411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Will Rousey Wrestle at Mania?

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 Eric Palmer and Kevin Pantoja!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals, the Turtle Total Trip Theorem and hydroponics.

1. While the retirement of AJ Lee is a disappointment, it will not end up hurting the WWE Divas division.

Eric Palmer: FICTION – If we were talking about AJ Lee around WrestleMania 30, I’d say fiction, but over the past year or so, AJ’s attitude really changed and you could tell in her performances. She seemed to be going through the motions, and her matches with Paige were pretty dreadful. It wasn’t until Nikki Bella was added into it that she had another good match. While AJ’s retirement hurts short term, they have more than enough talent to replace her long term.

Kevin Pantoja: FACT – As much as I enjoyed a vast majority of AJ Lee’s work while with the WWE, I think the Divas division will be fine. They spent a good chunk of the last year without AJ and didn’t really miss a beat. While she was a vital part of the storylines during 2012-2013, and the Divas Title run she had until 2014 was really good, ever since her return last summer, something has been off. She didn’t seem as motivated and the quality of her work dipped. During that time, Paige and Nikki Bella both surpassed her, so the division is in good hands. Paige has the “geek” crowd behind her that AJ used to target and Nikki is playing the heel Diva as good, if not better, than AJ ever did. Add in the fact that the women down in NXT are phenomenal and the Divas division will be fine without AJ Lee, even if I’ll miss her.

2. You are disappointed that NXT will not be running monthly specials.

Eric Palmer: FICTION – I love the NXT specials, and part of the reason I love them is because they don’t happen monthly. The extra time allows for more buildup, and that’s one thing that NXT has been doing almost perfectly. I think doing 12 specials a year would drastically hinder the product.

Kevin Pantoja: FICTION – Here we have a surprise result from me. As someone who is a massive fan of the NXT product, part of me really wanted to see monthly specials. The other part of me feels that what makes the specials extra special is that they are rare and are given time to build. Now, NXT has yet to disappoint me and I could totally see them having great monthly specials because the talent and booking is there. But to say I’m disappointed that it won’t be monthly is incorrect. I’m fine with it staying the way it is though I think a bi-monthly thing might be best. It would still give the angles time to develop, while not over saturating things. Regardless of what they end up choosing to do with NXT, I’ll be sure to watch.

3. Randy Orton challenging Seth Rollins for the WWE Title was the right main event to make for the Extreme Rules PPV.

Eric Palmer: FACT – These guys killed it at WrestleMania. I think the inevitable matches with Reigns and Lesnar are absolute money matches, but using them for throwaway shows like Extreme Rules would be a mistake. I believe we’ll see either Reigns vs. Rollins at Summerslam, which allows Reigns even more time to improve in the ring. As for Lesnar, his suspension angle allows for his return to be something humongous, and Lesnar chasing the WWE Champion is going to be absolutely fantastic and must-watch TV. Doing it so soon after WrestleMania wouldn’t have the same “wow-factor” as it will when it does happen.

Kevin Pantoja: FACT – There was honestly no other choice that worked for me. First, Randy Orton STILL hasn’t gotten his one on one rematch after losing the WWE Title at WrestleMania last year. Second, he beat Seth Rollins at just hours before Seth’s cash in, instantly vaulting him to the top of the line. Third, their match at Mania was one of the best on the card and I feel that with an added stipulation at Extreme Rules, they could best that effort. Adding to that, if Ryback was the challenger I feel the match would not have been as good and if Roman Reigns was the challenger, it was possible the WWE would have him beat Seth. That would cut the legs off of Seth, while he should beat Orton to avenge WrestleMania. This was the best booking decision they could have made for the WWE Title. What they do with Roman Reigns on this show now is another thing entirely.

SWITCH!

4. While WWE reportedly wants Ronda Rousey to be a part of WrestleMania 32, Dana White will never allow her to do a match.

Kevin Pantoja: FICTION – Maybe I’m delusional but I could totally see Dana White allowing this to happen. Yes, I know that Ronda Rousey is a huge draw for the UFC, but something tells me it could still go down. Ronda loves doing things outside of the Octagon, like filming movies and this is something I could really see wanting to do since she is such a fan of the WWE. If the WWE is really serious about wanting to draw 100,000 for WrestleMania next year, Rousey is who they need. I’m sorry, but Triple H vs. the Rock sounds dreadful to me and I can’t fathom people clamoring to see it again. Put Ronda Rousey, one of the hottest names in all of sports, in the ring and you have a much better chance of selling that place out. I think HHH and Stephanie vs. Rock and Ronda is the way to go though. Or hell, just give me Ronda vs. Brock. She’s the only person I could see beating him at this point.

Eric Palmer: FICTION – This is complete speculation, but Dana has allowed fighters to do wrestling before. Josh Barnett was given the green light to wrestle last year in Japan, Shayna Baszler appeared on Ring of Honor just last month. I think if the money is right, Dana is open for anything. Whether or not it happens is another story, but it certainly could, and I hope it does.

5. The booking of the Seth Rollins vs. Neville match on Raw was poorly done.

Kevin Pantoja: FICTION – The word “poorly” is what sticks out to me here since I don’t think it was badly done. Granted, it could have been done better. Neville could have gotten some more near falls and commentary could have sold the close calls way better. I saw people on Twitter claiming that Neville was “buried” which is far from correct. He hung tough with the WWE Champion and nearly had the Red Arrow hit before J&J Security got involved. Obviously, his loss was the right move but competing with the WWE Champion in your second appearance is still a pretty big deal. Like I said, this could have been handled better and been more competitive, along the lines of John Cena vs. Stardust, but it was nowhere near “poorly” done.

Eric Palmer: FICTION – Neville looked so damn good in that match. He went toe to toe with the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and if it wasn’t for outside interference, might have beaten him cleanly. Sometimes in wrestling, a competitor can look better in defeat than he does in a win, this is one of those times. Rollins cheats to win, and the NXT rookie shows that he is a forced to be reckon with. In my opinion, it was booked perfectly.

6. Kurt Angle as TNA champion is a good move as long as it leads to Angle dropping the title to a fresh talent like Ethan Carter III.

Kevin Pantoja: FACT – This has been my mindset since he won the title. I missed a lot of TNA but gave them another chance with the move to Destination America. For the most part, they have surprised me and pumped out a fair amount of good television. Kurt Angle winning the belt wasn’t something I wanted to see, since it has been TNA’s go to move for years. With the reports that it was Destination America who wanted the title on Kurt, I’m a bit more okay with it. Now, this is only okay if it leads to him dropping the belt to Ethan Carter III. I know Austin Aries has the briefcase and I think he is awesome, but EC3 has been the best heel in wrestling for a while. His performance against Rockstar Spud a few weeks ago was excellent and after being undefeated for so long, they need to put the belt on him. He is, in my book, one of the biggest missed chances in WWE history. Even more than the likes of John Morrison, Carlito and guys like that.

Eric Palmer: FACT – Ethan Carter III is the best thing in TNA right now. He’s the reason I tune in, and having him take the title off of a huge face like Kurt Angle is the absolute best way to go. I don’t give TNA credit for much, but their handling of ECIII has been nothing short of perfect. I think with ECIII as champion, if the reign is handled correctly, could do wonders for TNA, and there’s nobody better for him to defeat than a legend like Kurt Angle.