Return of the Prizefighter - Already a Lost Cause?

Return of the Prizefighter - Already a Lost Cause?

 

Smackdown Live this week was an important episode building up to Fastlane. The Hardy Boyz returned, R-Truth retained his title and a certain Mr Kevin Steen returned a.k.a. Kevin Owens. Appearing to be baby face in the vignettes which aired on the weekly episodes of both brands before his return, it was somewhat shocking to see Kevin Owens come back in a heelish fashion, replacing Kofi Kingston in the WWE Championship Match at Fastlane. As a result of the huge momentum Kofi has gained since the gauntlet match on the go-home episode of Smackdown before the Elimination Chamber and the subsequent Elimination Chamber match itself where he came up just short against champion Daniel Bryan, it is thought that the decision was made to delay the Kofi Kingston underdog storyline until WrestleMania in April. But if Kevin Owens match is being rushed (rather appropriately for a show called Fastlane), does he really have a chance at winning the WWE Championship?

The easy and most popular answer here is to say no. Kevin Owens may have been the original planned successor to current champ Captain Planet but the recent spike in popularity for Kofi Kingston has caused plans to change and once again, Kevin Owens is set to be a Prizefighter without being a prize winner. Now, WWE does love to keep us guessing so maybe we will see a title change at Fastlane and KO will win the big one; but don’t hold your breath. Even if he was to win, he would most likely be a transitional champion, just keeping it warm for Kofi to take at ‘Feelgoodmania.’

I am not usually one to believe if a superstar doesn’t win a title, they aren’t being used correctly but in this case, I believe changing these plans for Kevin Owens could be hugely detrimental to his future on the blue brand. All we must do to see how wrong this could go is to look at the saddest story on Smackdown Live – the fall and double fall of Shinsuke Nakamura. The King of Strong Style lost his feud to AJ Styles over four different pay-per-view bouts including a last man standing match and after all of this, he was never truly the same. Relegated to the US title picture, the shine was truly off the Japanese Rockstar’s apple. As of late, he has been teaming with Rusev, another neglected star on the roster who needs a storyline.

Kevin Owens dangerously treads the line of going the same way as Nakamura and Rusev if he does not have an impactful return. Failure to beat Daniel Bryan while his character represents the everyday man puts him at great risk of total derailment. It wouldn’t be long before we saw him relegated to the mid-card, thrown into a feud with the US champion or worse, thrown into a franken-tag-team with someone like R-Truth or the soon returning Sami Zayn. Owens and Zayn were an interesting pair before their respective injuries, and this could happen again, but KO certainly deserves much more. Kevin Owens was once the face of NXT who beat John Cena on his main roster debut while holding the black and yellow brand’s title. He was once the Universal Champion and Triple H’s own chosen one after that infamous pedigree The Game hit on suspected favourite Seth Rollins. He was also once a US Champion in a botched feud with AJ Styles but this is not something we need to see again. When two guys don’t click, they just don’t. Surprisingly, Styles and Owens just never did.

Kevin Owens said in his vignettes and on Twitter that his time off has made him hungry for success and that he ‘needs to fight again.’ But this girl believes that fighting is not enough for Owens to stay relevant this time. He needs to win again, he needs to become that Prizefighter we all loved back when we were first made aware of him in WWE. He needs to beat Daniel Bryan and he needs that title way more than any feel-good moment Kofi winning could ever give us. Giving Kofi the title over Owens would be incredibly short-sighted, at least in my opinion.

 

- @CaEWrestling

- @thre3count

 

 

 

Whats up with Ronda Rousey

What’s Up with Ronda Rousey?

Do you remember when Ronda Rousey debuted at WrestleMania, less than a year ago? In came this pro wrestling disruption, an ass-kicking machine who came right in on the biggest stage that wrestling gives and proved that not only did she belong here, she put herself atop the mountain with just one match.

Where did that Ronda Rousey go?

THAT Ronda Rousey didn’t need a microphone in her hand to make an impact. She showed up, tore down whoever she was scheduled to fight, and left. No unnecessary promos, no awkward, stilted dialogue. And CERTAINLY no fan-girling and over-the-top respect being shown. I want that Ronda Rousey back!

Over the last few weeks or so, the Ronda Rousey who debuted in WWE last year has morphed into a different version, an almost-parody of herself that has the fans relentlessly booing the “Baddest Woman on the Planet”. While the Sasha Banks-Ronda Rousey feud culminated in a very good match at the Royal Rumble PPV, the road there was anything but smooth.

