Traditionally, Extreme Rules has been a
welcome distraction in the wake of WrestleMania providing us with much needed
hardcore action to offset everything we’ve digested through WrestleMania
season. Taking away all the nostalgia acts and getting back to basics, Extreme
Rules has been of a very high standard for a very long time and with Daniel
Bryan’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory at WrestleMania XXX, 2014 is
expected to be no exception.
A new dawn settled over World Wrestling
Entertainment at WrestleMania XXX and one night later on Raw, it’s up to the
company to carry on that momentum and who knows, by this time in 2015 we may
have several new main event talents.
From the Izod Centre in East Rutherford,
New Jersey on May 4th 2014, this is Extreme Rules 2014.
WWE World Heavyweight
Championship Match
Extreme Rules Match
(c) Daniel Bryan vs Kane
This is how it starts, you know? We saw
it with Dolph Ziggler, we saw it with Chris Benoit and now we’re seeing it with
Daniel Bryan. It’s almost as if its 2004 all over again. In case you don’t have
any idea what I’m babbling on about, then this is WWE’s best effort to prove us
wrong. The fact that we backed Daniel Bryan and as good as forced WWE’s hand
and dictated the ending to WrestleMania by our reactions to the Royal Rumble
and what came after, well it irked Vince McMahon greatly. Once again his
audience thought for themselves and he didn’t like it.
Not that we should have expected him to.
History is littered with the failed souls who we backed and McMahon cut loose
just to try and prove in his own convoluted way that those who we back aren’t
as good as those McMahon hand picks for stardom. McMahon, in character of
course, has stated on television numerous times that we don’t know what we want
and he knows what is best for us. Sadly that wasn’t just a character talking,
it’s the way the real Vince McMahon thinks and I’m certain the way we took to
Daniel Bryan, a man who Vince saw as nothing but a mid-card independent
wrestler at best, pissed Vince off so much that WWE are now trying to punish
us. If you don’t believe me then the signs are all there.
Look back into history at Chris Benoit’s
World Heavyweight Championship victory at WrestleMania XX. We lobbied so hard
for that to happen and it was a glorious moment when it did. But WWE didn’t see
Benoit as WHC material and began to bury him almost immediately after his
victory. His Championship defences at Backlash 2004 – when he lost the gold to
Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2004 were capable but inspiring when they could have
been the best thing about the promotion. That was because WWE had no intention
of giving us what we wanted to see as that would have meant the power that be
were wrong. And they can’t be seen to back down.
The same goes for Dolph Ziggler in 2013.
A man WWE had no intention of making a main event star because of his height
and build. Ziggler wasn’t a Batista or Brock Lesnar so WWE never meant for him
to get as far as he did. The only reason WWE put the strap around his waist was
because we refused to lay down and let Vince have his own way. We stood up and
refused to settle for the usual faces in the usual spots. Dolph Ziggler may
have been buried in his first title defence and dropped the gold to Alberto Del
Rio but no one can deny his matches with the Mexican over the title were some
of the best technical and well acted bouts of the year. On this occasion WWE
were wrong again.
It’s become a common theme when a
wrestler who displays skills we are willing to pay to see comes up to the main
roster. We back them even if WWE doesn’t but should that really meant our
opinions are mocked and ignored by those who think they know better when
actually they’ve proven they know very little? No. After all, if WWE refused to
listen to us we could always take our business elsewhere. I’m sure TNA could do
with the extra support in 2014. The fact of the matter is, WWE have to listen
to us because we pay the bills. Our ticket money, subscription money, pay-per
view and merchandise money pay for the product we see each week and without us,
they’d be out of business in five years. They don’t have to like it but they do
have to move with the times.
The landscape of the industry is
changing. No longer are we prepared to sit back and pay to see the likes of
John Cena in the main event. We want new and vibrant talent to thrill us and
Daniel Bryan falls into that category but sadly Kane doesn’t. There is a roster
full of wrestlers who could have contested a classic with Bryan at Extreme
Rules and looking past the obvious rematch which Randy Orton should have
received, the likes of Alberto Del Rio should have been a consideration for
this bout. WWE could have held a tournament the likes of the Intercontinental
Championship tournament they held for the now second most important piece of
gold in the company, Kane need not have factored.
But that isn’t WWE’s way. Daniel Bryan’s
success is a product of his talent and our never say die attitude to star
making. WWE had very little to do with it, in fact if left to them as we saw at
the Royal Rumble and before, Daniel Bryan would have been a lifetime mid-card
player and Batista would now be holding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Now we have to stick behind Bryan and demand the same booking from WWE after WrestleMania
as we did before. Otherwise this is the kind of thing we expect until he loses
the gold later in the year.
