‘Rinse and Repeat’ is what my friend Chris Rose has said at times concerning the type of matches some wrestlers have all the time. Rinse and Repeat is the perfect phrase to describe this week pathetically average (at best) Monday Night Raw broadcast.
I didn’t think the WWE broadcast repeats, but that is what I watched last night, a repeat of last week’s broadcast.
I’m really too disgusted to have too much to write on the show, because it just doesn’t deserve it. Were there some highlights? Sure. Mostly they were the commercial breaks.
We started out with a Low Point: Seth Rollins apologizing to Paul Heyman for trying to cash in on Brock Lesnar and making it clear that no one in the authority had anything to do with it. Can we just release Rollins now before doing his career any more damage?
The WWE just turned Rollins into a massive pussy, who seem scared to death of Paul Heyman, much less Brock Lesnar. After that segment, I don’t even care about the Rollins storyline anymore. And the Rollins storyline dominated the show, again.
Once again, because of Rollins, we say Ambrose, Cena, Orton and Kane in matches. This time it was a tag match. What’s next, Ambrose versus Orton and Cena versus Kane just to switch it up?
Oh, yeah, other stuff happened, but most of it was mired in the muck.
Big Show tossed around Rusev and tore down the Russian Flag. Finally someone did that (no offense meant to anyone).
There were three Diva’s matches, none of which did anything. The Rosa/Layla match was another Total Divas tie-on, we had a Bella in a handicap match and Alicia Fox added to the Paige AJ Feud? All of that smack of a lack of imagination or thought and reeks of desperation.
Dean Ambrose was the only thing worthwhile on the show. Set the course around this guy and you may have gold. Dean wouldn’t apologize for trying to cash in on Brock.
Last night’s Raw was a chore to watch. The talent isn’t the problem. The three-hour format isn’t the problem. Not having any idea where they are going or how to handle their talent THAT is the problem.
Bring on TNA!
RATING: 4
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: The triple threat IC Match: Ziggler versus The Miz versus Cesaro
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: Dolph Ziggler
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: An Impact can be negative, and this one is, Seth Rollins wussing out to Paul Heyman.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
CJ’s Sight NXT Review 09/25/2014
Bull Dempsey destroys Mojo Rawley in about 42 seconds
Mojo got squashed. I’m happy. Moving on . . .
Tyler Breeze pinned Justin Gabriel in about 4:02
Breeze won with the Beauty Shot. I never understand the concept of heel vs. heel matches. This could have been better, but it could have been worse.
In a backstage segment, Natalya approached GM William Regal and tried to convince him to give Tyson Kidd another opportunity at the NXT Championship. Regal was reluctant, but granted the request and gave Kidd a title opportunity with the stipulation that if Kidd loses he has no more opportunities as long as Neville is the champion. That stipulation needs to be made for John Cena and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Bayley pinned Alexa Bliss in roughly 3:30
Bayley wins after the Belly-to-Bayley. This was not the smoothest match you will come across since Bliss is still greener than a football field, but it could have been worse because the match looked like pseudo-lesbian foreplay.
After the match, Bayley demanded a rematch versus Charlotte for the NXT Women’s Championship. Charlotte came out to the stage and accepted because she said Bayley earned her respect. This will be another good match when the time comes. They set the bar pretty high with their Takeover II match. I feel that they will eclipse it.
A taped segment with Enzo, Cassidy, and Carmella occurred at the Performance Center. Carmella said that they owe her a job because it was Enzo and Cassidy that got her fired from her last job. Enzo did have a good line when he said he has never had a girlfriend because he doesn’t want to commit to failure. I did have a laugh at that. Enzo said she doesn’t have the body to be a diva. Carmella took off her tracksuit and showed her workout attire clearly proved Enzo wrong on that statement. I would rather watch Enzo and Cassidy do backstage and taped segments than their ‘’rinse and repeat’’ matches.
