411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Was The Dean Ambrose Heel Turn The Right Call?

Welcome back to 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 Tony Acero & Kevin Pantoja.

Questions were sent out Tuesday.

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

1. Doing the Dean Ambrose heel turn on Monday’s Raw was the right call.

Tony Acero: FICTION – I’ve been of the mind that this whole “will he/won’t he” turn thing as nonsensical and cliche, so having Dean turn after winning the titles alongside Seth Rollins just doesn’t make all that much sense to me. We saw on Monday a lot of people switch allegiance, most of which I was ok with (such as Elias and Braun), but Ambrose turning just makes for silly storytelling, especially considering all it means is that the simple story they created over the past few weeks has an even more simple yet dumb resolution. None of this even touches the reality behind the fact that we have tag team champions who carry belts that will once again become secondary to the story being told. Are we going to get the “Partners who don’t like each other?” storyline? Are we going to relinquish the tag titles as well? If so, why? With all of this being said, I don’t want to fully lambast the turn, as the basis of him turning on the same show that Reigns had to make his sad announcement does spell for some truly heelish motives, it just doesn’t seem very Dean-like, and somewhat inconsistent with what we’ve been presented, even as recent as the past few weeks. Maybe I’m just asking for too much from the writing staff…

Kevin Pantoja: FACT – How are people even considering this being a bad call? Dean Ambrose turning has been a long time coming, but doing it on the night Roman Reigns announced his illness was a stroke of genius. With this move, Dean can now be the Tommaso Ciampa of the main roster. A guy who did something so despicable, you can’t help but boo him. The fact that they’re Tag Champions could also lead to some brilliant storytelling moments. My only gripe with the turn was that it happened in October, meaning stretching it out until WrestleMania, where it should end, will be difficult.

2. Shayna Baszler will lose at Evolution and be called up to the main roster.

Tony Acero: FICTION – Man, there’s so much to say about the women’s division that makes me angry, especially considering where we once were. It’s with this same sentiment that I can say not only do I not think Baszler will be called up, I also do not care. She’s a great hand, but there’s no reason for her to come up outside of facing Ronda, and who would care about that or buy it as a reality, especially when the main event for Evolution is more relying on who Nikki slept with and was left by than any actual acumen in wrestling. If Shayna loses at Evolution, then she’ll just snap someone’s neck or something, but I don’t foresee her heading up to the main roster.

Kevin Pantoja: FICTION – Don’t get me wrong, Shayna getting called up sounds great. She’s easily been the best female wrestler of 2018 to me. Her on the main roster, running through people sounds great. I’d also love Shayna vs. Ronda. However, I think she stays in NXT a bit longer. The word that Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir are coming in makes me think they get at least a short run together. I feel like the title match could go either way.

3. Becky Lynch will defeat Charlotte at WWE Evolution.

Tony Acero: FACT – The best story going into Evolution isn’t even because of the story being told, but because of the players involved, namely Becky. People are invested in this because of the emotional pull that is involved, and even with that, the WWE still tries to force a narrative of Becky as “evil,” instead of simply “angry.” I won’t be so bold to say that I WANT a double turn, I just want them to acknowledge that full, well-rounded characters have a place on the WWE roster, and trying to force them into one role specifically will serve to piss off the audience. Anyways….Becky will defeat Charlotte, because the girl is on a roll and shows no signs of slowing.

Kevin Pantoja: FICTION – I could literally just write one sentence to explain this: Never pick against Charlotte. She is the strongest booked person in WWE. More than Roman Reigns, John Cena, or anyone before her. This is the woman who won the NXT Women’s Title, Divas Title, Raw and Smackdown Women’s Titles, and beat Asuka’s streak. I’m thinking she wins the title here, but loses it again before the year ends. That opens the door for her to win the Royal Rumble, move to Raw, and be the one to beat Ronda. That being said, I hope Becky Lynch wins. She’s outstanding.

SWITCH!

4. Nia Jax will win the battle royal and title shot at WWE Evolution.

Kevin Pantoja: FICTION – Nia Jax will get the Big Show treatment. She’ll toss out a handful of people, last until near the end, and have commentary wonder how she could get eliminated. Then, someone will toss her out. She’s not a bad pick to win, but I just don’t buy her as the best choice. Asuka is the best bet to me. If Becky retains, it sets up a fresh feud, and if Charlotte wins it back, they’ll rematch Mania. None of the girls on the Raw side feel like they’re getting a Ronda Rousey match. I’d love Ember/Ronda, but Ember hasn’t been getting that push.

