roman reigns

The Wrestling Court Episode 184-Backlash 2018 thoughts

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Julian is here with a good solo show covering the disastrous backlash 2018 ppv along with the rumors about Carmella and John Cena, Jim Ross’ comments about the women not deserving pay from the greatest royal rumble, the WWF Cookbook and much more.

Sign up for Audible for a free 30 day trial. You can cancel any time you wish within those 30 days but once you sign up, you will get the chance to download a free audiobook. I recommend to check out the Daniel Bryan, Hulk Hogan, Chris Jericho and Jake Roberts book if you want something wrestling related but if not, you can get something non wrestling related in the massive library of audiobooks. Sign up via this link:

www.audibletrial.com/thewrestlingcourt

Subscribe to TWC via these links iTunes, stitcher radio, Tunein radio Player.FM, Spotify, and podomatic.com and listen live via mixlr.

Itunes link

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wrestling-court/id1025244200?mt=2

stitcher radio link

http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-wrestling-court-from-podomatic

player.fm link

https://player.fm/series/the-wrestling-court

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0BR7h7f9GLg2qNGQgxO2Nt

mixlr link to listen live every wednesday at 8pm

http://mixlr.com/the-wrestling-court/

Tunein Radio link
http://tunein.com/radio/The-Wrestling-Court-p900606/

like the TWC fanpage on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/thewrestlingcourt/

twitter handlers:
@julianexcalibur @AltMindz @QuinnCanTweet @JaydeeTalksWWE, @MoneyMakerChris

 

 

The 2018 WWE Superstar Shakeup thoughts.

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

 

The WWE Superstar Shake-up is the 12th edition of the WWE Draft. A select number of WWE Superstars from Raw and Smackdown switch brands from either show with the addition of call ups from their third brand, NXT. The 2018 edition of the Superstar Shake-up had many switches over the course of two days and i will go over each one that got switched over.

FROM SMACKDOWN TO RAW

#1. Jinder Mahal- Mahal coming off a huge push from 2017 is now on Monday Night Raw. He took the United States Championship with him to Raw and his title was immediately put on the line against Jeff Hardy but more on that in a few minutes. His Smackdown run is still debated to this day so hopefully, this will be a fresh start for him on the Raw brand.

#2. The Riot Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan)- With Paige being the new General Manager of Smackdown, it makes total sense to have these three switch brands. But do i think that it was too early for these three to get switched? I do. They have been on Smackdown since November and all three of them have not had a talked about moment at all yet since their debut so lets see what will happen to these three down the road.

#3. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn-I actually did not think that this would happen since they were storyline fired from Smackdown. It appears that Stephanie McMahon (keep this in mind since over 6 months ago, Kevin Owens headbutted Vince McMahon) overruled the decision to keep them off Raw. Will Kevin Owens go back to the main event scene on Raw like he did before, or will him and Zayn will begin in the tag team division. Good pick for Raw in my opinion.

#4. Zack Ryder- His announcement was made via Twitter that he has been drafted to Monday Night Raw. I do not know how they can use him since he has been a comedy act for a very long time.

#5. Fandango and Tyler Breeze- Another comedy act from Smackdown that were never taken seriously by the casual fans. Just like Ryder, i do not know where they will go from here.

#6. Natalya- Natalya i believe is the only female veteran currently on the roster right now. She has had a good year on Smackdown Live last year so i believe that she will be able to help carry the women’s division on Raw.

#7. Mojo Rawley- For some odd reason, i think that either he or someone else who i will mention on the Raw selections will get that “Jinder Mahal push” sometime this year. He was not getting anywhere on Smackdown so i will give him a shot on Raw.

#8. Dolph Ziggler and Drew Mcintyre- Drew needed to go to Raw and Dolph is now back on Raw as well. I already see the fans making the Diesel and Shawn Michaels comparison with these two but i think that Drew will get that “push” i just mentioned on Raw so this is a great choice and we will have to see how well he will do. Anyone noticed that the former 3MB members are all on Raw now?

#9. Baron Corbin- Yeah. He has fought a lot of guys on Smackdown in the past two years and he needs a fresh new start since his disastrous summer last year from losing his Money in the Bank championship match, to losing to John Cena at the opening of Summerslam.

#10. Mike Kanellis- I keep forgetting that he is on the roster but i do not think that he will do much on Raw.

#11. The Ancension- Like Breezango, this is just another tag team to add for depth. No major shakeup here.

#12. Bobby Roode- This is a GLORIOUS addition to the Raw roster and i think that he will do great there. He had a decent run on Smackdown and he still gets a good crowd response every week. I think that a heel run from him is where the money is.

#13. Chad Gable- I thought that him and Benjamin would get drafted to Raw but i think that he should have stayed on Smackdown. Unless he teams up with Jason Jordan, i do not have a good feeling for Gable on Raw.

FROM RAW TO SMACKDOWN

#2. Jeff Hardy- The first televised shakeup announcement that happened on Smackdown started with a bang. I initially thought that the Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins will be drafted to Smackdown, but i was totally wrong. Jeff Hardy did great on his previous run on Smackdown from 2008-2009 so he will do great here too.

#3. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville- These two were paired up with now Smackdown Geneal Manager Paige over on Raw and just like The Riott Squad, they were brought up way too quick but the difference is, these two improved far better than Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan. I thought that these two would be split up but lets see how long that these two will be paired up.

