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411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Was Charlotte Winning at Hell in a Cell The Right Call?
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 Sean Garmer and Kevin Pantoja!
1. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks was the best match at the WWE Hell in a Cell PPV.
Kevin Pantoja: FACT – It was close though. If you read my review, you know that I gave both Sasha/Charlotte and Owens/Rollins ***¾ for different reasons. However, I give the slight edge to Sasha vs. Charlotte. They showed that they belonged in the main event and had the most brutal women’s match in WWE history. There were obvious issues, like the stuff before the bell officially rang, the finish and the end result, but the match itself was damn good. Up until the end, it felt like the conclusion of a rivalry though it looks like it may continue due to the finish. I can’t fault someone if they say Owens/Rollins was the better match though.
Sean Garmer: FACT – I give it the slight edge over Rollins and Owens. Mainly because they went with the story about Sasha’s back and Charlotte went after it most of the match. Yes, the finish wasn’t what they wanted and it may have left us with an anti-climactic ending, but I liked that they kept it to just Sasha and Charlotte. Also, the brawl before the match officially started was well done and this was the right place to do the stretcher job too. I mean they brutality went after each other for around 15 mins and to me, didn’t overstay its welcome either. Rollins vs. Owens may have had the better flow and they told a great story of Rollins overcoming odds until Jericho just made it too much. I just enjoyed Charlotte and Sasha a tad better, but I think the case can easily be made for Rollins and Owens too.
2. Chris Jericho is currently doing the best character work of his career.
Kevin Pantoja: FICTION – This is not a knock on Chris Jericho’s current work. He has been the high point of the Owens/Rollins rivalry and the best thing going on Raw since the draft. After a slow start in his return (I didn’t love the AJ rivalry) Jericho has stepped up and this is the most I’ve enjoyed him since 2008. Still, Jericho’s career has been too great for this to be the best work. His “Man of 1,004 Holds” and “Conspiracy Victim” stuff in WCW is legendary. His run as Y2J for the first chunk of his WWE career is some of my favorite stuff ever. For a while there, he was my favorite wrestler. Then his character change in 2008 to a more serious villain gave us the awesome Shawn Michaels feud, Jeri-Show team and more. I didn’t like much of Jericho’s work from his 2012-2014 returns, but I’m back to loving him. For most guys, this run would be the best but Jericho has been too good at times in his career for this to top it.
Sean Garmer: FACT – Some of his early work is a bit foggy for me right now, so I’m going to go with yes. Jericho has been absolutely spot on in this run. He somehow made a list more over than Kevin Owens has been as of late. I think this has gone into him being much more confident in his wrestling ability as well. He was awkward and uncomfortable looking against AJ Styles in some of those matches. Now he’s performing well in each match right now. Whether it’s his interactions with Kevin Owens, which are always hilarious, or the backstage segments with Stephanie and Mick Foley, he’s always entertaining. I actually want to see him come to the ring and say something. His new catchphrase is not far from the truth at all, he makes you want to drink in the “Gift of Jericho.” We really should appreciate this, because he won’t be around forever. There have been other times where it has been about the wrestling on his returns, or he’s languished in being a midcard guy that doesn’t matter. Right now, he’s on fire and has earned all the love he’s getting.
3. The WWE Cruiserweight Division is a mess.
This was sent out prior to the announcement of the WWE 205 Live series announcement.
Kevin Pantoja: FACT – Absolutely. It had a lot of potential following the awesome Cruiserweight Classic, but things have not translated well to Raw. Honestly, I can’t fully blame the performers. Granted, the series of matches between Kendrick and Perkins has been very lackluster but the division just feels so lame. First of all, changing the ropes and mat for the matches is dumb. It screams overdoing it just like the whole DIVASREVOLUTION MAGGLE stuff we got last year. Just let them do their job. Don’t overproduce it. Then, other than Kendrick, nobody has any character. Perkins just makes random video game references and Swann dances, but that’s about it. Why should I care about Cedric Alexander? What would make me cheer for Lince Dorado? Lastly, the constant multi-man tags that go nowhere aren’t helping. Things might improve when the other signed guys like Gallagher show up but judging by the way it’s been handled and booked, I doubt it.