In a backstage segment, Kidd seemed displeased that Nattie got him a title shot. He said he doesn’t need his wife to fight his battles for him, but regardless, he will take the opportunity and win.
Lucha Dragons defeat The Ascension by pinfall in about 9:48 to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship
The finish came with Kalisto pinning Viktor after his Salida Del Sol finisher off a distraction from Hideo Itami. This was a very good tag team match. This surpassed what they did at Takeover II, and then some. This was more of a traditional tag team match because they were given more time as opposed to limited time and “get all of your stuff in” match. This allowed Kalisto to slow down and show a lot of promise with his style. I enjoy the Lucha tag team. They do some fun stuff, and I highly recommend watching them as they grow as a tag team. The Ascension looked good after finally seeing them in a match of this duration.
After the match, Konner tried to attack Itami and failed miserable. Itami looked very smooth with his strikes on Konner. I am looking forward to this feud.
Overall, this was an enjoyable edition of NXT. They progressed storylines. They are bringing up new guys. The backstage and taped segments were enjoyable. If you have an hour to kill, I recommend this as a time killer.
Final grade: 6/10
Mojo got squashed. I’m happy. Moving on . . .
Tyler Breeze pinned Justin Gabriel in about 4:02
Breeze won with the Beauty Shot. I never understand the concept of heel vs. heel matches. This could have been better, but it could have been worse.
In a backstage segment, Natalya approached GM William Regal and tried to convince him to give Tyson Kidd another opportunity at the NXT Championship. Regal was reluctant, but granted the request and gave Kidd a title opportunity with the stipulation that if Kidd loses he has no more opportunities as long as Neville is the champion. That stipulation needs to be made for John Cena and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Bayley pinned Alexa Bliss in roughly 3:30
Bayley wins after the Belly-to-Bayley. This was not the smoothest match you will come across since Bliss is still greener than a football field, but it could have been worse because the match looked like pseudo-lesbian foreplay.
After the match, Bayley demanded a rematch versus Charlotte for the NXT Women’s Championship. Charlotte came out to the stage and accepted because she said Bayley earned her respect. This will be another good match when the time comes. They set the bar pretty high with their Takeover II match. I feel that they will eclipse it.
A taped segment with Enzo, Cassidy, and Carmella occurred at the Performance Center. Carmella said that they owe her a job because it was Enzo and Cassidy that got her fired from her last job. Enzo did have a good line when he said he has never had a girlfriend because he doesn’t want to commit to failure. I did have a laugh at that. Enzo said she doesn’t have the body to be a diva. Carmella took off her tracksuit and showed her workout attire clearly proved Enzo wrong on that statement. I would rather watch Enzo and Cassidy do backstage and taped segments than their ‘’rinse and repeat’’ matches.
In a backstage segment, Kidd seemed displeased that Nattie got him a title shot. He said he doesn’t need his wife to fight his battles for him, but regardless, he will take the opportunity and win.
Lucha Dragons defeat The Ascension by pinfall in about 9:48 to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship
The finish came with Kalisto pinning Viktor after his Salida Del Sol finisher off a distraction from Hideo Itami. This was a very good tag team match. This surpassed what they did at Takeover II, and then some. This was more of a traditional tag team match because they were given more time as opposed to limited time and “get all of your stuff in” match. This allowed Kalisto to slow down and show a lot of promise with his style. I enjoy the Lucha tag team. They do some fun stuff, and I highly recommend watching them as they grow as a tag team. The Ascension looked good after finally seeing them in a match of this duration.
After the match, Konner tried to attack Itami and failed miserable. Itami looked very smooth with his strikes on Konner. I am looking forward to this feud.
Overall, this was an enjoyable edition of NXT. They progressed storylines. They are bringing up new guys. The backstage and taped segments were enjoyable. If you have an hour to kill, I recommend this as a time killer.
