Opinion
Was It Too Soon For WWE Evolution?
WWE Evolution takes place this Sunday, and the wrestling world should be way more excited than it is. Where did this show go wrong?
WrestleMania 32 was a historic event for many reasons. One of those reasons was the WWE Women’s Championship match between Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks. All three women were treated like megastars, with their faces adorning Dallas’ AT&T Stadium, WrestleMania worthy entrances, and a level of hype that brought this match to the forefront of the WrestleMania conversation. The Women’s Revolution was working, and this match was proof.
Vince McMahon would announce a brand split shortly after WrestleMania 32, a move that saw a watershed of new talent (both onstage and backstage) hit the TV rosters and make an impression.
Since that time, the women have seen featured spots on WWE television and pay-per-view, including a Hell In A Cell main event and closing the Royal Rumble. There have been rumblings of Ronda Rousey closing WrestleMania 35. Alexa Bliss flourished thanks to her move to television, achieving heights unimaginable if you only consider her NXT run.
The internet has been on fire with excitement for the women’s division, and when WWE Evolution was announced in July, the time seemed right.
It wasn’t.
Listen, I know it’s not a popular thing to say, but it’s true. It’s too soon for Evolution to take place.
That’s not a knock on the women in WWE, either. The division–in its current form–hasn’t had the necessary time to develop into one that can have a stand alone pay-per-view.
The women’s division is part of the show, being given a few segments each week. From a time perspective, it’s probably the equivalent of 205 Live. Are the cruiserweights in position to host their own pay-per-view? What about the tag team division? That’s the amount of exposure being given to the women’s division.
Maybe the blame falls on WWE for how prevalent they have (or haven’t) made the division since WrestleMania 32. In my opinion, the division peaked on that night, and hasn’t been as prevalent since.
There is some good…
Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch is one of the most over stories in the entire company–regardless of show or division. Ronda Rousey is the biggest star to ever perform in the division, and her opponent Nikki Bella is arguably the second biggest. As much as the internet hates it, that match makes sense.
The problems are beyond the main event. Honestly, anyone can book a strong program at the top. Look at 205 Live. It’s all top programs!
But what next? The only thing Alexa Bliss & Mickie James vs. Lita & Trish Stratus has accomplished is exposing how bad Stratus and Lita are at cutting promos. The NXT Women’s Championship has been treated as an afterthought on the yellow brand ever since Asuka left, and hasn’t been the same since the brand split. The excitement and attention around the Mae Young Classic in 2018 pales in comparison to what it had in 2017. And the NXT UK Women’s Championship is being defended on a pay-per-view before before the champion is crowned on television?
To say this show is poorly planned isn’t totally accurate. The idea to even have this show is poorly planned. WWE needed to decide it would run Evolution and then spend a year building the division up–across all brands–so we don’t have the problem we have now.
To me, this is proof of a larger issue we have seen with WWE for decades: they do a much better job at building something when they want to do it, versus the job they do when they feel they need to do it.
Evolution is the latter. It was simply rushed because the company felt like they needed to do it, instead of built up because they want to do it.
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Opinion
Chris King: Is Brock Lesnar Truly Retired?
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
At WrestleMania 42, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar took off his boots and gloves following his loss to Oba Femi. Lesnar has done it all inside of his twenty-four-year career in professional wrestling. He’s a ten-time WWE Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and he’s one who ended The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
While Lesnar was in the ring, he was visibly overwhelmed with emotion and crying while he thanked the fans in his own way. The Beast even threw up an x to signal to Paul Heyman, his longtime friend and advocate, that this was not scripted and was real. There had been rumors that Lesnar and Oba were supposed to have a series of matches before everything went down at Mania.
‘The Career Killer’ Gunther was doing Heyman’s bidding as he faced Seth Rollins for a favor. For a while now since Gunther retired Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles, the rumor has been Gunther was set to retire Lesnar in his hometown at this year’s SummerSlam event. There’s been no confirmation if Lesnar is truly retired, but on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, we saw Heyman talking with General Manager Nick Aldis. Later that night following Rhodes’ match against the debuting Ricky Saints, Gunther choked out the WWE Champion. Could this be the favor from Heyman?
I know in the world of professional wrestling we live by the mantra of “never say never,” but what if Lesnar is actually retired and this was WWE’s way of shutting down those rumors about Gunther and Lesnar? What if Gunther’s next program is chasing after the WWE title, and where is Randy Orton at in all of these plans? There are so many questions that need to be answered, hopefully soon!
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Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)
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THURSDAY - Nefarious Means
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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Opinion
Chris King: Defend The Intercontinental Championship At Backlash!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
This year’s annual Backlash showcase is only a few days away, and while there are many big matches announced, one that definitely should be isn’t on the card. In my opinion, outside of Roman Reigns/Jacob Fatu and Seth Rollins/Bron Breakker, the Intercontinental Championship scene has been stellar over the last month.
Penta has been an excellent champion, especially after his triumphant title defense in a ladder match against JeVon Evans, Rusev, Dragon Lee, and the Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 42. Their ladder match at Mania was one of the best that WWE has produced in a while.
The momentum never stopped, as on the post-Mania episode of Monday Night Raw, ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page made his debut and was quickly inserted into the Intercontinental title scene. Page had a fantastic showing against his longtime NXT rival Evans and picked up a big win in his debut match thanks to an assist from Rusev.
All Ego immediately joined forces with ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ Rusev, who was also vying for the Intercontinental Title in his own right. On this week’s episode of Raw, Page and Rusev defeated Evans and Penta. All Ego pinned the champion, making a huge statement and putting him one step closer to getting a title shot. For the past few weeks I’ve been anxiously waiting to see if WWE was going to add this incredible fatal four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship, but it hasn’t happened yet.
As much as the WWE Universe enjoys witnessing great matches on free television, I truly believe all four superstars deserve the chance to showcase their talents on the PLE. While Penta has done a terrific job as the intercontinental champion, it’s time for a fresh face to hold the prestigious title. Page would make a great braggadocious heel that would help elevate the Intercontinental Championship to new heights!
Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Nefarious Means
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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