TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1192 (Owens, Stardust & Miz vs. Ziggler, Zayn & Cara)

Check out last week's Monday Night RAW review, featuring a look at AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens and more here

On 28th March 2016, WWE aired the 1192nd episode of Monday Night RAW live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, USA on the USA Network. With 6 days until WrestleMania XXXII, WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens teamed with Stardust & The Miz to take on Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn and Sin Cara, The Undertaker and Shane McMahon came face to face ahead of their upcoming Hell in a Cell Match and WWE Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston of The New Day took on League of Nations' Alberto Del Rio...but was it any good? Let's find out.

monday night raw #1192 match card

Match 1 - Singles - Chris Jericho vs. Zack Ryder

Match 2 - Singles - Becky Lynch vs. WWE Diva's Champion Charlotte w/Ric Flair 

Match 3 - Tag Team - The Social Outcasts (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel) w/Adam Rose & Heath Slater vs. Kane & The Big Show

Match 4 - Singles - WWE Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston (The New Day) with WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. Alberto Del Rio (League of Nations) w/League of Nations

Match 5 - Singles - Konnor (The Ascension) w/Viktor (The Ascension) vs. WWE United States Champion Kalisto (Lucha Dragons)

Match 6 - Singles - Paige (The Total Divas) w/The Total Divas vs. Emma (B.A.D. & Blonde) w/B.A.D. & Blonde

Match 7 - Six Man Tag Team - Stardust, The Miz & WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens vs. Sin Cara, Dolph Ziggler & Sami Zayn

shane mcmahon smashes the undertaker through the announce table

This was a superb opening segment, as The Undertaker and Shane McMahon both put in top class performances, and added the last bit of sheen to the six week build to their Hell in a Cell match in six days time in Dallas. It all started off with Undertaker giving it the big the ones and pulling out the cliches like "WrestleMania is my yard" and what have you, with a boisterous Brooklyn crowd offering a great backdrop for the Deadman. Things really shifted into top gear, however, when Shane McMahon interrupted the former 4 time WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The two went back and forth seemingly trying to provoke each other and it was fantastic to watch it all unfold, with the crowd popping for any utterance either man made.

“You've been your Daddy's bitch” was what it took for Shane O'Mac to see red and the pair brawled their way out of the ring and around ringside. A big memorable moment to kick off the show, as McMahon got the better of his more decorated opponent with the help of TV monitor and followed it up with an elbow drop off the top rope straight through the announce table. WWE needed to show that McMahon could go toe to toe with the Undertaker in some shape of form, to allow fans to buy into Shane O'Mac as a viable threat to the Deadman on Sunday night in Texas, and I felt that they managed to do a damn good job of doing so here, whilst also keeping the Undertaker looking strong. A great opening to complete the TV portion of a feud that has came completely out nowhere to become the highlight of the last six weeks.

fast-forward...A quick recap of the goings on from the opening segment

zack ryder vs. chris jericho

Zack Ryder's 1st singles victory on Monday Night RAW since July 2014, saw the Long Island Iced Z end up part of Chris Jericho's ongoing feud with AJ Styles. Ryder and Jericho hadn't even locked up before Styles was out (wearing no shirt for reasons that were never explained) and causing problems for the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion in attempt to get his desired WrestleMania match against Y2J. A cheeky roll-up got the win for Ryder after just over two minutes. The Jericho and Styles feud has trod water for a while now, but there was some decent stuff going on here. Y2J losing his shit after the match and smashing a chair against the ring post showed his sheer frustration well, with things eventually escalating into Jericho accepting Styles' challenge for the Granddaddy of Them All. I do however wish someone would teach Styles the cadence needed in order to get a chant going, as his attempted "Y2Jackass" chant fell flater than a witch's tit, despite many many attempts.

becky lynch vs. charlotte

After some strong work over the last few months to build towards the WWE Diva's Championship match at WrestleMania, Becky Lynch and Charlotte's match ended up being a bit of shambles. The wrestling was fine, but I just can't get my head around the booking. Sasha Banks sat a ringside but didn't do commentary, and barely got involved in the match, which was head-scratcher and Charlotte going on Becky just 6 days before Becky get's a shot at Charlotte's WWE Diva's Championship makes little to no sense. Having Charlotte win with a move that's been used mostly as a false finish since she made the step from NXT (Natural Selection) didn't aid matters either. All three women just looking around after the match left things feeling incomplete just days before the biggest match of their careers!