Final grade: 6/10
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Week in Review 9/21 to 9/27
Ah, the week in review. This is where I talk about the previous week in Pro Wrestling. I can only describe this past week like this: It was like a Mojo Rawley versus Bull Dempsey match on WWE NXT. It isn’t pretty, doesn’t last long and Dempsey destroys Mojo in a matter of seconds.
In this case, WWE is Rawley and TNA is Dempsey.
Yes, in terms of who put out the better wrestling product this week, TNA squashed the WWE. This is an impressive feat considering that WWE Produced 5 shows for approximately 8 ½ hours of programming. TNA produced 1 show for approximately 1 ½ of programming.
The WWE seems aimless and lost. Except for the Seth Rollins storyline, they don’t seem to have any focus on what they are doing. Don’t blame this on Roman Reigns being out, he isn’t that big of a loss. He was part of the Rollin storyline, and it is continuing without him. Plus, the WWE seemed aimless before his surgery, since Summerslam at least.
TNA was focus on a single goal this week. The show was tightly produced, kept in a proven structure and geared toward an endpoint. It delivered big time. Even the worse match of the night, Abyss versus Samuel Shaw, was a decent full tilt brawl.
That is the difference between the WWE and TNA this week. TNA is speeding down the highway at a cool 65. WWE is lost on the side roads trying to find its way, and refuses to ask directions.
MATCH OF THE WEEK: MVP versus Low Ki
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: (TIE) Cesaro and Austin Aries
IMPACT OF THE WEEK: TNA IMPACT Broadcast.
In this case, WWE is Rawley and TNA is Dempsey.
Yes, in terms of who put out the better wrestling product this week, TNA squashed the WWE. This is an impressive feat considering that WWE Produced 5 shows for approximately 8 ½ hours of programming. TNA produced 1 show for approximately 1 ½ of programming.
The WWE seems aimless and lost. Except for the Seth Rollins storyline, they don’t seem to have any focus on what they are doing. Don’t blame this on Roman Reigns being out, he isn’t that big of a loss. He was part of the Rollin storyline, and it is continuing without him. Plus, the WWE seemed aimless before his surgery, since Summerslam at least.
TNA was focus on a single goal this week. The show was tightly produced, kept in a proven structure and geared toward an endpoint. It delivered big time. Even the worse match of the night, Abyss versus Samuel Shaw, was a decent full tilt brawl.
That is the difference between the WWE and TNA this week. TNA is speeding down the highway at a cool 65. WWE is lost on the side roads trying to find its way, and refuses to ask directions.
MATCH OF THE WEEK: MVP versus Low Ki
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: (TIE) Cesaro and Austin Aries
IMPACT OF THE WEEK: TNA IMPACT Broadcast.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
SMACKDOWN Lowdown 9/26/2014
Smackdown was a more action orientated broadcast then Raw was this week, even if Smackdown did pick up where Raw left off.
The Rollin storyline was furthered and Rusev was front and center in the main event.
THE HIGH POINTS:
BATTLE ROYAL
Easily the match of the night! The battle royal was held to crown the #1 contender to Ziggler’s IC Title, the winner to face Ziggler later in the broadcast.
Cesaro rocked the battle royal again, dominated and showcased his strength. There were some nice spots and everyone in the match delivered. The right person won.
IC TITLE MATCH
Ziggler defended the IC Title in a Classic match against Cesaro that was great moment for both guys. Ziggler gained the pin fall win, but not without controversy. Cesaro had his hand on the ropes before the three count. The ref screwed up.
I hope this is the beginning of a feud between these two, and finally a good push for Cesaro.
Rusev versus The Big Show
We all knew this was coming, considering The Big Show and Mark Henry’s onscreen relationship lately. I don’t think anyone expected Big Show to keep his promise to knock out Rusev. I didn’t. I thought this would lead to another Rusev win.
The match itself wasn’t much. Big Show dominated, and won by DQ when Rusev hit him with the Flag Pole. Bad move, seconds later Big Show knocked Rusev the Hell Out!
Finally, someone takes it to Rusev. Nice way to end the show.
