wrestling / Columns

The Triumvirate of Truth 5.28.12 Cody Rhodes, WWE’s New Stars, Extreme Rules Buyrate, TNA Suing WWE, More

May 28, 2012 | Posted by Tony Acero

Another Pay Per View down, and another week of the WWE to come. The days of Three Hour RAWS are looming o’er the horizon and although there are some excited fans, I don’t see them anywhere. I’m not quite sure if this will be something that only lasts for a matter of time or something that we’ll complain about for a few months before we just get used to it. Either way, there’s not much we can do about it until it comes, and although I filed my complaints last week, perhaps there’s hope for something worth watching. Anyways, we’re hitting the time of the WWE where they keep things at a somewhat uninteresting level until Summerslam. There’s a lot on the board for the WWE, and they seem to be trying a few new things, but there’s still plenty to talk about.

This week, we shine the light on the pay per view of last week, as well as the numbers for Extreme Rules. Also on the list, Cody Rhodes’ apparent rise to the top and who of the young up and comers will be making a splash in the WWE. I just imagined a pool using the WWE logo as its outline, and damn that seems complicated. Anyways, let’s see what Michael and Joshua want to talk about this week.

1.Cody Rhodes lost the Intercontinental Championship to a returning Christian at Over the Limit and is rumored to be CM Punk’s next challenger after his program with Daniel Bryan ends. What are your thoughts on this?

Michael Uphoff: First off, I just want to say that Over the Limit exceeded my expectations. I was expecting it to be as bad as last year’s version of the event, and it was actually really good until the excrement of a main event. The Intercontinental Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Christian wasn’t anything special, but it was nice to see The Instant Classic win a title upon his return that didn’t take away from the main event scene. He also apparently is face. Rhodes played his part in the match and was good in the ring.

With him reportedly being next in line for a title shot against CM Punk after Daniel Bryan, I actually really like this. Granted Rhodes has about a one-in-a-billion shot to actually win the WWE Championship at this point in his career, but the WWE is testing Rhodes and seeing if he is really a main-event caliber wrestler. This might be a trend where WWE tests its younger stars against an established veteran and see how well they work in the main event scene to see in the future if they can lead the company. I think that Cody Rhodes can be one of those leaders in the next generation of wrestlers. He is good in the ring and cuts a good promo. However, I think he needs to work a little more in both areas and truly polish his wrestling persona before he can be considered a true main eventer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they are “reportedly” giving him a title shot. I just don’t think that Cody Rhodes is at the level where he can stay in the main event scene. That might be a couple years away.

Tony Acero: Who said this? Where did this come from? Was it posted on the Yes! Yes! Yes! Fanpage? You know, if it wasn’t then it’s not true. Shameless plug aside, I hadn’t read this until Michael put it up, so to say it gets me excited is an understatement. Mikey (I can call you Mikey, right?) is right in that the chances of him winning are pretty slim, but it would still be great to see. Smackdown seems to point towards Cody keeping his eye on the IC Title for the time being, however. Let’s just assume, though, that this is more than a possibility and is an eventuality. I think Cody is more than deserving of a main event type of change of scenery. He’s still young enough so that if he doesn’t get the title, it’s not going to hurt him, but rubbing up against CM Punk is only going to help the kid. Mike’s right in giving the kid his props while pointing out that he can still work on both his in ring work and his promo work. I personally think he’s great in both aspects, but one could never have too much practice. Cody is a shining light, man, and he deserves every good thing that is coming to him. He seems motivated, consistent, and hungry. Somtimes, that’s all you need.

Joshua Stangle: To be honest, I don’t think that Cody Rhodes has had a good 2012 so far. His feud with the Big Show only made him look worse while the Big Show looked strong. Rhodes won the title back in a fluke fashion, which does nothing for his credibility. Like Mike, I’m glad if he should get a main event match with CM Punk. But just the same, the title shot did absolutely nothing for Dolph Ziggler’s credibility. Not to mention that the WWE has given him no build up towards such a match. Last year, CM Punk was facing John Cena at MITB in one of the best matches of the year for the WWE Championship. Now even the WWE title is being treated like a midcard belt, so Cena and Laurinaitis can take the spotlight.