We were introduced to a Ronda Rousey who gushes about her opponent, who would much rather be friends with her adversary than pound them into dust. Simply put, that’s not the Ronda that fans are yearning for, and they let her hear about it, with the boo birds coming out in full force. That was one thing. But now Ronda is on to a much bigger target, Becky Lynch. She’s going to have to bring her absolute best to keep up in a feud with the most over superstar on the entire roster. And after Monday night’s debacle in which Ronda, flustered by a hostile crowd, couldn’t even cut her promo, it’s clear that something needs to change, or else Ronda will be swallowed up by the moment.

It’s not fair for Ronda to even be put in that position by WWE. Speaking clearly isn’t her strong suit, we knew that dating back to her days in the UFC. So why is WWE so insistent on giving Ronda ample microphone time, where failure is an all-too-likely possibility? There’s no way Ronda is going to win over the crowd with her words. Not going up against a juggernaut like Becky Lynch. So why even try?

The fact of the matter is this: Ronda Rousey needs to turn heel, and there is no better time for it than now as we start to build for WrestleMania!

It seems so much more natural, doesn’t it? She’s a badass fighter, an absolute spark plug in the ring, and she’s already out there talking about ripping Becky’s arm off at WrestleMania. Hell, she even dropped an “I could kill you with my bare hands” line on Becky Monday night. Does that scream “lovable babyface” to you? Because it sure doesn’t to me. While she might show some of that fire now, you could bet your bottom dollar that Ronda is going to come out on the next edition of RAW with a big smile plastered on her face, slapping high-fives and talking about her dreams and how she’s just so darn happy to be here.

Yuck......

I want to see Ronda come out, roast the crowd for turning their backs on her, and become that merciless machine that we saw glimpses of in her debut. This is the woman who had Triple H, a future WWE Hall of Famer undoubtedly, reeling IN HER FIRST MATCH. This is a woman who had 80,000 or some odd fans at the Superdome screaming in adulation and approval. 

Clearly, times have changed, and WWE must change Ronda, as well.

- Kevin Carroll

@CaEWrestling

@KevinCWrestling 

The Lost Art of the Finishing Move

The Lost Art of the Finishing Move  

            There was a time when you just knew that a match was over, and you could confidently count with the referee, 1….2…..3! The audible “Ding, Ding, Ding” of the bell would make it official and you just saw one of your favorite wrestlers either win or lose. If that sounds like days gone by or maybe you cannot even recall it being so simple, then do not worry, because you are not alone. Older wrestling fans, specifically of the Golden Era of wrestling or more popularly known as “HulkaMania” would agree that when saw the Immortal Leg Drop (preceded by the Big Boot) or the Warrior’s Splash, that an inevitable three count was next. As time began to pass these legends by however, a new, more exciting style of wrestling began to emerge. With the likes of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and others throughout the early to mid ‘90s. With this “new” style, and branding of the WWF/E, we slowly began to see more of a consistent emphasis and reliance on charisma, athleticism and in-ring technique like we had never seen before. These new stars came with bigger and more exciting move sets to keep up with the increasing pace of matches. The same confident feeling of the match being over however was still not lost when we would see the Tombstone Piledriver, Sweet Chin Music or even later into the early stages of the Attitude Era with the Stone Cold Stunner. These moves sent a simple symbolic message to the crowd that one man had beaten his opponent down enough to “hit his move” and because of that, was now the winner of the match.

                With changes in eras and improved ring skills, came a necessity to alter what we used to consider normal in a wrestling match. Match types and gimmicks changed to adapt to a new hardcore, energetic fan base that wanted more from the wrestling product. These changes not only began to alter the set up to matches, but also how they would end, especially main event and PPV level matches. Most fans can recall the WrestleMania X-7 event and the main event of Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock for the WWE Title. Not only is this PPV one of the greatest ever created (my personal #1), but the match itself is highly regarded as one of the best (my #2 all time) ever. The ending of the match sees Stone Cold turning heel, joining forces with Mr. McMahon, an angle that was difficult to process for fans at the time. However, the ending of the match also sees The Rock kick out of multiple Stunners before inevitably losing his title. These kick outs themselves, create HUGE pops from the crowd, as the idea and potential that The Rock could still win the match are present in the fans minds. Although The Rock was not the first performer to kick out of what was once considered a “protected finisher” (see Undertaker vs Kane WrestleMania 14), this was a clear change in the dynamic of what we once knew to be the obvious ending of a match, for the sake of entertainment and unexpected outcome.

