AegonTargaryen
Championship Contender
Preface-This is not to discuss the brandsplit in terms of competition or which brand you prefer over the other, but the memory of the last year, the good and the bad, and what you are invested in and apathetic about.
Last year around this time, we had all been hit with the news of the brand split and were wondering incessantly and zealously how things would be like-going into Battleground was the WWE championship, its Fate dictating that one of the three Shield warriors would emerge as the victor and take the title to his respective brand.
Let's look at some of the memorable things that have happened within that time:-
1)Braun Strowman would squash opponents on Raw in the early months of the brand split and soon emerge as one of the mainstays, and today almost a main-eventer.
2)Jinder Mahal went from losing to Sami Zayn in squash fashion on Raw to being the current WWE champion.
3)Enzo and Cass are no longer a team- thank heavens!- so we won't be seeing them be defeated by "The Club" in a meaningless match again, for the umpteenth time.
4)Speaking of The Club, they're still insignificant not only as part of the Raw tag division but on the whole.
5)As are Sami Zayn and Rusev. Rusev went from a feud with Roman Reigns to oblivious insignificance, whereas Sami has been- just there- like a nonentity.
6)Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura are now a part of the main Roster, and Finn Balor has returned.
7)Some of the wrestlers whom I, personally feel like have done little of note or generate little enthusiasm in me, are:- Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar.
8)AJ Styles had a phenomenal year, but unfortunately, instead of doing anything significant with him, such as a lengthy title reign a la CM Punk, and carrying his extraordinarily vigorous momentum forward, they had to have him drop the title, then demote him into a feud for the US title, so Jinder Mahal could be the WWE champion and Randy Orton of all people would be the defender and chaser- makes no sense.
Since some of you may be shocked at the inclusion of one or the other in the previous list, I will state my reasons for the same.
Orton, IMO, although infinitely talented has become so regular, so present and so predictable, that it's just not possible for me to be invested in him at this point, no matter the feud or the Title at stake- since it's nowhere near the level of career renaissance or evolution(pun intended!) of The Rock(2003) or Hogan or Nash and Hall back in 1996, or even HHH. Basically, all he generates is apathy, since he's just there, unlike Cena.
Bray Wyatt is someone I have never been invested in because I never saw anything in him in the first place- the promos are basically nonsensical (God, False Prophet and all that), and he's nowhere near the level of Mick Foley a la Mankind in terms of promos or action, or Undertaker. It would've been okay for them to give him the IC title, I never felt like he possessed the gravitas and caliber of "WWE champion" unlike AJ Styles.
Seth Rollins ever since his return has been in a perpetual, weird transition. It's like they couldn't decide whether he was to be a heel or a face, and then when the face turn happened, it never yielded the intense and triumphant "YAY!". And then, despite his talents, Rollins has been missing the charisma and elan he exemplified previously during his heel run, IMO.
Dean Ambrose, I can only wonder how anyone took him seriously in the first place. Don't those tight jeans hurt his knees every time he extends or bends them in action? Just like Bray Wyatt, I never felt it "right" when they announced- Dean Ambrose-WWE champion- unlike Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins or AJ Styles. Thankfully, now he's just in the position he should be in- a career midcarder.
Brock Lesnar- When's the last time he's done anything of value, prominence or impact- besides the Summerslam match with Orton? Every time he appears, it's the same Brock wearing the same pajamas, with the same demeanor, and nearly identical promos by Heyman. His last really good match IMO was the one with Punk.
It's like he's this Ghost who's been there and yet not been there, in 5 years, in significant feuds with only three performers-HHH, Taker and Cena, two of whom weren't even on the active roster. He's shown little evolution, and I don't expect any in the future.
The difference between him and Orton is, Orton does the same thing, perform excellently, but because it's been seen a thousand times- generates apathy, whereas Brock does the same thing- which is barely anything novel, and in his repetitive smirks, smugness and suplexes, anything of substance, gravitas or dignity- evokes nothing but apathy and indifference.
The WWE's star performers of the year, ironically, are Reigns, Strowman, Cena and Styles, and to a lesser level Owens, Ziggler, Nakamura. Lesnar just gets his cheques and departs, richer and more smug.
To end,
How do you feel about the aforementioned or your own memories of the year in general?