2. Should anyone be blamed for the Extreme Rules pay per view performing below buyrate expectations?

Joshua Stangle: Recently a news piece came out stating that Extreme Rules failed to meet projections. Despite the pay per view’s increase in viewers, Brock Lesnar raised expectations of how the show would perform. One source within the WWE said that it shouldn’t be blamed on Lesnar, nor the build, but the marketing of the WWE which only build anticipation towards major pay per views. This is certainly true, for the most part. But there are several other reasons it failed. Lesnar was something of a curiosity in the UFC. He had the collegiate background and pedigree, he had the explosive power and speed, but he also had the stigma of being involved in Professional Wrestling. Many current UFC (and MMA) fans are former WWE fans who knew of Lesnar back when he was a main event star in the WWE. These fans grew up watching the WWE, and became more interested in MMA. The biggest issue here is, like the source suggested, that the current target audience of the WWE is too young to remember who Brock Lesnar is, or watch MMA. Next, Lesnar is a known commodity in Professional Wrestling. There is no curiosity for the casual fan to find out if he really is a badass. Third, Lesnar hasn’t looked great in his recent fights, which I believed has somewhat hindered his drawing potential for the short term in the WWE. They shouldn’t be labeled as problems or faults, because Lesnar could really help the WWE. The problem here is a matter of expectations, and a lack of being able to draw anticipation towards every pay per view.

Extreme Rules was well built to, in my opinion. However, I also think the lack of consistent booking is the key issue here. The WWE needs to have storylines that constantly draw fans interest, rather than putting forth a middling effort like they did for the build up to Over the Limit. The wrestlers aren’t at fault here, as they all did a damn great job for the pay per view. The company only has itself to blame.

Tony Acero: Once again, the blame to the failure of the WWE has littled to do with the superstars in and out of the ring. It’s all about what happens in that writer’s room, and how much it pulls viewers in. Numerous times, there have been compelling stories that bring in some new eyes and what happens when these new eyes are here? They see “the same ol shit” and turn away. I’ve got numerous friends that were fans at one point, and on occasion, they’ll ask me what’s going on in “the WWF” after they hear something new or interesting. I invite them to take a look at it with me and enjoy it for themselves, only for them to say, an hour into RAW, this isn’t all that good. Now, I’m a firm believer of not judging the WWE off of one RAW, but sometimes that’s all the WWE has is one RAW to gain the eyes of new viewers, and if they can’t capitalize off of that, they’ve got nothing. Moreoever, the fans that they already have are a fickle bunch, and with the unfortunate build towards the PPV, there was little for them to latch onto other than some good matches. We cannot blame the wrestlers for the downfall of the pay-per-view, because they wrestled their asses off, and it was quite the event from where I stand. Also, it’s hard to place the blame on these guys who had yet to perform, and then later put it on them after they perform, because if we purchased the PPV, it was to see them do just that.

Michael Uphoff: Josh is correct for the most part. Lesnar cannot be blamed because he was not established in the newer, younger generation of fans. I think it would be absolutely preposterous to blame anyone for Extreme Rules [besides the Miz] having a lower buyrate than projected because all the wrestlers worked hard and put on serviceable, decent, and even great matches. Extreme Rules had a great build and was a better PPV overall than WrestleMania. The only people that are to blame for the low buyrate for Extreme Rules are the WWE’s bookers, as they fail yet again to create cohesive storylines that continue to hold the interest of the fans, as the build to Over the Limit showed that the WWE did not care about generating fan interest. WWE has to stop treating every non-WrestleMania PPV like crap, otherwise they will lose viewership.

