WWE 2013 Predictions

Happy new year everybody!

As per the norm this time of year, everyone is making de facto predictions of what will happen in the coming months. Some of it is positive, most of it negative, but nevertheless interesting.

WWE in 2012 felt interesting yet stale at the same time. There was an emergence of superstars like Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, Daniel Bryan, and others to the foreground. Some of these men were on the rise, while others like Ryback caught fire immediately.

CM Punk’s year was far from normal. He started off the year beloved WWE Champion who took on all comers. He ended the year as vilified WWE Champion who scoured underneath Paul Heyman. No matter what the character traits were, there were consistently great matches happening all across the board.

John Cena however had a year overbearingly par for the course. He was all over the main events, ranging in quality from shit to epic. Even when he was injured, Cena was still on all the shows every week. Overexposure at its worst, and this interprets that WWE doesn’t have the confidence to allow anyone else in the spotlight. This would be the perfect time for WWE to lean back, take a breath, and let Cena take an extended vacation. More on this in a bit.

Big Show had a nice rebound in the second half after a floundering first half. His stale monster bit led to an atrocious firing angle which then culminated in a heel turn. That heel turn however led to a different Show than what we are used to seeing. Not only can this monster be serious, but he can also match wits with guys like Sheamus. He is convincing, dangerous, and shockingly cunning.

Speaking of SHEAMUS. He had a great year, no doubt about it. He was World Heavyweight Champion majority of the year. His match quality has risen dramatically, and being paired with guys like Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio can only help. The biggest complaint is that he is too much like the babyface WWE wants, and that is a jerk douche whose actions lean on the bullying side. Remember, BE A STAR! All things considered, Sheamus needs to find a balance character-wise, but his in-ring work can be effective with anyone.

Daniel Bryan has been able to use fundamental elements of a sentence, ‘YES’ and ‘NO’, as catchphrases to get over. That only scrapes the surface with this guy. He has been a proven hand wrestling people with the sets varying from CM Punk to Kane. Sure he lost the WHC in eighteen seconds at ‘Mania this past year, but that might have actually helped him be more over with the fans than where he was.

Speaking of Kane, that tag team duo of ‘TEAM HELL NO’ has been strangely captivating all year. From the therapy sessions to their dysfunctional tag team style, Kane and Bryan have been able to gel their abilities into one destructive force. While WWE will predictably break this team up soon, let’s all revel in probably the most entertaining team in the last six or seven years.

Dolph Ziggler has spent all of 2010, 2011, and 2012 as a guy on the outside looking in. His mic work is improving, and he bumps like no one else in the WWE. However, 2013 needs to be HIS YEAR. Cash that briefcase, win that title, defend that title, BECOME THAT LEGEND. He’s next, and I’m talking about victims for Goldberg’s spear!

Ryback. Big, hungry, over pushed hoss. The only reason why I accept him in the main event is because the fans are fully behind him. No seagull pops for this guy! I will also admit he did a fair share of work at TLC in that epic six-man match. A big hungry monster is all I see him as, not as a representative of the WWE as WWE Champion for an extended period.

That all being said, with some recaps of 2012 in the books, let’s take a proverbial look into the crystal ball.

Right now, WWE is about to go through a motion of the last three or four years of ‘Mania time. The TV shows between now and mid-April are going to be STACKED. All of the big names contracted to work ‘Mania will show up every week, and then disappear again. This will leave the WWE in yet another quandary.

The mid-card needs to be reborn in 2013. While it seems obvious that this is already taking place, the bottom could fall out of the main event scene at any time. Guys like John Cena and Randy Orton have been with the WWE over a decade now. Their bodies aren’t getting any younger. Big Show just turned 40, and lord knows about the wear and tear on him. Of all main eventers right now, Sheamus is by far the healthiest looking option, but his overexposure could be a problem one day.

Time for Dolph to rise.

Time for Kofi to make something happen.

Hell, Ryback could be a quickie champion if need be.

For 2013, we need a revolution. WWE needs to evolve with the times, and now will be as good a time as any to start. Too much young talent is waiting in the wings while main event talent could break at any second. TIME TO GET MOVING!

Technorati Tags: wwe,wwe championship,raw,smackdown,wrestlemania,dolph ziggler,cm punk,midcard,john cena,kane,daniel bryan,the shield,randy orton,sheamus,alberto del rio,rey mysterio,sin cara

The Double-Turn of the Century: Daniel Bryan and Sheamus

While I may have been away from doing this blog for a while, it doesn’t mean I have been away from keeping tabs on WWE.

Noticing what I have seen on the tube, It seems like the company has quite the quandary on its hands.

Sheamus is “that guy” on the WWE roster right now. He is a white-meat, always-smiling, never-do-wrong babyface with a world title to boot. He is being pushed to the moon and no one is seemingly going to stop him.