                Fast-forward now to 2019, and there are only a handful of protected finishers left in all of professional wrestling. Even mega-stars like John Cena and Kazuchika Okada have seen their Attitude Adjustment and Rainmaker finishers turned into glorified signature moves. At the same time, this does create a useful dynamic between them and other wrestlers who still have guaranteed finishers like the RKO from Randy Orton or the One-Winged Angel of Kenny Omega. It is hard to complain however considering how great wrestling is in 2019. With the immense amount of talent throughout the world, maybe a finishing move is no longer as important as it once was. Damn though…..Ohhhhhh what a feeling it is as a fan, when the anticipation of waiting for that one move finally comes, marking the end of a match!

 Stone Cold Stunner

 

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By Chris Harris

@CaEWrestling

 

The Curious Case of Jon Jones

The Curious Case of Jon Jones

 

    When it comes to busts in sports, we think of the NFL and NBA drafts, not so much MLB drafts because we focus more on trades in Baseball. In the NFL we see young kids being drafted in the first round, with the expectations of turning an entire franchise around right away. Guys like Peyton Manning and Cam Newton (more modern examples) have been able to do just that, while guys like Ryan Leaf (once again a more modern example) completely flounder in their attempts to succeed. It could just be that we are expecting so much out of these kids so quickly, that they just cannot bear the weight of all of our hopes and dreams, nor should we expect them to.

    In MMA there has also been the “Golden Kids” that were pegged to be stars right from the onset. Some of these guys, like a GSP, Cain Velasquez, and Vitor Belfort, were able to live up of the hype, at least for the most part. There have also been the blue chip busts that have come through the sport as well; guys like Rory MacDonald, Brandon Vera, and Hector Lombard, were filled with promise and potential, but in the end could not fully live up to those expectations.

    Now I am not here to discuss the differences and similarities in any of these fighters, but to bring up my ultimate point. Is Jon Jones considered a bust, if this drug test is indeed a failure? Jones came on to the scene with a LOAD of promise and potential. The man had the size and length to be dominate, and the creativity in strikes that makes any promoter salivate at the thought of him working for them. He was pegged as the next HUGE thing (which is even larger than big) and within no time would be challenging for a title. Much like Peyton Manning, all the physical tools were there, the coaching was there, and the mindset was there. The crazy part is…..he succeeded in living up to that potential. Hell he exceeded many of our expectations coming out of the gate. He was not just beating opponents and wining fights, but he was doing it in a brutal fashion. Just a couple years into his UFC run, we was given a title shot against then champion Shogun Rua. This fight was yet another one sided beat down delivered by Jones.

    Jones would go on to make defenses of his title, one opponent after another falling to his overpowering skill and size. Jones closed in on the consecutive Light Heavyweight title defense record, and showed no signs of slowing down. Then in 2015, things started to take a downward spiral for the champ. He had the title stripped off him for the first time when he was accused of a hit and run on a pregnant woman. Jones would go on to fail multiple drug test, to include recreational drugs and PEDs. This lead to a second stripping of his regained title. Recently Jones has returned once again to the top of the mountain after returning from yet another suspension. He KO’d rival, Daniel Cormier, which finally gave a decisive victory in this long-standing rivalry. Unfortunately, Jones was not able to bask in the limelight for too long, as a second USADA failed test was announced. Now there is still some time for his name to be cleared in this particular incident, but should he ever be forgiven?

    The UFC is in a tough position for sure. Jones is a known draw, maybe not on the level of previous champs, but Jones does have a strong name. The question though is, when is enough? Jones has been given the world in MMA, but has not shown an ability to handle the spotlight. Dana White continues to give this kid one chance after another, but with each redemption story, comes another disappointment. I am in the camp of cutting ties with this divisive personality, as there seems to be more baggage than profit that comes with it. I was once a big fan of Jones, as he came on to the scene as a humble yet hungry fighter, clawing his way to the top. Along the way however, he became a snarky, angry, and uncontrollable figure.

     We all love a comeback story, but unfortunately, I do not see any sustained comeback in this man’s future. Which leads to one of the biggest busts in MMA history. Not on an in ring level, but on a self- destructive level. Guy’s like Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders were able to finally take control of their off the field demons. Let us just hope Jones can do the same.

- Kenneth Aucoin

@CaEWrestling

@KennyOakSports