The 411 Wrestling Hot or Not. 01.08.12. Mayans Predicted Y2J Not End of World

Hello and welcome to the 411 Wrestling Hot or Not! My name is Seán Reid, and at times I love wrestling. I love the in ring action, the over the top characters and the drama it brings. But I hate when they get things wrong. I hate when egos ruin the product, when guys don’t bring it in the ring and when they make me scream “Who is booking this crap?!?”

And that’s what this column is all about. I look at the things that I enjoyed this week and the things that made me want to rip the hair out of my head. So without further ado, welcome to…

HOT

1) Raw. Is. Huh? : Everyone has been talking about it. It’s polarized people right from the start. But one thing is for sure, it has gotten people talking. I am of course talking about the return of Chris Jericho this week on Raw. It’s safe to say that everyone expected Jericho to be the man behind the promos that hyped the return of someone to the WWE. The fact Jericho protested about it so much all but gave it away. I was really looking forward to it, because Jericho has openly spoken about how he would only come back to the WWE if he could reinvent himself again and avoid being stale. Needless to say, when he stood there in his bright Y2J-esq jacket, I was disappointed. He had come back as the same character he had been for so long; a crowd-pleasing rock star. Then when he did nothing but play to the crowd and then walks away without saying a word, I was pissed off. I had stayed up until 4am to watch the segment live, and that’s all we got?

But then I woke up the next day and watched the debut once again. That smile, the pandering to the crowd and trying to get those cheap pops. He acted too egotistical and believed he was getting a bigger reaction than he actually received. How am I expected to cheer this kind of character?

Wait a minute….

Jericho, you fucking genius.

Jericho left as a heel, and he needed to ensure he came back in away that made people boo him. And what better way than by trolling the hell out of every single one of us? We all expected something different, and Jericho knew that, so he gave us everything we didn’t want. The fact that he acted so like his old character was not what we were expecting and annoyed so many of us, he accomplished possibly the quickest heel turn on television ever without doing anything different. Even now, people are still complaining about his debut and how much it has pissed them off. To all of those I say: Mission Accomplished. Jericho has received the exact reaction he wanted from you all. I cannot wait to see what he has to say this Monday and where he hopes to go with it all. Welcome back Jericho, wrestling needs more minds like yours.

2) Wrestle Kingdom VI: Last week New Japan Pro Wrestling presented it’s version of Wrestlemania, Wrestle Kingdom VI. The show was attended by a packed house of 43,000 fans that featured some of the best wrestlers in Japan showcasing what they do better than anyone else; wrestle. The card was of a high quality right from the first match. I won’t give you the results, instead I encourage you to follow the video below and watch the show for yourself. If you have any interest in wrestling then you simply need to watch this show:

Glad to be Wrong: A few weeks ago, I asked you all for your views on Daniel Bryan as World Heavyweight Champion, because I still wasn’t sure whether to declare it hot or not. As the weeks have passed on, I’m becoming more and more a fan of this reign. More importantly, I love that Bryan is leaning more and more towards heel tendencies, because that’s when he is at his best. I am delighted to get behind the idea of Dragon entering Wrestlemania with the title still around his waist, but as the asshole heel that he perfected on the indies. Soon we could see him telling people that he has until five and he will be kicking people’s heads in. Smackdown may have more heels than faces at the moment, but Dragon can be the type of heel that takes on all comers rather than just faces. That’s not to say if he stays a face I’ll be disappointed, because he can pull of this type of role perfectly. He fits a modern Ricky Steamboat kind of role. Either way, Daniel Bryan as World Heavyweight Champion is certainly hot.

4) Here Come The Girls: About two months ago, I mentioned how the TNA Knockouts were being mistreated and how they were wasting an excellent roster. Well thank God things are changing. Last weeks Impact was headlined by Mickie James and Gail Kim doing what they do best; wrestle. The match didn’t light the world on fire by any means, but it was a great television match. Will this ensure that 2012 see’s a renewed focus on how the Knockouts are treated in TNA? I hope so, they have some of the most talented female wrestlers in North America on their roster, and it’s one niche area that TNA can really focus on that the WWE simply cannot compete with. Funny how the last time this happened Gail Kim was also the forefront of the Divison. Seems like Kim leaving the WWE was a great move for her after all.

NOT

1) Speculation! : Since the weekend, it seems that everyone is talking about Brock Lesnar and his retirement from UFC. But no one is talking about how great of a run he had in the UFC, how much success he brought to the company and how quickly his star rose. Instead everyone is talking about his return to the WWE. Note that I left out the term speculation, because it seems like everyone else has. While Brock provided us with some brilliant matches during his short career in the WWE, and there is no doubt a man of his skill would add so much to the roster, I think everyone is setting themselves up for a disappointment. Lesnar has no need to return to wrestling, and I have no problem standing by this point: We will not see him