411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Are You Excited For Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles at WWE Payback?

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 411’s Greg DeMarco and Jack Stevenson!

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, pizza and hydroponics.

1. Monday’s Raw was the most enjoyable edition of the show in quite some time.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION – Listen, I thoroughly enjoyed this week’s edition of WWE Raw. It was a very entertaining edition of Raw. But what makes it the more enjoyable than last week’s, which featured a great Fatal 4-Way main event (won by AJ Styles), along with the surprise debuts of Apollo Crews and Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady? Or what about the post-Fastlane edition of Raw that featured the return of Shane McMahon, among other happenings? Or what about the late December edition of Raw that featured Roman Reigns defeating Sheamus for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and earning the adulation of the oft-difficult Philly crowd? Your enjoyment of Raw largely depends on your attitude headed into the broadcast. I watch Raw expecting to be entertained, and I am usually happy with the result. The fact that you, the viewer, needed this week’s edition of Raw to actually like it? That’s on you.

Jack Stevenson: FACT – It was a really good effort, and all the better for being such a pleasant surprise. When was the last time the second Raw after WrestleMania was better than the one the night after? The Post WrestleMania Raw was good fun at times, but it wasn’t as consistently strong as this week’s episode, which had two terrific matches and some really neat angle advancement which is making me wonder whether the road away from WrestleMania might be better than the road to it. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens and AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn will both rank among the best Raw matches of the year come December 31st, and what made them both all the more satisfying were that it really did matter who won, since Intercontinental and WWE Championship shots were on the line respectively. After a WrestleMania in which Shane McMahon’s attempt to wrest control of WWE from his father appeared to spectacularly fail, only for him to inexplicably be handed Monday Night Raw for the next two weeks anyway, it’s been nice to see these storylines develop in a clear, coherent fashion, with stipulations that seem like they will be upheld. Elsewhere on the show we got the beginning of a tag team tournament, the long awaited debut of Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows, a fun little Highlight Reel confrontation between Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho, and the entrenchment of an intriguing Bray Wyatt face turn as he teamed with Roman Reigns to see off the League of Nations and resisted the temptation to smash his long time enemy in the face. For a Raw that is usually a considerable comedown after all the fun, games and hijinks of the post WrestleMania one, this show was bubbling with energy and motion, different storylines were springing into life, other ones were shuttling forward, it was all so refreshing and enjoyable. It’s kind of strange, isn’t it- for the purposes of keeping this Shane-Vince power struggle angle alive, Shane’s shows have to be noticeably better than Vince’s ones, and so the creative team seem to be putting huge amounts of effort into them and delivering some good television. This makes me wonder whether they’re going to consciously return to the same dreary old formula when Vince returns to power, to illustrate the difference between the two? Either way, the good times won’t last; there have been several small but hugely enjoyable upturns in form for Raw over the last few years, and eventually it just gives way to the dreary television we all know and just about tolerate. Unless there are genuine changes to how Raw is run off screen, rather than cosmetic ones on it, that’s the way it’s always going to be. But, hey, it doesn’t change the fact that Monday’s Raw was almost wholly enjoyable, and can be really whole-heartedly recommended. It’s nice to be able to say that.

2. TNA Impact losing their Tuesday replay airing on POP TV is a bad sign for the promotion’s relationship with their new network.

Greg DeMarco: FACT – Ehhh, I mean…I guess so? I mean it’s TNA, take your pick! Impact Wrestling on PopTV has delivered some good episodes of television, ones better than the viewership numbers would indicate. But do we know why this is happening? Is it so they can charge more for the ads during the first run of Impact Wrestling? Is it money at all? Or is it all money? Shit, I have no clue! But I went “Fact” here for the simple fact that I can’t find a single really good reason for this to happen. On top of that, the company is actually asking people to DVR the damn thing! Well that can’t be good, right?

And I don’t even care that they are moving the corporate offices into the Shop TNA warehouse. That type of consolidation actually sounds like a smart business move, despite with you smarks say. But when I put it all together, I just can’t see how this is a good thing, therefore it must be…a…(sorry DDP)…bad thing!