This will probably miss out on the main
event spot to be replaced by Evolution vs The Shield, because Triple H still
has the egomaniac inside him and there’s a little piece of him that doesn’t
want Bryan to succeed so he and WWE can say ‘we told you so’. But that will
only be if we allow it. Like wrestling, crowds have moved on and we know what
is good and what is trash so should we continue to voice our displeasure WWE
will be forced to act in order to keep their audience. They know that with the
WWE Network still hanging in the balance audience loss would be fatal to the
subscription only channel and in turn that could cost the company a lot of
money. It’s in their best interest now to listen to the people who made them,
otherwise what is the incentive to purchase their events and their Network? If
we can’t get what we want out of everyday WWE programming what are the chances
of seeing what we want on a channel ran by inmates?
WrestleMania XXX was a glorious day for
fans of wrestling. We were vindicated in our beliefs and WWE for once listened.
Now it has to continue to do it or suffer the consequences. Kane isn’t a main
event opponent in 2014 if he ever was at all. New blood is needed, I’d have
much preferred to see an NXT wrestler win a tournament to earn the right to
take Kane’s place and make a name for himself. Let’s just hope this is a small
blip and soon we’ll be hearing the tune ‘Cult of Personality’ blast over system
as Punk makes his return as a heel to combat Daniel Bryan in the feud of the
year.
Winners Prediction: Daniel Bryan
WWE Divas Championship Match
(c) Paige vs Tamina
I told you, I told you, I told you!
Okay, so it didn’t happen at WrestleMania XXX as I first predicted but hey, it
did happen and that is the most important thing, right? Along with the youth
revolution which seems to be taking WWE by storm, the company finally saw sense
and promoted the talented and sexy Paige to the main roster in style. We could
kind of seeing it coming after A.J Lee won the WrestleMania Divas Invitational
and Paige strolled out the next night on Raw but who gives a damn? Anyone who
witnessed the extraordinary reaction to her victory which brought back memories
of Dolph Ziggler winning the World Heavyweight Championship the night after
WrestleMania XXIX. The crowd went literally nuts.
It’s heartening to see that an audience
who may not have been widely exposed to the brilliant NXT, let’s hope WWE bring
out a release of the highlights in the near future or at least NXT Arrival on
DVD it was awesome, cheer so wildly for the English girl from Norwich which is
approximately two hours away from where I live. It means that not only are the
audience refusing to sit back and accept the same old stars WWE are wheeling
out but they’re demanding something better, something which could help change
the face of not just the company but also the Divas Division which with the
exception of Emma, Natalya and A.J Lee has become sickeningly stale.
I’ll touch upon the number one contender
to the gold in just a moment but in three years time, with the correct backing
and pushing the new banner of WWE could see Daniel Bryan with the WWE World
Heavyweight Championship, Paige with the WWE Divas Championship and Cesaro with
the Intercontinental Championship on. Wouldn’t that be a turn of events? Three
excellent talents all from independent wrestling backgrounds as the face of a
company who were widely known for their hatred towards anything not WWE. It
would be a moment in time for sure but for that to happen the WWE machine needs
to be put behind at least the two lesser names first which means Championship
wins and losses and a mega push.
But then the backing from the fans is
there and it just goes to prove that if you put the gold on people who fans
want to see then it can rejuvenate the division altogether. Something which
should happen with the Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules if Cesaro
wins the number one contenders tournament which will have come to a close by
the time you read this. Of course it’s still happening as I write this segment
so fingers crossed when you get down the article Cesaro’s name is sitting next
Langston’s.
Of course, believe it or not, WWE have
done the easy part of putting the gold around Paige’s slim and very sexy waist.
The real trick will come with keeping it there and keeping her relevant. She
has the character, the drive, the skill and determination to make it big in WWE
but we all saw what happened to A.J Lee after her feud with Kaitlyn had
finished in 2013. WWE ran out of challengers for her to face and she was thrown
anything going at the time often with banal results. A wrestler is only as good
as their last opponent, if WWE feed Paige nothing but rubbish for the next four
months then there’s a chance she could be damaged by the title run instead of
elevated.
How can WWE make it better? The simple
answer is a re-haul of its Divas Division. They’ve already done it twice, one
with A.J Lee and once with Paige, it wouldn’t take a great amount of money to
do it again but with the whole roster. Wrestlers like Aksana, The Bella Twins
who will stay whether we like it or not thanks to their connections up the
ladder, Summer Rae, Eva Marie and Rosa Mendez to name just a few need to be
shown the exit door in favour of NXT stars and possibly new blood. I have said
it before and will say it again here, right now is the perfect time for WWE to
hire some Japanese female stars to pad out its division with. Along with Paige,
Emma, A.J and Natalya five Japanese stars would be just what the Divas league
needs right now.
WWE wouldn’t even need to put them
through development because they know what they’re doing right from the bat.