#4. Samoa Joe- Another great draft pick and one i did not see coming is Samoa Joe. Joe was about to start a feud with Roman Reigns on Raw but now it has been scrapped. Joe will be a big deal on Smackdown and it is an amount of time before he has a match with AJ Styles.

#5. Sanity-Another NXT act that has been rumored for a call up since late last year. About time! I know everyone is upset with NIkki Cross not coming up too, but that is fine. Remember Carmella didn’t join Big Cass and Enzo in WWE either right away. She was called to the main roster on her own and benefited a bunch. Cross has more to do – on her own. If she joins the group down the road, fine. But I like her potential as a stand alone act. Sanity did okay in NXT; I am curious to watch it translate on the bigger stage.

#6. Big Cass- Interesting. I imagine WWE will ride with him for a little bit as an upper mid-card heel. Then we can all check out his progress summer time.

#7. Auska- Oh yeah! I thought she might switch with Charlotte. Instead, they are now on the same brand. That is fine but also ironic following WrestleMania 34. Asuka has wiped the floor with the entire Raw women’s division. Now it is Smackdown’s turn. I am a huge fan of this. Her and Charlotte are kept away from Ronda Rousey until the time is right for them to do battle.

#8. The Club- No Finn Balor. Really, that is the takeaway here. The Club on their own…nobody cares. With Balor, fans care.

#9. Cesaro and Sheamus- Another move that was easy to predict. They have done it all on Raw. My take on this is that this opens the door for new tag feuds but also solo feuds. Sheamus and Cesaro will have to remain their single’s careers again eventually. I am ready for that to happen. They can lose and finish their Raw business Friday at the Greatest Royal Rumble event.

#10. R-Truth- – If No Way Jose is on Raw, then Truth can be on Smackdown. They are simply a fun opening match act that gets the crowd hyped up. If WWE does want to give him a renewed push though, they know he is a well respected veteran and more than capable. Win-win.

#11. Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega- The pair of these two will be great for Smackdown. Move over Alberto Del Rio, these two are what fans care about and i think that Andrade will get a shot at the United States Championship sometime within the year.

Follow me on twitter and instagram @julianexcalibur

 

My thoughts: today’s product of WWE since after Wrestlemania 32

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

While Wrestlemania 32 gave us some fantastic moments, I think most would agree the ending left us feeling underwhelmed and disappointed, a sour note in an otherwise very solid show. I for one had went to sleep that night feeling very deflated, and quite frankly pissed off that they would so blatantly ignore the fans wishes, just to get the title on the good looking, muscular, Samoan dude. Everything was going to remain the same, Raw was going to kick off with a 20 minute Authority promo, and conclude with Reigns beating every member of the League Of Nations while Cole screams, “Roman Reigns has overcome all the odds tonight!” It felt like WWE had no plans on changing the product, being content with their current stagnant state, despite the outcry of smarks and casuals alike, for change.

Until… Well, the next night.. 

The Raw after Wrestlemania felt fresh, the focus on young stars was a welcome change of pace, and something just felt different, it didn’t feel like an average Raw, it started with Shane being put in charge and ended with AJ Styles becoming the Number 1 Contender in an incredible Fatal Four Way, with 4 of the best workers in the business. However, I still wasn’t convinced, Shane’s tenure in charge seemed like a one-week thing, and this focus on the younger and more ‘IWC friendly’ guys may just have been to please the crowd the night after Mania, who they knew, if they gave them the same old stuff, would crap all over it, their fear of which was apparent through the commentators’ “boo the people they normally cheer” shtick. My skepticism seemed warranted given what we’d seen in the past. 

Boy was I wrong! 

The weeks that followed have kept with this theme of intriguing storyline development, new stars being built in the likes of Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Enzo and Cass etc, and overall simply a better product. The card for Payback looks amazing, I’m looking forward to pretty much every match, the build has been fantastic, every match has been given meaning, purpose, and most importantly air time to build organically, little to none of it seems shoe-horned in, and there are two major plots which could give us a massive indication on the companies direction for the foreseeable future . The introduction of Anderson and Gallows has made for some compelling television, and an aura of mystic surrounds their inevitable eligance. Though it seems set up for Balor to join forces with Gallows and Anderson to turn on AJ, they could just as easily throw us a curve-ball, which hasn’t been felt in a very long time. Vince’s decision on Sunday, will shape the company for the next while at least, I can’t see it being as cut and dry as him picking one or the other, the possibilities are endless, which is very exciting.

Ratings…DO NOT PANIC! 

Yes, the ratings have been fairly poor, but that should be expected, the new talent needs to be given time to settle in and get over with the casual audience. These guys are mostly unknown to casual fans, so when the guys they’ve known to be the stars aren’t on the show, they won’t tune in for a while, which is exactly why this opportunity needs to be taken, while a lot of your money and ratings draws are out, to enhance the new guys, and give them time to establish themselves with a new audience. Don’t go rushing back to the old guys in a panic because the ratings have dropped, it would completely derail all the good things that have been done since Wrestlemania. 

Potential For Change: 

I refer back to the title, the sense of change is looming, the opportunity to usher in a new era in WWE is very much in the companies hands, this Sunday, is a huge night for the WWE and professional wrestling in general, you can give back to us fans, and make us once again proud to call ourselves wrestling fans, the feeling of unpredictability once so synonymous with professional wrestling, feels like it’s slowly creeping it’s way back. The potential for two, company altering swerves, is here, my skepticism though not fully gone, is fading, don’t disappoint WWE.