Tag: raw

MPW7 Another Week in Wrestling: Smackdown September 6, 2016

This week’s Smackdown Live again brought a program that missed a couple steps but was, overall, a good time thanks to a steady dedication to building solid builds and having a bit of fun. It could only get better as the roster quality improves on the whole. This week’s edition also boasts what I would consider the best…the BEST….segment of the Raw/Smackdown Live continuum for this week. As far as WWE programming, it will surely have some stiff competition in the Cruiser Weight Classic the following day.

Let’s break it down.

 

(New Category) THE BEST

 American Alpha VS The Usos

 For all the star power and big time drama abound on RAW, this simple, old school injury-based angle with a couple of twists accomplished so much and set up so much. It was a joy to watch. We were taken a bit by surprise with the Usos storming in to attack American Alpha before the bell rang, expecting heel-ish tactics to perhaps come after a loss tonight. And the loss came but also, BAM, right away. It effectively set up a scene where the Usos could have been embarrassed, and it also got the desired job done without wasting time. Then we had a situation where the Usos could have again led us on and showed their change in persona at the special, but we got it immediately instead and it paid off. The manner of taking out Gable’s leg looked and felt severe. A sufficiently big deal was made of this by several ensuing replays and references on commentary. Now we have a whole match between two accomplished tag teams, which really didn’t happen yet, and has a LOT of heat around it, to look forward to at some point down the line.

The Usos also had a very real, unscripted feeling promo afterwards. It wasn’t the most smooth or coherent delivery, but it didn’t need to be, and played nicely off of genuine negative reactions the Usos have gotten from audiences in recent months. Hmm, I wonder what other wrestlers would benefit from a change up in persona due similar circumstances? Renee was also fantastic here, displaying quiet disgust with what she just saw these guys who she had been chummy with just a few weeks ago had done. The Usos would also let loose a tweet referring to the change in character, nicely paralleling the story on the show.

 

The GOOD

Miz VS Crews

This did not appear to be the most exciting booking – a rematch from Summerslam. But it was an OK match that ended cleverly, managing to accomplish a lot. Miz looked competent in his winning way via devious tactics as he took advantage of Dolph Ziggler’s presence, misdirecting Crews and Ziggler toward each other and then Crews into the ring post shoulder post, allowing for him to hit his finisher and pin in the ring. Ziggler was perhaps a bit perturbed by Crews colliding into him for his troubles. And it could tease dissension between Ziggler and Crews, but this was not at all played up – a bit of a ball drop in my opinion. Then again Ziggler was very vocal about Crews’ potential later on Talking Smack – it could be some foreshadowing if Ziggler were to turn heel?

Crews also continues to look great in the ring. He hit the same moonsault spot in the narrow space between the ring and fans out on the floor. He worked the impressiveness of it afterwards, high fiving fans sitting nearby. What is missing for Crews is a win. I fear his character does not look good with loss after loss, and should definitely get some matches against jobbers to bolster him up.

 

Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, and Naomi VS Natalya, Alexa Bliss, and Carmella

This had a slight air of rehash to it at first, being another Summerslam rematch, but the match really picked up toward the in the end, was solid. There was a lot of fast paced action. Carmella looked like a stronger contender than ever as she tapped Nikki out with her neck lock finisher, The Code of Silence. Alexa Bliss also looked impressive with the punishment she doled out on Nikki. Naomi’s new raver entrance and upbeat style of fighting also suits her well.

I think in the future, mixing things up a bit would be go a long way in keeping the show from getting stale. Instead of all of the women in one big match, how about pairing 2 and 2 for a tag match, and pairing the other 2 women in the division into a singles match. I also understand Becky’s character has a bit more charm than her straight shooting serious persona in NXT, but I would really like the exaggerated expressions outside of matches to be toned down. It is sometimes distracting, and she should be taken seriously for all of her talent.

 

Rhyno and Heath Slater VS The Hype Bros

This was a good match. The balance of comedy to serious action was in the right proportion with all of the wrestlers putting on a match with some suspenseful spots. Rhyno and Heath definitely have momentum going into Backlash where many are pulling for Heath to get a contract.

 

AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose talk some smack

Both guys looked and sounded alright here. Delivery was not wooden, not overly goofy. Styles is the real revelation here, though, continuing to command the mic, slow down the pace or turn up the volume when needed. He exuded confidence. I also like that the brand is not giving away the show by having these guys lock up in some kind of match right before they face each other on a special. This builds far more anticipation.

