Why Extreme Rules makes sense...

Predictably, the result of the main event from Extreme Rules - which saw John Cena pinning Brock Lesnar - has attracted a great deal of criticism from some quarters who were determined that the match was going to finally see their perennial whipping boy hammered into the mat and put down for a three count. However, I've watched the match a couple of times now, and sat and thought about it this morning in the doctor's waiting room, and I've come to the conclusion that it was actually a perfect bit of booking.

Let me explain my reasoning. When Lesnar came in, I was one of the people questioning what the result of the match would be. If Cena won, I thought it had been a waste of Brock. However, if Brock won, you had Cena losing two months on the trot to part-timers. I thought it was a hard match to call right. Of course we had the idea of it being a launchpad for Cena's character shift, but that was more wishful thinking than a genuine expectation.

I've come to realise I was wrong about my thoughts on Cena winning, because I didn't take into account the manner in which he might achieve his win - and THAT is what makes ALL the difference here.

John Cena was BATTERED. I mean, Brock KILLED him. He split him open 20 seconds into the match, he twice forced doctors to halt the match for blood. He reopened a closed cut. He also pinned Cena clean for a 7 count in the middle of the ring while the ref was down. I think I'm right in saying that that was the only time Lesnar even WENT for a pin. The entire match was Brock basically killing Cena, then Cena had a brief hope flurry, then Brock cut him off. The story was clearly that had he wanted to make a pin, Brock could have beaten Cena.

For his part, Cena only won the match because Brock made a mistake and he capitalised. He hit Brock full in the head with a padlock - a shot which split Lesnar open - and then hit his finisher onto the steel steps. He looked dead afterwards, and is now to be written out of WWE for a period with an injury.

Anyone that watches that match and think it makes Brock look weak for losing - in fact anyone that watches it and thinks it makes Brock look anything less than a freaking terrifying monster - is deluded. Lesnar looked like a destroyer of worlds in that match, and a lucky stun punch and pin doesn't diminish that in the slightest, especially as he was up fairly quickly, refused medical attention, and walked out on his own.

Brock can go into RAW tonight claiming that he killed Cena for 90% of the match, that he put him out of the WWE, which is what he wanted to do, and that he's now so pissed off about the loss that he will kill anyone else who gets in his way.

Meanwhile, Cena can take a break, film the Marine 3, and sell what Lesnar did to him. But he makes himself look like a tough guy who can take punishment and still manage somehow to pull out a win. He kept coming back, no matter how he was put down, and despite the fact he was hurting.

Lesnar isn't weakened at all. The loss hasn't harmed him.

But, think about the story if Lesnar had WON.

Sure, Lesnar looks like an unstoppable monster, but where does that leave the rest of the WWE?

John Cena has been THE man for the last x number of years. He's been the top dog. He's beaten everyone in the company at least a couple of times, so he represented the very very very best the WWE had. Now Brock has walked back in the door, said "You guys aren't tough, you aren't legitimate" and he's proceeded to prove it by walking all over Cena and taking him out. Suddenly, he's better than everyone else on the roster. If I'm a kid sitting at home (and they are the WWE's target audience) then I'm thinking "Damn, this MMA guy is right - WWE guys AREN'T that tough. Why am I wasting time watching these guys, I should watch MMA!" Brock winning would have rendered the WWE roster worthless in a single match. And that would be bad for business.

As it is, you have still created your monster, but you have at the same time shown the world that WWE wrestlers are tough as well, because at the end of the day, even though he got killed for most of the match, the WWE managed to get the win.

As I say, I know others will disagree. I gather Meltzer has had a nervous breakdown over the result. But I think I can see exactly why they did it the way they did.

I don't have NEARLY as much criticism over the way that Cena won the match as other things bothering me. (I agree with you in fact, that it was definitely decent to book the match this way.)


What I ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT FUCKING STAND FOR, is Dolph Ziggler, right now, I think being THE next guy that needs to be pushed for the Main Event card, putting on steadily good matches with nearly everyone he works with, having shitloads of charisma, beautiful on the mic, and ready for the big time, in a year that really looked like it was about to be HIS year, who has since grown into a great persona........ being jobbed out to Hornswaggle and that fucking Turdasaurus for absolutely no fucking reason on Earth or Earth 2.

Here they actually made up for epic failure that was that 18 second Wrestlemania squash between Daniel Bryan and Shemus, by having them put on one hell of a match being the match we SHOULD have gotten before....

And they completely fuck over every last shred of that goodwill with Dolph Ziggler being buried by a midget and Funukasaurus Sux.


Oh and KaneOrtonWhoCares.


I dunno, maybe the rest of the PPV was ok, but really, I just didn't watch, figuring something else would be a better way to spend time.

I just sat and read comics all night.

I actually agree about Ziggler. He's so much better than the stuff he's being asked to do at the moment - including having Swagger and Vickie hanging around his neck. He's way above either of them. I didn't like seeing him forced into a PPV loss to Brodus. I think the trouble is that Dolph is just too good at making other people look good. He's an amazing bump machine, and at the moment he's being overused for that purpose.