fast-forward...Vince McMahon was interviewed by Renee Young, but for me the segment came alive when Shane McMahon interrupted, after a tired performance from Vince...After Social Outcast members Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel match with Big Show and Kane ended in a mass-brawl to promote the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal from the WrestleMania Pre-Show, with Kane and Show finishing things off with a couple of chokeslams...A recap of Roman Reigns attacking Triple H in the parking lot from Monday Night RAW #1191 aired...

the authority looks forward to a record wrestlemania attendance

Another piece of weird booking as WWE has seemingly lost any idea of what it's trying to achieve with Triple H's feud with Roman Reigns. The Authority had some pretty good heat in Brooklyn, but The Game's lengthy solo promo seemed completely aimless. The current WWE World Heavyweight Champion put Reigns over strongly, reminding the Brooklyn crowd that "they don't have the ability to make their dreams a reality" but that Reigns does. How on earth is that supposed to make a crowd that was already more than sceptical about Reigns cheer for him? A brief scrap between Reigns and Triple H closed the segment, but that wasn't the last we'd see between the two on show.

kofi kingston vs. alberto del rio

After The New Day had had some cereal based banter, it was time for Kofi Kingston and Alberto Del Rio to have their 15th televised match! The action between the two was pacy and crisp as they made the best of their seven minutes of match time, fitting in a lot and keeping things extremely watchable throughout. Xavier Woods playing La Cucaracha on his trombone was an interesting moment in the bout, especially with things Del Rio has previously said about his treatment during his last WWE run. It did however work nicely into a more aggressive Del Rio, and provided some much needed fire to proceedings. Kingston would eventually cap of a solid bout by reversing Del Rio's cross armbreaker attempt into a school boy roll-up after just over seven minutes. The surprise return of Jonathan Coachman to another that Sportscenter will air live from WrestleMania on Sunday and to dance with New Day was nice little addition as well. 

fast-forward...The commentary team pushed what was coming up on the WWE Network through the rest of the week...Backstage, The Dudley Boyz lured Roman Reigns into a backstage assault from Triple H...The previous segment got replayed...WWE United States Champion Kalisto squashed The Ascension's Konnor, before having a weird stare down with his WrestleMania Pre-Show challenger Ryback...

paul heyman is ready to unleash brock lesnar on dean ambrose 

A killer segment here as WWE let Paul Heyman do what he does best and just talk and talk and talk. Heyman put over every single element of the Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose match on Sunday night and made it seem like the most important thing that will ever happen in the history of the world. Just sheer poetry here. So much so, that my bullet points for the segment read - "Heyman. Heyman. Heyman". The stuff about Lesnar giving Ambrose a colonoscopy on Sunday was a bit odd though, not sure that many people will be tuning in with the hope of seeing one of those in Dallas. I got a nice little kick out of Dean Ambrose coming to ring to fill up his red wagon with potential plunder, without even acknowledging Lesnar or Heyman, before exiting up the ramp. It was perhaps a little flawed in logic, but I don't really care, it made me want to see Lesnar and Ambrose tear strips off each other and hopefully that's what we'll get at WrestleMania.

the total divas see red

Emma and Paige are more than capable of putting on an absolute classic encounter, but when place in the middle of the bizarre Total Divas vs. B.A.D. and Blonde feud it didn't really stand much chance. It was only a couple of minutes before the outside action distracted the referee long enough for Lana to level Paige with a big ol' kick to give Emma the win. With the heels having one more member of there team, I'd kind of seen the next moment coming. There was only one person who could save The Total Divas and of course, that one person, was Eva Marie! She made her Monday Night RAW return to take out Lana, seemingly joining The Total Divas side for their match on the WrestleMania Pre-Show on Sunday. What a time to be alive, eh? 

fast-forward...Another backstage segment with Goldust & R-Truth...Snoop Dogg was announced as this year's Celebrity Inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame...