 

The BAD

 That Wild and Crazy Dean

 There was just a bit of Dean being silly and mock crazy at the beginning of the show; just enough to remind that this is not a good direction for him. The trophy he presented to AJ was a bit silly but had a purpose, and the fire of his verbal attack on AJ Styles was stirring. Please just do away with all unnecessary goofy scenes with Ambrose.

 

The cast of the Smackdown Women’s Division in DRAMA

These promos where one wrestler talks. Then is interrupted by another wrestler, who talks. Then is interrupted by another wrestler, who talks and so on and so forth are terrible. They feel totally disingenuous and are often peppered with the most corny lines of any given show. These segments seem to be reserved for the women on the show more often than not. Let’s do away with this stale form of storytelling.

  

Bray a rockin’ and a ‘ramblin’

I have liked Bray Wyatt’s presence and style of delivery lately, which makes this return to murkier and less compelling presentations a shame. As a rule of thumb too, if a segment is being shown live, with audience reaction included it should be live, with the performer working the crowd. If it is on a screen, then it might as well be prerecorded, and might as well be given some cool edits and effects. Bray sitting back in his rocking chair, talking archaically with (gasp) FOG entering the picture is not rousing any excitement. Bray should be getting more aggressive and energetic in his manner of presentation.

 

The WEIRD

 Randy Orton

 Randy Orton seems to be a hot character, still evoking his uphill battle at Summerslam, where was savaged but came right back to work following the bloody match. Instead of hitting RKO’s out of nowhere he has been trying to keep up with Bray’s odd storytelling mode. And this time he spun a real yarn. It was more confusing than Heyman and Stephanie’s segment on RAW the week before. It would be bad, just plain bad, but it was so….strange, it ended up keeping my attention. Orton’s lashing out on twitter to a critical fan afterwards was priceless.

 

 ——

After the dust settled, Talking Smack turned out to be a solid addition to the show. Daniel Bryan is the real star, really feeling like he is talking genuinely about the things he liked about the talent on the show – I love how he put over Ambrose and AJ Styles as performers, dissing the competition, and making slip ups that show his human side and turn into humorous banter with Renee (‘isn’t it the Hype Brothers??). They advanced the angle of Gable’s injury with Shane updating us on his condition and they discussed how it would play out on the special, giving Talking Smack some exclusives for Network viewers. Shane’s aura felt very awkward, making me cringe as though I was in the room with the three of them, but a little uptightness doesn’t hurt in fact it also lent an air of realness to the way their interactions came off.

 

MPW6 Another Week in Wrestling: RAW September 5, 2016

This week’s RAW had an extremely high level of anticipation attached to it, after the surprising finish involving Triple H’s run in, attacking Reigns and, more shockingly, Rollins, before giving the nod to Kevin Owens to grab the victory and Universal championship. The finish was so left field that it surpassed the level of intrigue of even new roster addition Finn Balor contending for the championship before his untimely injury.

The show was a strange assemblage of strong and weak performances, moments that capitalized brilliantly on the buzz coming off the previous RAW while others never quite fit in with anything else going on, and a feeling that a very exciting potential direction was started upon, but with one step out the door, was left in disappointingly familiar territory.

Let’s get into it.

RAW September 5, 2016

The GOOD

Opening montage of most excellent moments and mentions on social media.

 The opening segment was perhaps a bit of overhype, making the closing moments of the last RAW’s fatal four way the wrestling media event of the century, throwing in quotes from all corners of twitter. But, a bit of hyperbole is what you want to get you psyched up about what you are about to see.

 

Mick and Stephanie and Kevin and Seth

The first two segments were all a good blend of drama and story advancement outside the ring. It was especially good to see Mick Foley out of his usual flannel and something along the lines of more serious attire. He was also given reason for a more fiery delivery, and it gave so much more purpose to his character. Seth’s entrance feels a bit more dynamic with the digitized bursts of static, black, and white and it lending a look of someone fans would want to get behind. Stephanie’s exchange with Foley made sense and created some questions to mull on and Kevin Owens did what he’s been doing great at for some time: play an obnoxious self promoting grumbling heel, who very quickly gave the fans grief even as he acknowledged their cheers of approval for his victory.

 

Mick and Stephanie and Kevin and…Chris

After a commercial break, Mick and Stephanie were still talking. This time about the decision Mick had just made to book Rollins and Owens in a match at the Clash of the Champions special, and not kotow to Stephanie who wanted to suspend Rollins. Some seeds of dissent sown among these two managers makes for fertile storytelling ground down the line, even though the fact that there was more talking after talking sowed the seeds of potential boredom as the show wore on.