THE LOW POINTS
Rosa and Nattie versus Summer Rae and Layla
Do I really need to explain why? Ok. This was nothing more than an extension of the Nattie/Summer match on RAW and was more of a Total Divas promo tie-in.
Summer Rae and Layla won when Layla pins Rosa.
OTHER MATCHES:
Dean Ambrose versus Miz.
What a good match these two put on to open the show. The chemistry and physical they displayed was really good. Ambrose won the match by pin.
After the match was the real story, Rollins and Kane went after Ambrose, and were made to look like fools again as Ambrose made off with Rollins’ Money in the Bank briefcase.
Gold & Stardust defend the Tag Titles against the Usos
This isn’t over yet. The Usos cash in their rematch to go for the Title. They would fall short though when the Dusts would be DQ because Goldust broke up a pin fall by hitting Jay with a Title Belt.
Usos win, but Dusts’ retain. The feud continues. This is good.
THE PROMOS
Seth Rollins and Kane
In the Authority’s backstage office, Rollins bitched and moaned about Ambrose and threatened to destroy him.
Big Show
Big Show did an interview with Rene, speaking highly of Mark Henry and promising to knock our Rusev.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This might be the best show WWE has produced on TV in a while. It was the most in-ring focused show they have done in weeks.Seven matches, one of them a battle royal and two of them title matches. Only the Divas match failed. This was a good foot forward for the WWE, if they put out more like this broadcast, maybe they’ll get on track.
We can hope.
RATING: 6.5
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: BATTLE ROYAL
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: CESARO
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: Big Show knocking out Rusev.
RAW REPORT: NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS FALLOUT
Two Night of Champions Rematches!
A title change!
The Bellas!
Seth Rollins start fires he can’t put out!
Are their cracks in the Authority?
Night of Champions fall out.
Last week I bemoaned one thought constantly, “This is your Go Home show?” This week I have no such thought to bemoan. This past Monday’s broadcast was a little better than the previous week and was a decent follow up to Night of Champions.
In fact it may have been the best RAW since Summerslam. Don’t get too excited, the bar has been pretty low recently.
The one thing some people seemed to be upset about was the lack of Brock Lesnar. I wasn’t. So what, the Champ wasn’t on the show, neither was Heyman. This is just fine and plays into Brock’s persona. Remember Brock is the Prizefighter that only shows up when he wants to. Brock not being on the show, fuels his gimmick.
Also, it makes the title mean more, the less the Champ is on the show. Make the appearance of the Champ mean something. This goes for anyone who wears the title, not just Brock.
THE HIGH POINTS:
Seth Rollins and the Fires he has set.
Seth Rollins was the main driving point of this show. We opened up RAW Hot with Dean Ambrose in the ring, calling out Rollins. Cue Cena. Cena wants Rollins himself, and claimed he was to cash in his ‘kiss your ass briefcase’ on Rollins.
Needless to say, Ambrose wasn’t too happy with Cena stepping into his turf. Before these two could go at it, the Authority appeared and hell broke loose. Cena and Ambrose attacked, beating on Rollins two-on-one all the way to the garage, where Rollins made his escape by stealing some poor guy’s car.
This had a number of ramifications for the night. Hunter made two matches, Kane versus Ambrose and Orton versus Cena. Orton also voiced his displeasure with having to put out the fires that Rollins starts. Hunter himself later would try telling Rollins he can’t keep doing this.
The Ambrose/Kane match was one of the better matches of the night. Until Rollins returned, attacking Ambrose. The fight would continue in the back until Ambrose was locked in the Janitor’s closet by security.
Orton versus Cena wasn’t much of a match, just an angle. Rollins and Kane came down to ringside, just before Orton. Jerry pointed out a moment before that a ‘surprise’ was brought down to ringside, a small table with a black tablecloth.
What match we did get between Cena and Orton was pretty good. The typical Cena and Orton back and forth with neither man gaining total control. Rollin and Kane ended that by joining in on a Cena beat down.
