICTION – I was at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando. Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt was one of the few weak points of the event for me. I can admit to that. Still, worst feud? Nope. The Nia Jax stuff from before WM was bad, the entire NXT/Sanity run has been fairly mediocre in 2017, the entire Titus Brand nonsense is tiresome, Dolph Ziggler does not seem to have the same spark as a heel as before, etc. I could list a bunch more but would just sum it all up in “the entire cruiserweight division outside of Austin Aries and Neville.” Has Bray and Orton been the worst MAJOR feud? Yeah, probably. However, worst of everything is a stretch.
Jeremy Lambert: FACT – And it’s a real shame because the feud started off so well and it made sense. Orton became fresh when he joined the Wyatt family and Bray finally had a purpose. But the moment Orton burned down the house, it’s been a 100 MPH roller coaster drop. The acting has been poor, the promos have been poor, they’ve lost the plot, and the matches have been dreadful. Things could have been salvaged if they just embraced the absurdity of it all, but instead they tried to present it as something real. Orton is terrible, Wyatt is useless, and both of them can go to NWA.
6. Now that his ROH contract has expired, Adam Cole will sign with the WWE.
Justin Watry: FACT – You could replace the “ROH” and “Adam Cole” parts, and I would always put fact when discussing wrestling. Anybody who has an expiring contract is either hoping to be signed by WWE or will eventually. That is just how the wrestling industry works. If they say anything else, they are lying. I don’t care who the wrestler is. Go ahead and give me examples. Go ahead. All of them one by one is either secretly wanting to head to WWE immediately, has been there before, or is eyeing that up down the road. Sorry if that offends anybody; you know I’m right. Adam Cole has been a name in the news forever about jumping to WWE (for NXT), so let’s just speed it up and make the move happen.
Jeremy Lambert: FACT – If not, I’m gonna have words with Larry Csonka.
