The Wrestling 5&1 5.10.14: Rosa Mendes vs Lana

Times, they are a-changin. With more opinion oriented columns coming to the forefront of the Mania, I find myself wondering more and more how the future of the 5&1 looks. Then I realized the last time I actually treated this thing like a News Report was when Greg was around – if that. Suddenly, I’m not so worried. Anywho, we have the continued cartooning of Daniel Bryan this week, as well as the “more of the same” mentality that one could consider a detriment, and yet – I have different thoughts. Read more below! Let’s get to it!

Repeat Viewings

If there is one constant during the time immediately after Mania, it’s that there will be rematches. Rematches galore! Rematches ad nausea! Oh yes, there will be rematches! The PPV Backlash was almost a booking joke as it was essentially Wrestlemania-lite for a majority of the show. With the addition of eXtreme Rules, not much changed and this most recent rendition of going extreme was seemingly no different. Of course, there were some that didn’t like the seemingly lazy booking crutch that is the PPV after Mania, but after talking to Harry Broadhurst on our podcast (more of that below), I realized that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing and although it may appear as some sort of “Let’s just do it again” booking, there seems to be (hopefully) more to that then originally assumed.

Let’s talk about it.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that the volume of the complaints regarding the rematches at Extreme Rules are minimal, and I’d hate to be the one to jump the gun and defend something that very few people are attacking, but I will stand by the fact that even if there were some deterrents towards the notion, it may be for naught.

There was a time when wrestling didn’t have 12-13 Pay-Per-Views a year, when storylines were stretched across months from one quarterly ppv to another and the story had to not only be interesting, but there had to be some semblance of equality within the wrestlers involved. Of course, I may not have even been alive during the times of quarterly PPVs (TNA nothwithstanding), but let’s take it back a bit more recently to the 2000’s when Benoit, Angle, Jericho, and a few choice others would spread across months of intense storytelling that would span over multiple PPVs and shows. Or how about the classic Jericho vs HBK 7-month stretch that culminated in an amazing ladder match for the big belt?

I bring these examples up now to justify the current string of rematches as well as hopefully add a bit of intrigue to what’s currently going on. I want to start with the Evolution vs The Shield storyline that is currently going on. First of all, I love it. I love even more that The Shield got the win at the PPV, even if this results in Evolution eventually getting their win back. In all honesty, I predicted Evolution winning and this storyline continuing with The Shield attempting to get their win back, but instead we went with Reigns getting to knock Batista out like a BAWS and I loved it! Rumors have Roman Reigns going against Triple H at Summerslam, and if this all leads to a match such as this, then I’m game. With Summerslam being in August, however, this means that they’ve got three months – at least – to build up to it. That’s a lot of RAWs, y’all.

But is that such a bad thing? Are we so used to shotgunned wrestling storylines that stuff like this may bother us? Or am I just defending an idea that we’re all on board for? Well, to be honest, I don’t think I’d bring this up if it wasn’t something that some people have complained about. But even if there aren’t, can this be the start of some longer and slower burns? If it is the case, is Wyatt vs Cena III something you’re interested in or are you tired of it already? Is Bryan vs Kane worthy of another PPV? Am I asking too many questions? You tell me!

Your Turn: Would you rather have a slow burn or a quick finish?

Yes! Yes! Yes! Facebook page, I posted this pic for all to comment on…

And the commenter with the most “likes”???

Greg Still: “Hell yeah she just turned 18!”

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RAW Reaction

So it’s been a couple of weeks since this podcast has begun, and I didn’t bring it to the forefront of the column mainly because i wanted to work the kinks out and the last thing we need is some unnecessary shilling of a product that’s simply not worth listening to. Of course, that’s all in the past and my broadcast partner and I have found a nice little groove with our one hour immediate reaction to RAW. Feel free to listen to my sultry voice, and if you want to join me next week, I’ll be there!

It’s sure to be a game of good cop/bad cop as Harry and Tony entertain your calls and breakdown the happenings of WWE Monday Night Raw! Join hosts Harry Broadhurst (commentator for Real Action Pro Wrestling and Black Diamond Wrestling) and Tony Acero (411Mania.com, The Greg DeMarco Show) as they provide immediate reaction and analysis of wrestling’s biggest show—WWE Monday Night Raw. The wrestling week peaks on Monday night with WWE Raw Reaction—only on Powerhouse Radio!

Check Out Wrestling Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with PWP Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Your Turn: Your Predictions?

After a solid three weeks, Brie Bella lost to the hands of the blonde bombshell that IS Lana! Brie didn’t just lose, she was crushed by Lana and proved that her tight bun and tight buns may just be the best thing in the WWE today! With that win, Lana officially begins her trek towards the Hall of Bang!

And now…..

Voting ends Wednesday night and you can vote once every hour!

Happy to Respond!

Lots of Love for Lana this week! Let’s start with AdamMcc83 who loves the way she fills those tight business suits! darkjourney is in the same boat as me regarding Lana’s face which is argued for the most recent citizen of Mother Russia, (comment was deleted, but I see you!) Tom thought last week was a weak effort, and although I’d typically agree, the column is being slightly adapted in coming weeks to better fit changes that are coming, I hope you understand soon. SS87 don’t care if he called Extreme Rules Elimination Chamber cuz he’s SS87 and is better than you! Timbo wants Lana in the HOB, and if she acts right, she will be! D2KVirus wants to see Sasha, and I gotta have his back cuz she is some kinda cute! Her time will come!

Pretty slim pickings last week due to some choice deletions. Since it happened, I want you all to know that you are free to say whatever you’d like to me via email or otherwise and I have no control over what’s deleted and what’s not. I love all of you, even the angry ones! 😉

EVE!!!

Tony Acero is currently a student at Cal State University of Long Beach. He is double-majoring as a Creative Writing and Literature major. His first book, Through The Looking Glass, was published in April, 2012. School’s Out is a short story that found the author arrested due to the severity of its content. Both can be found on amazon.com.

Tony joined 411Mania in April 2010, and currently contributes in both music and wrestling. Tony is an avid drinker of Mountain Dew and Jack Daniels. He is a writer who hardly takes himself seriously, yet has an innate ability to create moments that are both human yet fearful in his writings.

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HALL OF FAME
Greg DeMarco is a graduate of Virginia Tech (Bachelor’s in Business Management) and Arizona State (Master’s in Higher & Post-Secondary Education). He works in online higher education. Greg started in improv comedy in 2001, making his stand-up debut in 2004.

Greg first appeared as a ring announcer for Rising Phoenix Wrestling in Phoenix Arizona in 2006 and served many promotions in both on-stage and back-stage roles for over six years, most notably Ring of Honor in 2010. He began writing for 411Mania in October 2010, founded The Greg DeMarco Show in May 2011 and opened WrestlingSmash.com (and Wrestling Smash Radio) in January 2013.

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Until next week…