Maybe it’s not a long term solution but whilst Paige is fending off all comers
and having feuds with the best of the female talent then WWE would have ample
time to build another Paige, another A.J, another Natalya and they’d have a
year or two in which to do it. The suggestion may not be a popular one with
some people reading this but I’m sure you’d much prefer some divas who can
really go in the ring rather than the half baked efforts most who need their
marching order give week in and week out.
The main reason I mention new talent
from abroad is because without knowing it, WWE have all but ended any hope of
getting over their current female stars. You see A.J was Champion for so long
that she went through just about every woman in the division. No one could defeat
her. But then a new and younger star comes in and takes the gold within three
minutes, even though she is more talented than almost every other diva in WWE,
well it all but negates ant threat the rest had. What WWE were effectively
saying was that none of the women were good enough. So how can we take any of
them seriously as a threat to someone better than A.J?
So onto the matter in hand. Could
someone please tell me why we’re looking at Paige vs Tamina instead of Paige vs
A.J in a rematch for the Divas Championship? What mastermind decided that
Tamina, who has been really sloppy in the ring over the past six months, was a
better substitute for one of the best the division has at the moment? Just
because A.J was becoming familiar as Champion doesn’t mean to say she’d be
redundant as challenger because she wouldn’t. A.J is just what Paige needs now,
a steady hand to guide her through the first tumultuous months as Champion.
After three months then it would be okay to move Paige on but not now. Especially
when the pair could contest some of the best divas matches we’ve ever seen.
Maybe this is a blip in WWE. Maybe they
want to give the audience a rest and will introduce A.J back into the picture
at Payback. It would make sense, A.J coming for payback after Paige embarrassed
her the night after WrestleMania. In the meantime though WWE need to mark Paige
as something different to the rest of the fake, padded and silicone field so
she stands out amongst the rest. We already know that Paige isn’t going to rely
on her looks to get by and her breasts, as far as I know are all real. She has
the looks, the skills but WWE could do something more with her.
In NXT she was portrayed as the
‘Anti-Diva’. A tough, take no prisoners woman who didn’t see herself as a normal
WWE diva and walked a different path. It was a great character. When you look
at Paige compared to other WWE divas she does stand out. Because she’s British,
she doesn’t possess that ‘just come the surgeons table’ look every other divas
has. She doesn’t have a blinding tan or an ego and isn’t using WWE as a
stepping stone to Playboy or Hollywood as some of the others are. She’s
wholesome, the girl next door and she has a rough and ready look about her
which I personally love. Why not go the whole hog and really force her
‘Anti-Diva’ character through. The best way to do so would be for her to come
out on Raw, bin the Divas Championship and reintroduce the old WWE Women’s
Championship title which was neat and not an piece of vulgar trash as the
current title is.
Many fans in WWE are indifferent to the
Divas division because of what it is. It’s gone from something respected with
some excellent females representing it to a glorified laughing stock just to
keep modern. News flash, it’s not the division which has to stay modern it’s
the stars and modern stars would have kept the old Women’s Division relevant.
It would be an excellent move for Paige to swap titles and proclaim her mission
to rid WWE of divas and bring back the real women. Fans would love her even
more for it and hell, maybe even take the league more seriously. Look what the
Women’s Championship did for wrestlers like Lita and Trish Stratus and then
look what the Divas Championship has done for its stars if you can find just
one.
Until WWE implement that change we have
cause for hope that no longer are they willing to have the audience dictate so
instead they’ll act faster. Paige is proof of all the good that can happen if a
chance is taken. The future is bright for her and if WWE believe we’re going to
sit back and accept more of the same rubbish they’ve been peddling for the last
five years, well they can ‘think again’.
Winners Prediction: Paige
Steel Cage Match
John Cena vs Bray Wyatt
It was the wrong result at WrestleMania
XXX; I think that is something we can all agree on. After such a brilliant
build–up which featured flawless performances all around there was a real buzz
around the WWE Universe that along with other wrestlers such as Paige, The
Shield and Cesaro, there was going to be a youth revolution of sorts which
meant John Cena doing the right thing and putting Bray Wyatt over on the
grandest stage of them all. It wasn’t an unreasonable ask or demand, that Cena
do for someone else what other did for him time and time again, in fact would
have shed a better and different light on the walking merchandise machine
altogether.
Instead of being someone obsessed by his
legacy, which wouldn’t have been harmed in the smallest by losing to Wyatt at
WrestleMania as it didn’t even have to be clean, John Cena would have propelled
The Wyatt Family into the atmosphere had Bray pinned him clean in the middle of
the ring with Sister Abigail regardless of whomever had interfered on his
behalf. You see, when things are really going the way fans want we don’t care
about how it happens and we can even overlook slight misdemeanours such as
run-ins and interference if it means a new star is going to be solidified.