dolph ziggler, sami zayn and sin cara vs. kevin owens, the miz and stardust

Wow, where to even begin with this one? Let's go with the crowd. Brooklyn turned on this match after five minutes or so and I'm not sure there were being quite as smart as they thought they were being. I completely understand them being a bit pissed off with how the Intercontinental Championship has been handled over the last two weeks or so and their frustrations with the shitty booking of the seven man ladder match, but chanting for "CM Punk" or "RVD" was not the best way to show their frustration. Why not cheer for usual favourites like Sami Zayn? Why not show the WWE how popular Zayn is? Nah, fuck it, that'd be stupid. I wouldn't be surprised if WWE nixed any upcoming plans to push Zayn post-WrestleMania and goes for something else instead. There was an opportunity to make a real statement about what the fans want to see and Brooklyn wasted it.

Whilst I actually thought that the six man was a bloody good contest, with some strong build-up work, nice storytelling that rewarded fans for paying attention and a thrilling sequence towards the end, it was clear for everyone to see that the contest was way too long. Taking up two commercial breaks, the match actually ended up going over 21 minutes. For a six man tag that was essentially a throw-away piece of build for a lazily put together WrestleMania match that is way, way too long. You could have gotten away with taking ten minutes or even more off the match and came out with a much more effective contest. Why would you expect a tired crowd that hasn't seen a match go longer than 8 minutes so far to stay hooked for a 21 minute bout with no consequence and featuring guys like Sin Cara and Stardust who have been essentially job guys for the last few months? 

roman reigns and triple h trade punches before wrestlemania 

Luckily we were saved another coma-inducing promo from Triple H, as Roman Reigns interrupted early and events followed a paint-by-numbers formula to complete the bulk of the companies WrestleMania programming. Reigns and Triple H got into a scrap, with Reigns getting the upperhand before the heel locker room emptied and then the babyfaces evened the score and a pull-apart brawl erupted. A beautiful dive of the top rope from Reigns onto Triple H and a crowd of performers was the highlight, as the Big Dog transformed into a majestical swan to close the show. The show close wasn't the most original piece of television but it at least kept me entertained and had nice pace and drive. 

finally...

atpw scale rating - 5.70/10

Despite it's a number of flaws, the go-home show for WrestleMania was actually a pretty good show overall. The opening segment with Shane McMahon and The Undertaker duking it out set a level that the show struggled to compete with, although the Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose segment later in the show did a pretty good job of things, whilst even the un-original show closer was an entertaining watch. 

It was a shame that a lot of the show didn't seem to have been thought about beyond the fact that it needed to mention the number of WrestleMania and WrestleMania Pre-Show matches that had been booked for Sunday. The six man tag to promote the Intercontinental Championship Ladder match went ridiculously long and lost the crowd, the Divas Championship build was poorly put together and then there's the other women's storyline that's happening for reasons. It wouldn't have taken much for someone to pay attention to the card and apply a bit of critical thought about how best to showcase what would be on offer on Sunday, but it seemed that no one could be arsed to do that here.

Overall this was a better than average show to lead into WrestleMania, but a rather flabby piece of television in places.

TV REVIEW: WWE Monday Night RAW #1186 (Styles vs. Miz)

Broadcast on the 15th February 2016, the 1186th episode of WWE's Monday Night RAW aired from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, USA. The show featured AJ Styles taking on The Miz, Paul Heyman calling out Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler, Tyler Breeze, Stardust and Kevin Owens in a Fatal Five-Way Match...but was it any good? Let's take a look.

match card

Match 1 - Fatal Five-Way for the WWE Intercontinental Championship - Dean Ambrose (C) vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens vs. Stardust vs. Tyler Breeze

Match 2 - Singles - Big E w/The New Day vs. Mark Henry

Match 3 - Singles - AJ Styles vs. The Miz

Match 4 - Singles - Paige vs. Summer Rae

Match 5 - Singles - Heath Slater w/The Social Outcasts vs. Zack Ryder

Match 6 - Six Man Tag Team - League of Nations w/King Barrett vs. Neville & The Lucha Dragons