Before the match, Rollins promised Orton a surprise. Orton got one, so did Rollins. Under the black cloth and table wasn’t a set of cinderblocks, it was Dean Ambrose!
Ambrose and Cena sent the Authority packing and Rollins scurrying off into the crowd to end the show.
All of this really sets up where the WWE is going. It looks like the main event scene from now on will focus on Cena, Ambrose and Rollins. How will this play out?
Is it going to be Cena versus Ambrose versus Rollins? Will Cena and Ambrose form a loose alliance against Rollins and maybe the Authority?
Could the Authority possibly dump Rollins because of the fires he started? The seeds for that were definitely planted.
Dolph Ziggler’s Title Win.
Dolph cashed in his rematch and reclaimed the Intercontinental Championship from the Miz. Mizdow wasn’t much help. I liked this. It shows that anything can happen, and how hotly contested the IC Title is.
THE LOW POINTS:
The Bellas. ‘Nuff said.
The Bellas did a Promo, bashing each other again. Then AJ made Nikki tap out in a terrible match. Paige was on commentary. Nothing worth watching.
Henry/Rusev.
This was just disappointing and sad. This feud has followed the same format as the Rusev/Swagger feud, only it took less matches for Rusev to dispatch of Mark Henry. Henry came out, apologized to the masses and was goaded into an impromptu match with Rusev, this lead to Henry being destroyed and passing out to the Accolade.
OTHER MATCHES
Bo Dallas versus Jack Swagger
Swagger destroyed Dallas and made him tap. Zeb mocked Dallas. Loved it.
Nattie (with Rosa) versus Summer Rae (with Layla)
Nattie looked good, but over all this was a waste of a match because Summer is nowhere near ready for this level, and it showed. Nattie won by submission. Once again, this was more of a Total Divas promo, than a match. JBL and Cole barely commentated on the match, just talked about Total Divas issues between Nattie and Summer.
Sheamus and the Usos versus Gold & Stardust and Cesaro
Jimmy pinned stardust to win the match and gain a little bit of revenge for losing the titles. It was a good match, if a little odd. Cesaro seemed way out of place with the Dust Brothers and acting uneasy as well.
#BunnyMania
Adam Rose and the Bunny defeated SlaterGator. The only reason this didn’t make the low points is because of how many times JBL said #BunnyMania while claiming he wasn’t going to say it.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Raw did a really good job of setting up the Rollins angle with Cena, Ambrose and The Authority. Unfortunately that is really all they did.This show was way to promo/scripted heavy to be a good wrestling broadcast. The matches themselves were not too good and there weren’t enough of them.
RATING: 6
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: Sheamus and the Usos versus Gold & Stardust and Cesaro
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: The Bunny.
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: Dean Ambrose saying that what Kane and Rollins did to him was ‘Pretty cool.”
Friday, September 26, 2014
IMPACT STRESS TEST: NEW YORK CITY GOLD RUSH
(Photo credit TNAwrestling.com)
STRESS TEST:
PASSED
NYC: GOLD RUSH
TNA IMPACT passed the stress test with flying colors this week.
How good has TNA been these past few weeks: Awesome. The TNA shows have been better than what WWE has produced for the last month.
TNA wraps up its final night in New York and the Manhattan Center by holding the New York City Gold Rush.
The Gold Rush consists of ten men in five matches. The winners of those five matches go on to compete in a five-man match. The winner of that match gets a title shot for the championship of his choice.
At first, I was confused; I thought the five men they promoted were in the five-man match. They were MVP, Magnus, Robbie E, Abyss and Austin Aries. I also thought the winner received a World Title Match.
However, that was quickly cleared up when the first match, MVP versus Low Ki, tool place. Tenay and Taz explained that the five announced competitors wouldn’t know whom they were facing in their matches, but they had to win to go on to the five-man match.
Even though I like Robbie E, I found it odd they promoted him as s Marque player in the Gold Rush, considering there were bigger names involved.