Enter Daniel Bryan.

Bryan is conniving coward heel that Sheamus defeated for the World Heavyweight Championship. Not only was the defeat on the grandest stage of all (WrestleMania), but also it was accomplished in a bizarrely quick fashion of 18 seconds!

Now when the heel gets defeated, the normal routine is to celebrate in the splendor of the face.

This didn’t happen.

Instead, the combined crowds of Wrestlemania and the post-‘Mania RAW voiced their displeasure. In addition to chastising the Booger Red, they also made him incur the wrath of multiple ‘YES’ chants, a chant made popular by Bryan in the first place.

Or in this case, SI!

The biggest problem though seem to be the taped Smackdowns. Sheamus’ reactions were so negative, that WWE has loudly dub the boos over with those crappy seagull pops. Never mind the fact the ARENA (as in all of them since ‘Mania) is still heavily cheering for Bryan. On the other side of the coin, Daniel has done some heelish things, like breaking up with AJ, however the crowd just showers their affections to the guy.

Some of WWE’s best decisions have come listening to the fans. Like Stone Cold Steve Austin for example, who was turned face for his anti-establishment rebel behavior. Even Honky Tonk Man was originally a face, until fans literally told the WWE to turn him heel.

Seriously, an Elvis impersonator as a face? Who wudda thunk it?

Going into Extreme Rules, there is one thing the WWE could possibly do: double-turn!

This is how I would do it, keep in mind the match is 2-out-of-3 Falls.

FALL ONE: The match starts ironically with a Brogue Kick, but Bryan kicks out at 2. The crowd cheers wildly as Bryan battles back the Great White. After a ram in the post, Sheamus has his left shoulder worked over. Bryan even manages to apply the ‘YES’ lock, but the Irishman gets to the ropes. A generic finisher ends this fall: Bryan starts hammering on Sheamus in the second rope, but Sheamus traps him into a Celtic Cross, and barely covers him for three.

FALL TWO: Sheamus thinks he has the upper hand, but Bryan nearly gets a ‘chicken’ 3 count. Sheamus is enraged, and starts beating the crap out of Bryan. So much so that the ref has no choice but to DQ Sheamus, and give the fall to Bryan to even it all out. To keep up with continuity, Sheamus nearly wants to kick off the head of the ref, but thinks better of it.

FALL THREE: Sheamus just dominates Bryan. Before you think this is a squash, let me remind you there is a point to this. The crowd is so against Sheamus now they want to rip HIS head off! After a second Brogue Kick, Sheamus starts laughing. Then puts on a serious face. This hostile Chicago  crowd is now in a frenzy as the crazed Irishman now kicks off the head of Bryan for a poetic THIRD time, and finishes him. A huge chant of ‘NO’ comes from this crowd as Sheamus has successfully retained the title.

As Sheamus is walking up the ramp with belt in hand, AJ is running down. Although she has been absolutely berated by Bryan over the kiss at Wrestlemania, she never gives up hope on a reconciliation.

AJ looks at the fallen man in the ring and starts crying as Sheamus’ music stops playing. She even kisses Bryan briefly, but quickly wonders why she did it. Bryan starts to come to, and realizes she’s in the ring.

Unlike the past few weeks where Bryan was vocally approved for dumping the girl, this time the crowd wants to see something called the Seven Year Rule.

Bryan gets up, and points at her. The crowd is non-stop in chanting ‘YES’. Bryan thinks of all the hardship done in the last month or so stemming from ‘Mania, thinking can he go back from it. Looking at the crowd, Bryan can either really dump her or take her back.

He takes her back.

As the crowd is in joy over this, it should be noted that Sheamus and Bryan have now double-turned and their feud would be on-and-off for the rest of the summer. It should lead to a Summerslam match where an unstoppable monster in Sheamus is finally clocked by Bryan in the lock of YES. That would begin a big ‘feel-good’ run for Bryan, as multiple men would underestimate the technical master.

On a side note, it should be stated that two ‘Seven Year Rule’ theorems have been accomplished here. One is for the fact that Bryan/AJ is a direct descendant of Savage/Liz, including the wedding that should happen at whatever the July PPV is named. Second, the double-turn would happen at the Rosemont Horizon, the same building that Steve Austin and Bret Hart did their well-known double-turn at.

While WWE will most likely keep status quo this Sunday, please take this as a ‘bizarro world’ post as one Jerry Lawler would call it. How to make a seemingly hot event volcanic in nature? This post, right here!

Technorati Tags: wwe,world heavyweight championship,sheamus,daniel bryan,aj,extreme rules,seven year rule,2 out of 3,youtube,amazon,honky tonk man,jesse ventura,steve austin,bret hart,yes,no,si