RAW Deal: Business 101

SAN JOSE, CA – As great a wrestler and WWE Superstar he is, there’s something that John Cena doesn’t quite seem to understand in his noble attempts to put young guys over in victory. In just “doing business,” to borrow industry parlance.

Before we get into this, I’d just like to state a disclaimer that whatever happens to a Superstar during and right after – especially right after – his feud with John Cena is not Cena’s decision. It’s easy to blame Cena, the biggest star in the company and the one who stands to gain the most from every victory, but I feel a lot of the criticism is misguided frustration his way. The frustration is understandable, but you’re railing against the wrong person.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand. What’s wrong is simple: for all the shine he allows his opponent in a long match, his comebacks are unrealistic and damaging. Yeah, the idea is for him to come out as a Superman, and there have certainly been instances in real life where people can adrenaline away pain, but launching into an Attitude Adjustment or STF after taking moves that would finish any other human is far from dramatic.

As good as the opponent looks in the first 98% of the match, he doesn’t end up looking as good by the time he loses. Cena is most likely ordered to be like that – and got used to being like that – just to be marketable to kids.

There’s technically nothing wrong with that, but it just contradicts intuition.

Meanwhile, Seth Rollins does his own version of Cena’s Open Challenge, and it ends up being both a mockery and an improvement on the latter’s format. Rollins gives his challenger, Neville, exactly the same kind of match that Cena would have given him, down to the part where it looks like the challenger’s gonna win, except for one thing: he actually lets the finish be logical.

To be fair: Rollins shrugs off a big move, but not as blatantly as Cena does. He capitalizes on one mistake from Neville instead of deliberately powering through his opponent’s best efforts. Cena gives people a chance, but Rollins actually gave Neville a chance. That’s smarter and more realistic.

I believe, however, that this dichotomy is not automatically Cena’s fault, but rather it’s just what it means to be a face and a heel under the WWE’s mindset. The reason why Cena still gets to kick out at the two count and take over the match (except in rare cases; see: Brock Lesnar) is probably because Vince still thinks faces are immortal superheroes, and all it takes for them to catch on is to be the next Hulk Hogan.

Sales figures from parents buying their kids Cena merch will tell him that he’s still kind of right. But even if kids are the biggest target market of the company, this strategy still ends up being short-sighted on the company’s part.

But then again, I’m just a writer. What do I know about running a business?

High spots:

• The best Seth Rollins Pedigree you’ll ever see:
  
   
  
  
• Regardless of whether the overall show is exciting or boring, I’ve noticed recently that RAW is consistently tightly-written. You may not have noticed it, but we should definitely draw attention to their efforts in cutting out all the fat to make way for at least two good Divas matches.
  
   
  
  
• Paul Heyman promos are always a must-watch, but I’m recommending this one especially just because a Jewish man is reciting Catholic prayers in Latin. If there are any Thomases doubting the Undertaker/Lesnar feud, Heyman is, once again, selling it all by himself. It’s now a shame that Undertaker has no one to speak for him now, because as the aggressor in this feud, he’s going to need to fire back some more. 
  
   
  
  
• I’m posting a lot of videos in this section, but it’s because a lot of the talking segments have either been great or moving in a good direction. Another example is Kevin Owens vs Cesaro getting the momentum they deserve. 
  
   
  
  
• And speaking of the Miz, it seems as though Roddy Piper’s untimely death has sparked something in him. Watching him be the talk show host, I sensed that he seems to be a little more animated and incendiary, just like the Rowdy One. All he needs to do now is step up his toughness, because everyone knows that the Miz isn’t part of the first five guys you’ll think of when you mention “tough wrestlers”.

Low blows:

• Look, all these 6-man/8-man tag team matches are good, but it’s time to start moving in an actual direction regarding the tag titles at SummerSlam. While we enjoy Prime Time Players on commentary, they need to start feuding with a clear team or two quickly. Or if they’re defending against everyone, we need to establish that soon. Time is running out.
• Same goes for the Divas Revolution. We’re still getting women’s wrestling for the sake of.
• Actually, I’m going to have to name this as the biggest complaint of this show. It’s not just the Divas, it’s not just the tag team division, it’s like half of the undercard. There are stories, but there isn’t a lot of forward progression. That’s cool if the PPV was still 4 weeks away, but now that we’re closing in, we have to start establishing concrete things to build toward. Do we still have to keep guessing what the Shield and the Wyatts will be doing? What the Divas Championship match and the Tag Team Championship match will look like? If it’s not deliberate holding off, then it’s uncertainty with regard to plans, and that’s not top form for the second-biggest show of the year. WrestleMania is locked down months in advance; if SummerSlam is to be an equally big event, it needs to be treated with the same urgency as well.
• I’m pretty excited that Stephen Amell is coming to RAW next week to confront Stardust, but I wish Stardust got a decisive win this week. Need to keep making him look strong as we move closer to the big show.

In case you missed it: Philippine Wrestling Revolution is holding their next event, PWR Live, next week! It’s on Saturday, August 15, at the Makati Square Arena, with PWR Champion “Classical” Bryan Leo defending the title against “The Senyorito” Jake de Leon, plus an exciting tournament for the new Philippine Hybrid X championship! Tickets are only P250 – don’t miss out!

Do you listen to podcasts? Would you want to listen to a local podcast about pro wrestling? If the answers to those questions – especially that last one – are yes, then you should check out the cleverly-named Smark Gilas-Pilipinas Podcast, featuring Mellow 94.7 DJ and PWR General Manager Stan Sy, wrestling writer Romeo Moran, and all-around multimedia person (and voice of PWR) Raf Camus! On their latest episode, it’s the second part of their conversation with Magic 89.9 veteran CJ the DJ. This week, he talks about his journey in radio, and what he thinks of Philippine wrestling! Listen to it here! – Rappler.com