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411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Will Roman Reigns Win The Title at the Greatest Royal Rumble?
Image Credit: WWE
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 Kevin Pantoja & Jeremy Lambert.
1. WWE re-signed Brock Lesnar, and will now likely put the title on Roman Reigns at the Greatest Royal Rumble event.
Jeremy Lambert: FICTION – I don’t know what this company is doing anymore after WrestleMania. Maybe they’ve finally given up on Reigns for the foreseeable future after Mania. Although they could always call an audible if the crowd at GRR gives him a big ovation. My logic for picking fiction is what’s been pointed out on Twitter: Brock is months away from breaking CM Punk’s record for most consecutive days as champion in the modern era. They’re this close to doing it, so why not finish the job? Better question, why the hell is Reigns getting another title shot after getting his ass kicked at Mania?
Kevin Pantoja: FACT – They have to, right? They should’ve done it at WrestleMania even if Brock was re-signing. Roman has been great and consistent. People say he’s shoved down our throats, but he’s actually not even been the focal point of shows for the past year. He usually comes out, has a match, and leaves. Yet, he’s still treated like vermin by the fans. Anyway, if Roman is going to be the guy, then just do it already. Why have him lose at Mania? I really hope he wins the title so we can have a legitimate Universal Champion.
2. Charlotte beating Asuka and ending her streak at WrestleMania was the wrong call.
Jeremy Lambert: FACT – It’s too early to tell, really. They obviously view Charlotte as the centerpiece of the women’s division even though they haven’t done anything with her on SmackDown. If the endgame is to build towards a Charlotte-Ronda Rousey match, then having Charlotte end the streak was the right call. And if Asuka doesn’t become a 50/50 geek, then losing won’t harm her. I could have lived without Asuka screaming into the mic to put over Charlotte (the embrace was enough) and Cena running hurt the moment. But the match was fantastic and aside from Rousey 6 to 9 months from now, Charlotte was the best option.
Kevin Pantoja: FACT – 100%. It’s not even a case of my disdain for Charlotte, either. Granted, I don’t think Charlotte needed this accolade on top of all her others on the “CHARLOTTE IS THE BEST WOMAN EVER” resume they’re shooting for. But having Asuka lose in her first title/Mania match is a bad move. You’ve just shit on 900 days of build. And like I said, it’s not about Charlotte. I think the best booking strategy would’ve been for Asuka to win here. Then, Charlotte has to go back to the drawing board and figure out what went wrong. It’ll give her some character outside of who her father is. She eventually earns a rematch and ends Asuka’s streak. Then, you have a big money tiebreaker waiting for you. However, this was probably done to set up Charlotte/Ronda at Mania next year in the main event. It didn’t help that the match ended in anticlimactic fashion.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura turning heel at WrestleMania was a much needed change for him.
Jeremy Lambert: FACT – He needed something, especially after the under whelming match with AJ Styles. The match made more sense following the turn as it proved to be the first match in a longer story. But Nakamura felt cold coming into WrestleMania. He’d spent the past year doing nothing, losing to Jinder Mahal, doing nothing, and winning the Rumble. They told me he was special, but aside from assigning him multiple nicknames, never showed me he was special. This heel turn hopefully brings out a more aggressive side and gives the character an edge, all leading to some actual classics with Styles.
Kevin Pantoja: FACT – Possibly even more of a fact than the last topic. Outside of his match with Sami Zayn in his debut, Shinsuke Nakamura has been beyond average. He seems to be happy to be over for being Nakamura and has been giving “B level event” efforts since. You know the ones I mean. The Nakamura you’d get on Power Struggle or Wrestling Dontaku, rather than the Wrestle Kingdom Nakamura. The heel turn may be the thing that rejuvenates him. I’m actually interested in how this goes, as I haven’t seen him work straight heel. Hopefully, he and AJ were saving something better for their rematch.
SWITCH!
4. Ronda Rousey’s in ring debut was great.
Kevin Pantoja: FACT – Going into Mania, I expected Angle and HHH to handle most of the match and let Ronda and Stephanie get in for the big spots. Instead, Ronda exceeded all expectations. The match was brilliantly laid out, but every chance Ronda got, she shined. From her facial expressions to her interactions with Triple H, it all worked. She even did well with the harder to nail stuff, like selling. She had the second best match on the show and was the most impressive person on the entire show.
Jeremy Lambert: FACT – I thought it was going to be a train wreck. Her performances leading up to the event were sloppy and unconvincing. But when the spotlight was on, she shined. They hid her weaknesses with enough smoke and mirrors while playing to her strengths. It was the perfect storm for her. It’ll be tough to replicate and who knows how she’ll handle less sports entertainment matches and more straight wrestling matches. But this shows that they know how to protect her. If they utilize her the same way they utilize Lesnar from an in-ring perspective, she’ll have no problem getting better and succeeding.
5. Jinder Mahal winning the US Title was the wrong call.
Kevin Pantoja: FACT – Understand this. I’m not choosing fact because I think Jinder is a bad choice for champion. He was a horrible top guy for a brand, but I think he makes for a strong midcard champion. He draws heat and has a strong presence about him. That being said, it was the wrong call because Rusev should’ve won. I know Rusev has been US Champion in the past, but he’s red hot and deserved a big Mania win. Unless Rusev is getting some kind of big push going forward, he should’ve won.
Jeremy Lambert: FICTION – Admittedly, I’m being a contrarian here. Obviously, Rusev would have been the better call, but does it really matter? Honestly, does anyone care about the US title? Dolph Ziggler gave it up for a chance to headline WrestleMania and ended up as a dork in the battle royal. There is no prestige with the belt. Bobby Roode tried to bring back the open challenge and that lasted a week. This feud was over the SmackDown Top 10 List, which also lasted a week. Even if Rusev won, they were never going to commit to him the way they should. So give it to Mahal, have him disrespect the United States because that’s the only way they know how to book a foreign heel, and move on.
6. On a scale of 1-10, rate WrestleMania 34.
Kevin Pantoja: 7.5 out of 10 – Hey, I did an actual review, so I already technically answered this. I felt it suffered from similar problems that last year’s did. It started well but eventually fell off a cliff. Part of the reason was that the crowd was pretty dead after Daniel Bryan, only really popping for Nicholas. AJ/Nakamura under whelmed, Brock/Roman sucked, and the Nicholas stuff was weird. Alexa/Nia didn’t click either. The battle royals were fine, too. The CW Title, Ronda Rousey, Asuka/Charlotte, Bryan’s tag, the Undertaker stuff, and the IC Title were all great. It was an enjoyable show, it just would’ve worked better if it were a bit shorter.
Jeremy Lambert: 7 out of 10 – I’m rounding up here. It was looking like an all-time great show and nearly impossible to screw up with Daniel Bryan’s return and Nakamura-Styles still to come. But they immediately sucked the air out of the crowd by doing the dumb stretcher spot in the Bryan match and Styles-Nakamura never got out of first gear. But seeing Bryan back was still special and the post-match angle with Nakamura made me forgive the match a bit. Lesnar destroying and pinning Reigns redeemed the show a bit because it was unexpected. There were great matches, memorable moments, fun surprises, and something for everyone. And did you know it was free for new Network subscribers? FREE! How can you complain about free?
