wrestling / Columns
411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Did Elimination Chamber Deliver?
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 Jack Stevenson and Jack Stevenson!
1. While Kevin Owens winning his debut match against John Cena was well done, they do not need to do the match again in two weeks at MITB.
Jack Stevenson: FICTION – Kevin Owens’ victory over John Cena at Elimination Chamber was thrilling and rewarding, and this is because it felt like something special. It was one of the most beloved independent wrestlers of all time, in his very first match in the big leagues with minimal changes to his look, character and even ring name, defeating the single biggest WWE superstar of the past decade. It was validation for anyone who has insisted there is better professional wrestling to be found than Monday Night Raw. And it was a hell of a match as well, for me the third best of the year behind the Triple Threat at the Royal Rumble, and Reigns/Lesnar at Wrestlemania. It stops being all of those things if the Cena-Owens rivalry devolves into the Cena-Wyatt rivalry or the Cena-Rusev rivalry, where the rule breaker gets the best of the early skirmishes but then gets comprehensively beaten on multiple PPVs. I think most of us assume that that’s precisely what the rematch at Money in the Bank is leading to- John Cena easing past Kevin Owens and into a rubber match which he’ll again win relatively comfortably, perhaps before winning a Last Man Standing match against him at the September PPV by duct-taping Owens’ eyes shut so he stumbles blindly off the stage and through a table. If the Money in the Bank rematch does trigger that series of events, it’s not a shining, ideological victory for independent underdogs over their polished WWE superiors, and to be honest it won’t be looked back on so fondly as a truly great match, just a very good, albeit near fall intensive one. It’ll just become step one in the frustrating John Cena formula we’ve seen too many times before. Having said all of this, if Kevin Owens beats Cena at Money in the Bank then maybe we’re going somewhere different, bolder and more exciting with this rivalry; obviously as the designated fan favourite Cena probably has to pick up the final victory in the feud, but it’s much harder to say he dominated a series in the way he usually does if he lost two consecutive high profile matches decisively, back to back. So, I guess my answer to this is fiction, technically- they’re welcome to do a rematch at Money in the Bank, as long as Owens wins it. When people groan about the prospect of Cena-Owens II, I think that’s what they’re really saying, not that they particularly want to be made to wait for another fine bout between the two, but that they want to exist in this delightful little alternate universe a little while longer, a universe where John Cena keeps charging wildly into pop up powerbombs.
Jack Bramma: FACT – This is just like the Cena/Brock match last year from Summerslam. It was one of the best angles and one-sided ass kickings of both guys’ entire careers. It was so stunning because Cena never EVER lost that clean and decisively to anyone. Rather than let it sit and fester and build into a much bigger deal, WWE had Cena take out the entire Wyatt Family single-handedly and a rematch was announced immediately. As soon as that happens, the story of the first match comes to a screeching halt. Last time, the story change was from “Brock dominated Cena” to “Can Brock dominate Cena again (AKA Is the WWE going to screw this up?).” Luckily, Brock emerged with the belt and that led us to the greatness that was everything Brock from the RR on.
Now, second verse same as the first. Owens defeats Cena clean as a sheet – not as dominant but no less shocking considering Owens’s status as an unknown, “minor league” commodity. Before the show was even over, a rematch was announced. The story went from “Owens beat Cena clean” to “Can Owens escape the dreaded Cena perpetual rematch clause that plagued CM Punk through 2012 and Brock Lesnar through last year?” As if the U-turn wasn’t enough, on RAW, Cena delivered an oddly compelling yet completely asinine promo that was bits and pieces of his worst promo instincts- being a sore loser and refusing to admit his opponent was the better man, insulting his opponent’s manhood based on slights from the Rock’s playbook, asserting his own superiority and superior manhood based on refusing to turn heel and doing charity work, claiming that his opponent is somehow prejudiced/ageist/racist/classist against Cena because they think his t-shirts suck/he’s been on top too long/he’s uncool/they don’t respect his work ethic, etc. It’s his typically impassioned screed that forgoes story for cheap pops and cheap heat.
Nonetheless, the real story needs to be that Owens is a force to be dealt with and that Cena may not have it anymore, and the Fed needs to let it sit longer than a TV dinner to get some real mileage out of it.
