The World According to Ron: Random Musings on NXT, Raw 25, The Rumble, & More

“FFS Stephanie hasn’t been on the writing committee for almost a decade at this point. I don’t mean to jump on a fellow Steelers fan but this myth continues to make the rounds and it’s incredibly frustrating. Yes, Stephanie headed up the writers for a few years in the Ruthless Aggression era. Yes, she still has input since A) She’s a McMahon, and B) her husband is VP of Talent Relations.
But there’s a reason why they took away the writing job and made her Chief Brand Officer. It wasn’t so she could still write the shows ten years later. It’s because Vince, for all his BFYTW booking, obviously saw that she wasn’t up to the job. She makes a terrific brand ambassador, promoting the product and the women’s empowerment attitude of the company. But she’s a terrible head writer and she lost the job because of it.
If you want to crack the current product, I’ll be right there with you. If you’d like to see Kevin Dunn rode out on a rail I’ll be right there with my pitchfork and torch. But enough with the “Steph’s heading up creative” BS.” – Stan W

You’re right, of course, and it’s not just because you have a brilliant football mind. I fell into the trap of using old information and just letting it roll for simplicity sake. I will also tell you right up front, it probably will not be the last time I make that mistake. I’m old and set in my ways, you know. I don’t mind blaming Kevin Dunn for the woes of the Universe, but I’ll probably also blame anyone from Clan McMahon. After all, there’s always more than enough blame to go around for boring wrestling.

Speaking of blame, Vince McMahon held a press conference this week announcing the renewal of the XFL in two years. I really hope it works this time. As long as they don’t expect to replace the NFL and stay in their lane as a spring/summer league, everything should be fine. Unfortunately, since his wife now works for someone who almost single-handedly bankrupted a football league in the 1980s, I’m not sure how to feel about that.

How about that? I managed to get in a dig at Trump without using politics! Do I get a quarter?

Finally, I don’t know about you, but I have noticed some really bad typos after these have been posted the last couple weeks. I don’t know why, but for some reason, my spell checker is not working. I try to go over everything before sending it out, but I have obviously missed a couple. I’m sorry, and I’ll do my bets to check better in the future.

BOLD FACED TITLE THING

Let’s see, what should I write about this week…

I forgot what this is like, having to write something every week that people might want to read about. This really is tougher than you think, you know. I mean, YOU try to come up with 500 or so words every week about any topic. This is one of those weeks when there is a lot going on, but nothing worth talking about.

Raw’s 25th Anniversary Show? The people at the Manhattan Center were bored, the people at the Barclay Center were bored, the people at home were bored. All the older people you haven’t seen for years came out and basically reminded everyone they were still alive, or at least walking.

Yes, I meant that.

Every reunion show of the past twenty years has had an “In Memoriam” segment, as a moment to honor those who were on the show in the past and now passed and gone. When The Undertaker started to talk, I thought that’s what they were going to do. But, he stopped talking, and there was no ten bell count, no video package, no moment of silence, nothing.

There were maybe five matches during a three-hour show, and the longest one of the night was basically an excuse to remind people there is a women’s Royal Rumble on Sunday. There was one match designed to bring out The Dudleys to break a table, one match for an excuse to let Bálor Club and DX get together and punk out The Revival (just like everyone called last week), an Intercontinental title match that most people could have called while in a coma, and a forgettable match where Bray Wyatt beats the hottest guy on the roster, Matt Hardy. You had a running poker game, a couple times when former performers came out to wave to the crowd, and… well…

NXT? This was just a filler show before what is my least anticipated Takeover show since I started watching NXT (for the record, I’ve been watching since Kevin OwenSteen’s first Takeover card, R Evolution in 2014). Velveteen Dream showed his match with Aleister Black was not a blip on the radar with another good match against Johnny Gargano, but that was it.

205 Live? Enzo Amore is fired because he was accused of rape, but never told anyone in the company. Is anyone surprised he was accused of rape? Is anyone shocked he would try to cover up the accusation? Anyone?

I’m not saying he definitely did it. I’m also not saying the accusation itself is enough to warrant his firing. Other people have been accused of similar felonies, and were suspended while waiting for the situation to play out. If he had done that back in October, when the charges were still fresh, yes, he probably would have been suspended. Yes, he probably would have missed that sweet, sweet singles push he got for 205. But, you know what he would also have right now? A job, and a match at the Royal Rumble.

Do you remember the Cruiserweight Classic from a couple summers ago? Do you remember how excited people were at the action we saw? The semifinal match between Zack Sabre Jr and TJ Perkins was a legitimate 2016 Match of the Year candidate. The Classic was the introduction to the world of Gentleman Jack Gallagher, we got the beginning of the implosion of DIY, we saw that not every cruiserweight wrestler depends on flips, and we saw the crowd at Full Sail convince PaHul LeveHsquHe to sign future champion Cedric Alexander. Now? More people are watching replays of Nitro and WCW pay-per-views to watch along with Tony Schiavone’s podcast than watch 205 Live every week.

Ring of Honor? I watched this weekend’s show on Monday, and other than a typical Young Bucks match, there is nothing I can remember three days later. Don’t get me wrong; the Young Bucks are good in their typical match. I just don’t happen to like it. The best Young Bucks match I remember is their empty arena match for TNA against the Motor City Machine Guns. They couldn’t play to the crowd, and had to center everything on Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin. If you’ve never seen this match, or if you forget it, watch it.

https://youtu.be/p96imyEw5Qc

Impact? The only two things that have set them apart from anything in Vinnieland are the six-sided ring and the Grand Championship, with matches in rounds and with judges. Now, with the new tapings, they are apparently going to a four-sided ring, and Matt Sydal won the Grand Championship in a match with “no rounds and no judges.” In other words, a regular wrestling match. Let us now congratulate Anthem SE for taking their professional wrestling promotion and making it just like every single other promotion in the country.

Yeah, there really is a whole lot of nothing going on this week in American wrestling. Everyone in Vinnieland is gearing up for this weekend, and this would have been the perfect time for ROH or Impact to take advantage. Instead, we got filler from everyone. Yay.

ANOTHER BOLD FACED TITLE THING

There’s something really big happening this weekend, so I guess I should make some picks, huh? These are for all the matches that have been made official as of Friday, January 26, 2018.

1. Bobby Roode, 2. The Revival, 3. Kalisto, Lince Dorado, and Gran Metalik, 4. Cesaro and Sheamus, 5. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin, 6. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, 7. Brock Lesnar, 8. Asuka, 9. Finn Bálor

ANOTHER ANOTHER BOLD FACED TITLE THING

I’m going to carry over last week’s contest, because I only got one “explanation,” which was simply “Nikki Cross,” with no other composition. So, once again, the question is…

Paige has injured her neck again and is apparently retiring from in-ring action. She may continue to act as the ringside manager for Absolution, but she will not wrestle again. Who, then, should take her place in the ring for six-woman matches? Explain THAT?!?

And, if you are the one who answered “Nikki Cross” last week, please explain more. Why should she take Paige’s place? Remember, humor counts!

#SavetheCrew
Ron