Was it really too much to ask for, after
Cesaro had won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, Daniel Bryan had
began his ascension towards immortality and WWE had proven that it was serious
about getting behind its younger stars when The Shield went over fossils The
New Age Outlaws and Kane? Just imagine how much better WrestleMania would have
been if WWE had have had the courage to book John Cena to look at the lights.
That way, almost every new star on the roster or at least those who had the
most prospect would have triumphed where it really mattered. If only WWE were
courageous enough to pull that proverbial trigger.
In future years, when Bray Wyatt is at
the top of the tree and he will be, everyone would have looked back at
WrestleMania XXX and pointed to the event as a milestone, a turning point in a
young mans career where the company who were signing his pay cheques really put
the entire force of the machine behind him. Now though it will be looked upon
as a stumbling block for Wyatt who surely has to rectify the wrong at Extreme
Rules, otherwise where does he go from here? Surely there’ll be no coming back
from two defeats at the hands of John Cena no matter how hard Wyatt is pushed.
Had WWE had the balls to do the right
thing on the night then the company would have had the perfect storyline going
into Extreme Rules and even Payback in June. Even better, had Wyatt defeated
John Cena twice in a row then it would have been expected and logical for John
Cena to go over at Payback with no comeback on Wyatt. Now though Bray Wyatt
stands on the edge of a very awkward situation because if he does lose inside
the steel cage then he and The Wyatt Family are going to tumble to the bottom
of the pile and they have worked far too hard for that.
So what would have been the perfect
situation for Bray Wyatt and John Cena at WrestleMania XXX? Well, ideally, the
Mercedes Benz Superdome would have erupted had Luke Harper and Eric Rowan
inserted themselves in the match, beat John Cena so badly that they carried him
out and we didn’t see him again until Payback. One victory would been as
powerful as two and meant more had The Wyatt Family put one of the company’s
top stars on the shelf for a month or so. That way, the John Cena kidnap story
would have opened the door for Bray Wyatt to combat Daniel Bryan for the WWE
World Heavyweight Championship on this night whilst the new and improved
Evolution battled The Shield elsewhere on the card.
Bray Wyatt wouldn’t have had to beat
Bryan, that wouldn’t have been necessary. Had Wyatt been distracted at the
death of a superb match by John Cena’s theme tune playing and then the lights
going off before a haunting promo aired of John Cena breaking out of The Wyatt
stronghold, before Daniel Bryan levelled Wyatt with a running knee to retain
the gold it would have been one of the best things about the product in many years.
That would have set up a John Cena comeback at Payback along with weeks of
haunting promos in which Cena would have adopted the Wyatt mantra to fight fire
with fire. People may have even found a new respect for John Cena that way,
that he was willing to change his gimmick to give us something different.
However, now we’re left with someone
that could ultimately spell the end downfall of The Wyatt Family should things
go awry on the night. I hope for everyone’s sake that WWE don’t sacrifice one
of the biggest stars of its future just for John Cena’s ego or unneeded
development because Cena can’t develop anymore without a heel turn, which would
be a sumptuous conclusion to the ending of this feud I’m sure you’ll all agree.
At Extreme Rues, WWE have to make an extreme sacrifice and one which ultimately
benefit all involved.
Follow the Buzzards and they will lead
you to a promise land which is better than the scene we currently have, which
admittedly is getting better and better by the minute. The Wyatt Family, in
their own creepy and unsettling way could change WWE forever and that can only
be a good thing.
Winners Prediction: Bray Wyatt
The Shield vs Evolution
Is it me, or does the re-coming together
of Evolution all seem a little too coincidental after Triple H was bitten by
the wrestling bug again at WrestleMania XXX? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad
thing that he’s decided to step back between the ropes when he stood idly by
for far too long and ruled over all and sunder but he was leader of The
Authority which Randy Orton and to a lesser degree Batista were both a part of,
why feel the need to bring back a group which previously made Randy Orton and
Batista but only allowed ‘The Animal’ to flourish. If anyone disputes that
claim then rewind your collection to 2004 / 2005 and look at the difference in
Batista and Randy Orton’s ascensions.
When Randy Orton defeated Chris Benoit
in a cracking bout at SummerSlam 2004 for the World Heavyweight Championship,
it should have been the beginning of something meteoric for ‘The Viper’. He
should have been given the full force of WWE’s machine and pushed as the next
big thing. Instead, Triple H became greedy and instead of allowing his young
protégé to flourish by giving him assistance of several high level pay-per view
victories over ‘The Game’, Triple H furiously lobbied backstage and got his
wife to overturn the push. The result was Randy Orton dropping the gold which
should have made him star one month later at Unforgiven 2004 in a rather
lacklustre bout. And that wasn’t the end of it either.
