After Sting debuted at Survivor Series, my mind raced as to where the WWE would go from there. The potential programs and opportunities seemed endless. It turns out, after two months, we ended up in the exact same spot.
That isnāt necessarily a bad thingĀ now; however, these past two months certainly have been. For the past two months, progression halted. Consequences never seemed to matter as the results from one week would be reversed the next. The WWE remained in that holding patterning, seemingly waiting for football season to end and for the Road to Wrestlemania to begin.
So, two months later, the heroes of Survivor Series, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, and Erick Rowan found themselves fired. John Cena, the team captain, brought back The Authority, the same entity he fought to have permanently removed from the WWE. Sting, the surprise savior of the entire effort, vanished and only remembered through promos recallingĀ his āvigilanteā efforts.
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John Cena, after failing last week, received yet another chance and another match to get the fired Ziggler, Ryback, and Rowan back into the WWE. This time, Cena succeeded and continued the two month trend of results and consequences not mattering on bit, this time with the aid of Sting.
And all of a sudden, we are back at the end of November, with The Authorityās grand scheme nullified by Sting. The only difference this time around is that The Authority remain in power; however, all signs point to the same place as they did before. The Authority and their allies will head to their (presumably) final collision course with the babyfaces of the roster at Wrestlemania.
It feels as if it has taken forever to get to this point; however, it also feels as if this will serve as the actual start to the Road to Wrestlemania. Everything from this point forward should have some level of consequence, starting this Sunday at the Royal Rumble in which we learn what the main event for that evening will be. Keyword:Ā should.
Five Takeaways from the Night
Iām back in high school again. A Smackdown! match actually feels somewhat important. Photo credit: WWE
1) Donāt look now, but a Smackdown! main event got a build.
Yes, it would be very easy for me to rage on the ending to Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan, especially with Kane interfering to set up yet another match between him and Bryan. However, Iām honestly more floored that the WWE actually bothered to build a match on Smackdown!, a show that more or less hasnāt mattered in years.
Not only did the match receive a build, it actually got a stipulation of consequence: Bryanās entry into the Rumble is on the line. Of course, the chances of BryanĀ actuallyĀ losing that shot are about the same as John Cena losing clean on RAW or the Intercontinental Champ winning a non-title match. Despite that, itās still a refreshing change.
Itās also a scary change. The WWE has done a rather poor job as of late filling in three hours of programming on RAW without chunks of it being horrid filler. Iām not sure, at this moment, if the WWE can fill five hours of programming a week and grab my attention for most of it. Despite that, Daniel Bryan doing everything in his power, including taking a very uncomfortable number of spots around his head/neck, to light the WWE on fire again is aĀ veryĀ welcome change.
Well, if you are going to have The Ascension run down every tag team from the 90ās in their promos, this was an obvious result. Photo credit: WWE
2) How to make the silliness of The Ascension work with your nostalgia ploy.
I already had major fears going into this RAW with the entire #RAWReunion promotion. Once the full list of old-timers coming back to the show went public, I really thought the entire show would go nowhere downhill fast thanks to any segment featuring these special guests.
Now mix in all those greats that had their heyday back in the 90s and mix in a tag team with a ridiculous gimmick, The Ascension. Further, have this team do nothing but run down popular tag teams from that same era and then do nothing but fight no-name ālocal talentā jobbers.
Regular readers of this column will likely remember that, last week, I wondered what both the endgame and the near term plan for these goofballs were. #RAWReunion was the answer to that question.
Yes, objectively, this was beyond stupid and dumb. You bring up a new, hot talent from NXT and then have them get their tails beat by the Outsiders, APA, and New Age Outlaws who all saw their heyday in the 90s and early aughts.Ā However, The Ascension has done nothing but run down such tag teams in their promos and then decided to run out and confront one of those same teams to prove their words. Then, the old cagey vets ganged up on them and gave them a damn receipt for their arrogance.
Tell me that doesnāt make all the sense in the world from a continuity perspective. As much as I rag on the WWE for never having their stories make sense from a continuity perspective, Iād be a hypocrite for bagging on this. The WWE set up a plan, stuck with it, and hereās a payoff.
Plus, I wouldnāt jump on the āguys from NXT are getting buried againā soapbox. Two of the guys that did practically all the beat down work, the New Age Outlaws, were wrestling with the WWE around this time last year. They can still go and the new team from NXT can get their revenge on the old guys to get back over and get some heat for destroying your precious nostalgia team.
Video source for GIF: WWE
3) Cesaro and Tyson Kidd are going to become the most GIFable tag team ever.
Seriously, just look at that.
Of course, they lost, but still, LOOK AT THAT!
4) If Mizdow doesnāt get a Wrestlemania slot, Iām going to be so sad.
Even X-Pac knows heās genius:
5) I want to drive home a point about non-title losses.
Especially when it comes to the IC title. That belt used to be a stepping stone to main event status and now:
Thatās just all kinds of inexcusable. This needs to change in the worst way. Either that or no one should ever aspire to win the IC title.