It was good to see the alliance between Jericho and Owens continue, as they make a great team. This also veers from the tired formula of heel champ backed by a corrupt authority collective. Jericho delivered some classic instances of humor, such as referring to Owens as the ‘longest reigning Universal Champion.’ Great because it’s true!

 

 Charlotte VS Bayley

 This was a fine match, with Bayley looking great in action. Her win was a nice way to shake things up and since it had Dana arguably botching things to lead to the finish, Charlotte escapes with some credibility as champion still. Bayley started selling an ankle injury that started to feel genuine. I’m beginning to wonder if this will be an increasingly used strategy on WWE’s part to keep us guessing about the reality of what is happening in the ring. It’s not a bad idea, but they had better watch out lest they overplay this hand. It was also a bit sudden for such a big match and result, something that would occur later on too – big moments would not have fully sunk in when suddenly, another big moment, leaving an inability to fully absorb.

 

Don’t Stop Bo-Lieve-ing

It’s good to see Bo Dallas back with a weirdly intense new persona. I think it has more potential than the overly comedic version of the character. And this match also proved that yes, smaller wrestlers can gain a lot from squash matches too. NOTE TO SMACKDOWN LIVE: Let’s try a run of these with Apollo Crews too.

 

Rollins VS Jericho

This was a good match that accomplished a lot. Rollins had some heroic attributes restored by him powering through The Walls of Jericho submission. His acrobatic maneuvers proved to work very well, much better even, as delivered by a fan favorite babyface, such as propelling off the ropes and landing a kick in midair to counter his opponent’s offense.

One note I’d disagree on is that doing the Pedigree is an effective message sent to Triple H, something the commentators, at least Cole, tried to assert. Byron Saxton seemed out of the loop with this. I think a better message would be him using a new finisher, as if to say ‘screw you Hunter, I don’t need this move or anything to do with you anymore.’ I am sure he has plenty of interesting maneuvers in his repertoire to choose from.

 

 Two Gee’s and a Baby

It is good to see a renewed focus on Enzo and Cass as a tag team. Their opening antics were as funny as ever. On paper, the idea of what they did would surely sound corny. A lot of the lines they uttered were also ridiculous but their singular and confident delivery makes their material work so well. I did not mind The Shining Stars winning (by somewhat devious tactics) because it allows for the rematch and Enzo and Cass really do not lose much popularity by taking the occasional loss.

 

Kevin and Sami promo

Despite it being a contradiction of their feud getting a dramatic finish just a few Network specials ago, it is very cool that these two have this built in story involving their previous history wrestling together in Ring Of Honor and on the indie scene in general. It makes for great reality based promos like this one. Still for this to be returned to so soon after making a point of them being finished feuding for a while is strange. There was also something a bit wooden about the delivery on Zayn’s part, like he was given a bunch of lines to remember. These two should be left to improvise.

 

The BAD

Sheamus VS Cesaro: Best of 37

 This was actually fine as far as ideas go. Instead of the expected back and forth, Cesaro is way down in wins and needs three victories in a row to be back in the running. And sure he will get them. Unfortunately, this idea was lost on a dead crowd and it’s hard to blame them because very little was done to get them enthused. In cases where wrestlers like Cesaro and Sheamus are failing to get a reaction, I am beginning to think it should call for INSTANT TWEAKS. Not major changes, of course not, but just an attempt at a little something in their presentation to wake the audience up a bit.

 

Guns and Gallows and Gramps and Groans

Anderson and Gallows have a reputation for being funny, bantering with each other on their homespun podcast that once was featured on the MLW network and injecting some sneaky humor into their work in NJPW. But the ratio of mean ass kickers to humor should be 70 percent of the former and 30 percent of the latter. Or thereabouts. This one liner based humor revolving around an old version of The New Day is not it. Maybe it would have worked if they came out and then Gallows and Anderson simply beat them up, but no enter The New Day. The New Day has become known for creative humorous segments that they lead, not reacting to the material of others. It feels like Enzo and Cass are at where The New Day was, and now The New Day is languishing. We need a refresher on their in-ring work, and I think it would really help for them to be split off into a tag team and singles scenario. Then, coming back together for promos maybe,

 

Nia Jax and Alicia Fox in the WWE Production MEAN GIRLS

This was a chance to do some simple heating up of Nia Jax’s character, which is much needed, that came off terrible and was upsetting for how badly it was blown. Some very awkward wording set things moving in the right direction from the start, with Nia claiming ‘reality shows’ don’t involve real repercussions…OK…and Fox replying that she knows this isn’t reality. Hmm.

