Before
we get onto our main subject this week, namely the passing of Dusty Rhodes, I
would just to talk briefly about a couple of things which transpired at Money
in the Bank. I was surprised about how good the event was barring one or two
bouts which let the side down, but there were some decisions which both shocked
me in a good and bad way. I’m sure the majority of you watched the event, but
for those who didn’t or for those wondering what all the fuss was about then
let me fill you in.
It’s
unusual for me to comment on an event so soon after its finish, usually we have
something else to talk about. But when I’m so impressed by something or so
outraged by a happening then you know me, I have to speak out about it. First
off, what I’m about to say will shock some people who know how much I despise
John Cena. But, after his excellent bout with Kevin Owens, I have to say that I’ve
gained some respect for the leader of the Cenation. I know, I never thought it
would happen either. But the way John Cena conducted himself on the night; I
was actually in agreement about the result of the bout. It shocked me as much
as it shocked you believe me. But thanks to the excellent lay out of a
tremendous bout not to mention the edge of your seat finale, John Cena actually
earned the victory rather than just being given it because he’s John Cena and
as we all know, John Cena has to have some redemption regardless of what it
does to other talent.
Going
into this bout, I knew there was only one outcome. John Cena was always going
to win. But I never thought that I’d come out of a Cena match having a new
found respect for him, or that the pair would ever top their Elimination
Chamber bout. But they did. In fact they blew their previous effort out of the
water. Unusually, the loss didn’t hurt Kevin Owens because of what John Cena
gave him during the bout. The near falls, the excellent moves and the gripping
reversals all added to the drama. But there was one overriding factor which
made this so good that it could possibly be the match of the year. And that was
John Cena’s willing nature to add new moves to his arsenal and try something
different. Kevin Owens was so good, that John Cena was forced to up his game.
It
didn’t stretch to his selling, but that can be overlooked on this occasion.
Because John Cena vs Kevin Owens was all kinds of stunning. Though John Cena
may not have bothered selling much during the early going, his portrayal of a
beaten man who couldn’t put down the contender to his throne was totally
believable as was his completely believable selling of an injury when Kevin
Owens nailed him with a Powerbomb on the apron. Now, because I’ve never seen
John Cena sell anything as good as this as well as the awkward limp up the
aisle, this leads me to believe that John Cena is legitimately injured and that
he landed on his ankle wrong on the decent. If this is true, then he could be
out for months. WWE could do so much with three months of John Cena free.
For
now though, John Cena vs Kevin Owens in the match of the year thus far and
though there has to be a third and deciding bout between the pair, there’s
unfinished business there, for now, I’m happy enough to leave it at a draw.
Maybe next time the pair clash, if not at SummerSlam, it will be for the WWE
World Heavyweight Championship.
Now
onto the negative, and that came in the form of the winner of the Money in the
Bank Ladder Match and the winners of the WWE Tag Team Championship Match. We’ll
deal with the former first. If you read last week’s blog, then you’ll have
known my dissatisfaction at having four former champions in the bout in the
first place. But to have one actually win the bout, it was just beyond
ridiculous for several reasons. The first being that Sheamus is so unpopular
that it was clear WWE only gave him the contract to bump him up the card.
It’s
true that Sheamus has been languishing in the mid-card for a long time and this
is WWE’s way of telling us they have big plans for him. But let’s be honest,
Sheamus has become such a mid-card player that it could only do the title harm
if he was to cash in this year and take the gold. Does anyone want to see
Sheamus as champion? I don’t. His matches have become rather predictable and as
far as I can see, he has nothing left to bring to the table. WWE should have
given the contract to Roman Reigns or Neville. Either man could have done so
much more and though WWE will make Roman Reigns champion at or by WrestleMania
32 because his story is clearly the man who came close but never managed to
achieve, there were other ways Roman Reigns could have won the contract and
still had his feud with Bray Wyatt.
The
second terrible decision WWE made at Money in the Bank, was the Prime Time
Players capturing the WWE Tag Team Championships from the white hot The New
Day. What are WWE thinking? I mean, this is the second time this year WWE have
taken the titles from a hot team and given them to someone else. In this case
though, it’s clearly not going to work. Prime Time Players means so little to
wrestling and the audience that there can be no good in this situation. They’re
not great in the ring and it was the sleeper match of Money in the Bank. All
the hard work that Kidd and Cesaro and The New Day did with the gold is about
to be undone unless WWE swap the gold back quickly. It’s a poor decision, maybe
the worst WWE could have made.
And
finally, onto the real reason of this blog. Last Thursday, the wrestling world
lost a leading light when Dusty Rhodes passed away at just sixty nine years
old. Everyone knows my thoughts on deceased wrestlers and the great wrestling
ring in the sky, and now it has another participant as the strains of ‘American
Dream’ echo through that ever filling arena. Dusty Rhodes may have been an
overly selfish booker during his time in charge of Jim Crockett Promotions and
WCW, but he was one of the top ten greatest wrestlers in the history of the
industry.
Over
the next few weeks you’ll hear no end of good will aimed towards Dusty Rhodes
so I won’t drag this out too long. Dusty Rhodes was often referred to as ‘The
Common Man’. It wasn’t a bad thing. Amongst an era of steroid induced physiques
and men who looked like gods, Dusty Rhodes gave us hope that to be great you
didn’t have to have a good body or stunning looks. All you needed was heart and
passion. In Dusty Rhodes we saw ourselves. Just a normal person striving to achieve
something extraordinary. And that was the core of his appeal. Dusty Rhodes
paved the way for men like Daniel Bryan. Men who didn’t have the settled upon
look to be a star but certainly and the skill and the drive. Maybe, more than
his NWA World Heavyweight Championship reigns, this is the greatest legacy he
could have left.
“Grab
a dream, hold onto it, and shoot for the stars” were the inspirational words
Dusty Rhodes used to use when talking about following a dream. Those words came
from a man who did just that. In the end, Dusty Rhodes was a common man, the
son of a plumber who worked hard to live his dream. He was an excellent talker,
an even better wrestler and now the wrestling world will be much worse without him.
Dusty
Rhodes may be sadly missed, but right now, as we sit down here trying to make
our lives better, he’s up there, wining and dining with the kings and queens of
professional wrestling who have left us thus far. He was the true American Dream.
Thank
you Dusty.
Onwards
and upwards.