Which wrestlers were you most invested in and feel should've been pushed more, or less?
What did the WWE do wrong, and right, and who do you think the future belongs to?
Last year around this time, we had all been hit with the news of the brand split and were wondering incessantly and zealously how things would be like-going into Battleground was the WWE championship, its Fate dictating that one of the three Shield warriors would emerge as the victor and take the title to his respective brand.
Let's look at some of the memorable things that have happened within that time:-
1)Braun Strowman would squash opponents on Raw in the early months of the brand split and soon emerge as one of the mainstays, and today almost a main-eventer.
2)Jinder Mahal went from losing to Sami Zayn in squash fashion on Raw to being the current WWE champion.
3)Enzo and Cass are no longer a team- thank heavens!- so we won't be seeing them be defeated by "The Club" in a meaningless match again, for the umpteenth time.
4)Speaking of The Club, they're still insignificant not only as part of the Raw tag division but on the whole.
5)As are Sami Zayn and Rusev. Rusev went from a feud with Roman Reigns to oblivious insignificance, whereas Sami has been- just there- like a nonentity.
6)Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura are now a part of the main Roster, and Finn Balor has returned.
7)Some of the wrestlers whom I, personally feel like have done little of note or generate little enthusiasm in me, are:- Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar.
8)AJ Styles had a phenomenal year, but unfortunately, instead of doing anything significant with him, such as a lengthy title reign a la CM Punk, and carrying his extraordinarily vigorous momentum forward, they had to have him drop the title, then demote him into a feud for the US title, so Jinder Mahal could be the WWE champion and Randy Orton of all people would be the defender and chaser- makes no sense.
Since some of you may be shocked at the inclusion of one or the other in the previous list, I will state my reasons for the same.
Orton, IMO, although infinitely talented has become so regular, so present and so predictable, that it's just not possible for me to be invested in him at this point, no matter the feud or the Title at stake- since it's nowhere near the level of career renaissance or evolution(pun intended!) of The Rock(2003) or Hogan or Nash and Hall back in 1996, or even HHH. Basically, all he generates is apathy, since he's just there, unlike Cena.
Bray Wyatt is someone I have never been invested in because I never saw anything in him in the first place- the promos are basically nonsensical (God, False Prophet and all that), and he's nowhere near the level of Mick Foley a la Mankind in terms of promos or action, or Undertaker. It would've been okay for them to give him the IC title, I never felt like he possessed the gravitas and caliber of "WWE champion" unlike AJ Styles.
Seth Rollins ever since his return has been in a perpetual, weird transition. It's like they couldn't decide whether he was to be a heel or a face, and then when the face turn happened, it never yielded the intense and triumphant "YAY!". And then, despite his talents, Rollins has been missing the charisma and elan he exemplified previously during his heel run, IMO.
Dean Ambrose, I can only wonder how anyone took him seriously in the first place. Don't those tight jeans hurt his knees every time he extends or bends them in action? Just like Bray Wyatt, I never felt it "right" when they announced- Dean Ambrose-WWE champion- unlike Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins or AJ Styles. Thankfully, now he's just in the position he should be in- a career midcarder.
Brock Lesnar- When's the last time he's done anything of value, prominence or impact- besides the Summerslam match with Orton? Every time he appears, it's the same Brock wearing the same pajamas, with the same demeanor, and nearly identical promos by Heyman. His last really good match IMO was the one with Punk.
It's like he's this Ghost who's been there and yet not been there, in 5 years, in significant feuds with only three performers-HHH, Taker and Cena, two of whom weren't even on the active roster. He's shown little evolution, and I don't expect any in the future.
The difference between him and Orton is, Orton does the same thing, perform excellently, but because it's been seen a thousand times- generates apathy, whereas Brock does the same thing- which is barely anything novel, and in his repetitive smirks, smugness and suplexes, anything of substance, gravitas or dignity- evokes nothing but apathy and indifference.
The WWE's star performers of the year, ironically, are Reigns, Strowman, Cena and Styles, and to a lesser level Owens, Ziggler, Nakamura. Lesnar just gets his cheques and departs, richer and more smug.
To end,
How do you feel about the aforementioned or your own memories of the year in general?
Which wrestlers were you most invested in and feel should've been pushed more, or less?
What did the WWE do wrong, and right, and who do you think the future belongs to?