Match 7 - Singles - Becky Lynch vs. Naomi w/Tamina

Match 8 - Singles - Braun Strowman w/The Wyatt Family vs. The Big Show

wwe intercontinental champion dean ambrose and stephanie mcmahon open the show

A short and sweet opening, there was no messing about at the start of Monday Night RAW. The pace was spot on, as WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose kicked off the show by calling out Brock Lesnar, only for Stephanie McMahon to turn up and force him to defend his title against four other men. There was no long winded promo, there was no back and forth chat. It was this is what's going to happen, there's nothing you can do about it, here's your first match of the show and it's gonna be a fun one. With the added element that if Roman Reigns interfered that Ambrose would be removed from the Triple Threat main event at Fastlane, there was even more intrigued poured onto the opening match. More opening segments like these please, WWE. 

kevin owens defeats dean ambrose, dolph ziggler, stardust and tyler breeze to win the wwe intercontinental championship

This a sweet opening match, that was pretty much everything that you'd expect it to be. Lot's of big spots with all five guys pulling their weight in busy twelve minutes of action. It was easy to watch action that kept the good times rolling throughout as bodies flew everywhere. Kevin Owens hitting a Powerbomb on Tyler Breeze to the outside stands out as one of the particular highlights. The finish was cleverly done to involve all five men in the match, as whilst Ambrose seemed set to win the match with Dirty Deeds on Stardust, Dolph Ziggler caught The Lunatic Fringe with a Zig Zag (coincidentally causing Ambrose to hit his finish also) before Breeze sent Ziggler out of the ring and walked straight into a Pop-Up Powerbomb from Owens to allow the Prizefighter to pick up the win and begin his second run with the Intercontinental Championship. It was a shame that the match was filled with guys who have struggled for victories in 2016, with Stardust and Breeze without wins on either RAW or Smackdown this year, as having four strong competitors would have added more danger to the match for Ambrose and added to the titles recent re-build. Having Ambrose drop the title does give him a more realistic chance of winning the Triple Threat at Fastlane though.

fast-forward...Renee Young interviewed Dean Ambrose backstage, as the now former WWE Intercontinental Champion cut a passionate promo about how The Authority had just presented him with even more motivation heading into Fastlane...Straight back to Renee as she caught up with new WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens, who was interrupted by Dolph Ziggler, with Ziggler laying dfown a challenge for Sunday's Fastlane PPV...

wwe tag team champion big e defeated mark henry

Following a boisterous promo from The New Day, that included Big E pretending to play the recorder (which was definitely not intending to look like the act of fellatio, at all) and the group referring to Mark Henry as "The World's Largest Booty Hole" we got a pretty typical big man bout. Pretty much here to tie up the loose ends from last week's random eight man tag team tables match, that saw Mark Henry walk out on The New Day, leaving them to ultimately lose to The Dudley Boyz and The Usos. Big E looked dominant throughout, and picked up the win with an impressive Big Ending, that leaves Big E currently unbeaten in his last four singles matches. With The New Day without an opponent at Fastlane, this was mostly used to hype their appearance on "The Cutting Edge Peep Show" talk segment with Edge & Christian, which was announced during this match to take part on PPV.

wwe diva's champion charlotte and ric flair interrupt byron saxton's interview with brie bella

Somehow, despite Charlotte laying it on thick about Brie's husband Daniel Bryan having to retire from pro wrestling last week on Monday Night RAW and gloating about being the reason for Brie's sister Nikki being on the injury list, Brie's reply still felt insincere. In a moment, where her real emotion about the situation involving her husband should have came boiling through, it just didn't. I didn't feel like Brie was upset by what Charlotte had to say or even pissed off. This was Brie trying to act her emotion, instead of just showing it for real. Charlotte carried this segment by coming across like a real dick, whilst Ric Flair just standing behind her and smiling away was the highlight for me. The sooner was can move past Fastlane and back into Charlotte's feud with Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch the better. 

aj styles defeats the miz via submission

In the words of John "Bradshaw" Layfield, "AJ Styles looks like a Hogwarts" Powerful words by the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion. That being said, whilst whether Styles does or does not look like "a Hogwarts" The Miz certainly allowed him to look like a star in their 2nd televised encounter. Miz was bumping all over the place for the former 2 time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, making numerous elements of Styles arsenal look devasting. The build up to Styles' hitting the Pele Kick in particular stands out. It's clear that the two have been working a number of house show matches opposite each other. Then there was Styles kicking out of the Skull Crushing Finale, which the commentary team put over strong, aided by a strong facial performance from The Miz. Whilst Styles is clearly one of the best wrestlers in the world, he was put over huge as a competitor to fear, whilst having a pretty decent bout of a good length against someone who is recognisable to the WWE fanbase. Picking up the win with Calf Crusher, Styles has quickly been positioned as one of WWE's premier competitors. Miz on the other hand has had a TV win in 2016.