3. Will Sin Cara fare better upon his return than he has in the past?

Joshua Stangle: In 2006, the Wrestling Observer newsletter voted Mistico the biggest draw and the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the year. Adulated from his work in Lucha Libre, Mistico was signed by the WWE to high expectations. He became known as Sin Cara, and hyped on WWE television. Then the botches occurred. After some botches such as the one that occurred during his match with Primo; Sin Cara was quickly moved to Smackdown. On Smackdown, the show was taped and thus any botches could be edited. It was clear that the WWE management wasn’t exactly high on Sin Cara’s performances. After that, Sin Cara had his first wellness violation, and was suspended for thirty days. The WWE sent him home for a while after when he was supposed to return. Upon his return, he feuded with the imposter Sin Cara, who came to be known as Hunico after losing a mask versus mask match. At Survivor Series, Sin Cara had a patellar tendon rupture. Given all of this, there should be a good degree of concern about the future of Sin Cara in the WWE.

On the other hand, Sin Cara has been rather popular with most fans. He has had some good matches, and has certainly been entertaining to watch. With his television return next Smackdown, Sin Cara returns with much less fanfare than before, but still the ability to become a decent draw for the WWE. If he has spent time adapting to the WWE style, and perfecting his moves to work with the other wrestlers, then I think he will do much better this time around. The WWE has been missing a high flyer since Rey Mysterio was injured last August, and Evan Bourne had another wellness violation (and injury after that). Given the high number of potential main event talent, Sin Cara’s chances of being in the main event are low for the short term. But with improvement and consistency, he might just find his way to the championship level.

Tony Acero: Leave it to Josh to give a great snapshot slideshow of the man’s career before letting us know his thoughts. It saves me the work, and puts everything into perspective. Sin Cara will probably forever be known as the injury prone, botchworthy, high flying wellness violation whose name isn’t Rey Mysterio. But even Rey Mysterio has unparalleled fame and popularity. The flashy moves and mask brings about fans, regardless of how often he messes up. He has had some good matches, as Josh pointed out, and with a return to Smackdown, there’s plenty of great dudes on the roster for him to tangle up with. I think their biggest mistake with him the first time around was making him such a big deal that he could be seen tagging alongside Cena and other main event players. Let him flourish where he belongs; in the mid card. If they allow him to be a big fish in a small pond, instead of vice versa, he may have a chance at success.

Michael Uphoff: I think that for the most part, Sin Cara will fare pretty well upon his return. Sure, this return doesn’t have the fanfare and mystique of his debut, but the fans have been sorely missing a high flyer with Rey Mysterio gone for so long due to injury and a “wellness violation.” Sin Cara has had botches in the past, but he also has created a loyal fan base with the younger wrestling fans. If he can adapt his wrestling style to the WWE style and other wrestlers’ styles, Sin Cara will be successful in his return.

4. TNA has filed a lawsuit against WWE for allegedly stealing talent among other alleged crimes. Your take on this legal battle?

Michael Uphoff: I don’t know whether or not to laugh at this or be serious about this situation. Allegedly an employee named Brian Wittenstein was hired by the WWE in the beginning of this year had worked for TNA for about three years and had good knowledge of when certain talents’ contracts were about to expire and told WWE when these talents’ contracts were about to expire so that WWE could court them and bring them to their company. When WWE found out about his knowledge, they fired him in April. They approached TNA to let them know that Wittenstein had told them his knowledge in early May. TNA has since filed suit against both WWE and Wittenstein due to Flair trying to leave the company. Alex Shelley was reportedly not mentioned in the suit.

How much of this is true? That is what is difficult to figure out. What I can say is that Flair has probably wanted to go back to WWE for a long time. He has had numerous problems with TNA for the past several months, and has probably been talking to WWE about coming back since he was announced to be inducted in the Hall of Fame with the Four Horsemen. I can’t see why TNA is up in arms about Flair as all he has done recently is cause them a lot of grief and headaches.

Alex Shelley is what TNA should be pissed off about, but he isn’t named in the lawsuit. He is a great talent that TNA can ill afford to lose. If he goes to WWE, good for him. I don’t know how WWE will use him, but he has not been properly used by TNA for a long time, and while they just reunited the Guns for a PPV, they broke them up again. I don’t know what TNA’s problem is, and it could well be legitimate. Like I have said previously, we don’t know how much of the charges are true. But TNA losing Alex Shelley is of their own fault, not anyone else’s.

