wrestling / Columns

Watry’s 2017 Thoughts: Mid-Year In Review

June 30, 2017 | Posted by Justin Watry
WWE 24 WrestleMania 33 - Roman Reigns Image Credit: WWE

“I have been reading your stuff on 411mania and nodq.com for the longest time now and I have never felt inclined to email in. The general consensus of you not being most popular is harsh at times but also can be well-founded too. But I still read your stuff because I do enjoy your articles and find your perspective interesting most of the time.

“I have been reading your stuff on 411mania and nodq.com for the longest time now and I have never felt inclined to email in. The general consensus of you not being most popular is harsh at times but also can be well-founded too. But I still read your stuff because I do enjoy your articles and find your perspective interesting most of the time.

That said, your article about your friend Megan and trip to Wrestlemnaia was the greatest thing you have ever wrote. Forget about the predictions you brag about getting right. This is your crowning piece. Maybe it is because I can relate as going to Wrestlemania is my ultimate dream and it will be happening next year. But I genuinely loved your article.

Thank you for the great stuff.”

– Jay’s Ways reader

Backstory

This will be my final column…of June 2017. Leave a comment below. No cuss words or insults. My reader feedback edition will be next. Prime opportunity to ask a question and/or send an opinion worth replying to. Otherwise, you have to wait another month!

Mid Year Review

This will be a blend of WWE discussion, as well as some personal stuff sprinkled in between. If you follow my Jay’s Ways columns (on another website), you know that I have written about a plethora of topics in 2017 – both about professional and life in general. I hope to continue that trend today.

Attending WrestleMania 33 – Let’s just start with the obvious. Bucket list item crossed off. When WWE hypes up WrestleMania as something you CAN’T miss, it is true. I set out months ago to get my butt on a plane, take my first ever week long vacation from work and go to to the biggest event of the year. It had been something talked about for so long that I could no loner convince myself to wait another 12 months. It had to happen, and it did. Awesome experience all around and so many memories. Writing about it and posting tweets and videos does not do it justice. Strong encourage everybody to attend a WM show just once. Just once. Next year is in party town New Orleans. I have no plans to go, but never say never! If this bum from Wisconsin can go, so can you…

Royal Rumble – In the AlamoDome. Such a cool thing for WWE to do. To mark the 20 year (and 10 year) anniversary of the 1997 Royal Rumble, the company returned to San Antonio. Not only that, but they went to a huge building that was able to seat a massive amount of fans. No, it was not a complete sell out. I never thought that was even an option. Still, you tell me. Would you rather have 60,000 people in a 70,000 seat stadium or 20,000 people in a 20,000 seat arena? I know that answer. Business 101. WWE shot for the moon and while it was not a direct shot, it made for a unique atmosphere and is something worth trying again. Maybe not every year for Summerslam or whatever. However, there is no harm in the WWE Network Era in NOT experimenting with different buildings. Rumble proved to be a home run venture. Certainly helped to have a stacked lineup and lively bunch attending.

WWE Signings – No surprise. Talent get tired of the (formerly TNA) Impact Wrestling BS, see if WWE has any interst and either sign or go to the independent scene. Pretty simple formula and one that will repeat itself forever. In 2017, that proved to be true but with a nice twist. This time, it was not about guys like Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, Eric Young, etc. Nope, it was established names like Matt and Jeff Hardy. A man who announced his intentions of returning to WWE someday right after being released a few years ago in Drew McIntyre. A woman who broke the mold improving immensely, Maria Kanellis and her new husband by her side Mike. All of them laughed at Impact for one reason or another and looked to the top of the mountain. Would they be interested? Would they get signed? Would another chance come around? All these questions have been answered. Hardyz on Raw returning at Mania with THE single loudest ovation I’ve ever heard at ANY sporting event, Mike and Maria on Smackdown LIVE, and Drew leading the charge on NXT.

