Average WWE shows, ROH recognized, and no more Punk?

Just a week from the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) being removed, there has been a tremendous amount of news and activity on the professional wrestling front, especially in the WWE. Perhaps the most notable of all is the departure of CM Punk from WWE. No, this is not a “work,” (a storyline portrayed as real) or at least I don’t believe so for the time being. Almost immediately after the Royal Rumble event, Punk told Vince McMahon (real-life Chairman of the WWE) that he was simply “going home”.
Now, as I stated before, I am unsure if this is an intricate storyline entirely, but I am almost certain it is not. The consensus from those who work with Punk, his past with the WWE, and an interview conducted with Punk one night before the Royal Rumble with MMAFighting.com indicate that he is “burnt out” from the business, needs rest, and does not have much passion for it at this time. Another factor in this mix, accounting for the latter of the preceding reasons, has to do with the plans that WWE had for Punk for this year’s WrestleMania. These plans were to have CM Punk face on-air authority figure and real-life COO Triple H as the culmination of the “The Authority vs. CM Punk” storyline. Whatever the reason(s), CM Punk is no longer in WWE at this time, which does incite much excitement in WWE because storylines and plans for individual superstars are even more prone to changing than they were before his departure. Punk’s contract was to expire in July of this year.
Taking a step back from the CM Punk saga, WWE.com published a fascinating article today addressing the influence of independent professional wrestling organization Ring of Honor (ROH). ROH is not as popular or mainstream as WWE, but is an organization that not only continues to entertain today, but has played a pivotal role in developing many of the current stars that are in WWE today. The article highlights how current WWE superstars like Seth Rollins, Antonio Cesaro, and Daniel Bryan have made an impact in ROH and how ROH has helped these superstars, and many others not in WWE, become the professional wrestlers they are today.
While this may not seem significant at face value, this particular article is a huge point of intrigue. WWE has a history – one that continues today – of not addressing its competitors (ROH, Impact Wrestling, etc.) on its television shows or in any public forum for that matter. To have an entire article featuring interviews with former and current ROH talent and its co-founder, Gave Sapolsky, is a tremendous milestone for WWE and the way it acknowledges the rest of the professional wrestling industry. Of course, the other potential reason for this article could be that WWE.com is very much a syndicated area within the company, as articles and features on said website are far more liberal and comprehensive than the history portrayed on television. In keeping with a positive mindset, with a “grain of salt,” I certainly hope that this changes the dynamic of WWE, living less in its own bubble and acknowledging the existence of other players, major or not, in its industry.
Alas, onto actual WWE television. This week, WWE programming was okay in its entirety. However, amid the general average and “filler” natures of both Raw and SmackDown, there were some excellent individual points that stood out from the overall quality of the shows.
First, this past Friday, SmackDown opened with The Shield members displaying some dissention, as Dean Ambrose questioned Roman Reigns’ superiority complex as the best member of The Shield. Reigns rebutted that he was unapologetic conerning throwing him out, and Seth Rollins soon acted as mediator, getting The Shield on the same page and refocusing their sights on the Wyatt Family, who cost The Shield their spots in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Antonio Cesaro defeated Dolph Ziggler in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match. Now, I wouldn’t normally highlight this match, but there are two reasons to do so: this is the beginning of a push for Cesaro in singles competition, most likely breaking away from The Real Americans soon (considering his tag team partner Jack Swagger lost his qualifying match against Christian later in the night), and Ziggler went on to deliver a truly genuine and passionate promo in a WWE.com interview about how he is tired of being the best and not being given opportunities for success. He also said that he doesn’t know how long he can continue in this state. Interestingly, this is an echo of the real-life sentiment of superstars like Ziggler who are widely considered talent in every aspect but are never given an opportunity to shine on television. Additionally, Titus O’Neil attacked Darren Young after the Primetime Players lost their tag team match, O’Neil turning heel and the Primetime Players officially breaking up.