Tony Acero: All I hear is whining. It seems for every good thing TNA can do, they do numerous other things that make wrestling fans everywhere just shake their head. Mike is right in that we must not assume that all is true without proper details, but assuming Mike’s train of thought is spot on, then I cannot see TNA winning. Whether one thinks this is shady business tactics or not, it’s not. It’s business, and it’s a tactic, sure, but it’s not shady in the least. It’s information that could probably be found through various means, the WWE just had someone that knew it immediately. Sure, it sounds like the mean ol WWE is just bullying TNA and taking their talent, but if this is all about Flair, then it seems more like a squirt gun in the ocean…in other words, a waste of fuckin time.

Joshua Stangle: I don’t know the evidence that TNA has to show that the WWE withheld the information, thus I am not really qualified to give my non-professional opinion on the matter.

I agree with Mike about Flair being more of a detriment to TNA. But I don’t agree about Alex Shelley. He is a great talent, no doubt, but TNA has tons of talent in its roster. I do hope that Shelley gets the chance to succeed in the WWE. Shelley has an array of wrestling talent and promo skills and could fit wherever they decide to put him.

5. Who of the newer additions of the roster are you most excited to see perform?

Tony Acero: The question is really open to interpretation, as there is any number of new faces on the screen. For the sake of definition, I’m referring to Young, O’Neil, Ryback, Sandow, Cesaro, etc. Of course, some of these guys have been around for a while, but considering Young and O’Neil have yet to really make an impact until now (sorta), and Ryback is a repackaged dude, I’ll think of them as new. It doesn’t matter, really, because I wouldn’t choose them to answer this question anyways. Cesaro and Sandow are what i would consider definite answers, with Ryback a far away third. I truly love the way Sandow is handling his character, and after watching his matches on the Tube of You, I see that he’s capable of a good match as well. The attitude isn’t something new, but it’s effective and Sandow is able to make it fresh. It’s appealing and awesome. Cesaro has something. We’re all well aware of his accolades and I’m sure you guys are as excited as I am. I’ve explained that debuting someone with squash matches is kind of dumb, and I stand by this, but realistically, they have given Cesaro enough time in the ring – even with squash matches – to show that he’s different. Personally, I would have chosen a nice 5-10 minute match against Tyson Kidd or something to debut him, but we can’t change the past, Katie Vick? In terms of Ryback, the crowd has spoken and deemed him the new Goldberg. I’m not quite sure this is a good thing, but it’s time they pull the plug on the squashes and give him something bigger and better to do, unless they want to sequester him into a role of nothingness that would make him just another Snitsky…and, guys, no one needs just another Snitsky.

Michael Uphoff: I am certainly excited to see Antonio Cesaro in a WWE ring anytime he is on TV. I think he will be a star in WWE for a long while. I have heard good things about Damien Sandow. From what I have read he is a solid character. I have since seen Sandow wrestle, and love the fact that he is doing the Regal Cutter. It works for his persona and I hope he succeeds as a heel because he definitely has the persona down pat I love seeing Ryback kill people dead with his delayed Fisherman’s Buster, but Tony is right. Squash matches need to stop and they need to move him on to something better than that. Tony is exactly right when he says that no one needs another Snitsky.

Joshua Stangle: I think that Young and O’Neil are a rather good tag team. Should the WWE ever decide to rebuild the division, they could be a vital part of its resurgence. Cesaro should go on to do great things in the WWE (Hey!). I think that Cesaro is probably my pick for this question. He has the look, the wrestling ability and some mic skills. With singles and tag team experience, he is very versatile. I’m not sure how I feel about the Rugby gimmick, but it seems to be working, so I won’t complain.

I haven’t really watched Sandow wrestle. I like his promos. Tony has it exactly right in his analysis of Sandow, from what I’ve seen. Just because they chant “Goldberg” at Ryback doesn’t mean they accept him like they did Goldberg. This is a forced carbon copy with very similar mannerisms and match structure. They will probably give him a similar winning streak gimmick as well.


Vince McMahon: And I tell the Miz, sure I’ll give you a push in 2012! ahaha….

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