2. The Elimination Chamber PPV was one of the best WWE PPVs of the year.
Jack Stevenson: FICTION – I have seen three WWE PPVs/special events/Network extravaganzas/slightly better than Monday Night Raws this year- Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, and Elimination Chamber. Of those, Wrestlemania was definitely the best, while the Rumble and Elimination Chamber kind of followed the same pattern- one great match, a handful of forgettable ones, and their titular gimmick attractions falling apart spectacularly. Royal Rumble probably has the edge since the WWE Championship Triple Threat match will probably hold up better than Cena/Owens, and the Rumble match itself was more perversely entertaining than that fucking Intercontinental Championship match, which was the most boring catastrophe I have ever seen. So, from my perspective, the Elimination Chamber was the worst WWE PPV I have seen this year.
Jack Bramma: FICTION – Because this was a network-exclusive, that means we have to count the other network exclusives – NXT shows and King of the Ring. That leaves us with 9 – RR, NXT TO Rival, Fast Lane, Mania, Extreme Rules, KOTR, NXT TO Unstoppable, Payback, and Elimination Chamber. KOTF is out due to the short length. Next, it would seem easy to dismiss RR and Fast Lane to the bottom of the list but both had easy MOTYC contenders in the triple threat title match and DB/Reigns. But the RR is one of the worst ever and has no other matches of note, so it gets worst WWE show of the year so far. Similarly, Mania is easily the WWE show of the year so far. Both NXT shows have had a killer title match and some really good character work and midcard matches and no dead spots. That puts them up the top. Fast Lane, Extreme Rules, and Payback are all relatively similar in having some really good and some really boring, strangely booked matches on the same card, though for now I’d put Payback and ER ahead of Fast Lane in the pecking order. That leaves just EC – a great Cena/Owens match, a solid world title match but with a groaner finish, and two serious contenders for worst elimination chamber matches ever (and yes that includes the ECW one from December to Disremember). Put another way, one great match and one good match isn’t enough.
* Top Tier WWE shows of the year thus far – Mania
* Second Tier – Payback, Extreme Rules, NXT Unstoppable, NXT Rival
* Decent Tier – Fast Lane, Elimination Chamber
* Not so good Tier – RR
* Other Tier – KOTR
3. You are 100% behind the rumored Stardust vs. Stephen Amell (THE ARROW) match at Summerslam.
Jack Stevenson: FACT – I don’t watch ‘Arrow,’ but from what I know of the show it strikes me as one of the more relevant pop culture crossovers WWE has conjured up in a fair while. I think there’s a pretty healthy middle section in the Venn diagram of ‘wrestling fans’ and ‘comic book enthusiasts,’ and ‘Arrow’ the TV show seems to be a well regarded adaptation. I really like Stardust, it’s the sort of character you could do a lot with a bit of imagination, which the WWE creative team often don’t seem to have. Any significant storyline featuring him is fine by me. The idea of ‘Superhero vs. Wrestler’ is really cool on paper as well, it’s the sort of thing people write fan fiction about. I would rather see this on the undercard than, say, Dolph Ziggler vs. King Barrett.
Jack Bramma: FICTION – WWE (and the industry in general) has a relatively low batting average when it comes to crossovers. The hits (Mickey Rourke, The Muppets, Jon Stewart, Bill Simmons, etc.) are overshadowed by the misses (Jeremy Piven and Summerfest, Snoop clotheslines Curtis Axel out of the ring, Michael Strahan outworking Miz and Titus O’Neil, everything involving Kathie Lee and Hoda, etc.). Also, usually, these celebrity cameos usually hit their nadir when a non-wrestler decides to lace up their boots to walk that aisle. If this in any way leads to a bigger push and more exposure for Cody, I’d appreciate the net gains, but I’d prefer this not end in a non-wrestler pinning a wrestler on a major PPV.
SWITCH!
4. Samoa Joe signing a full time deal with the WWE surprised you.
Jack Bramma: FICTION – It seems all the speculation around Joe was about which option he and the WWE would choose.
1. Special attraction deal for a short program at NXT to put over Owens ala Rhyno
2. Full-time contract for a main roster spot ready to debut on RAW immediately
The “main roster or bust” camp was only made worse by the ridiculous debates on Cheap Heat by Rosenberg questioning if Sting or Samoa Joe is more valuable to WWE long-term (Short, easy answer: it’s Sting and it’s not close). Nevertheless, I don’t see Joe’s full-time deal all that surprising, given that there’s a happy medium available: Joe can work NXT for the next 3-6 months, and they can go from there. He could stay pretty much full-time on the NXT roster serving as its brand anchor for the touring shows, or he could get the bump up to the main roster. Either way, I think the middle road is the proper path for Joe because he’s too seasoned to spend the next year in NXT, but he’s also older and possibly too associated with TNA to have Vince greenlight an immediate push. Let him learn the WWE style for a few months and set the IWC on fire by having him go a few rounds with Balor, Breeze, Owens, etc. and don’t put him on RAW till at least past Summerslam.