After losing the World Heavyweight
Championship to Triple H, Orton was continually buried by Triple H who was
still notoriously selfish at the same and couldn’t bare to sit back and watch
people take his spot. Even Survivor Series 2004, Randy Orton wasn’t allowed a
clean singles victory of Triple H and ever title match the pair contested ended
only one way and that was the Triple H way. The consequence of Randy Orton
being treated like such a jobber was that fans didn’t see him a legit main
event player for the next few years and to build his image Orton was forced to
again turn heel, align himself with his father and feud with The Undertaker who
did treat him with the star quality he needed. All that would have been negated
had Triple H done the right thing the first time around and allowed Randy Orton
the spotlight he’d earned.
On the flip side, Batista, Triple H’s
best friend in real life, was given the red carpet treatment even though ‘The
Animal’ was far inferior to Randy Orton between the ropes. As where Orton was
thrown into the deep end and not given the chance to swim, Batista was granted
with a slow and methodical push which made sense and was a better product to
watch as a whole. Triple H did everything he could to ensure that his best
friend got the very highest quality treatment on his path to the main event and
World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H gave everything he had to his
WrestleMania 21 bout against Batista, unlike what he gave to Randy Orton months
before. Even after he’d dropped the gold, Triple H voluntarily lost to Batista
on pay-per view cementing the Guardians of the Galaxy star’s aura.
There was a notable difference in the
way Triple H viewed his compares in Evolution and Randy Orton got the worst of
it. What’s to stop Triple H doing the same this time around? Clearly, even
though Randy Orton is the better wrestler though he has had some horrible
months with the gold around his waist, this whole set-up is designed to favour
Batista who was given a rough ride by the fans upon his return. Triple H
believes that if he can give Batista another high profile story then fans will
change their minds about ‘The Animal’ and back him once more. I would even go
as far to say that Batista has been handpicked to replaced Daniel Bryan as WWE
World Heavyweight Champion come SummerSlam.
Where that would leave Randy Orton is
anyone’s guess and regardless of whether you believe Evolution was needed when
The Authority already existed and we all have to move with the times, the one
fact that remains is that Triple H, the man who vowed to put youth first when
he got hold of the reigns, should be using this as a platform on which to
launch The Shield who are clearly favourites in the WWE Universe’s mind to go
far in the future.
Maybe I was wrong about not splitting
The Shield. At first I thought it was a great idea because it would favour
Roman Reigns who is on a collision course with Triple H at SummerSlam in what
would surely be a stature enhancing victory for the young gun and future star.
Now though, seeing how WWE treated Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose when the pair
weren’t affiliated with Reigns in singles and doubles competition then it
wasn’t such a great idea after all. Yes, the feud with Evolution is a great
idea which hopefully will result in three young stars being elevated higher
than they could have imagined by going over three established main event stars
but could this have been the main event of the event? Of course it could and
had WWE added Daniel Bryan to The Shield team and Ric Flair to Evolution to
complete their re-gathering it would have made for a spectacular eight man
battle for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It would be only natural for
Randy Orton to chase the gold he lost at WrestleMania XXX.
Ric Flair would have been a contentious
decision and if WWE didn’t want to employ him in an in ring capacity then add
someone else to Evolution ranks to give them exposure. Either way, it would
have been an excellent idea to have Bryan here and The Shield in the main event
which they could still be in anyway. But now WWE have booked themselves into a
hole. If they don’t put Daniel Bryan in the main event of the show then his
reign risks beginning like Chris Benoit’s did in 2004 namely in an unmoving
fashion but if they leave The Shield out of the top liner then it could be
viewed by some that the company don’t see the trio as future stars who could
carry the company.
It’s a problem which will be sorted out
on the night but for now, I think WWE have done the right thing with the
exception of rebranding the trio as Evolution once again. Those who remember
Evolution’s first time in the company will be expecting Randy Orton to take a
backseat to Batista which isn’t fair on him after all his hard if unspectacular
work since summer 2013. Not only that, but people will be expecting an ego trip
by Triple H which will only serve to diminish The Shield and the effect they
could have come August. Our only hope is that at Extreme Rules, justice is
served.
Winners Prediction: The Shield
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Match
(c) Big E vs Bad News Barrett
Seeing as Big E didn’t win the Andre the
Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX, WWE needed to do something drastic in
order to make the gold relevant again. When news came through that Christian
was injured in action again, surely it’s time for the injury prone Captain
Charisma to call it day before he does some serious damage, he’s just come back
from injury for crying out loud, then I believed that WWE were just going to
throw in someone no one cares about and be done with it. I have been pleasantly
surprised.
Whilst some matches in the tournament
have been questionable to say the least, not to mention the outcomes, one has
to believe that now the company have gotten rid of WrestleMania XXX the WWE
Intercontinental Championship is top of their list as the reimaging of their
product comes about. For too long has it languished around the waist of someone
we don’t care about and in feuds which meant little, by announcing a tournament
and having such stars as Rob Van Dam, Alberto Del Rio and Cesaro take the quest
for the gold so seriously then it shouts to the audience that WWE intend to
restore the division back to its former glory.
