wrestling / Columns

Truths & Lies: The New Day/WM33, Magnus/TNA, Holy Foley, More

February 21, 2017 | Posted by Justin Watry
WWE New Day WrestleMania 32, Big E

Hi, I’m Justin Watry. You may remember me from such classic columns as March 2012’s “WWE WrestleMania 28: Sheamus Should Defeat Daniel Bryan in Less Than a Minute” and October 2015’s “WWE NXT: Bobby Roode, You’re Next.”

Backstory

My plan is to write a FastLane preview next week, as well as a cool guide about attending a WWE show. Not quite sure yet. I just know I’ll be in Milwaukee on March 5th and can’t wait! Onto a few truths and lies…

Truths & Lies

TRUTH: The Next Day hosting WrestleMania 33 is a good idea. – Oh no, we may not get a match from The New Day! Oh no, what shall we do then?!?! Nobody cares about their matches. Sorry, in case you have been living under a rock the past two years, it wasn’t their matches that made them popular. The bell to bell action isn’t what brought them to the dance. Certainly not being Honky Tonk Man tag champs and losing to the League of Nations and then getting beat up by a bunch of legends in Texas. Or are we only allowed to complain about The Rock defeating Erick Rowan? I forget which hypocritical statement is which these days.

Anyways, The New Day are more than capable of being entertaining. As long as they have fresh material and are not boring the live crowd with inside jokes nobody but them laughs at. I know the trio are smart and will be up for the challenge. Best part is this news all but guarantees some kind of ‘moment.’ Will WWE bring in The Hardyz? Will Edge and Christian appear again to confront them? Remember their past interactions. Heck, perhaps the one and only Hulk Hogan makes his triumphant return. This thing with The New Day has all the makings of a fun and wacky setting at Mania, and I’m fine with it.

LIE: Magnus should return to TNA Impact Wrestling. – If there are truly no other options, I suppose so. My first thought when I read that he might return to TNA was sadness and disappointment. I may be in the minority here, but I felt bad for Magnus. I really did. The guy ditched TNA, went running for the hills after his all-time bad reign as a main eventer and tried not once but TWICE to get a shot at WWE. First on his own and then via Mickie James. Neither panned out, so it is back to TNA. As Global Force Wrestling Champion with Jeff Jarrett…or something. Is the guy that bad WWE wouldn’t even bother with him? Even after signing so many other stars as of late? I must be missing something here.

TRUTH: Holy Foley is officially the worst show on WWE Network. – Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. For those who recall, I absolutely despised the first five (or whatever the number was) episodes of Holy Foley in 2016. Just terrible editing, terrible acting, terrible plots, etc. Even as a so called “reality show,” it was a far stretch to accept any of that junk as real. Well, the last remaining episodes were added to WWE Network last month. I finally got around to watching them – against my better judgment. Figured I might as well complete the series and wrap it up with a big ugly bow. My gut instinct was right.

The second half was definitely better than the first half, but that’s like saying WCW 2001 was better than WCW 2000. Nothing to brag about. If there is one silver lining it is that Mick Foley has basically said there won’t be a second season. Now, Edge and Christian also said the same about their show but may have been simply joking. In the case of Foley doubting more episodes will be recorded, I hope he was telling the truth. That thing was bad. Seriously. I know Mick will tell folks how great it was and blah, blah, blah. However, the show was ranked BY FANS as one of the least popular things on WWE Network, and I can’t imagine many people ever really bought into the idea of Noelle being serious about wrestling. That was the entire hook for the show, and it fell flat on its’ face in the obviously contrived manner we all knew from the start. Reminds me of CM Punk in the UFC…but that’s another column for another day. Call it a day on Holy Foley and film more episodes of Legends With JBL. Now, THAT is worthy of more episodes.

LIE: The women’s division in WWE is boring. – Despite the odd choice of Naomi winning the Women’s Championship at Elimination Chamber AND Bayley winning the RAW Women’s Champion on television rather than WrestleMania 33, there is a lot to like about both brands.

First off is new champion Naomi. I disagree with the move immensely but will wait to see how this Tuesday’s show pans out. Alexa Bliss may very well regain the title again soon. Then is Bayley besting Charlotte on Raw last week in another main event for the women. Can’t argue with the decision – just that the timing was supposed to set up for Mania. Not a random Monday night in February. I know most suspect Charlotte will get the belt back at FastLane. However, I will believe there are other plan in place here to explain to quick switch. That, in and of itself, is interesting. Same for Sasha Banks and a possible impending heel turn, something I have said was coming for months now. Surely, she HAS to be ready to battle Bayley.

Then there is Nia Jax. Is she a dominant force or just somebody to beat up on Raw when the women need to be kept bust for a few weeks? At some point, WWE will have to pick a route.

Back to Smackdown LIVE, Mickie James has been a hidden gem since coming back to the company. Sneaky good since returning. Her feud with Becky Lynch may explode into something more (past vs. present story line), but for now, I am just enjoying those two battling. On that note, which women would return if the rumor is true? I know of one name that has not been mentioned yet that is 100% on board with a WWE return. Kelly Kelly was just backstage; what about her? Certainly nothing boring about somebody returning after a long hiatus.

Oh, and speaking of girls back in the fold, Maryse may be stepping back in the ring in a high profile WM33 spot. Teased something with Nikki Bella already. Once the Natalya issue is resolved, the women’s division may be getting a massive spotlight thanks to Nikki. Kinda rambling at this point, but you get it. There is a lot of stuff going on with both women’s divisions right now on the Road to WM. Even with the questionable title changes, all is well.

If only we could figure out Emma…lina…

WrestleMania 33 Update

Never thought it’d happen, but I’m going to WrestleMania baby! A little over a month away. Tickets have been purchased (quite pricey), and travel plans are almost finished. Super pumped. Tax returns are a thing of beauty to start off the year.

Cheap Plugs

Follow @JustinWatry on Twitter – 31 followers away from a random drawing for a $25 WWEShop giftcard.

Email [email protected] for feedback.