Opinion
Mcleod: Being A Heel Suits Io Shirai
Io Shirai cemented her heel turn with her appearance on WWE NXT this week, and Scott Mcleod thinks it’s the perfect change for her.
Io Shirai cemented her heel turn with her appearance on WWE NXT this week, and Scott Mcleod thinks it’s the perfect change for her.
An interesting opening to this weeks NXT as we get the first appearance of Io Sharai since turning heel on Candice LeRae a few weeks ago. She dressed completely different and had new music to really bring home this new change in attitude. It looks like we’re going to get some sort of explanation but Io simply says she doesn’t need anyone and leaves. On the surface it doesn’t look like this segment did much everything about it confirmed to me how much better Io is as a heel.
It was clearly the right choice to have her turn on Candice an equally loved babyface to insure that the usually smarky Full Sail crowd would boo her. She takes her time soaking in the boos and having the crowd not allowing her to speak. It felt like Roman Reigns on the Raw after WrestleMania. She kept the promo short and sweet much like Reigns did without properly giving the fans an explanation of why she attacked Candice.
As a face Io has simply been portrayed as either someone we should care about because she was big in Japan or as Kairi Sane’s best friend. It always felt like she was playing second fiddle to Sane even the story of Io vs Baszler at Takeover 25 was built around Io can’t do it with her friends by her side.
Her as a heel could draw comparisons to Asuka’s heel run in NXT but I think this is unfair as they’re two different type of heels. Asuka turned heel due to arrogance of the fact no one had been able to beat her in over two years. Whereas Io has lost and it was after so many high profile losses in a row that caused her to turn because of frustration. Her motivations being more understandable as everyone eventually reaches their breaking point.
Also while they’re both very talented in the ring Io is more happy to use weapons to dish out punishment.
I’ve heard from people who are more familiar with Io’s time in Japan have said that she’s played a really good heel in the past so she should be able to pull this off. I’m curious to see where this goes and if this leads to her vs LeRae will happen on Takeover Toronto.
Either way it’s nice to have multiple feuds in the women’s division. Maybe even given how viscous Io has been if it will lead to those two in some sort of no DQ match. I’d love to see that. They could even stretch this out and have this new attitude be what finally allows to become NXT Women’s champion then LeRae can challenger down the lane.
This is good for Candice as she has a story for he first time in forever. She too has been made to feel secondary playing the role of Johnny Gargano’s wife. Now hopefully this lights a fire under her and helps her get more of a showcase. I’ve always thought she was a strong candidate to beat Baszler for the title but she hasn’t had much of a chance to show why.
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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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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!
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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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