However, as it turned out, none of the
three men mentioned above won the tournament and instead of the beginning of
what would have been Cesaro’s moment of glory, an unprecedented rise to the top
of the company which would have resembled that of the glory days of wrestling
when one participant was handpicked by management to be elevated to main event
level, ends up being yet another chance for the rather lacklustre Bad News
Barrett who has had little to no effect on the company since leaving NXT way
back in 2010 and falling down the roster to almost obscurity. Even his
Intercontinental Championship reign in 2013 was bloody terrible barring his
Payback outing and WrestleMania XXIX pre-show bout with The Miz.
I had heard rumours circulating that
Barrett was in line for a shot and even a Championship victory to help further
his new image, however having witnessed Barrett over the past few weeks and
months I just cannot believe this is true. Wade has had nothing of note to do
for the longest of times in WWE and his character sitting at ringside and
delivering the ‘bad news’ of the match and slating each wrestler before he runs
down the town may be a gimmick which could be hot in 2014, but one which has
been done before, over and over again. I concede, Wade Barrett does have the
talent and skill to pull off such a device and there’s nothing guaranteed to
rile an American audience more than an Englishman telling them what is what,
but does that really deserve a shot and possible reign with the second most
important Championship in the company today?
Right now, as things stand, the answer
is no. Simply put, there’s nothing to the character just yet, however if WWE
gave it another four months with intense build whilst putting the WWE machine
behind him, Barrett could be huge. It’s a sad truth that Wade Barrett holds no
interest with the audience at the moment and to have him featured here without
any real reason is a disappointment enough, to have him defeat Big E for the
title at Extreme Rules would just put everything Langston has achieved with the
title so far back to square one.
WWE needs a leader of the division at
this point in time. Someone they can count on and more importantly someone the
WWE Universe can get behind. Should WWE keep the gold on Langston until Money
in the Bank or SummerSlam they could build him to be a real threat to the WWE
World Heavyweight Championship in 2015 not to mention a huge babyface to rival
John Cena. All the signs are there for WWE to do this. The audience are
yearning for someone else but Cena and whilst Daniel Bryan fills that void
right now I doubt he will forever unless WWE begin to take his role seriously.
With a great catchphrase and a little more tweaking in the ring, Langston could
be the next big star and certainly someone to battle Brock Lesnar at
WrestleMania XXXI.
A loss to Wade Barrett so soon after the
biggest event of the year would be disastrous for Big E’s career. There’s an
argument as to whether Big E could drop the title if Cesaro was his opponent or
if the company had something else lined up for him to partake in but they
don’t, on either level. What would be the sense of bothering to unravel all the
hard work you’ve done with Langston over the last year just in the uncertain
hope that things will be different this time around with Barrett. It’s surely
much better to bide your time, allow Barrett to simmer slowly before making him
a main threat to the Intercontinental Championship. We would be far more likely
to accept him as a heir to the throne if that course of events were to
transpire.
There have been so many ‘big guy’
failures in WWE over the last couple of years that everything should be done to
ensure Langston isn’t the next casualty in a long line of disappointments. From
Bobby Lashley to Vladimir Kozlov to the other guy whose name escapes me now,
every big guy after 2007 has flopped horrendously but this time there is
something special about Langston. First he was dull and boring, and then
suddenly something happened and the current champion was on fire. We couldn’t
get enough of him and almost overnight it appeared that the wrestling fairy had
visited him and waved her magic wand.
If WWE makes sure to protect Langston at
all costs and not job him out to someone who will almost inevitably fall at the
first hurdle when WWE lose interest in him, they could have lightening in a
bottle and it would make a change to see the company actually stick on one
person instead of twist on several.
Winners Prediction: Big E
Cesaro vs Jack Swagger vs Rob Van
Dam
I have to say, that I didn’t see this
coming when Cesaro split with Jack Swagger and though you will read elsewhere
in this preview of my belief that Cesaro would be opposing Langston in the
Intercontinental Championship match, that was written before WWE put their own
beliefs before thought and booked this filler bout. Which when you look at it,
is exactly what it is.
Cesaro is better than this. We all know
that to be true. After his WrestleMania XXX bout it would make sense to surely
crown him the new I.C Champion to capitalise on the momentum he has coming out
of Mania and splitting from Jack Swagger which is the best career move WWE have
done for him since he joined the company. The Real Americans duo was wearing
thin after WWE decided to book them as not a threat to the Tag Team
Championship but a joke for all other teams including the dead in the water,
Rybaxel, to get one over on. Had Cesaro stayed next to Jack Swagger much longer
than he may have been unsalvageable.
Not only were the tandem already pointless
before they reached Royal Rumble back in January, Cesaro was being severely
affected by the association with the racist Zeb Coulter regardless of the
amusing signs the artist formerly known as Dutch Mantel carried to the ring.
