By Goose Mahler, Associate Editor
Another week of empty arenas or, in AEW’s case, a closed session that worked wonders as it had a lot more energy than any show the WWE has tried to throw out there. I personally found the main event entertaining as hell with Jericho and Guervara vs Matt Hardy and Kenny Omega in a street fight. This match had people turning off a championship match between Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream. The Golf Cart segment was pure gold!
Don’t get me wrong here, NXT had a good show. Kross and Scarlett had a great entrance and debut. Flair and Shirai was solid along with Ripley’s unexpected return. Cole and Dream also did not disappoint. But the WWE is doing the same ole shit week in and week out with these empty arena matches and it just isn’t intriguing. That means it wasn’t on par with what AEW brought to the table.
AEW did COVID testing, got some fans into the crowd and put on a stellar show that seemed to have more substance because the “fan” interaction was there. It helps that they also had great action bell to bell, the return of a real snake and storylines that captured my attention. And I admit, there are showing a little more in the women’s division which I have not been a big fan of. Britt Baker as a heel is just what the doctor ordered even out of the ring.
Sometimes when things change the status quo needs to also change, but the WWE doesn’t seem to understand that whatsoever. I mean how many weeks in a row can we listen to Seth Rollins spew his leadership Messiah crap while hiding behind a disciple since the other two are always injured? He’s in dire need of a mouth-piece because his version of the former Straight Edge Society tanks because Punk could cut a promo and didn’t come off as a whiny, preachy bitch. Rollins on the other hand has the charisma of a wet fart you try like hell to not let loose on the general public.
The above critique is not just on Rollins either. Lashley since returning to the WWE has been on this rollercoaster ride of bad feuds, bad booking and bad creative decisions. One week he’s flipping tires, the next week he’s flipping opponents, and the next week he’s heading for divorce court. Let’s get something straight here, Bobby Lashley is a legitimate bad ass wrestler who the WWE doesn’t know how to get over. Again, the first thing that goes through my mind is he needs a mouth-piece.
This is also where I tell people, AEW smoked the WWE because they brought in a mouth-piece in Jake “The Snake” Roberts and utilized him perfectly with Lance Archer. If Rollins or Lashley had even a smidge of the charisma Jake brings to a promo, interview or segment the WWE might have attentive fans. Instead, fans are shutting off the TV when they even know Rollins or Lashley is coming on TV. I doubt any wrestling fan ever turned the TV off on Roberts when he was cutting a promo or doing something devious.
AEW exposed the WWE by allow Matt Hardy to bring his best broken game. Vince obviously never understood what Matt Hardy’s broken gimmick really meant. Matt gets to AEW did some corny TV magic tricks while Jericho looked confused as hell leading to a Street Fight that had people buzzing. That is what broken does for his fan base and wrestling fans in general.
It might be ridiculous as hell, but it gets the fans attention and gets them talking. You don’t know what’s coming, when it might be coming, what to expect, or anything, but you know its going to be entertaining and “Good shit” compared to what Vince throws out there. The Broken world is alive and well and as captivating as ever. Who would have through we would be watching Matt Hardy and Kenny Omega running down the Inner Circle in a golf cart??? Brilliant!
Hell, I’ll go right back under Vince’s own nose. The best promo in the WWE all week belongs to one Prince Devitt aka Finn Balor. If the WWE wouldn’t have screwed his character up and gave fans exactly what he brings to NXT he would be more over than Rollins ever wished he was. But alas, Vince didn’t know what to do with Balor or the Demon and he’s shining in NXT while Raw is putting over MVP and his new stable. Does that make any damn sense at all?
Instead, the WWE is too busy erasing Roman Reigns, The WWE also has an Intercontinental issue with Sami Zayn. To top it off the Revolt is doing the wrestling talk show circuit to a T which makes mean ole Vinny Mac look even more like a putz if that’s possible at this point. People say he has been in a bad mood. Can you imagine the mood if Money in the Bank tanks? Help us AJ Styles your our only hope.
I said it before I am not a fan of empty arena events. I was a fan of what AEW did the other night. I think NXT did a better job than both Raw and Smackdown with their environment. The bottom line is, until things get semi back to normal wrestling is going to have an awkward feel to it. Hopefully, Money in the Bank shows the WWE is changing some of its tactics otherwise, their ratings avalanche down isn’t going to stop any time soon.
Until next week, beware of the Golf Cart!
Want More? Choose another story!
Visit ProWrestlingStories.com - Your daily source of wrestling history and nostalgia!
Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