Jack Stevenson: FICTION – Word on the street (specifically www.pwinsider.comstreet, where all the pw insiders live) is that this was mutually agreed upon between Impact and POP, and that the powers that be are perfectly happy with the ratings TNA are getting so far. I assume this story is true because if you were going to make up something about TNA, you would make it a bad news story for the sake of realism. Dixie Carter has fallen down a well and no one can get her out, or something. Wait, would that be good news?

3. The debuts of Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows on Raw felt very anticlimactic.

Greg DeMarco: FACT – Why? THIS MAN was missing!

Game’s over, Greg DeMarco wins! Actually, I lied! Greg DeMarco – FICTION: Listen, I want Finn Balor on the main roster as much as the next guy. But the fact here is that Triple H can’t seem to get it through his think skull (and whatever helmet he might be wearing at the time) that NXT still exists because the WWE needs talent, not so he can raid the independents and then take credit for putting out a great product. But I’m not holding that against Luke “Don’t Call Me Doc” Gallows and Karl Anderson. Those guys looked PUMPED to finally be in the WWE together. It shows you how important this company really is. And while they came alone, they attacked one of the top tag teams in WWE history, a move that—to me—seems to signify not just a feud with The Usos but a potential overthrow of this WWE Tag Team Championship Contender Tournament. Plus I was impressed. And isn’t that what a debut is supposed to do: impress?

Jack Stevenson: FICTION – I quite liked it. I thought it was exciting, unpredictable and effective. Two big, imposing, dangerous looking guys stormed out of the crowd and laid out one of the most successful tag teams in recent WWE history, before fleeing into the night without saying a single word. The announcers got across all the vital information, that they’re called Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows and they’re one of the most successful tag teams in Japan, but there’s enough mystery still surrounding them that where they go from here is intriguing. Presumably there will be more sneak attacks on the Usos and maybe a match with them at Payback, but their motivations remain secretive. Where they go from here is pleasingly open; perhaps they’ll become staples of the tag team division, perhaps they’ll reunite with Finn Balor and form a feared faction, perhaps Karl Anderson will become recognized as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, transcending the business to become such a relentless pop cultural juggernaut that future civilizations will believe he must have been some kind of God figure to us. All of these are possibilities. So, in short, no, I thought the debut was perfectly climactic. There had been no vignettes or anything leading up to Gallows or Anderson’s debuts, just a smattering of teasing WWE.com articles, and I think that meant any debut where they didn’t look like irredeemable fucking idiots would have been basically fine. It’s a considerable bonus that they actually looked pretty darn good, and have given themselves solid foundations from which to build on.

SWITCH!

4. You’re excited for the Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles match at WWE Payback.

Jack Stevenson: FACT – I am excited on a variety of different levels. I’m excited because it’s a genuine first time match, which is a rare thing in this age of four WWE TV shows a week and competitive matches on all of them. I’m excited because it features two tremendous professional wrestlers and will surely be a great match. I’m excited because it’s a fascinating clash of styles, with Reigns a formidable powerhouse and great proponent of the in house WWE style, and AJ Styles an iconic high flyer who has honed his craft in seemingly every single promotion in the world ever. And I’m excited because it’s just fucking weird. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles? I can’t quite wrap my head around it. How has this happened? How is this headlining a PPV in 2016? I’m glad that it is regardless. It’s closest relation is probably the Reigns-Daniel Bryan match at last year’s Fast Lane, and then turned out to be such a good one, so there’s no reason not to get excited for this. Hey, AJ could even win it! Maybe. Perhaps. Possibly. Probably not.

Greg DeMarco: FACT – Roman Reigns as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion is a given here. I am not going to complain about that (not that I really want to). So once you consider that no matter who stands across the ring from him, there’s no way Roman Reigns is not the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Payback, the only variable in this equation is his opponent. Thus his opponent really dictates my excitement level, since Roman is the constant. And how can you not be excited about AJ Styles?

5. WWE running a tag team tournament to crown new #1 contenders for the tag team titles is a fun idea that they could be used more often.

