May 5, 2012

Home Schooling No. 15

Hello there readers, it's me, the Aussie Mouthpiece, and it's time for another weekly dose of home schooling. This week I'll cover Monday Night Raw, iMPACT, and I'll even go back and talk a little about the repercussions from Extreme Rules. 

So let's get down to business.

Having had a few days to digest the events of Extreme Rules, I've come to realise how important the match between Brock Lesnar and John Cena was. 

Think about it.

How long have the fans been crying out for a return to the attitude era? How long have there been fans saying "PG wrestling is terrible"? How long have they been saying "bring back blood", or "we want blood"

Most people would say too long. The match between Cena and Lesnar changed all that. In the space of just 20 minutes, Vince, the writers, and the entire WWE showed us what we've been waiting for for the longest time: a return to a more bloody, violent product. 

Yes, there has been blood in recent memory, Lesnar's attack on Cena a couple of weeks ago, and Triple H vs Undertaker. But, the difference here is that they were accidental. Clearly, the elbows Lesnar rained down on Cena were planned beforehand. This match looked, and felt so different to anything I've seen in the last few years. Brock Lesnar's reputation obviously had a lot to do with that, but I'm not sure that people are giving the WWE enough credit.

This match was (for the most part) a masterpiece in psychology. Lesnar completely dominated Cena. It wasn't a wrestling match. It wasn't even an extreme rules match. The way that Lesnar, and his MMA skills were used in this match made it feel like the beginning of a new era.

I do think however, that they faltered in one area, which showed that the WWE aren't entirely ready to shift into a new era. I'm talking about having Cena win. 
This is the one time I kind of agree with the Cena haters. It really looked like Super-cena. Brock dominated the match for near 20 minutes, and yet Cena can keep him down for a 3 count with a punch to the head and an Attitude Adjustment onto stairs? and more to the point, Brock can't keep Cena down with the 20 minutes of violence he laid on him?

It felt like the wrong decision is all I'm saying. 

I'm going to disagree with some people here though, and say that it didn't really hurt Lesnar at all. It seems that people consider a loss to be a guy getting "buried". Jericho is a popular topic for that. He's lost at every pay per view since his return, so therefore he must be getting buried. 

No. He's not.

He's basically headlined Wrestlemania this year, in the sense that he was in the WWE title match. He's had another title match at the last pay per view. He was in the final part of the Royal Rumble. And he's featured every week on RAW heavily, and usually getting the better of CM Punk, or delivering really strong promos.

That is not burying. Not seeing someone for ages, and then seeing them only losing and being used badly, is burying. Some might say Zack Ryder is being buried at the moment.

But back to what I was saying, Lesnar losing, didn't hurt him. Anyone who's seen the match, or highlights of the match, saw that Lesnar dominated, cut open, and basically tore Cena's arm off. I just think that if he had won it really would have signified the beginning of a new era, rather than a timid step over the line.


Ok let's move on to Raw.

Like I was saying in my Extreme Rules review, something that deviates from the norm is usually good. And this is the case with the Beat the Clock challenge. It gives the matches a different feel, and connects all the matches together in a unique way. So I'm glad they decided to bring that back. And I'm also glad we have a different challenger for the WWE title. CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan is a dream PPV match. I just don't understand why it's happening on Over the Limit...and not a bigger stage like Summerslam or Survivor Series. Maybe it's a case of the WWE not having a lot of faith that this match can draw big numbers. 

The other match that was announced this week, really befuddles me. John Cena's next opponent is.. John Laurinitis? Didn't CM Punk want to fight Ace last time I checked? And, moreso, why would anyone think that Cena would even have the slightest problem kicking Ace's ass, if he can overcome the crazy beating Lesnar dished out, and beat Lesnar!

I just don't understand this match. I get that they can play up the injured arm and that gives Laurinitis an easy target to work on, but the man hasn't wrestled in something like 10 years, and he's spent a good part of that last 10 years in a suit, as a corporate man. Lesnar was a UFC heavyweight champion, and Cena beat him. 

It's like a story Jim Cornette told on one of his Kayfabe Commentaries dvds. He was talking about Marc Mero and Sable (History time kiddies). Mero was either just having a match with, or was supposed to be starting a feud with the then up and coming Stone Cold Steve Austin. So the story goes that Marc Mero let Sable powerbomb him on TV.
 Then soon after, Steve was talking to Vince and the writing team saying "Well who am I wrestling next week then? Because he just let his wife powerbomb him, so why would anyone think I would have the slightest problem beating him?" Granted this is a different circumstance, but the argument is still sound. If Cena can overcome Lesnar, why would Laurinitis pose any threat? And, more to the point, why would anyone pay to see it?

Speaking of Lesnar, we had this opening segment with Triple H coming out and tearing up Lesnar's list of demands, and then Lesnar "breaking" Triple H's arm. I was a bit ambivalent about this segment honestly. I just don't understand why they did it. I hear it could be because Lesnar has a set number of TV appearances in his contract, and they didn't want to use them up before the year is up or something. I guess as well that it puts him over even more as a ruthless animal. But it's all a bit confusing. I'm still not sure whether the WWE want the crowd to cheer for him, or to boo him. He acts like a heel, but then does really awesome stuff that we love seeing. Maybe they're not trying to sway the crowds one way or the other. Maybe they're letting Lesnar be Lesnar.

I also saw that it's come out this week that Rey Mysterio got suspended for violating the wellness policy, and that he was not/is not going to be getting a push when he returns. Now to me that's gotta be blown a little out of proportion (the second thing I mean). There will have to be some kind of announcement and big return. My theory is that they meant he won't be moving straight into the title picture or anything, but maybe will feud around the mid card level with someone. I think he and Ziggler could put on a good match.


Impact Wrestling.. I mean I'm trying to get into it.. I really am. But what with the crazy music going on during the "Gut check contract" segment, and Flair flipping and flopping around from a No to a yes after the dude delivered a crappy promo, and the heavy editing that's really badly done, I'm finding it really hard to keep watching. I did like the Bully Ray/Austin Aries segment though. Bully/Bubba has come so far lately I think. 

I just can't get past his name though. Imagine that.. "And the new TNA World Heavyweight champion.. Bully.. Ray!".. It sounds like a children's cartoon character. I understand they wanted to keep the similarity to Bubba Ray and Brother Ray, but surely they could have just used Ray, or his real name or something. We can figure out that it's still the same guy.

What about this? He comes out and says "Brother Ray was the name keeping me down for so many years, but now that I've rid myself of my "brother", you people, can call me ____________" Or something.

That's about all I have to say this week, so until next time, you can follow me on twitter @TheOZMouthpiece if you're not already, and also check out my writing at the following sites:

http://sltdwrestling.blogspot.com
http://pwjournal.wordpress.com
www.wrestlingheads.com

I'm the Aussie Mouthpiece, and my business is concluded, for now.

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