Fox knocking a box into Nia made the monster’s reaction seem timid in comparison, and then Fox started screaming melodramatically. This did not make Jax look intimidating. Instead it came off as one of those terrible fake real segments, the sort they claimed this wasn’t. Unprofessional was the word that came to mind.

 

The WEIRD

Sasha Banks (not a) retirement speech

Perfect for the weird category because this caused something of a ‘wha…?’ reaction, but overall it was good. Good because it had me, and I presume many others going, and even if there is something a little bit cheap about playing on audiences’ concern, it was compelling. Sasha Banks did an excellent job commanding the audience. Dana coming out to take advantage of the injury – while it did quickly restore the fourth wall of the story for savvy fans – was nicely played dastardly heel stuff. And Sasha looked cool as can be and full of finesse turning the situation with the ‘I’m fine’ reveal.

It was a cool moment, but the more you think about it, the harder it is to stand by it. How did it fit in with the rest of the show? It was a bit awkward after Bayley had just beaten Charlotte earlier and asserted her claim to a title shot. And WHY would Sasha swerve her fans and pretend to be injured, thus pulling one over on… us? At best you could make the case she was hoping to draw Charlotte and/or Dana in so she could hit them with that surprise announcement and Bank Statement. But that is a stretch. I guess you could also just say she knows the power of a ‘moment’ and worked it for that reason alone. She definitely established presence. She came off as a power player. And, since she mentioned the name of the designer on Instagram, I will mention that her wardrobe fit her figure very nicely.

 

Zayn and Owens and Reigns

Not that weird, just…a bit of a waste and some very familiar wasted potential? Owens VS Zayn was fine, and did the job of making Kevin the dominant one, which I guess he needs to be for now. Having just come off their amazing match at Payback a few months ago AND off the emotional Sasha Banks segment, it was hard to concentrate on this. I think on the positive front, we can look forward to a break between these two happening now, with Sami having reason to turn away, dejected, in need of doing some soul searching, to come back and challenge Owens later down the line in a well promoted match.

Then there is the appearance of Roman Reigns. I don’t want to talk about this because it is getting ridiculous, the number of times an opportunity to turn Reigns to heel mode, which would both a) make for a great moment and b) make so much more sense for the way he presents himself and the way the audience reacts to him. He could’ve shocked many by coming down to the ring, attacking the all around good guy Sami Zayn and setting up an interesting match for Clash of Champions between them.

 

That’s all.

 

The WHAT IF…

I liked a lot about this RAW if not all, and I love the fact that Kevin Owens is champion, and looking strong in the role. I can’t help but wonder about things going differently…Triple H on this show – the lack of him being there to explain his actions did feel a bit strange – championing Owens, setting up a rift between Owens, representing a rebel figure along the lines of Daniel Bryan, CM Punk taking on the figure backed by management in Seth Rollins. Could have been a bit more exciting? Things could be moving in interesting directions though. Will stay the course.

 

Mondo Pro Wrestling 2 RAW 8/29/16

 

RAW went from a whole lot of nothing to say to a whole lot of something to say in a matter of minutes with its shocking, satisfying and question-filled conclusion.

Before we get to there, a couple of points along the way.

It was fun watching Bayley and The New Day team up against Anderson and Gallows and Dana Brook. It was mainly nice to see a fresh combination of wrestlers interacting with each other. Bayley was clearly having fun and that was carrying right over to the audience. Her final transition from an armbar into her Bayley To Belly suplex finisher looked great. Dana also continues to display entertaining heel chops with her constant verbal battering of opponents. I am afraid that in the current pattern she will be diminished as just a jobber to whoever is gunning for Charlotte. RAW should make an effort to utilize more wrestlers in the women’s division and play up some of Dana’s strengths.

It is usually a delight to see Paul Heyman do just about anything but the segment with Stephanie McMahon was just utter confusion. They crisscrossed so many points, leaving none of them clear. On one hand we think Steph issued a 500 dollar fan as lip service to the idea Lesnar should be punished, yet isn’t taking it seriously and doesn’t care about what happened to Shane. This would make sense and lead to intrigue down the line. But instead of being appreciative, Heyman comes out and mocks her. Why? Shouldn’t they be on the same page? Then Stephanie tries to verbally castrate Paul and demand a genuine apology. Why? It seemed she didn’t care about Brock’s recklnessness. Then Heyman does apologize. Then he explains why Stephanie is in a tough spot with the company. Then he smirks and Stephanie storms off. Yeah. I couldn’t make it more confusing if I tried.