I also like the fact that two of the promoted competitors, Magnus and Robbie E, lost their matches and didn’t even make it to the main event. That was a good move as it shows anything can happen.
The Main Event match up ended up being Abyss versus Anderson versus Aries versus MVP versus Tajiri. Aries came out on top, stacking up and pinning MVP!
Austin Aries is the best wrestler on the planet today. The sooner they get the World Title on him the better. I wouldn’t understand it if they had him challenge for anything other than the World Title.
I was hoping MVP would win, so we could see MVP turn on Lashley for the title.
HIGH POINTS: THE ENTIRE SHOW
LOW POINTS: No Bobby Rood.
FINAL THOUGHTS: TNA is delivering big time right now. But I still have my concerns I voiced last week, will this level of quality continue in Bethlehem, PA?
The best part of the entire show? No outside interference or screwy finishes. Yes, Tajiri used the mist twice and Shaw used a chair (and still lost), but that was it. For the most part, everything was clean.
Right now, TNA is schooling the WWE.
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: MVP versus Low KI
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: TNA IMPACT itself.
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: Austin Aries. He won his match. He won the five-man match. He can know challenge for a Championship of his choice.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
The Diva Dish: NOC and Beyond
The triple threat match between the champ Paige, AJ Lee and Nikki Bella was surprisingly good in light of the clunky buildup and ill-advised merging of the Bella and Paige/Lee feuds.
As I predicted, AJ and Paige carried most of the action, showing their best in-ring chemistry to date as Nikki Bella was protected in Rybackesque fashion by being tossed from the ring on numerous occasions after brief bursts of action. Nikki deserves credit for improving on her once nonexistent skills as she was able work with what Paige and AJ gave her.
In the end, the match itself was something a fan of women's wrestling could enjoy. We were treated to a well-told story between the ropes, that was allowed adequate time to unfold. The match did, however raise questions about WWE's creative department and wasted potential.
(Paige tastes some knuckles at NOC. Credit: WWE.com)
AJ regained the title, which was the first head scratcher. I've always agreed with Triple H's notion that the champion makes the title, not the other way around, but if booking of the male titles over the last 15-plus years has often shown, the protagonist's chase for gold makes the eventual victory all the sweeter for fans. AJ is the main roster's most important Diva, and the belt around her waist ultimately makes sense, but why this soon? Paige could have been strengthened as an antagonist with an opportunistic pin of Nikki to retain, and fans could have fed upon an escalating animosity between her and AJ leading to an eventual mushroom cloud of a match at Hell in a Cell in which Lee could finally vanquish the powerful upstart. Also, the raw hatred between the Bella twins mandated that Brie come down to ringside and, via outside shenanigans, serve her sister up on a silver platter for the champ. AJ scrambling into the ring a breath too late as Paige twists Nikki up in her scorpion cross lock (or PTO) and forces the submission win gives us a far better story for both feuds going forward.
This past Monday's Raw gave us a solid match with the three time champ doing an excellent job of selling for Nikki to make her look more brutal, if not necessarily good. Paige sat at ringside and the ironic touch she has brought to the frienemy thing before the narrative derailed was back. Again, it would have been sweeter had she been the opportunistic champion looking on as a final showdown loomed in the distance, but at least she was not terrified of losing a skip-off. The match was fun TV, but earlier in the show we had to endure both Bellas talking to each other, as Nikki demanded Brie give up the Bella name. It a classic time to hit the thunder bucket with a copy of the Sporting News. It is a good idea at this point to separate the feuds once again, as the setup appears in place for the twins to clash at Hell in a Cell.
Unfortunately, whether on the mic or in the squared circle, both twins are at their weakest as an act when superior workers aren't there to carry them.