The final notable event on SmackDown, in an otherwise good show in comparison to the following Raw, is the Wyatt Family’s promo cut toward The Shield. The Shield was in the center of the ring, preparing for their six-man tag team match against Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, and Daniel Bryan when the lights when out and the Wyatt Family appeared on the TitanTron. Bray Wyatt, the leader of the Wyatt Family, explained how war is his favorite game, followed by Luke Harper delivering the most chilling line of the promo: “You reap what you sow. You boys picked a beautiful hill to die on.” Wyatt then warned The Shield that they should be careful about “inviting the devil into [their] backyard, because he may just like it and decide to stay.” The sheep mask-clad Erick Rowan finished the promo by saying, “Run.” Needless to say, it was fantastic.
Onto Raw, which was certainly more of a “filler” episode than SmackDown, the show opened with The Authority informing Daniel Bryan that he will be facing Randy Orton tonight as the first match in a series of all the Elimination Chamber participants that Orton will be competing in. If Bryan wins, The Authority “may” consider him as the face of the company. From this point on, the entire show was filled with “CM Punk” chants, a clear indicator of the real-life strife between the WWE and its WWE Universe, the fans.
In a slow-moving but okay steel cage match, the New Age Outlaws defend their WWE Tag Team Championship against Cody Rhodes and Goldust. The cage was a result of Brock Lesnar’s attack on the Rhodes Brothers last week. The match concluded with a moonsault by Rhodes off the steel cage, which looked great, but was diminished by the fact that Road Dogg barely took the move; this was a dangerous spot for Cody Rhodes. Billy Gunn pinned the downed Rhodes and the New Age Outlaws retained their titles.
Next, Batista came out and began to talk about something before Alberto Del Rio interrupted him. In a feud that has been brewing since before Batista returned, Del Rio told Batista that he was not happy with him back. Batista insisted twice that he had no problem with Del Rio before Del Rio delivered a hard right hand to Batista, leaving “The Animal” infuriated as he exited the ring. The fan consensus for this match is negative, but I am very excited for it. Unfortunately, its outcome doesn’t favor Del Rio, who is also rumored to be leaving WWE soon, but Del Rio’s demeanor and manner of speech in this segment was excellent, a degree of quality that has been missing from his character for some time.
In the realm of NXT, Santino Marella pulled NXT Diva Emma from the crowd, starting a dance-off between her and Summer Rae, Emma winning with the crowd’s vote. Emma’s debut is a good thing, as she is a great talent and has proven so in NXT. Immediately, she is set up with a feud with Summer Rae and Santino and Fandango can hash it out for a bit while the ladies have the spotlight. Emma is now the second NXT talent to debut this year with Alexander Rusev debuting dominantly at the Royal Rumble.
Revisiting the Wyatt Family/Shield feud, after The Shield defeated Kofi Kingston, Intercontinental Champion Big E Langston, and Rey Mysterio, the Wyatt Family repeated their appearance from SmackDown, this time Wyatt calling The Shield “pawns,” telling them their moment of sacrifice is closer than they think, as he will “watch his enemies drown” from his kingdom. Harper told The Shield that they fail to realize that Bray Wyatt has “always been their king.” Again, Rowan concluded the promo with one word: “Run.” Later in the night, as the Wyatt Family defeated Xavier Woods, R-Truth, and Dolph Ziggler, The Shield appeared on the TitanTron addressing the Wyatt Family. Ambrose screamed that they were not scared of the Wyatts. Rollins then stated that Wyatt was “so delusional that [he] is a figment of [his] own imagination,” and that the “grandest delusion” that he ever came up with was that Wyatt and his family could “hang with The Shield.” Reigns ended the promo by telling the Wyatt Family that they were in The Shield’s “yard” now and that at Elimination Chamber, “playtime’s over.” This exchange was yet another fantastic one amongst these two teams, only further exciting any wrestling fan for this match. The reason this feud is so compelling is because The Shield and the Wyatt Family have independently dominated without ever crossing paths. Now, the two most dominant teams in the WWE are colliding, and it’s a dream match come true.
Raw ended with a great 27-minute match between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton. Bryan defeated Orton before being attacked by Director of Operations Kane. Kane hit the chokeslam on Bryan, he and Orton standing tall at the end of Raw. Kane’s attack on Bryan only furthers the turmoil between Bryan and The Authority. Hopefully this does not lead to Bryan taking Punk’s place to face Triple H at WrestleMania and Daniel Bryan does win the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Elimination Chamber.
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