While some ambiguity is good, the creative direction and nature of characters like Stephanie need to be decided on and more clearly defined. It is like they don’t know what she is; how could we? It is also very difficult for her to come off as a bay face. She has a naturally abrasive way of speaking, gathering lots of push back from fans. Which is a good thing. If that’s what is intended. But to hear her talk of women’s revolution and say it in such a way that you want to boo her every word, it’s not gelling together.

In a far simpler bit of business to assess, Braun Strowman continues to look strong by knocking out unknown jobbers. This is not something to start whining about because it is repetitive. It is like a train slowly picking up momentum and set to hit a peak in due time. For now, its best to enjoy watching Strowman’s confidence grow and moves get more polished.

There is nothing more to speak of than the extremely topical main event, mainly so for its final minutes and result: Kevin Owen our new Universal Champion with a significant assist from Triple H who delivered a Pedigree both Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. This was great in many ways.

First it shows a continued commitment to moving in the direction of pushing new and different talent on the roster by not going with one of the expected and already tested candidates of Reigns or Rollins. It also can’t help but trigger connections to real aspects of the landscape – again the blurring is usually a good thing – you have Triple H coming out and giving the nod to someone who very much represents an NXT success story in Kevin Owens, and we all know how proud Triple H is of his project.

This potentially sets a new diagram of conflicts. Perhaps we will see Triple H continue to back talent from NXT regardless of heel or face alignment while Rollins and Reigns try to counteract. Perhaps Reigns and Rollins form a begrudging alliance with Stephanie, or maybe they will stand united against management. A concern I’ve seen expressed is that of Owens becoming a relatively powerless pawn of an established Authority. It could happen but I don’t get this in my read. If anything, lines seem drawn to put Hunter and Stephanie/Foley at odds with each other. This would be far more interesting, as the Authority as an active presence has long seemed diminished. Triple H had tremendous difficulty getting heat when he went against Reigns at Wrestlemania and would appear as a far more credible advocate of the newer generation of wrestlers coming up the ranks.

Another gripe, which echoes years and years of the same sentiment, was that Owens did not look strong by getting the pin after Triple H did all the work, essentially making Triple H the star. It’s a point I understand but was not bothered by in this instance. Some counters. First in this instance, Triple H is the star compared to Owens. I will be glad to see that reversed and there is plenty of time starting next week for Owens to shine. Second WWE is still very much about STORY, and Triple H interfering and screwing over Rollins and upsetting Stephanie and Foley makes for very good story points. OK, Owens could have hit his powerbomb finisher before pinning Rollins but that could have also been overkill to end a very long and busy match.

The future is buzzing with possibilities now that KO is on top. Lets give them a chance to develop.

 

 

 

Mondo Pro Wrestling 1

It has been a crazy week of wrestling, arguably the most eventful newsworthy of the year? It has prompted me to make sense of it. Some of it. The it that I have seen. And only a little of that. There is way too much to actually get into every detail. Not sure what to think? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you in this ‘not be the latest, but simply the greatest’ analysis and projectionsis from an outsider who does not know enough nor is not interested in being considered an expert. Maybe from here we will do this on a regular weekly basis but those are some famous last words in these parts. And one more thing, GIFs are stupid.

Summer Slam

I have been thinking about why the match between Finn Balor and Seth Rollins was not so memorable and far from match of the year or match of the weekend. Leaving everything injury related completely aside. I rewatched it and found the match started in what seemed like a race to get things done. There was no build in tension, no circling one another, sizing one another up, trying to intimidate each other – the things you would expect from a real sports combat competition and what a simulated one should absolutely contain. There is something to be said for a sudden flair up – two combatants running at each other and clubbing away or someone rushing in and getting a sudden advantage. But it wasn’t like that; from the moment Finn landed the first drop kick it simply seemed like a rush. Some speculation that perhaps this was a case of main stage jitters on the part of Finn, and Rollins not being quite seasoned enough to help matters? Setting the stage for a heated, rage-fueled competition is of the utmost importance.