The upside to this is that WWE wants the Divas title to matter. How much it will matter is up to them. Paige and AJ are only behind Natalya as the most polished females on the main roster and it may be a pipe dream, but having their rematch within the diabolical cage at HIAC would indeed make history. Given that the triple threat was the first real show of lengthy chemistry between Paige and AJ doesn't make this likely, though. Even if it does not, Paige has emerged as a player on WWE TV still and merchandising with her new gloves as well as her tee shirt indicate she won't sink into booking oblivion as other Divas have in the past when the creative team doesn't know what to do.
Going against screwed up booking, one of the most fundamentally sloppy divas on the roster looks dangerous, and Paige/AJ still has us wanting to see more--in spite of the narrative pratfalls they have to work with.
As I predicted, AJ and Paige carried most of the action, showing their best in-ring chemistry to date as Nikki Bella was protected in Rybackesque fashion by being tossed from the ring on numerous occasions after brief bursts of action. Nikki deserves credit for improving on her once nonexistent skills as she was able work with what Paige and AJ gave her.
(Heheh. The most memorable high spot from the NOC triple theat. Source: WWE.com)
In the end, the match itself was something a fan of women's wrestling could enjoy. We were treated to a well-told story between the ropes, that was allowed adequate time to unfold. The match did, however raise questions about WWE's creative department and wasted potential.
(Paige tastes some knuckles at NOC. Credit: WWE.com)
AJ regained the title, which was the first head scratcher. I've always agreed with Triple H's notion that the champion makes the title, not the other way around, but if booking of the male titles over the last 15-plus years has often shown, the protagonist's chase for gold makes the eventual victory all the sweeter for fans. AJ is the main roster's most important Diva, and the belt around her waist ultimately makes sense, but why this soon? Paige could have been strengthened as an antagonist with an opportunistic pin of Nikki to retain, and fans could have fed upon an escalating animosity between her and AJ leading to an eventual mushroom cloud of a match at Hell in a Cell in which Lee could finally vanquish the powerful upstart. Also, the raw hatred between the Bella twins mandated that Brie come down to ringside and, via outside shenanigans, serve her sister up on a silver platter for the champ. AJ scrambling into the ring a breath too late as Paige twists Nikki up in her scorpion cross lock (or PTO) and forces the submission win gives us a far better story for both feuds going forward.
(AJ fights to break Nikki's sleeper hold on the 9/24 Raw. Credit: WWE YouTube)
This past Monday's Raw gave us a solid match with the three time champ doing an excellent job of selling for Nikki to make her look more brutal, if not necessarily good. Paige sat at ringside and the ironic touch she has brought to the frienemy thing before the narrative derailed was back. Again, it would have been sweeter had she been the opportunistic champion looking on as a final showdown loomed in the distance, but at least she was not terrified of losing a skip-off. The match was fun TV, but earlier in the show we had to endure both Bellas talking to each other, as Nikki demanded Brie give up the Bella name. It a classic time to hit the thunder bucket with a copy of the Sporting News. It is a good idea at this point to separate the feuds once again, as the setup appears in place for the twins to clash at Hell in a Cell.
Unfortunately, whether on the mic or in the squared circle, both twins are at their weakest as an act when superior workers aren't there to carry them.
(Pow! Right in the baby maker! Credit: WWE.com)
The upside to this is that WWE wants the Divas title to matter. How much it will matter is up to them. Paige and AJ are only behind Natalya as the most polished females on the main roster and it may be a pipe dream, but having their rematch within the diabolical cage at HIAC would indeed make history. Given that the triple threat was the first real show of lengthy chemistry between Paige and AJ doesn't make this likely, though. Even if it does not, Paige has emerged as a player on WWE TV still and merchandising with her new gloves as well as her tee shirt indicate she won't sink into booking oblivion as other Divas have in the past when the creative team doesn't know what to do.
(Paige sports her new gloves, possibly available on WWE's shopzone soon. Credit: realpaigewwe instagram)
Going against screwed up booking, one of the most fundamentally sloppy divas on the roster looks dangerous, and Paige/AJ still has us wanting to see more--in spite of the narrative pratfalls they have to work with.
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