Things looked bleak at TLC when Cesaro and Swagger ate dust in the tag team
turmoil bout and then worse when he and Swagger jobbed to John Cena in what
could have been a career damaging mini feud which Cesaro managed to shrug off.
Now, with his new association with Paul Heyman, Extreme Rules should have been
the beginning of something special.
If anyone needs convincing of what the
‘Paul Heyman’ affect can have on wrestlers looking for a break, look at what it
did for C.M Punk, Brock Lesnar and for a short time only, Curtis Axel. Each one
of the thrived under Heyman’s keen eye and with someone as popular as Cesaro,
this plan surely cannot fail to, well, fail. Most are even touting Cesaro as
Lesnar’s WrestleMania XXXI opponent when the whole association turns sour as it
did with Punk in 2013. Cesaro vs Brock Lesnar, possibly for the WWE World
Heavyweight Championship is one match I would pay big money to see.
But it could all be academic if WWE
don’t do the right thing and push Cesaro until he cannot possibly go any
further. Had Cesaro been placed in the Intercontinental Championship bout, it
would have been natural progression. In order to carry on the re-imaging of the
title which once dipped in form and importance then WWE must carry on pushing
it up the ranks onto more important wrestlers or at very least wrestlers with
enough popularity to take the next step up with and without the title. By
association the title would then become more valuable and important to the
audience as it once was. Extreme Rules would have been the perfect time for
Cesaro to take the next leap forward but at this rate I cannot see Cesaro being
anything beyond a mid-card player by Money in the Bank in July let alone a
serious contender to take the briefcase, which naturally would be a great
tension builder should he hold into the object long enough for Lesnar to
dethrone Bryan.
What then for Rob Van Dam and Jack
Swagger? Well the latter really needs a personality boost in order to do
anything else meaningful within the company. Since returning from inactivity
and his first burial, Swagger has gone no further despite at first looking like
a favourite to reclaim that main event spot he once held in 2010 when holding
the blue brand’s top title. Since then though, he’s become an even bigger joke
than he was before and right now, the best thing I can think of for Swagger to
do with his career is seek out other opportunities because he’s going nowhere
in WWE.
Is part of the problem Zeb Coulter? Yes.
No one can take anyone who is managed by an aged racist seriously. Coulter has
to be shelved. He got across his and Vince McMahon’s point and was amusing for
a time but now he’s just plain offensive and when people see that all they see
is Jack Swagger. Also, it’s time to do away with the ‘We the People’ chant which
only compounds problems and saying that I have just purchased a Cesaro shirt
from WWEshop.com with that inscribed on the back. But hey, it was all they had
for him. Time for WWE to rebrand the shirt with ‘Paul Heyman Guy’ on the back I
think.
There’s a market for Jack Swagger in the
world of wrestling. Sadly, it’s just not in WWE. Anywhere else around the
world, Swagger would be a headline star. He has the talent and qualities to be
the main man in TNA where his style fits perfectly and like MVP, Japan would
welcome him with open arms though under a different name. As much as I look and
try my hardest, I cannot see a future for Jack Swagger in WWE. He’s never going
to hold another piece of meaningful gold and certainly never be a main event
player again so what the hell is the point of keeping him around when you have
a roster full of NXT stars such as Adrian Neville and Sami Zayne ready to make
their debut on the main roster? The kindest thing WWE can do for Jack Swagger
now would be wish him well in his future endeavours and not make the same
mistake with the next candidate.
Rob Van Dam still has something to offer
the wrestling world as a legend of the business. Not yet has he passed his best
and put with someone who needs a boost, say, one of the NXT up and comers, Van
Dam could still be a valuable part of McMahon’s enterprise. Don’t get me wrong,
‘Mr. Monday Night’ doesn’t have tons left in the machine and I doubt he’ll be
able to go another three years even on the schedule he’s working now, but whilst
he’s still here WWE must make the best of him. With no Chris Jericho anytime
soon, Van Dam could fill that mantle ably.
It’s how legends like Van Dam should be
used in 2014. WWE should stop believing they could have designs on the
upper-mid-card spot and instead book them a logical story in which to elevate
younger talent. For example, and this is only a theory here, WWE could bring up
Zayne or Neville from NXT, even Bo Dallas and have them target RVD as their
first statement of intent in the company. Their reason could be that by
defeating Van Dam they would have a notch in their belt a lot of regular WWE
stars don’t currently have therefore could theoretically used RVD as a stepping
stone to better things.
Van Dam has the agility and the
popularity to carry a younger star in his first ever main roster feud and even
the capability to lose effectively or even help them up the ladder by defeating
them. Truly great wrestlers like Rob Van Dam could easily defeat younger stars
whilst elevating them, no problem. It’s something WWE need to do right away
because there is no other role in the company for him than this. At his age,
there’s no space for him in a younger and somewhat rejuvenated main event; so
ironically, it may take a younger generation to make a star of the old one
vital again.
