WrestleMania 31 is still 219 days away. That’s all of September, October, November, and December of 2014, plus January and February of 2015, all the way to March 29, 2015, when WWE invades Levi’s stadiums in Santa Clara, California, for its biggest show of the year. Everything that the WWE does features WrestleMania as the final goal. From the blatantly obvious, like the winner of the Royal Rumble receiving a berth in the WrestleMania main event, to the mundane, like a title change in late August of the year before.
That’s where we stand. John Cena was the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He’d held the belt since the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in June. His “inheritance” of the title, for lack of a better term, was greeted with enthusiasm by the younger, casual fan, while the older, more-invested fans simply gave an exasperated sigh. Cena was nothing more than the “safe” choice. He’s a proven, reliable wrestler who can carry a long program. But a change was needed. Sure, the younger crowd loves John Cena. I typically (jokingly) refer to his fans as the John Cena Toddler Fan Base.
But the fans of the WWE have been longing for change at the top. This year has, in effect, been the year of the fan’s voice. It started at Royal Rumble, back in January. The fans in attendance were solidly behind Daniel Bryan, who was scheduled to open the show against Bray Wyatt. Bryan lost his match, but it was not uncommon for wrestlers to pull double duty at the Rumble.
Returning “babyface” Batista was in the rumble match, and was projected to win. He had a movie coming out (the wildly successful Guardians of the Galaxy), and WWE loves to promote superstars with movies. So as the match wound down, and only one participant was left to enter, the fans began to chant for Daniel Bryan. When the clock hit 0:00, though, it was not Daniel Bryan, but Rey Mysterio, who came out.
Mysterio is a fan favorite, beloved by almost any fan of wrestling. But on that cold January night in Pittsburgh, Mysterio received more boos than he probably had in his entire career combined. It wasn’t that the fans hated Mysterio. They like him. Still do. But he’s an aging superstar with a knack for injury, and he was taking away a slot from the fans’ chosen one, Daniel Bryan. The audience applauded loudly when Mysterio was eliminated.
The match came down to the “babyface” Batista and a then-heel Roman Reigns. Reigns had set the record for Rumble eliminations during the match, and the Shield, while villainous, was incredibly over with the fans. The audience in the arena began to chant for Roman Reigns. Even though Batista won, it was an empty feeling, especially for one of the traditional “Big Four” pay-per-view events. It was a sound rejection of what the front office in Stamford, CT though the fans would want.
As the biggest show of the year, WrestleMania XXX, drew near, it began to look as though WWE was going to plow ahead with their own corporately-suicidal plan. Batista had won the right to main event WrestleMania, but because of the fans’ reception of him, he had turned heel. Randy Orton was the holder of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but he was the Authority’s hand-picked champion, also a heel. The last time a WrestleMania main event featured two wrestlers with similar character alignments was 2001, when Stone Cold Steve Austin faced The Rock at WrestleMania 17. Austin famously turned heel at that event, joining with Vince McMahon.
No such turns appeared evident for this ‘Mania. But a glimmer of hope shown on the horizon. Daniel Bryan and some obviously planted fans executed an “Occupy” Raw event, taking over an episode of the WWE’s flagship show. Given that the “Occupy” movement had largely vanished from the public memory already, it was a bit untimely. But Bryan’s actions brought out Triple H, who had served as the key heel figure of the Authority. Triple H agreed to face Bryan at WrestleMania, with the stipulation that if Bryan won he would go on to the main event. Triple H eventually amended the stipulation to give himself the right to main event WrestleMania XXX if he won.
Bryan won their match, and in the main event of the biggest WrestleMania in years, Daniel Bryan accomplished the fans’ dreams. He ended the show standing tall and holding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. And all was right with the world. The underdog had overcome. The Authority had been silenced. The hated Batista had been defeated. John Cena was nowhere close to the title picture.
And then Daniel Bryan got hurt. He’s been out of action for months now with a neck injury. The Authority stripped him of the title, an obvious heel move that put even more heat on them. The title was put up for grabs in a ladder match at the Money in the Bank PPV. Cena won. The old guard was re-established. Vince McMahon’s chosen order to the universe was restored. The Authority was basically in full control. Triple H had ended the Shield by turning Seth Rollins on his brothers. Rollins would win the Money in the Bank briefcase, guaranteeing him a title shot anytime within the next calendar year. For all intents and purposes, the WWE in early August 2014 looked very similar to the WWE of several years ago.
And then came SummerSlam.
With the Authority needing a challenger for John Cena, Triple H turned to a man that is, for lack of a better term, his protégé: Randy Orton. Orton, though, lost his chance at the title because Roman Reigns, now a babyface and carrying a lot of support from the crowd, took him out. As Orton and Reigns battled their way out of the arena, a loud screech came over the speakers and a famous guitar riff started to play. Paul Heyman appeared on the stage, followed by the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar hadn’t been on WWE programming for quite some time. He was still riding high after becoming the first man to ever hand the Undertaker a defeat at WrestleMania. Heyman had cryptically told Triple H that, while Orton might be “Plan A,” and Rollins was his “Plan B,” that it might be time for the Authority to enact “Plan C.” Triple H nodded, shook their hands, and gifted a title shot to the Beast.
At SummerSlam, Lesnar and Cena met in the main event. Within the first 30 seconds of the match, Brock Lesnar hit an F5 on Cena. After that, it was a fully one-sided contest. Lesnar hit 16 german suplexes on Cena. He hit another F5 on the champion. The announcers began to wonder if the referee would stop the match to save Cena. Finally, after 16 minutes of beating, Lesnar pinned Cena. It was almost merciful. Never, in all the years that I’ve watched wrestling, has John Cena been so thoroughly dominated from start to finish in a match.
And now Brock Lesnar is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The rumor is that Triple H wants Lesnar to retain the belt until WrestleMania 31, which is, as I wrote at the opening of this article, 219 days away. That’s a long time, especially when your champion is a part-time wrestler who might not even be on Raw again for over a month. Lesnar is already booked to face Cena in a rematch at Night of Champions in September, but I can’t see Lesnar losing the title that quickly.
The problem is, I believe, WWE has almost made Lesnar unbeatable. His last two PPV victories are at WrestleMania over the previously 21-0 Undertaker, and SummerSlam, in what was effectively a squash match over John Cena. Every wrestler on the roster has struggled against Cena, and only a few have ever scored victories over him. The mythical status of the Undertaker at WrestleMania has now transferred to Brock Lesnar. It may take Lesnar's often-prolonged absences to weaken that mythology in order to allow someone else on the card, likely a Roman Reigns or Daniel Bryan, to overcome him in the future and take the title.
This table represents the current title picture in the WWE (current as of noon, 22 August 2014). I’m listing Dean Ambrose as a “should be” contender for the Intercontinental Championship, though Ambrose is currently written out to film a movie. I’ve also listed Roman Reigns as a contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, even though he’s not fully to that level. It’s obvious that WWE plans for him to contend for the title soon enough.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion:
| Brock Lesnar |
Contenders:
| John Cena (#1) |
| Randy Orton | |
| Roman Reigns | |
| Seth Rollins (MITB) | |
| Daniel Bryan (injured) | |
Intercontinental Champion:
| Dolph Ziggler |
Contenders:
| The Miz |
| Dean Ambrose (should be) | |
United States Champion:
| Sheamus |
Contenders:
| ??? |
Divas Champion:
| Paige |
Contenders:
| AJ Lee |
Tag Team Champions:
| The Usos |
Contenders:
| Big Show & Mark Henry |
| Goldust & Stardust | |
| Luke Harper & Erick Rowan |
No comments:
Post a Comment