The outpouring of reactions brought on by Brock Lesnar vs Randy Orton showed something was done right. Glimpsing online reactions one gets a sense of extreme opinions, people thinking they knew what was what (except you take 5 any people and you get any of 5 different interpretations) and you get reactions to Brock that suggest a lot of unease, a lot of anger, or HEAT, beyond that of storyline, which is in fact good heat to get. Let’s not forget that wrestling is at its best when it blurs the line between the staged and the real. Putting my feelings about the use of actual brute force and level of risk involved, it was an intense confrontation. What probably left many people feeling underwhelmed was the sudden finish after a show that became increasingly exhausting as time wore on. The card definitely needed editing. It is also a bit problematic that this was the main event and we are not left with any direction from here when it comes to Brock Lesnar. We are not left seeing him as a title contender as he has been in the direction of left field since he started feuding again with Undertaker. It just left people with as much confusion as it did any temporary rush of adrenaline.

Raw? Medium, well…

Not much to say about RAW, which was in scramble mode after plans suddenly shifted due to the new and first ever Universal Champion to be crowned, Finn Balor, was declared injured. They did what they had to do, stripping him of the title. But I will suggest a perfectly good opportunity to generate some of that stuff they call HEAT was squandered by not having a face off between Finn and Rollins. They could have blurred that line between reality and show, and made this into a feud with some stakes beyond the belt, something it was lacking from the beginning.

 

The introduction of Bayley was something many were looking forward to after her apparent send off at NXT Takeover Brooklyn last weekend. What took place was OK, but it seemed a few tweeks could have made it so much more exciting. General Manager Mick Foley came out to have an exchange with Charlotte and then announce Bayley. The only reasons for this I could see is 1) kill time (which RAW seems to have way too much of and 2) have a familiar face introduce a potential newcomer to the wider RAW audience.

I think the impact could have been far greater if Bayley just took to the ring suddenly, with her music ringing out as Charlotte seemed all but completely triumphant in her standing. And again it would have been the perfect time for some reality tinged trash talk between WRESTLERS, no need for the go between of a mild mannered. Charlotte could have asked Bayley how she could dare think she has a shot at the title after just LOSING to Asuka. Bayley could have retorted that she knows someone she HAS beaten and that is Charlotte herself. All would have been valid points, would have given those unfamiliar with their NXT activity the background they needed, and built up a solid confrontation – WRESTLER to WRESTLER.

The Dudleys send off seemed ok though it hit from out of nowhere, with many expecting more to it. Perhaps negotiations between the tag team and the company were truly up in the air til this point. Being laid out by Anderson and Gallows, though, actually highlighted what a great program that could be. In these two teams you have some forces of destruction with plenty of credibility: on the one hand this new and exciting team with the allure of having a cult following in their previous incarnation, plus the legitmacy of working the rigorous style associated with Japan and NJPW. In the other, a team with a long history including the craziness of tables and ladders from their ECW days. While the Dudleys have been on the back burner, a sudden changeup could shake off some of the dust that seems to have fallen on them. Hopefully the value of such a feud will wake some folks up and business can be done to keep them around a bit longer, at the least, to have a run against Guns and Gallows.

SMACKDOWN

Smackdown had a solid show that seems to be upstaging RAW. It is shorter, more manageable, and seems to be having quite a lot more fun.

American Alpha had a great match with Breezango. I think they should tone down the silliness with the latter. And it is worth noting that American Alpha’s music was tweaked just enough to be terrible. When it ain’t broke don’t fix it! And considering the string of smash hits NCT’s music team has had there is no reason to think there catchy intro music from NXT needed a change.

There was a lighthearted and knowingly naïve charm to the segment between Heath Slater and Rhyno, when Rhyno offered to team up with the guy he had knocked out of a contract, and help him get on the roster (and pay for an aboveground pool!)

I think they should find a way to win. Slater is obviously winning the crowd over and the premise of the contract slipping away from him at every turn is getting long in the tooth.

As nicely poetic as these two teaming up is, did it occur to anyone that a perfect partner for Slater would be KANE? I don’t know what his exact status is but I believe he is officially signed to SMACKDOWN. You would have the redhead and the big red machine. But let’s not discount this just yet. Perhaps this could be the blueprints for a fun 3 man act. In Rhyno and Kane you have two wrestlers with genuine political experience. Slater could be…Slater. The Constituency perhaps?

Bray had an excellent presence when he confronted Randy Orton. I am a bit disappointed he is still being positioned as a heel at this point. I noticed Bray started tagging his twitter activity with a phrase DOWNWITHTHEMACHINES. It sounds like the making of rebellious crowd favorite fare. Hopefully he looks strong against Orton and changes lie in wait for Wyatt.