With Chris Jericho putting in a satisfying performance on commentary, it was clear that we'd see him get involved with Styles at some point, but we had to wait until the match was over to see exactly where things would be heading. It was good to see Styles get an opportunity to talk on the mic and whilst it wasn't the home run that he could've done with, The Phenomenal One got over what he needed to do and set the stage for an upcoming match was Fastlane. An interesting side-step however saw Jericho tell Styles that he'd have to wait until this week's Thursday Night Smackdown to find out his answer. Now, I'm pretty sure we're all expecting Jericho to agree to the match, but to hold it off until Thursday then you'd have to think that WWE has something up it's sleeve for the PPV match. Maybe an extra gimmick for the third match between the two? 

the dudley boyz explain their attack on the usos last week

The Dudley Boyz had a five minute promo segment to explain their attack on The Usos last week. Basically, the 2 time IWGP Tag Team Champions don't want to be a nostalgia act and are therefore dropping their Tables gimmick. Both men put in strong performances on the microphone as they worked the Anaheim crowd well, reminding them to check out the WWE Network if they want to see them put people through tables. With The Usos supposedly still out selling the attack from last week, the promo didn't really have anywhere to go, but this performance was certainly the strongest work Bubba Ray and D-Von have put in since they returned to WWE in late-August 2015. I'm actually looking forward to seeing where this heel run can take them over the next six months.

summer rae defeats paige

This was a strange one, as Summer Rae had her first TV match since June 2015 (a loss to Naomi on Main Event), won her first TV match since April 2015 (a victory over Emma on Main Event) and won her first match on Monday Night RAW since June 2014 (a mixed tag team win with Adam Rose over Fandango and Layla). The contest was moving along just fine, with nothing much going on, when Summer nicked a roll-up victory. Neither girl has been doing much of late, beyond Paige working a handful of tag bouts with Natalya, so this one came really out of left field. Nothing bad about it, nothing for anyone to crazy about. Who the fuck knows where this is going. Hopefully somewhere that doesn't involve Paige shouting each of her spots.

paul heyman calls out roman reigns

I wish I could've looked past the inaccuracies in Paul Heyman's promo, because it was the type of passionate, story-telling that we've come to expect from The Advocate, but it was bugging me throughout. Heyman told Reigns that one Sunday at Fastlane, he'll have to choose between winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for his family or keeping his friendship with Dean Ambrose. Which is fine on paper, it's cool way to add even more drama to the main event of the PPV that's just six days away. But here's the problem, Ambrose and Reigns main-evented a PPV together in November and fought over the title, and they're still pals. They were also both in the final three of the Royal Rumble match and our still pals. If you hadn't really been keeping up with WWE's product you might have bought into it, but even Reigns' promo ended up cutting this level of intrigue out straight away. We did however get to see Ambrose attempt to jump Reigns with Dirty Deeds, after initially fighting off an attack from The Dudley Boyz, only for the two to fist bump to close the segment.

fast-forward...Zack Ryder jobbed to Heath Slater in 2 minutes, leaving Slater with a 3-1 singles record for 2016 so far...Goldust interrupted R-Truth's Valentine's Meal as their wacky segments continued...

the league of nations defeat neville and the lucha dragons

Another entirely watchable, but throwaway bout. For me, there was no feel that this match was being used to push a lengthy feud between Kalisto and Alberto Del Rio over the WWE United States Championship, and could just have easily slotted into a space on Main Event. That isn't to say the match was without it's high points, as the babyfaces trio of dives to the outside looked superb and deserved more of a spotlight than it was given here. The finish continued to see Del Rio given the push heading into his rematch at Fastlane Kick-Off as he pinned Sin Cara. I'm unsure as to why Del Rio was playing up to the crowd as he hit his double stomp finish half way across the ring, as if he was babyface. Giving him such a spectacular finish to the match was also another bizarre decision. King Barrett looked weird in his ring gear in a managerial role at ringside.

