Mixed Bag of Wrestling, Wrasslin', and Other Things

It's been a while, but I'm back. Let's just say that things have gotten hectic around the blog lately, and posting new articles has taken a hit. Hopefully, we're going to get back on track.

Let's recap quickly what's going on in the WWE...

Daniel Bryan wins at WrestleMania XXX

Daniel Bryan is Champion, but he's also injured (a rather serious neck injury that might keep him out for a while). As with anything else in wrestling, injuries must be taken as much as storyline as reality. Often a wrestler will be written out of a story with an injury, simply to give him time to rest, recover, and set up potential future stories. Bryan's neck injury may be truly devastating. It may also be less then WWE is letting on in the hopes of creating even more strife between Bryan and the Authority.

As seen on Raw, the primary heel of the Authority storyline, Stephanie McMahon, laid down the law to the injured Bryan. She insisted he relinquish the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He refused her request. McMahon then showed a video of Bryan's wife, Brie Bella, shoving her a couple weeks ago. As the video ended, McMahon gave Daniel Bryan an ultimatum: show up at the Payback PPV and surrender the title, or watch as Brie Bella is fired.

Elsewhere, The Shield continues their feud with the reformed Evolution. Since last night's Raw did not feature a match between any members of the respective groups, WWE resorted to the tried-and-true situation of a contrived "contract signing." It makes you wonder when all the contracts for all the other matches get signed... See, a "contract signing" in wrestling is just an excuse to get the appropriate parties in the ring so that a brawl can break out.

Roman Reigns spears potential future stable-mate Triple H

The biggest takeaway from this feud, especially from last night's installment, was the continual recital of the line "This is the last time you'll see Evolution and the Shield in the ring on Raw." Like many others, I can't help but read deeper meaning into the line. The most prevalent rumor is that Roman Reigns, the powerhouse of the Shield, is set to jump ship and align himself with Triple H and Evolution. It would certainly be an interesting development. Such a move would mask Reigns's weak mic skills while allowing him to grow under the tutelage of Triple H, Orton, and Batista. It would also set Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins on a path to even greater main event spotlights.

The longest running main event feud, though, is John Cena versus Bray Wyatt.

Wyatt has risen to new heights in this feud, but it has come at a price. Cena took the win at WrestleMania 30, a match that Wyatt probably should've won, or at least Cena should've won in a dirty finish. Wyatt took the victory at Extreme Rules, but it was one of the weakest victories ever. In a steel cage, Cena and Wyatt squared off, but continual interference from Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, coupled with Cena continually overcoming the odds only to be scared by a singing child, tainted Wyatt's victory.

The Wyatt Family

If the feud is to be salvaged then Bray Wyatt needs to win at Payback. Cena can win, of course, and the feud still be a win overall for WWE, so long as Cena wins dirty, either with a chair shot, or some kind of cheating. If Cena wins clean, then WWE will have wasted everyone's time.

But this feud is a perfect encapsulation of the dichotomy of WWE's audience. Every time Bray Wyatt appears on the video screen, or comes out on stage, the announce team always questions why so many people support the Wyatt Family. Every arena he enters (excluding Alabama and South Carolina, which for some reason remain stubbornly pro-Cena), the crowd sings along with him. They clap in rhythm with his theme song. They cheer as loudly for him as they do anyone else on the roster. Meanwhile, the announce team has to act like this is baffling, as it might confuse the toddler fan base Cena has built up if more fans supported the heel than the babyface.

It's understandable. After all, Wyatt is the heel. He's supposed to be detestable. He's supposed to be hated. But the adult fan base, with the exception of the soccer moms, is absolutely fed up with John Cena. Go to YouTube and look up video of John Cena from 2004 and you'll see that he's basically still the same character in 2014 that he was ten years ago. WWE Creative has not changed him in the least little bit.

They've left Cena the same because the soccer moms and the kids love him. He sells more merchandise than any other wrestler on the roster. And for that reason, he doesn't change. And so the kids love him but the adults hate him. Just listen to the dueling chants of "Let's go Cena!" and "Cena sucks!"(In the video, you can actually see the women and kids chanting "Let's go Cena" while the older male audience members chant "Cena sucks") Just listen to the older fans singing "John Cena suuuucks" along with his theme music.

Basically, the longer Cena remains the same, the more and more the adult male fan base will turn on him. The Rock turned heel. Steve Austin turned heel. Even the ultimate good guy, Hulk Hogan, turned heel. While Austin's heel run was nothing special, it could be argued that Hulk Hogan's heel turn revolutionized the wrestling industry. And yet, today, so many people act like turning John Cena heel would be the worst thing to ever happen in the history of history.

Of course, all of these issues will likely be sorted out by the next time Monday Night Raw comes on...