411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Is Rousey Appearing on Raw Every Week a Good Idea?

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 & Greg DeMarco.

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. WWE having Ronda Rousey appear on every Raw leading up to WrestleMania is the right call.

Tony Acero: FACT – Why not? Why would this be the wrong call? I’m not a part of the group that claims that she needs to already be in action to “prove” herself or what she is capable of. I’m also not one to deny her marketability. I simply am not offended by t he presence of Ronda. She’s going up against two people that don’t wrestle, so she’s not hurting anyone in the process. She’s a name, so she’s not kicking someone off the card that otherwise would be. And from all reports, she’s putting every effort into becoming a WRESTLER. I dunno man, I don’t think she’s going to be the next coming of awesome women’s wrestling, but I do see the effort and adoration that she has, which is the same eyes we have when we are watching and in awe. I’m rowdy for Rousey, y’all.

Greg DeMarco: FACT – Ronda Rousey is a draw. That’s all the reason you need. There are plenty of examples where it was fine to leave someone off of television, Triple H vs. The Undertaker in Hell In A Cell comes to mind. Rousey’s segments have done well, her YouTube videos are getting a ton of hits, and she is a mainstream star. But there’s a second half to it: she continues to get better. There can be cases where you need to hide someone’s deficiencies off of television, but the improvement Ronda shows from appearance to appearance seems to be exponential. Keeping her on television seems to be the best preparation for a successful WrestleMania match and a successful WWE career.

2. AJ Styles will retain the WWE Title at Fastlane.

Tony Acero: FACT – While I will readily admit that AJ vs. Shinsuke is a match that needs no title, there is NO reason for AJ to lose his title and I don’t really think that anyone believes this will happen anyway. Fastlane is, ironically, a pit stop towards Mania. AJ Styles is a proven commodity, and people are salivating at the idea of AJ vs. Shinsuke, myself included. So no Cena addition to the match is going to make me believe that AJ’s title is in jeopardy. In fact, the more people that are added to the match, the less likely it is for me to even consider an AJ Styles loss.

Greg DeMarco: FACT – Last I checked, Jinder Mahal isn’t in the match. 🙂 In all seriousness, the end game here is AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, and the closer we get the more I can see that match going on last. Could you out together an entertaining match with Kevin Owens or Dolph Ziggler? Sure. Could John Cena add to the mainstream appeal? Definitely. But this is a money match and I can’t see the company straying away from it with four weeks to go.

3. Impact & Lucha Underground working together for a WrestleMania weekend show is a great move for both.

Tony Acero: FICTION – I am not saying it’s not a good move, I simply won’t call it a “GREAT MOVE.” It’s a calculated effort to capitalize on the wrestling crowd that most certainly will not be at Mania for one reason or another, and there’s nothing wrong with that. If I were a promoter, I’d do it. If there is any ill will towards the idea, it’s the fact that Impact has never impressed me, not even at its height, while Lucha Underground has blown me away even at its lowest, so pairing them makes me feel icky – even if they share the same talent pool already. However, this isn’t about how I feel regarding Impact, so the answer is fiction solely based on the idea that “Great” is too strong a word.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION – Both? No, not both. This event is odd to me. It’s like doing a Marvel vs DC movie. They’re different universes, and in the Lucha Underground universe you have talent that can do things that aren’t normal in any other wrestling promotion. People die and come back to life in Lucha Underground. That’s not gonna happen on Impact. And from a branding perspective, this only benefits Impact. I don’t see what Lucha Underground gains here. Plus you use talent confusion created by talent sharing (Johnny Mundo/Impact, Taya, Brian Cage, etc.). I don’t know why LU went in on this. Now if you give me King Cuerno vs. El Hijo Del Fantasma? I’ll call it even.

SWITCH!

4. It appears that WarGames may be a yearly event for the NXT brand; this will end up devaluing the stipulation similar to Hell in a Cell.

Greg DeMarco: FACT – Thematic pay-per-view are okay, when the gimmick is the story. That’s not War Games. War Games was developed for blood feuds. The return “sorta” made sense, except that whole Roderick Strong/Authors Of Pain team. To me this concept should be used when needed, just like Hell In A Cell, TLC, Steel Cage matches and more. The Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and Money In The Bank are competitive concepts, they make sense as a yearly theme. Save War Games for when it’s needed–and that’s not every November.

Tony Acero: FICTION – I mean, at least not yet. The reason Hell in a Cell is diminished is because people call it Heck on A Deck. I jest…sort of. No, the reason that we are so annoyed by Hell in a Cell being what it is, is because of the direct comparison of previous efforts. We had a bloodied Taker and Brock as a staple of Hell in a Cell. Rikishi falling off the top, a chair flying through the cage onto Mick Foley’s face, Taker with a broken foot, Foley flying off into a mess of an announce table. Now? Now, we have a match where someone might get tossed into a cage. Maybe. Almost. Sort of. The comparison is direct and annoying and nowhere near as intense as it once was. War Games has a bit more of a past without intense violence (although not without it completely). Also, it’s NXT. Let it be on RAW, and I may say that the saturation will be present and obvious. NXT is a different beast altogether. It tends to respect the past more.

5. Jinder Mahal will get involved in the US Champion Bobby Roode vs. Randy Orton match, costing Roode the title at Fastlane.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION – Why I the hell would Jinder Mahal do this? I don’t know if you know this, but Jinder Mahal is the MOTHER FREAKING MAHARAJA! He’s spent far too long middling with peasants in the United States Championship division. The record breaking WWE Champion will target one man and one man only: John Cena. Jinder Mahal will cost John Cena his 17th World Championship on Sunday, and Jinder will do what Bray Wyatt and Rusev haven’t–defeat John Cena at WrestleMania.

Tony Acero: FACT – I’m sure he will, but I won’t really care. I’m so proud of Jinder, the person. I’m proud of his rise and how he took full advantage of everything he had, including the push he was given. Still, it did nothing for me but bring back two things I despise – The Great Kahli and The Punjabi Prison match. I will never forgive you for that, Jinder. Jinder has a contract, he is a former champ, and although he maybe doesn’t “belong” in the title picture at all of any stature, not using what you created is just stupid, so I won’t be upset with him still flirting with titles and uppercard feuds.

6. What is your level of excitement for Sunday’s WWE Fastlane PPV?

Greg DeMarco: 8 out of 10 – If you know me, this is almost a 10. Not this time. I don’t like the idea of all PPV events being co-branded. It was a rumor that I didn’t want to see become fact, yet Fastlane is the last single branded one we’ll see, at least for a while. But damn this show is an argument in favor of them. NXT is proof that you can build a PPV with less TV time, but Smackdown hasn’t done that very well. In fact, the show has suffered since Jinder Mahal lost the WWE Championship. That’s because of the reliance on Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon. They’ve muddied the waters, hurting the value of the show. Is 8 generous? Probably. But it’s still a PPV that I basically get to watch for free on the WWE Network, it’s still an escape from real life, and we still get The New Day vs The Usos. But there’s plenty more they can do.

Tony Acero: 4 out of 10 – As I said earlier, this is a pit stop more than a fast lane, and I feel strongly about that. Smackdown maybe needed a PPV, but I do believe that nothing of note will happen on the show, and that’s a shame – although a welcomed one. I don’t think anyone is clamoring for a huge shift in the card for Mania at any rate, so Fastlane just becomes superfluous. 4 isn’t an insult; I’m still interested. I’m simply not excited due to the pit stop nature of the show and it’s expectations.