Jeff Jarrett Back In Impact Wrestling – Well, I may as well spend a little time on Impact Wrestling even though I have not seen a single full episode all year and can’t remember the last time I even bothered to watch their Youtube highlights. Even so, Jeff Jarrett is back in the company running things. Very apparent by the decisions being made that he is the man making decisions. Whether that is good or bad, that is your opinion. It is quite shocking for Jarrett to be back with Impact Wrestling and ditch his “Global” dreams distributing gold. What is most shocking about it all is that it isn’t very shocking at all. Not if anybody had been paying attention during the past few years as Impact went further and further into the ground with continuous screams (hello!) from folks telling the world about its problems. Some were heard. Sadly, most were just labeled as ‘pointless hate’ and ‘writers being trolls.’ Yeah, right. Good one. Where the second half of 2017 goes for this company is anybody’s guess. Needless to say, the new boss is the same as the old boss. I’m not expecting a lot.

Other Promotions? – In early 2017, I mentioned my desire to be wowed by companies not named WWE. I WANTED to get hooked and check out new promotions. New shows. New wrestlers. New! Well, six months in, and I have…done none of it. The Hardyz junk from 2016 and 2017 made me tune in to watch their stuff, but I never stuck with the program and saw a single second following their broken nonsense. I didn’t care. Impact didn’t get me to care, so I didn’t. Same with the independents. I watched the first Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada match a few months ago. Thought it was very good, nothing more to say there. Didn’t even know about their rematch until somebody tweeted me, and I guess there is another bout coming? No clue. Then there was the infamous Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet stuff. I have seen that. Same as Omega/Okada – fine for what it was but nothing I will closely follow or spend a dime on. Apparently, Cody Rhodes just won the Ring Of Honor Title (not World) over the weekend. Wonderful. Great for him. I had no clue there was a show with him headlining. I know this reads like a BAD thing, but I am (again) challenging everybody out there to make me care. Those few examples got enough buzz and Twitter talk to where I thought “Okay, maybe I should check it out.” The onus is on YOU to get me invested, not the other way around.

Superstar ShakeUp – With the brand extension returning in 2016, it was up to WWE to “shake things up again” after WM33 in April. Of the moves, we saw The Miz get taken off his blue brand home and shipped over to unknown red waters. We saw Alexa Bliss go from the Goddess of Smackdown to the Goddess of RAW. Of all the moves made, I believe the best was shipping Charlotte over to Tuesday nights. That was my favorite roster change. The switch with the biggest impact? Not even close: Jinder Mahal going from a nobody on Mondays to WWE Champion reigning over Smackdown LIVE. Losing to Finn Balor in two minutes or beating Randy Orton on pay-per-view for the top prize in the industry? Yeah, I would say that is a Superstar ShakeUp alright! Mixed results so far (being kind here). Either way, it was a major story and has yet to fully develop. We’ll see how the company does when John Cena gets back in the mix as a supposed free agent.

Part-Timers Used Correctly – I have long said that the first Bill Goldberg/WWE run was WAY better than many give it credit for. You can Google my past columns on that subject. Well, his second run was probably even better. He got the video game over, he made Survivor Series a memorable pay-per-view again, he bumped sagging Raw numbers occasionally, he added star power to the Rumble in January, he made me watch live in awe as Milwaukee loved his main event at Fastlane, and he righted a WrestleMania wrong with his Brock Lesnar showdown at WrestleMania 33. That was all GOOD. Same with Brock Lesnar. He is The Beast again and being the true special attraction champion that he should be. Also, Cena is officially part-time, so his run went from WWE Champion in a classic against AJ Styles to losing the title to a loss to Bray Wyatt to helping The Miz (and Maryse) be relevant at WM33 to even giving his fiance Nikki Bella a moment she will never forget when he proposed. Like Goldberg, those are all GOOD things. The Undertaker – bumped up the Rumble with his presence and lost clean to the new/young stud in the company, just as anybody leaving the business would do. Triple H? Lost to his protege Seth Rollins and has not been seen since. I could go on and on here – all GOOD things.