Tony Acero: FICTION – Pretty sure no one wants to see this, including me. I have no desire to see Nia anywhere near the title, and it’s not because she’s suddenly undeserving. It’s because the RAW Women’s division is such a mess right now, and has been for quite some time. Shit just gets more homogenized and boring as weeks pass. We all know I’m an avid Sasha fan, and a majority of it is said in jest, but realistically speaking, I hunger so much for the stories, the wrestling, and the passion that we saw in NXT and were given glimpses of when Sasha, Charlotte, Becky, and Bayley were called up. Y’all, we had so much to do in so many directions with so many players and such good wrestling to be had, but instead we got the best friends bullshit on RAW, and are BARELY getting the “proper” story on Smackdown. Barely. Like 4 years later. I am not saying that other women should be pushed beneath these four, because give me a good story, and I’ll forgive a hell of a lot of lack of talent. Still, if there’s one name I can see no reason to be attached to winning a title shot, it’s Nia Jax.

5. Ronda Rousey will defeat Nikki Bella at WWE Evolution.

Kevin Pantoja: FACT – Duh. I laugh at the vocal minority who have bashed this as the main event. It’s a Pay-Per-View. You put your biggest names in the big matches. Everyone knows who Ronda Rousey is and whether you like them or not, the Bella Twins are popular. I knew several people who know the Bellas but don’t watch wrestling. You see Nikki and Ronda on a card and you may get a casual person to sign up. Anyway, I can’t fathom Nikki winning. This is here to be the money match and Ronda should be champion until Mania.

Tony Acero: FACT – I don’t get the push behind Nikki being a) a big name in the WRESTLING world and b) her having any type of credibility to be in the main event. Ronda will win, and I hope that the match is five minutes or less. Nikki isn’t good. Her heel character is unbelievable. She lacks the legit passion that I know so many other wrestlers have – guy or girl – and isn’t one to carry another. Ronda has shown great patience, tries hard every time she is in the ring, is aware of her role, and even with her shortcomings (because she has a few), can string together a believable ass-kicking. The “story” behind this is so one-note, cliche, “bitches be crazy,” dumb, and lacking any actual care from both the writers and the audience, creating a PPV that SHOULD have been a huge deal and turning it into a big heaping pile of who gives a fuck…

6. What is your excitement level for WWE Evolution?

Kevin Pantoja: 9 out of 10 – I love wrestling. I’ve been excited for most of the shows being put out this year, especially by the WWE. I’m not expecting a show of the year contender, but I’m thinking we get three or so hours of fun wrestling. Nikki/Ronda and the Riott Squad tag sound fun. Becky/Charlotte could be fantastic. Shayna/Kairi will be great. We’ll get a nostalgia kick from Trish, Lita, and some of the battle royal. And of course, there’s the Mae Young Classic Finals, which I’m stoked for.

Tony Acero: 4 out of 10 – This really pisses me off. Genuinely, it makes me incredibly upset that a moment as monumental as this is belittled immensely because of a lack of focus and good writing. What could have been a huge moment for women, but also for wrestling has become just another “WWE Network Special,” and no amount of Stephanie McMahon can make this any better, magical, or huge. Half of the card was thrown together on a piece of toilet paper, and the other half has a foundation of storytelling that is so brittle, it’s already broken under the weight of ridiculousness. Nikki and Rousey just had to go to the “who she slept with” route and stemmed from an out-of-nowhere turn that no one cared about. Trish and Lita, although great to see, were first thrown into seemingly random matches before both matches being combined into something that still had no actual reason. A Battle Royal on ANY PPV outside of the Royal Rumble almost always means nothing to no one except the person who wins, and even that is a maybe. The nostalgia factor will be great in the moment, but will not relate to ticket sales as we have seen. A story that told itself for months in Bayley and Sasha is pushed aside for the twenteth time for the sake of a 6-woman tag. Tamina is back, so there’s that. The WWE took an idea that is supposed to be a good PR move, a nice little feel-awesome heart tug, and a push for progression and turned it into a subpar, unimportant event that no one cares for in the slightest. I fear most the backlash of this PPV when they come to terms with it not doing as well as we all wanted it to. The WWE has continuously become the land of “What could have been.” I hate fantasy booking; I don’t like doing a job that others are hired and paid to do for free. I also don’t think that I can immediately do better simply because I am a writer. I am also well aware of the hierarchy that still exists within the WWE, but there is so much obvious fatigue and stop-start fiction, so much fly-by-night, item-line, last minute change writing that it’s readily apparent on any given Monday night, and the proof isn’t in the ingredients so much as it is in the puddin. Evolution, you are the worst kind of puddin. Evolution, you are Spotted Dick…