Winners Prediction: Cesaro
2 on 1 Handicap Match
R-Truth and Xavier Woods vs
Alexander Rusev
On one hand, this is great news. Another
example of WWE listening to its audience and giving us someone new to believe
in and for those who saw Rusev at the Royal Rumble and weekly on NXT, which I
still believe they should bring out a ‘Best of’ release for but only for the
last year or so since the show became a talked out commodity of WWE, will know
what a talent this guy this. He may look like the disastrous Vladimir Kozlov
but he has talent in abundance. In many way Rusev is WWE’s Samoa Joe, only one
the company will take seriously because they never did with Joe thanks to his
size and weight.
Whilst this is good news, it’s also bad,
because Rusev isn’t pitted against two of WWE’s finest. Instead he’s forced to
face the surplus R-Truth who can’t believe his luck that he’s pitted in an
advertised pay-per view outing and the still undecided Xavier Woods who whilst
straddled at Truth’s side is going nowhere in WWE. Woods is a talent no doubt
but R-Truth is holding him back and even then he’s a clear mid-card player, you
only have to look at his image to see that. There’s no way WWE are going to
book this guy in a main position on the card, rather he’s comic relief and the
pair will undoubtedly fade away before fans can get bored of them.
Here though, we concentrate on the beast
that is Rusev and his future in WWE which is very bright indeed. Whilst he
could be a match for Brock Lesnar in a years time and I’m betting Vince is
lining him up for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign in the near
future, at Extreme Rules he would have been better suited as an opponent for
Big E should the Intercontinental Champion not be pitied against Cesaro which
is still a possibility as I type this. Even though you will have already read
the preview for the match above, it was the last thing I typed thanks to not
knowing who the opponent would be. Alexander Rusev and Big E could have
contested what would have been the surprise match of the night and it would
have gotten over WWE’s younger roster better than this will.
When you look at the facts in the cold
light of day, R-Truth and Xavier Woods are mere cannon fodder. Whilst the
former has no future in WWE in 2014, the latter would have a better shot at
stardom if WWE began booking one NXT match on their monthly pay-per view
events. Woods could then show what he’s capable of against wrestlers of his own
standing and maybe be taken a little more seriously than he will be here when
he’s crushed by the monster Rusev. This match has ‘squash’ and ‘filler’ written
all over it, but then again if it’s going to create a new star then you won’t
find me complaining.
Winners Prediction: Alexander
Rusev
Extreme Rules Pre-Show Match
WWELC Match
El Torito vs Hornswoggle
At least this spot hasn’t been given to
two wrestlers who could have done with the exposure of being on the main body
of the card right? Unfortunately, that’s the only good thing I can see about
this match because it’s going to totally suck whilst giving birth to a new
match type in a modified, that’s WWE’s way of saying they’re ready to mock
those restricted by height in their very own comedy TLC match which is what
this basically is.
I haven’t been that thrilled by the El
Torito vs Hornswoggle feud as of late. It may have always been coming to this,
seeing as they are the only two smaller men in the business, but seriously?
Another singles match between the pair? This could have been a six man tag team
match which pitted Los Matadores and El Torito vs Hornswoggle and two of 3MB;
it would have been more preferable to this which is booked solely to be a
comedy effort in order to relieve the audience before the heavy stuff kicks in.
I have nothing more to say on the matter, it may be good, but it won’t be worth
a spot on pay-per view or even before the event kicks in.
Winners Prediction: El Torito
In an event with the name ‘Extreme
Rules’, 2014’s offering suffers from a lack of stipulation matches of which
there are only two proper ones on the entire card. I remember the day when
every match would be fought under some type of extreme rule as the pay-per view
designation suggests but now WWE don’t want to throw caution to the wind too
much in case it deals and injury to one of its best chances of success in the
year ahead. You can see where they’re coming from, but as proved at
WrestleMania XXX it’s good to take a chance once in a while and this should
have been one of those times WWE did so.
Once again, looking down the card, WWE
have left off the likes of Alberto Del Rio, The Usos and Dolph Ziggler who may
still be included on the night but without hype of their appearance they will
be mere add on which isn’t good enough. The main event match isn’t a main event
match at all rather WWE’s feeble attempt to prove us wrong whilst further down
the card there are chances for the likes of Paige, Alexander Rusev, Bray Wyatt
and should Triple H not get carried away with his little ego trip, The Shield
to all shine and build a platform for their success in 2014.
Extreme Rules 2014 could be a huge night
for WWE’s younger stars and indeed the future of the company altogether. It’s a
chance to revert back to the way things used to be done when there were stars
to be made and we don’t get many of those anymore. It would take an extreme
sacrifice for an extreme chance to work out. But then again, what do WWE have
to lose?
Onwards and upwards...