Jack Stevenson: FICTION – When his signing was first announced, word on the street was that a full time deal was a definite possibility if everyone involved was up for it once they’d seen how Samoa Joe in WWE would work. I’m surprised at the speed at which it happened. It was only the other week he was making his shock debut at the big NXT show and now he’s already been upgraded to a full time member of the WWE universe, with a promotion to the main roster now seemingly being mooted amongst the powers that be. However, Samoa Joe is obviously a huge talent when motivated, and the prize of WWE superstardom is a most tantalizing one. He’s got a huge fanbase and about as much name value as someone signed from the independent scene can realistically offer, as evidence by his apparently impressive T-shirt sales since allowing WWE to market them. With that in mind, it’s hardly a huge shock that WWE would want to capitalize on Samoa Joe, while simultaneously ensuring that Ring of Honor couldn’t do the same.
5. You are excited for The Ryback’s run with the IC Title.
Jack Bramma: FICTION – I’m mostly on the fence about this and could go either way, but the Fed’s general disinterest in consistent, strong booking for any of its midcarders carries the day on this one. The last time I was genuinely excited for anyone IC title run was probably Barrett winning in the tournament from Big E last year, but he got hurt and that was that. Since then, the IC strap has settled into the workhorse belt (again) but no one can move above the 50/50 booking that comes with it. Dolph/Miz and Dolph/Harper traded the belt back and forth through the rest of 2014 and then BNB got it back and went on a losing streak until dropping it at Mania to become King Barrett and go on another losing streak.
Since coming back red hot in November of last year after shoulder surgery, the company hasn’t seemed that interested in a sustained push for Da Big Guy either. He was the vocal point of an entire episode of RAW on 11/10/2014 as to whether he would join Team Cena or Team Authority. But he was the first guy pinned for the face team at SS; he had a tussle with Kane at TLC; he was fired and taken off TV for some weeks; he returned to little fanfare and did nothing at the RR against the combined heatless black hole powers of Kane and Big Show; he curtained jerked and captained the losing team at Fast Lane; he was in the Andre Battle Royal at Mania and lost; he wasn’t booked for EE; and he returned to special event action lose to Bray Wyatt at Payback. That’s his last 6 months. It’s fine; he’s not getting buried or anything. He can defeat the Curtis Axel, Adam Rose, Luke Harpers, and Bo Dallases of the world, but he hasn’t made any waves in basically 6 months.
The proper trajectory for Ryback is probably the last power wrestler, not named Cena, to hold each secondary title – Big E in 2013-2014 and Sheamus in 2014. He’ll have a respectable run of solid matches defeating some midcard heels that currently had no other angles going on – Bo Dallas, BNB, Mark Henry, Kofi, etc. – before losing it in a Battle Royal at Summerslam.
Jack Stevenson: FICTION – This isn’t an indictment of Ryback himself, who I actually quite like as a performer. Getting excited for anything long term involving the Intercontinental Championship is a pointless endeavor though. I thought King Barrett would be a good Intercontinental Champion and then he lost 9,000 times and kept having the belt stolen. I thought Daniel Bryan would be a great Intercontinental Champion and now maybe his career is over. Ryback will be lucky to lose the I.C. Title belt from a better position than the one he was in when he won it. Really everyone in the Elimination Chamber should have been trying desperately hard not to win that poisoned chalice. Perhaps King Barrett was doing exactly that, it’s the most rational explanation for how he ended up getting pinned by R-Truth.
6. With NXT, ROH, TNA and Lucha Underground all running shows; Wednesday is officially the best night of the week for wrestling fans.
Jack Bramma: FACT – Given the limited framework for this statement, I’ll go along with fact. Mondays remain wrestling night in my weekly conception and Sundays will always keep me checking for PPV’s or special events, but right now just based on sheer volume, talent, and quality, Wednesdays are tough to beat week-in, week-out.
Jack Stevenson: FACT – I would say that all of those four brands provide more excitement with their weekly programs than the average episode of Raw or Smackdown does. Maybe Sunday is the best night if there’s a really good PPV on or something. But, yeah, in the absence of any weekdays offering four high quality wrestling shows condensed into one exciting evening, Wednesday definitely is the most wrestling fan friendly of all the days. Buck your fucking ideas up, Tuesday.
