Ziggler vs Cena at TLC should be awesome.

On the condition Ziggler wins, that is.

Like, if he does drop the MITB briefcase to Cena (who would probably cash in against Punk and/or The Rock at the Rumble as this idea has allegedly been discussed etc.)... I am done.

And you'll know I'm not joking if you're aware of how often I actually watch WWE these days.

8. Is WWE Changing?

On the 17th of December 2011, I was discussing Daniel Bryan on Twitter with William; about how he’s been booked, whether it’s the right move if he cashes in his Money In The Bank contract at TLC, whether he’s conveyed as an “underdog” or just weak. William said he was certain he would cash in on Sunday night at the TLC PPV event on the Big Show. I think a lot of people were expecting it. I thought it was probable. I doubted it slightly because I suspected he would do this at Vengeance and it didn’t happen. So Sunday night rolled around (or rather early Monday morning) and just before the World Heavyweight Championship match, I had this feeling of excitement, thinking, “Wow, by the end of this, we could have our best set of champions in a long time.”

The match was short. I had no interest in it and I zoned out, very nearly falling asleep, right up until Big Show struck Mark Henry with that right fist, laying him out and pinning him. Post-match, Mark Henry retaliated, assaulting Big Show with the chairs strewn around them in the ring. At this point, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind what the consequences of this brutal aftermath would be. Some fans at ringside could be heard starting a “Daniel Bryan” chant and sure enough, Daniel Bryan’s theme hit. He ran down that ramp, cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, hooked Big Show’s leg and 1, 2, 3… We have our new World Heavyweight Champion.

Hearing Lilian Garcia announce Daniel Bryan as the new World Heavyweight Champion... The feeling was just… Euphoric.

Following this, Cody Rhodes successfully defended his Inter-Continental Championship against Booker T and, as expected, CM Punk retained his WWE Championship. Earlier that night, Zack Ryder finally defeated Dolph Ziggler in their anticipated match for the United States Championship. Air Boom beat Epico and Primo in an unadvertised match to keep hold of their Tag Team titles as did Beth Phoenix against Kelly Kelly for her Divas title.

After the PPV, Punk tweeted the following:

Two Indy schmucks didn't do so bad, Eh? Very proud right now. Proud of@WWEDanielBryan proud of@ZackRyder proud of my crew of young, talented hard workers. @findevan @TrueKofi...and a ton of others. Tonight was a great step toward the future of the wrestling business. That change I've been talking about? Started. My march to Wrestlemania doesn't begin after the rumble. It's starts today. You're in or you're out. If you're out, you'll be left behind.

And then he tweeted my favourite photo of the year.

But whilst it may be true that change has arisen in the WWE, how long will this “Change” last?

Seth Mates:

To borrow a holiday metaphor, this is the time of year (betw SSeries & Rumble) when Vince "tries on" his new clothes, or new main eventers Foley (99), Jericho (01), Evolution (03), Edge (06), Sheamus (09), Miz (10) and Bryan (11) among those elevated during this stretch of yr. And to continue with the bad holiday metaphor, Vince has til RRumble undercard to return them if they don't fit just right. Also Jeff Hardy in 08- almost forgot him. So don't be surprised if Bryan loses the title at RRumble. Not a dealbreaker. Just Vince's history with change.

This week’s Raw had a good, entertaining opening promo and main event, featuring CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Zack Ryder (as well as Alberto Del Rio, The Miz & Dolph Ziggler). It was a good move to have Punk lead this segment to help get Bryan especially more over with the fans. The problem is the main event’s ratings have come in as 2.67, which is reported as one of the lowest this year. In fact, since the glorious Summer of Punk, ratings have apparently been lower on a whole. Despite all the flaws the ratings system has and the illogical structure of WWE programming in general, this doesn’t reflect well on our guys from the perspective of WWE management, which is sad. Granted, it has only been one Raw and the Royal Rumble isn’t until late January. Of course, WWE are in a state of flux where new talent is rising and the standard main event scene is changing. This takes time to adapt to and can’t be judged based on one show’s ratings.

Raw’s ratings haven’t been great as it is (let’s not start on Smackdown) but that aside, the lack of response on TV a man of Daniel Bryan’s calibre receives is saddening. Unless this picks up, I can’t see him holding onto that title for long. It was especially surprising considering the show was taking place in Philadelphia. Philly shows, you can usually expect very strong responses from the crowds so they were almost alien on Raw. I am hoping everyone will be watching this up-coming Raw where CM Punk returns to Chicago and hopefully, this crowd won’t disappoint. Of course, the real test for these guys is the response they evoke outside of their comfort zones.

Personally, I could not care less about the ratings. It's the importance the company places on them and the decisions they make based off of them that is worrying.

