In the home of WCW, the WWE paid tribute to their one-time, Atlanta-based rival by airing an episode of Monday Nitro in place of Monday Night RAW. All the frustrating hallmarks that helped sink WCW made unwelcome returns. An Atlanta crowd saw a PPV match given away for free. Vince Russo saw his memory honored with a Contract on a Pole match main event that had five extra performers at ring side taking part in so many different shenanigans that you know he had to have been screaming “SWERVE!!!” at his TV in glee. John Cena even got to play the role of Hulk Hogan as the WWE shoe-horned their biggest star into a Hell in a Cell main event match, via a RAW main event loss no less, while their hottest rivalry featuring up-and-coming stars saw their rivalry’s heat evaporate into the Atlanta night.
The only thing missing from this Twilight Zone episode of RAW was Todd Chrisley hoping the barricade at ringside to grab the contract on a pole or NeNe Leakes to
promote Total Divas
shock the world by winning the Divas Title.
Just what in the world happened in the span of a week? Did the WWE lose confidence in their hottest program and stripped the ball from Dean Ambrose while he’s running downfield with no one to stop him?
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I’m honestly not sure what the answer is. If I take a step back, I can understand a fear that more casual fans wouldn’t buy a PPV with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins headlining. I can also understand the WWE fearing the other side of the coin: fans not buying that Cena would open a PPV with a loss to put Ambrose in the main event, regardless of how obvious the WWE foreshadowed it.
With those two things considered, giving the Cena/Ambrose match away for free on RAW makes some sense as the WWE could potentially kill two birds with one stone. Yes, this path does force the WWE to draw into the John Cena vs. Randy Orton well for the thousandth time, but we all know the WWE won’t allow their biggest name to sit on the sidelines of a PPV, especially one that will not feature the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar. So if Cena/Ambrose falls off the card, something had to take its place.
However, this created a new set of problems and had the terrible stench of a zero-hour decision before RAW went on the air. How else do you explain Randy Orton not just demanding, but receiving a main event slot in Hell in a Cell? Even better (well, worse, really), Orton’s demands centered around his developing beef with Seth Rollins. Orton would prove that he’s the better man by taking on the loser of Cena/Ambrose.
“That’s right, Hunter, I, Randy Orton, am superior to Seth Rollins in every way. To prove this, I will beat the guy that fails to beat the guy that will go on to face the guy that, I, Randy Orton, am clearly superior to.” It’s like an inverse Paul Heyman promo. Orton demanded table scraps yet received a steak dinner.
I’ve come to expect some level of scrambling by the WWE that can cause odd scenarios, but even by WWE standards the leap in logic here is beyond strange. Then again, this entire oddity fit perfectly into a show that I didn’t feel was either good or bad, but rather just there. It felt as if everyone had a direct order to kill time, hit a couple spots, and then move on.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe a simplistic nature of storytelling works quite well in pro wrestling. Focusing on going from point A to point B usually works, but not when that progression moves sideways instead of forward. Even Dean Amrbose’s victory over John Cena, the de facto gatekeeper of the WWE, felt hollow. Dean standing tall and using John Cena’s own “You Can’t See Me” taunt against him should have been a moment in which the WWE Universe received the message that Dean Ambrose is for real. Instead, Dean simply looks like the beneficiary of circumstance due to all the players and interference involved in the main event.
The lone silver lining that I’m hoping for in all of this is that potential Hell in a Cell patrons continue passing on tickets and their secondary market price turns into a bargain. Because even through this show felt like a three hour waste of time, I know there is something great around the corner. Ambrose going after Rollins in the cell will certainly be worth the price of admission.