fast-forward...As part of their Black History Month coverage, WWE showcased the life and career of World Heavyweight Champion, Booker T...Alberto Del Rio cut another short promo about mosquitos, when interview by Renee Young...

becky lynch defeats naomi via submission

This was pretty much a straight-up squash for Becky Lynch as she dominated Naomi at every turn. Despite that, I thought the two worked well together and created a nice little finishing sequence that saw Becky manage to kick out of roll-up attempt by Naomi and simultaneously lock on his Disarmer submission hold to pick up the victory. Sasha Banks making the save following Team B.A.D.'s post-match beat down was the little bit of extra fuel needed for their tag team clash in 6 days on PPV. It's clearly a stop gap before bigger things at WrestleMania for Sasha and Becky, but all four have taken their chances and performed well when given the opportunity. A bit more time wouldn't have gone a miss her though, perhaps giving them the time that was given Summer and Paige's seemingly pointless bout earlier in the night would've allowed the match to really kick into the next gear.

the big show defeats braun strowman via disqualification

An interesting choice for a main event match that's for sure. I guess WWE was hoping that a bout between two big men would pop a rating or at least they were experimenting with the idea. Maybe, they don't even feel that the final segment is necessarily as important as it used to be? Because with no disrespect to anyone involved, but this is a mid-card feud. The segment we got was actually an enjoyable watch as after a few minutes of pushing each other about, The Wyatt Family pounced to take out Big Show before Ryback and Kane made the save to close the show. Kane coming up through the ring was a nice touch and the former Tag Team Championship duo of Show and Kane hitting a Double Chokeslam on Luke Harper was also pretty cool. Ryback being referenced to as part of the "old guard" was also a bizarre piece of commentary. It feels like The Wyatt's feud is to give them something to do until a collision with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, however, a well-booked match at Fastlane could not only position them for such a clash, but also be a damn good bout in the process.

finally....

atpw scale rating - 5.44/10

A solid outing from WWE here, even if it wasn't quite the bigger hitter it needed to be with Fastlane just six days away. The opening segment with Stephanie McMahon and Dean Ambrose and the title defense that followed, as well as AJ Styles' rematch with the Miz stand out as particular highlights of the show. Apart from the random Paige vs. Summer Rae match, everything felt like it had some kind of purpose and had a reason to continue watching, even if the in-ring quality wasn't particularly outstanding. There was nothing that stands out as bad, just a couple of moments of booking that seemed to have not been thought through as much as they could have been (Tyler Breeze and Stardust being placed in the Intercontinental Championship match felt like lazy, making-up-the-numbers booking), but for the most-part this was an entirely watchable Monday Night RAW, that added a little extra to a handful of matches at the upcoming Fastlane PPV on Sunday.

Unstable: Wrestling's Portrayal of Mental Health

How does wrestling portray mental health issues? It's not a question that many would think about when watching Raw. But how many WWE or TNA characters are described as mentally unstable? Or something similar. I'm going to have a little look at a couple of example from modern day WWE and TNA and see how the companies went about showing those issues to their audience.

Dean Ambrose

The prime suspect on WWE television. Constantly referred to as "Unstable" or a "wackjob" by the commentary. Numerous elements of characterisations from Ambrose collate with this Unstable moniker, he even seems to thrive upon it. Shouting out random noises during his matches, even growling at points, Ambrose seems to have no regard for his own well being and at point, seemed completely obsessed with Seth Rollins. It should be pointed out here that if you have a friend that you believe is "Unstable" attempt to get them the help they need, don't let them get into fights with people!

Samuel Shaw

Perhaps the biggest culprit in TNA in recent years was the emergence of the Samuel Shaw character. Despite some dodgy continuity in the storyline, Shaw was fixated on ring announcer Christy Hemme to the point where he kept a shrine to Christy in is house. The storyline would lead to a match between Shaw and Mr. Anderson, where the loser would be sent to a Mental Institution. I did actually find this whole concept rather offensive and certainly insensitive to those with mental health issues. Let's not even mention the questionable morals of the Mental Health Insititution that accepts people because of a wrestling stipulation.

