I've stated before my love of Professional Wrestling will be lifelong. That said, I present my first in what may become a regular series of reviews, opinions, and commentaries on not only wrestling but many other aspects of pop culture that can actually hold my attention.
This is broken down into four different categories: Divas, the women's division; Superstars, the singles wrestlers on the main roster; Tag Teams, established teams; and NXT, the "minor leaguers". There are too many to go through every single talent, so I hit the majority of what I think are those worth mentioning.
Divas
Ladies first, so let's run through this part of the roster. This may be surprising, but I'm not a fan of the pinup models that can't wrestle. If I want to watch hot women in skimpy clothes bounce around, I can get that in spades on demand from the internet. When I watch woman wrestling, I'm more interested in seeing the gymnastic style with cartwheels, flips, bridges, and the like. It's very rare to find a female that can both throw and sell a punch or kick without it looking staged or pulled. That's why I prefer Natalya, Sasha Banks, and Charlotte over the Bella twins.
Superstars
The rest of the roster is a little long to go into in-depth, so let's lightning round this...
- Adam Rose - gimmick fail. If he can't reinvent himself completely in NXT he's gone in the next round of talent cuts.
- Alberto Del Rio - Pairing with Zeb Colter made no sense. Strong talent, but I'm only interested in him in secondary belt status, not the world title.
- Big Show - Either an unstoppable monster or a friendly giant, and he's switched back and forth too often to sell either whole-heartedly anymore. One more good run and then retire to Hollywood.
- Bo Dallas - see Adam Rose
- Bray Wyatt - He can carry an entire feud himself just by speaking for 5 minutes a week. The entire Wyatt Family is always good together and worth watching.
- Brock Lesnar - I will not apologize for being a Lesnar fan. His limited appearances make them all the more special, and give them a real big event feel. Along with Pauk Heyman, the best mouth in the business today, I hope Brock stays around a long time.
- Cesaro - One catchphrase away from being the next Daniel Bryan.
- Curtis Axel - If he starts moving merchandise he'll get the respect and airtime he deserves from WWE. Scared he's destined to be forgotten and never get to shine like he should.
- Dean Ambrose - Workhorse that will make any storyline he's put into better than it should be. That may be a curse in WWE though, as he'll probably be used to beef up an otherwise boring mid-card match.
- Dolph Ziggler - Same problem as Ambrose, and too small to be taken seriously by the McMahons. Almost wish he'd jump to TNA or ROH and get a meaningful title run.
- Fandango - He's not fired yet? Huh...
- Jack Swagger - Deserves better. The real American thing works, but I liked it better as a heel (bad guy).
- John Cena - Familiarity breeds contempt, but he can wrestle and is somewhat entertaining. Just wish they'd reign in some of the interviews where he rambles for 20 minutes.
- Kevin Owens - My hands-down favorite superstar right now. Get the title on this man ASAP, then just sit back and let him go.
- Miz - I'm just not a Miz fan. Keep him away from any and all titles and I'll be happy.
- Neville - If only talent alone was enough in the WWE. Sadly his size and lack of mic skills will hold him back.
- Randy Orton - Another one the just never got over with me. I'll never understand what people see in him.
- Roman Reigns - Decent talent, but for me, his personality doesn't sell. He was believable as the silent muscle in the SHIELD, but now they're trying to give him a wise-cracking gimmick similar to what came so natural to his cousin, the Rock; but it just feels forced and unfunny coming from him.
- R-Truth - Wish he would be given more opportunities to compete at a higher level. He deserves more screen time.
- Rusev - Adapt or die, it's time to evolve his personality.
- Ryback - Enough already, just stop.
- Seth Rollins - Tends to ramble a little too much, other than that I'm a fan. Keep it up.
- Sheamus - I will never understand why he's in the main event. Just not a fan.
- Stardust - I'd love to see Cody Rhodes in the main event one day, but Stardust is doing well right now.
- Stephanie McMahon - Quit stepping on other people's lines. Quit trying to upstage everybody all the time. In fact, just quit appearing on tv. Please.
- Tyler Breeze - I hope he picks up steam and moves up the ranks. This kid is fun to watch.
- Wade Barrett - If he never holds the World Heavyweight Championship then the fans have been robbed. He's my go-to sleeper pick for the time being.
- Zack Ryder - I miss the one-legged trunks.
Tag Teams
- The Ascension - Should have had a bigger push upon their debut for that gimmick to work. Now, they're hard to take seriously.
- The Dudley Boys - Teach the new teams the art of proper tag team wrestling, then retire on a high note.
- The Lucha Dragons - If WWE would fully embrace the Lucha style like WCW did for one match a show, the world would be a better place.
- New Day - ROCKS! My only beef is Xavier Woods not getting enough ring time. His match with Cena was great, but his mic (and trombone) skills are making him more of a manager. and that's not good.
- Prime Time Players - They get lost in the shuffle with all the new emerging teams, which is a shame.
- The Usos - Steady and reliable. Room for improvement, but don't change too much.
NXT
- Apollo Crews - Fast track this man to every title possible. He's got talent, charisma, and a story people can get behind. Only good things can come from that combo.
- Finn Balor - As long as he continues to sell the demon as a serious thing, and it doesn't become a joke or become overused, he should be just fine.
- Hideo Itami - If he can prove American fans like Japanese style work, he will go far.
- Sammi Zayn - I liked his El Generico character from the indys, but he seems to be doing well without the mask and speaking English. The sky is the limit for this guy.
- Samoa Joe - The question is, is WWE ready for Joe?
Posts
