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Wrestling’s 4Rs 1.12.14: WWE Smackdown & NJPW on iPPV Reviewed
How the 4Rs of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. The column will run TWO times a week. We will group our feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and needs discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come. This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a “mark” column, nor a “smark” column, our goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. We will not apologize for our opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.
Impact:
We are looking for someone to write the 4Rs of Impact on a weekly basis. You will need to have your work completed by 6PM ET on Sunday. If interested, send a sample of a show review, done in the Rs format, to [email protected].
NJPW WrestleKingdom VIII 1.04.14
Final Thoughts: 2013 was a tremendous year for NJPW, putting on the very best shows in the wrestling business on a regular basis. Due to that, WrestleKingdom VIII had a lot to live up too, and fell short for many. While not as great as may of the 2013 efforts, it was a very good show. THE RIGHT: Randy Orton interview: Short and to the point, and probably the best way to use Randy Orton in promos, as he works much better in shorter interviews that longer ones. Promotes the match with Big E Langston well, and by Orton not being happy with the match, puts over Langston as a threat. And with Orton letting us know that he will confront the authority on Raw, promotes that show by making the viewer have to watch that to find out what is the next step in this story between Orton and the Authority, who are not really on the same page as each other. Miz TV: The Miz is still directionless and apparently still a face judging by the nature of his hosting, but he does work a lot better as a heel and he probably does need that heel turn to come sooner rather than later. What the Miz did really well here though was in the space of one sentence, put over the Big Show and Brock Lesnar. He stated that “most people run from Lesnar who has been wreaking havoc in the WWE, but the Big Show went after Lesnar and threw him across the ring.” In this, he put over Lesnar as someone who most of the WWE roster are afraid of, thus making him a serious threat, but with the Big Show not being afraid of Lesnar, it puts him over as someone who prepared to fight him. The Big Show put across his reason for attacking Lesnar well by stating that he just doesn’t like the guy, which is a perfectly acceptable reason for a feud, and referenced the history between them from Lesnar’s first WWE stint. Paul Heyman comes out and sets up the match for the Royal Rumble, which is good to have booked and confirmed. Video Packages: Both the video package showcasing Batista, and also the Randy Orton/John Cena feud were very well done and made them feel important, particularly the video of Batista as to anyone who doesn’t know who Batista is, watching this video would make you feel that he is a big name wrestler and someone who would right at the top of the card. Randy Orton vs. Big E Langston: Langston, despite the loss, continues to be booked in a very impressive manner, and even though he lost the match, the manner in which he lost protects him. In the match, Orton looked a bit vulnerable and he was struggling to beat Langston, who was controlling the match and really pushing Orton to the limit, but Orton had to cheat to get the win, poking Langston in the eye to blind him long enough that he could hit the RKO and get the win. Langston though looks like a man who could take Orton on in a one on one contest, and only lost the match because Orton cheated. Langston is improving in the ring as well which is something he will need to do if he is to get to the top of card. The Usos backstage interview: By far the best promo that the Usos have cut (although I don’t remember them cutting many others, if any at all). It was clear and concise, getting the message across that they are willing to fight back against the Wyatt Family and are willing to bring the pain to them on Raw, promoting the match that will take place, but was also delivered with plenty of fire and passion. If the Usos can cut promos like this, in addition to the much-improved ability in the ring, and the fact they have developed a connection with the crowd, there could be very big things ahead for them in 2014. The Shield vs. CM Punk/New Age Outlaws: Firstly, the short promo that the Shield cut before the match was perfectly solid in terms of continuing their characters, with Reigns claiming he is the best in the world after beating Punk on Raw, Ambrose continuing to be slightly unhinged with him wanting to choke out a snake, while Rollins talked about the Shield being the future. As for the match itself, a decent match with the Outlaws still looking that they can on occasion still for in the ring and the control period that the Shield had was pretty good. The ending was good as well with Punk taking out Rollins with a suicide dive, before Gun was looking to hit Ambrose with the Fame Asser, but is speared by Rollins to end the match. The Shield needed to win this match, which they did, and a good main event to the show. Only issue with this match – why are the Outlaws, who are friends with HHH, teaming with a man in CM Punk, who the authority do not like. puRgatoRy: Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara/Los Matedores vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel/The Real Americans: A decent match, with a very good finishing stretch to the match, with the camera work on the nearfall on Mysterio from Swagger where Sin Cara made the save was fantastic as you didn’t see him in the picture at all until he broke up the pinfall. Mysterio then gets the win after the 619 and dropping the dime to Swagger to end the match. All eight men in this match though do not at this moment have any real direction to them, and are just treading water in the midcard until something comes along for them. THE wRong: The Royal Rumble Match: The Royal Rumble is just two weeks away and so far, all we know about the match is that Batista and Alberto Del Rio will be involved in the match. And that is it. The other 28 spots are still all up for grabs, but no one seems to be interested in taking any of them. Nobody is saying anything in their promos about wanting to be in the Royal Rumble. There is nothing in the commentary of any matches about guys looking to impress and win matches to get into the Rumble. And even when they were talking about Batista being in the match, mentioned nothing about anyone else being in it or how anyone is going to enter the match. There is still two weeks to go before the PPV, and there is still time over the next few shows to throw some promotion towards the match by either having qualifying matches, people announced as being in the Rumble, or people wanting to be in the Rumble match. It is a chance for someone to win the match and go on to main event WrestleMania 30, and yet, only Batista and Del Rio appear to want that at the moment. THE RIDICULOUS:
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