Stardust

Look at Stardust. He's convinced he needs to find a Cosmic Key. He's told his own father that he believes himself (Cody Rhodes) is dead. This is a guy who is seriously dealing with some issues. Some major issues. Will these issues ever be fully realised on screen? Will we get to see how Stardust recovers from the bad time he is having? I doubt it, pro wrestling doesn't really have anything to deal with a such a situation

Is that particularly a bad thing? Should characters who clearly have mental quirks be portrayed on a wrestling show? Of course, they should, it's an integral part of pro wrestling. You need those characters to offer depth, especially in WWE. I think, it is important however about how these quirks are portrayed, and what is pointed out by either the commentary team or storyline, the Samuel Shaw story went too far in what it attempted to do, and at times I think the language on commentary in WWE could be toned down, the characterisation should tell me everything I need to know.

WWE WrestleMania 31 Preview and Predictions

As the song says...Oh oh, it's WrestleMania, yeah this is your life. This sentiment has never rang truer than today, as we get closer to the Granddaddy of Them All. But will come out of this years Mania on top and who will end up with the proverbial egg on their face? All this and more will be answered (or wildly speculated about) in the article you are about to read, monsieur!

World Heavyweight Championship Match

Brock Lesnar (C) vs. Roman Reigns

Head to Head: 

FIRST TIME MEETING!

I can't think of a Mania main event in recent years that's had people talking quite like Lesnar vs. Reigns has. Ever since the Real Rimble a large proportion of "die-hard wrestling fans" have been questioning whether Reigns is ready to main event such a big show. Most have pretty much made their minds up and are encouraging those in attendances to loudly boo Reigns throughout the match. Personally, I'm not sure if Reigns is ready either, however I'd be quite happy to be proved wrong and give Reigns the opportunity to step up to the plate, he's proved in his two highest profile singles matches (opposite Randy Orton at SummerSlam and Daniel Bryan at Fastlane) that he has the ability to put on top quality singles matches. Obviously the argument is that Orton and Bryan's experience was enough to pull Reigns through those matches, but as always it takes a few to fanta.

However, it was the news that broke on Tuesday evening that really sent the wrestling world into full on wild conjecture mode. Yes, Brock Lesnar confirmed he had re-signed with WWE past WrestleMania, that must mean he's holding onto the title...right? I have to admit I was leaning towards that, until Michael Cole ripped into Reigns chancing of beating Lesnar on the WrestleMania Today show on Thursday. It's pretty easy to tell when Cole has been told to get a point across, because he'll hit you over the head with it, chop it up finely and make you snort lines of it, and therefore, it has to be presumed that Vince told him directly. Therefore it was this that made my mind up on who was winning on Sunday...

Prediction - Reigns wins with a Spear

Sting vs. Triple H

Head to Head:

FIRST TIME MEETING

Perhaps the longest running feud heading into WrestleMania, having been running since November's Survivor Series, is this tussle between Sting and Triple H. It's been nice to see a bit of a slower feud and it was clear that WWE had a plan for how to use their newest acquisition from Survivor Series onwards. I'd have like to have seen the story develop a little further in the last four weeks or so, as we headed towards WrestleMania, to give a bit more depth to the WCW vs. WWE thing that was attempted by WWE, but still it's been just interesting enough to hold my attention on Raw.

This bout all hinges on how ready Sting is, it's been a long time since Sting's last quality singles match and even longer since he was competing in strong matches on a regular basis. On the other side of the coin, Trips was involved in some of the stronger matches of 2014, opposite the likes of Daniel Bryan and The Shield. I think, the best hope this one has is to go the over booking route, have a load of run ins from The Authority and possibly some big WCW names and build it around big spots. The story would seem to dictate that Sting will finally get the victory and rid the Universe of the Authority, in some form anyway, but you can never tell with that dastardy Triple Aitch.