Sean Garmer: FACT – It is totally a mess. They’ve done nothing but make TJP look stupid in this entire feud with Brian Kendrick and did nothing for him. Going around making lame video game references doesn’t help either. I write in the games zone, I’m all for game references, but these are just bad. Also, having Kendrick go out and blatantly tell TJP he’s playing mind games and then TJP some still looks like an idiot? I mean I don’t think it gets any worse than that. I also am not a fan of “let’s ask him to throw the match” in a scripted sport either. I really hope this new Cruiserweight show puts these guys back in the spotlight the way they should be. The rest of the division currently on RAW are just trading wins and having matches. I mean why should I care about what they do? It just feels lifeless. It doesn’t have that same meaning and WWE has failed to try to even capture what made it special. What do some of the bigger names like Metalik and Tozawa have to look forward to with this division right now? Nothing. At least not until 205 LIVE happens.
SWITCH!
4. Due to all of the injury issues the 2016 Dusty Rhodes Classic has
turned into a mess.
Sean Garmer: FACT – It does suck for Itami and Aries to be injured. I mean when you have to have a singles match to decide who advances to the next round, its not the best However, I don’t think either one of those teams were going to win this thing. However, perhaps it puts a wrench in what they wanted to do and that puts a damper on the tournament. I still think it is TM-61’s to lose and I felt it was always going to be them regardless of the injuries.
Kevin Pantoja: FICTION – True, I badly wanted to see Kota Ibushi and Hideo Itami team up, but I don’t think the tournament is a mess. I’ve read the spoilers and know the finals and I’m pretty sure that was the plan even before any of the injuries took place. Most of the matches in the tournament have been pretty enjoyable either way and I think Itami getting replaced by Perkins was about as suitable a replacement as they could find. They fixed my biggest issue with the tournament last year where some of the matches weren’t televised. I believe everything has been taped for TV this year. It isn’t a great tournament but it’s far from a mess.
5. Charlotte defeating Sasha Banks to regain the WWE Raw Women’s Title at the WWE Hell in a Cell PPV was the right call.
Sean Garmer: FICTION – I understand that Charlotte is the one true heel in the RAW Women’s division, but Sasha winning it and losing it quickly twice is not good. It hurts her in the eyes of casual fans and it has to make you wonder how much faith they have in her going forward. Now, if this is all about just trading titles to show they are equal, perhaps we are talking about a different story here. However, if we look at this in traditional terms, being a transitional champion is usually not a good thing. But this was a time they really could have had a great moment for Sasha. Coming back after enduring all of that punishment to win the Hell in a Cell in her hometown would have been great. It felt weird and a bit deflating to see Charlotte win it back. Especially after feeling this was going to be a tremendous night for Sasha. I don’t really think it was the right call and seems like a make good with Vince for allowing them to be the “true main event.”
Kevin Pantoja: FICTION – Hell no. This was the absolute worst decision. Nothing against Charlotte but her as champion is so beyond stale at this point. For the past 13 months, she’s been champion for about 12. We’ve watched her do a shitty heel turn, get non-stop help from Ric and then from Dana and cut horrible promos on a weekly basis. I understand Sasha losing at SummerSlam since they thought she was injured for a while, but you put the title back on her just to have her lose it back to the heel in her hometown? Isn’t the face supposed to come out on top and win out in the end? Instead Charlotte just continues to dominate and just keeps winning on PPV matches. Instead of something interesting like Sasha vs. Nia or eventually Sasha vs. Bayley at Mania, we get more of Charlotte’s reign of doom. This should have been Sasha winning the feud in her hometown. Instead the finish was a joke.
6. Considering all of the legal issues and financial issues with TNA,
what is your confidence level that they will make it through 2017?
Sean Garmer: 5 out of 10 – I’m in the middle because how many years has this been that we predict the death of TNA and they continue to exist. I don’t want to go too far in the positive column because this may the biggest scare they’ve faced. You lose your UK deal, there’s a lawsuit going on, people keep coming out and suing you, and you have your worst TV deal you’ve ever had in the US with POP TV. I mean those aren’t good things. Sure, you have the backing of Anthem and Aroluxe, but that may not be enough this time. On the other hand, I don’t want to be definitive either, because Dixie Carter and TNA keep surviving. So, it wouldn’t be surprise me at all that they make it through next year too.
Kevin Pantoja: 3 out of 10 – It’s tough to call. On the one hand, things look bleaker than ever for TNA. The lawsuits, inability to pay talents and everything else is just dire for them. In most situations, I’d be a 1 in confidence. But this is TNA. They have some sort of nine lives thing going on. They should have folded several times in their history but they somehow find a way to live. Everything points to this being the end for TNA but until it actually happens, I can’t be totally confident that it will.