Roman Reigns – Yes sir, the big dog is (as usual) the big story in WWE. Some may want Braun Strowman to get his own spot here. However, I feel much of his rise has been connected to Reigns and his un-popularity with certain fans. Just my theory on the matter. Reigns was main eventing for much of 2016, entered 2017 in the Universal Title picture, defeated The Undertaker in the main event of Mania, had a great series of matches after that and is now vying for the top spot once again. Boos, cheers, or just loud noises, nothing has been altered. Roman Reigns is at the top of the food chain in the wrestling world. Win or lose to Braun Strowman, win or lose to Brock Lesnar, win or lose to Samoa Joe…believe that.

Kurt Angle – Never say never. I always assumed the former Olympic Gold Medalist would return. Like anybody who leaves under negative terms, you can bet a lot of money that they will be back eventually. Hulk Hogan, CM Punk, whoever. It’ll happen. Even the founder of TNA Jeff Jarrett; he’ll be in the WWE fold again somebody. That is just the way the business works. Long story short, it is cool to have Angle in the WWE Hall of Fame and one Raw every Monday night working with new/different wrestlers. Do I think another match is in the works? No. Do I think it is an impossibility? No. Never say never…

Two Different Divisions – The women’s division in WWE versus the cruiserweight division in WWE. Ugh. What a different. One is main eventing television shows and getting more attention than ever following their first ever Money in the Bank briefcase being introduced. The other has a separate weekly show on the WWE Network and is barely on its other ‘exclusive’ home of Raw. I can’t say enough negative things about how WWE has handled the 205 Live program since the awesome Criuserweight Classic last summer. Meanwhile, we have The Mae Young Classic right around the corner, and it is sure to deliver in fabulous fashion.

NXT – What is there to say? I repeatedly praise NXT (on another website), and 2017 is looking to have rebounded from its slight slump earlier in the year. Nikki Cross has been a treat. Asuka is being more of a heel and is juuuust about ready to take her first defeat. Drew McIntyre is working his way to the title. Ember Moon is back. The Iconic Duo are a fun act. Bobby Roode is still as glorious as ever. Roderick Strong actually made me care about him for the first time ever. The Authors of Pain keep proving doubters (guilty as charged) wrong every time they have a live Takeover match. Plus, the UK Championship scene is heating up, and #DIY just had an epic breakup! If you are not watching NXT, what are waiting for? The weekly shows have been more meaningful in recent months, so don’t just tune in for the live specials. Hideo Itami is showing a bit of an attitude, Aleister Black is getting interesting, the original KO is in NXT again, and there is a certain commentator appearing soon to call all the action. So much to enjoy.

My 2017 – Being honest, 2017 may be my busiest year yet. I attended WWE Fastlane in Milwaukee. I went to Orlando for Mania. I am in the middle of moving (again). I have three weddings this summer, one as a groomsman and all that bachelor party stuff. I had another failed Big Brother audition, as the reality show is back on CBS. I am working 50 hours at work per week. I am back in the gym every day and haven’t skipped once since mid-April. I have met so many new guys and gals here in Wisconsin. I even made an effort to connect to new folks on Twitter from all over the globe, and that has proven to be both a blessing, as everybody has been great…but I got too close to some when I should have known better. My mistake. It won’t happen again. That is without even mentioning the much discussed return of NRW. Through it all, professional wrestling is still there, has always been there and will always will be. Regardless of how you feel about the first six months of the year, there will be another six months. For better or worse, professional wrestling will be the greatest artform on the planet. Here’s to the rest of 2017! Let’s do it.

NRW: The Return

It happened. Original theme music, characters, ring, etc. An absolute blast and after months in the making, things went smooth. Such an amazing day for everybody involved. I overheard one person say they will never forget it. I concur. Big thanks to the guys and gals who put it together. They know who they are and understand all the hard work that has been put into this venture. Exclusive first look at the action can be found by following mmonroever on Snapchat. The full match and much more will be released in due time. The plan was by the end of the week, but things are way too hectic now to get the editing finished. Soon though. Very soon!

Cheap Plugs

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