Prediction -  Sting

Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship

Daniel Bryan vs. Stardust vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper vs. Dean Ambrose vs. R-Truth vs. Bad News Barrett (C)

Head to Head:

Bryan - 32 wins, Stardust - 9 wins, Ziggler - 37 wins, Harper - 2 wins, Ambrose - 30 wins, R-Truth - 40 wins, Barrett - 24 wins

If you want to know more about thoughts on the current Intercontinental Championship scene check out this article here

As for what I expect this match to be? It's going to be a lot of fun, there's a lot of creative guys in the match and a lot of wrestlers who will be looking to make their mark and this show, attempting to prove that they should have been given a singles match. Expect this to be similar to the Money in the Bank ladder match, but turned up to eleven. There's even some room for some antics from the likes of Stardust and R-Truth which will bring an extra dimension to the bout. The favourite would have to be Daniel Bryan, as it would allow the fans the chance to get some "Yes-ing" off their chest, and produce the feel good moment for a certain section of the fan-base. I've got an inkling we might see WWE through us a curveball however...

Prediction - Bad News Barrett retains

Singles Match

The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt

Head to Head - FIRST TIME MEETING

This is another intriguing match-up, because there's plenty of factors that are completely unknown to us fans. Whether Taker is continuing after this match is probably the biggest of those unknowns and up until know it hasn't really mattered when it came to The Streak, because we all knew Undertaker would win. But with The Streak gone, it opens it up a bit more. Surely, if Undertaker is having one last match, and with The Streak gone, then Bray Wyatt would go over. However, if Taker is going to have a bout next year, against say Sting, then Taker going over would be the better option, with a competitive loss to Undertaker not exactly harming the younger Wyatt, if handled correctly. I'm hoping for plenty of theatrics here and the two to offer something completely different from the rest of the show.

Prediction - The Undertaker wins.

Singles Match for the United States Championship

Rusev (C) vs. John Cena

Head-to-Head - Rusev - 1 win, Cena - 1 win

The most old-school match on the card, this bout is straight out of the eighties. It's the evil Russian who gives no shits, against the troop-lovin', apple pie eatin', Jhort wearing, pledge of allegiance swearing, John Cena. I thought the two put together a strong contest at Fastlane, and I'd expect a similar effort here to bring the story full-circle, with all the grandeur that WrestleMania can offer them. I'd be surprised if Cena doesn't win this one, it'd free Rusev of his streak without making him look weak, whilst allowing Cena to remain as the hero of a generation of fans. All good stuff.

Prediction - John Cena wins

Tag Team Match

Paige & AJ Lee vs. The Bella Twins

Head-to-Head Record:

First Time Meeting

A diva's match with actual build, you say? A coherent storyline with a clear given reason why the competitors want to fight? What is the world coming to?

I'm actually reasonably intrigued by this one, and as always with Diva's matches this is all about the time it is given when the girls get out there. AJ and Paige are more than capable, with both Bella's having shown signs of improvement over the last year. I really want to be calling this match a "good" in my review, rather than "better than a regular Diva's match". I'm hoping WWE don't swerve a Lumberjack gimmick onto it, as it will completely ruin any chances of this bout being vaguely watchable. I expect we'll see some dissention between the babyfaces, and possibly even the heels during this, with The Bellas grabbing the win, before Nikki drops her title on Raw.

Prediction - The Bella Twins win.

Singles Match

Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins

Head to Head:

Orton - 0 wins, Rollins - 1 win

Orton and Rollin is my pick to steal the show heading into the show. Rollins has been on fire for the past twelve months, whilst Orton's in-ring work has also been top notch. The two have bought in plenty of intensity and hopefully we'll see this come together in their match. This is the match that should push Rollins into that upper-echelon of the WWE roster, by allowing the biggest potential audience to see what a special talent he really is. Orton is more than capable of allowing Rollins to look his absolute best, and hopefully what this match is geared towards. With Rollins holding that briefcase, you never know whether we'll see him later on in the night.

Prediction - Seth Rollins wins. 

Finally...

So, it's the Show of Shows and all that jazz. Looking over this preview, I'm pretty excited and so you should be to. Remember, whatever happens, you love wrestling and wrestling is fun. Go along with it, enjoy it with your mates. Don't be a dick.