Jack Stevenson: FACT – Tournaments are great! They’re simple, they follow a coherent pattern unless they’re being booked by you know who, they automatically give every match that takes place within them genuine importance. They would get repetitive if used tooooooo often, but I wouldn’t mind seeing them pop up on a more regular basis than they tend to at the moment. In fact, I think it would be a fun thing if WWE ripped off the G1 Climax, put together a bunch of top superstars in two big fuck-off groups and ran a summer long tournament with the winner getting a WWE Championship match at Summerslam. It would such an easy thing to put together but it would be a compelling thread to follow for months and make the resulting title match really special. If you’re interested, WWE, ask Larry for my e-mail address! The only problem is that I would demand a truly outrageous amount of money.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION – Now I’m not hatin’ on the idea of the tournament, not one bit. In fact, it makes TOTAL sense here as The New Day have basically decimated the tag team division as dominant champions. The timing is right. The eight teams make sense, and whoever ends up winning it could be great champions. Now remember, the last time they did this it was won by Team Rhodes Scholars, and they lost their title match against Team Hell No. But that’s not why I am saying “Fiction”…not one bit. I am saying Fiction because of the second part of the question, that this could (and presumably should) be used more often. And while it could, it shouldn’t. I know many fans love the #1 contender idea, but I want a story. Remember WrestleMania 28, when Sheamus won the Royal Rumble and ended up Daniel Bryan’s WrestleMania challenger? How did they determine the other challenger? Oh that’s right, they held another battle royal! I know some might think that Shane McMahon still running Raw despite losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32 is lazy booking. But running a tournament instead of setting up a real feud? That’s lazy booking. And that’s what this is.

6. You’re disappointed that WWE never put on the Sting vs. Undertaker match at a WrestleMania.

Jack Stevenson: FICTION – I suppose this is primarily because I am 21 years old. I was too young to be following wrestling during the late nineties peaks of Sting and the Undertaker as dark, gothic, sinister characters who also happened to be devout loyalists to their respective promotions and as such seemed destined never to meet. Maybe if I’d grown up with them, I’d have more of a desire to have seen them wrestle, but when I started getting into THIS BUSINESS Sting was dicking about in TNA and the Undertaker had only just reverted to his supernatural persona following his stint as a grumpy biker. I can see the parallels between the two and why it would be such a neat match, but it has no emotional pull for me. Also, objectively it probably wouldn’t have been a great match. Maaaybe if it had happened around 2006/2007 or something, when Undertaker was mostly wrestling full time and Sting was still a few years away from retirement, but as it transpired the only show where it could have taken place was WrestleMania 31. I’m not saying that it wouldn’t have been better than what we actually got on that show, which were fairly lacklustre meetings between Taker and Bray Wyatt and Sting and Triple H, but it wouldn’t have been anything special mechanically and so I can’t lament its non existence. In fact, once the Streak became a selling point in and of itself the Undertaker’s match was usually among the best at any given WrestleMania, and so I don’t really look at any of his outings on the Grandest Stage from, say, Batista at WM 23 onwards and think “man, I wish he’d wrestled Sting then” because otherwise we wouldn’t have got that match with Batista, or his one with Edge, or the two apiece with Michaels and Triple H, or the still underrated one with CM Punk. I suppose it is a shame Sting spent so much time doing nothing of value in TNA when he could have been having all these dream matches in WWE against Taker and Shawn Michaels and John Cena and the like, but it’s not something that keeps me up at night, and I doubt the Deadman or the Icon lose much sleep over it either. It would have been nice, but I don’t feel any real disappointment about how things transpired in the end.

Greg DeMarco: FICTION – Sting made his WWE WrestleMania debut at the age of 56. The 30 years that came before that? They weren’t going to be spent in the WWE. Much like Roman Reigns as WWE World Heavyweight Champion, that’s a given. I can’t hold that against Sting (and it was largely his doing), the WWE, nor The Undertaker. Speaking of The Undertaker, he’s 51. He was 50 when Sting made his WWE WrestleMania debut. That’s a combined 106 years of age between TWO men. That is not a WrestleMania match I need to see. Sure, it’d be nostalgic. But I honestly don’t watch for nostalgia. I watch for entertainment, and I just can’t envision a scenario where broken down Undertaker vs. broken down Sting will entertain me. So no hard feelings WWE, I am fine with not getting Sting vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania.