RAW Deal: Almost at the finish line

ORLANDO, USA – Between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan, who exactly am I supposed to cheer for?

The first is a man who turned his back on the world because the world turned his back on him. He is angry, justifiably so; he’s realized that very few are supporting him (or that he thinks only very few are supporting him) and the rest are out to trick him. He’s realized that the only way to go is to go it alone and do whatever he wants to do, and whatever he has to do in order to get to the main event of WrestleMania. If that means pissing everyone off, so be it.

The other is a man whose chances keep getting stolen from him, one way or another. He was able to win on the biggest stage of them all, but that moment was ultimately cut short by an untimely injury, and losing everything he worked for because of that injury. This is all in light of people telling him he couldn’t make it, he couldn’t hang at the top, that he just doesn’t have it. Now he’s back and claiming what was originally his, and if he has to outwrestle everyone else to get that, so be it.

Sound like two people you’d root for?

What if we take those two guys, make them compete for the same opportunity, and have them employ varying tactics to get under the other’s skin? What if we have Bryan constantly harp on the fact that he’s the better wrestler? What if we had him be passive-aggressive? What if we have both men obnoxiously distract the other during matches, just because they’re offended by something the other did or said?

Would these still be two guys you’d cheer for? Would they still be role models for the impressionable part of the audience (which, believe it or not, doesn’t just include kids)?

Here’s the deal. This is still a good guy vs. good guy story. Like I said last week, the trick here is to bend one of them slightly toward the dark side to manufacture a small bit of tension and conflict from which you could work and build.

Yes, people are nuanced and complex. They have good sides and they have bad sides. The best (and worst) of us have more than one dimension to our character. That’s okay to have. But remember that these two are supposed to be two good guys, two heroes, and what are heroes supposed to do? They’re supposed to overcome not only external forces of evil, but also—and most importantly—everything that’s bad about themselves, whether that be the way they treat people, self-doubt, self-pity, and what else have you. The inner demons need to be conquered as much as the outer demons.

So far, Reigns and Bryan have failed. They’ve failed as heroes. It’s disappointing for anyone who looks up to either of them. When our own heroes fail, evil wins. And why would anyone watch a bleak show?

High spots:

• Despite that huge wrinkle in the top story right now, this was a really solid episode of RAW. One might think it was due once again to the competition NXT brought (and keeps bringing) with their Takeover: Rival live event last week. If you haven’t seen that yet, go watch it, especially if you’re the kind of local fan who doesn’t have that much faith in the WWE right now. It’s the brightest spot in their programming. 
• For the first time in a while, the Authority did not begin the show. John Cena did, and he called out Rusev in a wonderful segment. People have been saying it since, and that’s the kind of John Cena we prefer seeing. Angry Cena is best Cena. Not necessarily best good guy, but most entertaining Cena.

• Double plus points as well for giving the United States Championship some shine and still not simplifying this feud to US vs. Russia. That’s a double whammy in this day and age.
• And speaking of the US title, it would really benefit from a Cena reign. I hope he doesn’t beat Rusev this Sunday, but the idea of Cena being a US champion now is nice.
• Dean Ambrose knocking off former Intercontinental Champions to get a shot at Bad News Barrett on Sunday is a (relatively) novel idea, if it weren’t watered down by the fact that 1) title shots are now given arbitrarily, and 2) beating guys like Curtis Axel and Luke Harper (who was booked terribly) exposes the stock of the Intercontinental title scene.
• The Stardust/Goldust breakup officially now has more steam than the Miz/Mizdow breakup—which is burning a bit more slowly, giving you an idea of which storyline the WWE values more—and the ante is getting good. Stardust has completely and reasonably rejected all the trappings of his former self, claiming that being Cody Rhodes held him down. This angle is really good because in a way, he’s right: even if he does reach main event superstardom being Cody Rhodes, people are going to talk about being related to Goldust and Dusty. Granted, they’ll still do that even if his face is painted silver and purple, but it’s really solid character motivation that could propel him into an even better heel. Maybe one that’s like Heath Ledger’s Joker. 

• Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins was everything you would expect it to be, but I have a gripe. See low blows.
• Despite the tepidity of the Divas division, Paige is being written like a good face. Winning despite what you look like? That’s a great lesson to teach girls. (And boys.) 

• That segment with Triple H and Ric Flair was a thing of beauty. Triple H thinking that it’s WWE vs. WCW being the one thing that is distracting him is brilliant—nobody else thought of it that way, nobody made that connection at all, so the fact that Hunter is making it about that is really weird. Flair pointing out that Hunter is no longer the best because he’s not a full-time wrestler is nothing but logical, and that’s the kind of thing you should say to light a fire under someone. Let’s hope Hunter can carry Sting in one last match at WrestleMania.

• PRIME TIME PLAYERS REUNION!!!!!!!!!!!
• If there’s one thing I can forgive Bryan and Reigns for, it’s the closing segment. Anger boiling over is the immediate and organic reaction, and a face can get away with that. They’ve saved the story for now as they’ve made a lot of people excited for that main event, but I hope to not see any more passive-aggressive shenanigans from both men on Sunday. Pick one to be the bad guy, don’t pick them both.

 

Low blows:

• The entire Dean Ambrose-shopping-for-a-title-shot storyline is entertaining, but it exposes a huge flaw in the way the WWE tells their stories now: they don’t have any authority figures that care about the entire picture. The Authority will make matches near the top, and sometimes the midcard if it suits their purposes (see Dolph Ziggler and the revolving Intercontinental Championship) but they simply don’t seem to be effective showrunners, despite them constantly claiming they run the show. As it stands, the wrestlers themselves make opportunities appear out of thin air, and that actually devalues the championships because they no longer look like things that could be earned. A general manager would have done something about Ambrose wanting a title shot, or Cesaro and Kidd looking for a tag title shot. It’s simply illogical.
• Big Show didn’t exactly turn face at SmackDown, but more of started going into business for himself. He’s effectively continuing Randy Orton’s turn.
• Speaking of the Authority, this is the last time I’m going to tolerate the non-advancement of Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, and Ryback from Survivor Series 2014. I want Rollins and Ziggler to have a singles match at Fastlane, but we’re probably going to get another six-man tag. A Rollins/Ziggler show-stealer is the only way this can still be justified. 

• Miz/Mizdow needs to start ramping up soon. It’s now becoming illogical for Mizdow to even remain employed with Miz now that the latter is actively costing him his matches. If Mizdow stays because of a “job,” does this mean everyone has forgotten that the WWE actually employs Mizdow, and he doesn’t need to be Miz’s anything to be something? Either way, Mizdow needs to snap soon.
• If you cheer for Tyson Kidd, you’re a terrible person.

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