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, both extremely talented, worked their way up to the WWE after many years of hard work on the independent scene. Both new and old fans alike can recognise their passion for the business, having dedicated so much to it. We can all recognise the immense in-ring ability both men possess. We know of the potential they have to be real stars of the biggest promotion in this industry and we know they can do it.

But without the support of the big powers of the WWE, they won’t. Inevitably, there will be many people behind the scenes hoping for them to fall flat on their faces. Because they were self-made? Came to WWE with a loyal following? Because they’re better than WWE let on? Because they’re not disgustingly ripped like Triple H?

You can see how hesitant WWE are with these guys by the way they build them. CM Punk won the Money in the Bank ladder match two years in a row and both times, he cashed in to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Daniel Bryan won Smackdown’s Money in the Bank ladder match and cashed in to become our current World Heavyweight Champion. This is like WWE’s “safe” testing route. It doesn’t require any major build-up, which takes up less TV time, making it less risky. It doesn’t make any bigger stars look weaker as they’re put in a vulnerable position where they are taken advantage of. It’s easy to have Money in the Bank winners drop the title as they’re not immediately perceived as the most credible champions. 

Look at the things Daniel Bryan has accomplished. He has won titles from too many promotions to even count. For five years in a row, Wrestling Observer Newsletter has named him as the ‘Most Outstanding Wrestler’, following the likes of Chris Benoit, Koji Kanemoto, Kurt Angle etc., ‘Best Technical Wrestler’ for six years in a row and ‘Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Decade’. It’s almost impossible to see this guy as anything but world champion material. CM Punk and Samoa Joe put on the first “five star” match in North America in seven years. Unfortunately, in the world of the ‘E, with their abundance of casual and sheep fans, some things hold precedence over this factor. An exciting entrance (please, just change it to The Final Countdown and Daniel Bryan will be the most over guy), flashy ring gear, a marketable face, catchy…well, catchphrases, a menacing build… Leading to management completely overlooking the actual physicalcapabilities of the talent for some comparatively inferior, ripped beasts with little experience.

The Wrestling Fans supports these guys and generally believe they’re what is needed to make wrestling entertaining again. CM Punk consistently says he will make this happen. But does this change cater to the remainder and vast majority of WWE’s audience?

With talk of Chris Hero signing a WWE contract and Claudio Castagnoli AKA Antonio Cesaro already on the FCW roster (alongside Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins etc.), there’s hope for real change yet. But despite how much we’d like to ignore it, the support of the “other” fans is needed; the fans who aren’t as big fans of the wrestling aspects of the product. And until we get that, prepare to see a consistent amount of John Cena, Randy Orton and HHH in the top babyface positions. The concept of real, technical wrestling will probably be almost foreign to them and few of them will be able to appreciate true in-ring artistry (my sources being my family and a “real-life” friend). They tend to favour Cena, Orton, HHH, “Rock” and when the spotlight starts to deviate from these men, it takes them time to adjust to the new guys. Eventually, of course, they warm up to them. It took CM Punk around two to three months to really get them along his side. Considering Daniel Bryan is a far lesser known talent amongst such fans and because of his gimmick (or lack of) failing to emphasise his presence, it’ll take him longer.

WWE lack patience. But that’s exactly what they need to have.

Putting the title on smaller guys is one thing but building them in a credible manner to outdo the traditional body-builder type is important to prove the sceptics wrong. Punk talking and handing out the GTS is all very well but as long as he’s in this very grey area, people who don’t get “it” are going to find him annoying. Men like Triple H need to set aside their pride and (as it should have been earlier this year) put these guys over by turning heel, leaving more positivity to be inflicted on the young babyfaces. Punk’s position is pretty ambiguous at the moment. He needs a strong target and he needs to make his following on the roster more prominent, kind of like he did on Raw this week.

If you're out, you'll be left behind.

Punk’s words are somewhat comforting. They make me more hopeful. They’re almost assuring us that Change is here, Change is staying and no one gives a fuck about those objecting to Change. I can only hope this is true. If we can get to Wrestlemania with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan as our world champions, some of my faith in this company may be restored.

Divas matches lasting longer than 3 minutes would also help immensely, Punk. Thanks.

Day 21 - Favourite Gimmick Match

Hm.

I quite like Last Man Standing matches BUT that depends on who's in the match because sometimes they can really drag on and become incredibly boring.

Falls Count Anywhere matches can also be great but only when they use this kind of stipulation to their advantage as much as possible and use whatever space they can. Otherwise, it's pointless.

But I think I'll go with either TLC or just a Ladder match as my favourite. (: Ladder matches are just exciting, okay. :') TLC, well, it includes ladders so what's the problem? Haha.