As for the rest of the PPV, it was all good. Punk .v. Jericho was miles better than their Mania outing, Sheamus .v. Bryan was an excellent match, I really liked Show .v. Cody (good ending), Kane .v. Orton was inoffensive, and Ryback squashes are fun (even with the assholes chanting "Goldberg" at him, and even if you shouldn't have squashes on a PPV)

You make a good point, DS, but I disagree on the booking of Cena and Lesnar. Sure, he got battered, etc but even if Lesnar made a mistake it still feels like his aura of being the monster will suffer. Here was a match that should have been his element and he lost it. Blew it. That just doesn't feel right. It's just my opinion, though, and it's partly because I didn't like the fact that Lesnar was booked against Cena straight away.

While I agree on Ziggler I don't see a problem with Clay winning. I really think you're letting you're letting your personal dislike get in the way of the fact that he's a fun wrestler who seems to be over, Mike. But I agree it shouldn't have been Ziggler.

Kane/Orton the match might have been inoffensive but it still ended with Kane, the monster in the mask, losing. Again. But we've talked it to death and so I won't dwell on it here.

Good ending on Show? It must have played better than it read, DS, because at work we couldn't get it. Show is stupid enough to step on a table? It sounds like a lousy way for the match to end.

And you've hit on another of my bugbears. While I understand that the needed to broaden theire media there's no way that should have been on the PPV when the US title is a pre-show and there's no tag match. They even had a Diva match on and no tag! It just cheapens the belts.

I don't think i'm letting my dislike get in the way of anything, to be honest.

Despite any of my feelings about the stupid gimmick, the stupid dancing, the re-used theme, and the involvement of the damn midget... I'm just not convinced really that Brodus is that over in any way other than people marking for the funky song. Aside from any of that, though, I have two major things to bring up that is pissing me off about it all....

The first being, that gimmick/ridiculousness aside, Brodus was never built up as anyone who can ever realistically beat anyone, because all he's had are totally ludicrous and unrealistic squash matches that last less than 4 seconds, using 1 simple splash for a man that isn't even quite even the size of a Big Show or Mark Henry, and it would take WAY more than that from Show or Henry to put anyone away.

And the other being that.... Brodus is a comedy act. I and a lot of internet fans disagree over whether he is effective AS a comedy act... But I don't think that anyone on either side can deny that's essentially all he is, and hasn't been shown as anything but a comedy act.

Brodus hasn't been booked at any point yet, to really look like someone who CAN legitimately beat anyone, and those that have, just look like they're taking a painfully obvious dive. They've put no hype behind his ability. All he's been is a one-note joke that doesn't seem like he's earning his wins. If he's over with anyone, he's over because they think he's funny, not that he's really going to go out there and beat someone in a way that seems believable.

I've heard it be say that it's good that he's not JUST some personalitless big angry guy. Maybe a fair point, but he also hasn't yet, seemed like he really has earned the right to beat anyone in a physical match, yet. So he has a personality, but what else does he have? I dunno, how long does he actually wrestle before being given a win? Not enough to even tell.

And because of that, if he's just going to shuffle out there and beat Ziggler like Ziggler is nothing, I still stand by it being the worst, most insanely awful bullshit imaginable. Even if you take away the dancing and the goofy-ass gimmick, he hasn't been able to show any other aspect aside from it. Maybe if he was a funny dancing guy that also seemed like he was built up as a threat enough to take Ziggler in a good match? Maybe. But that's far from what actually took place.

Quite frankly, he doesn't deserve to squash Ziggler. In any way, shape or form. He hasn't been put over as a competitor to beat Ziggler. He's been put over as a dancing goofus. And if people think a dancing goofus is amusing, well ok. Maybe he can come out and do a funny dance to entertain a crowd. But not for one second am I thinking he even should be in the ring with a Dolph Ziggler, let alone beating a Dolph Ziggler.

Brodus, quite honestly, as a joke character, he has all the legitimacy right now to beat one of the NXT guys, maybe even streamroller over Tyson Kidd or Yoshi Tatsu. Maybe flatten Kofi Kingston. But Ziggler? Who was one of the guys, that was "the guy to watch in 2012" rising the way he was? NO WAY. And to beat him like that? Totally inexcuable.

It's not just my hatred of his gimmick. It's that, even if you take it away, Brodus has shown precisely zero, outside of it. And to beat Ziggler at a PPV like it was an afterthought? Again, just terrible. It's like having JTG come out, dance for 15 seconds and lay out CM Punk with one swift punch. If I complained about that, no one would bring up the point that I was being unfair to JTG by saying "that was horseshit!"... it's just that booking like this, is insane.

And besides that even, I also don't think I'm letting my disliek fo Brodus get in the way of it, becuase i'm way more upset about Ziggler losing to him, than I am about Brodus winning or getting PPV time, even.

if he wanted to do his dumb dance and leave, that would be fine. Might be dumb, but it doesn't hurt or devalue anyone and I can live with it.

If he wanted to squash someone on his actual level.. literally anyone on the level of Brodus's ability and spot on the term, that'd be fine. It'd be a bit of a waste to have two low level guys come out and one streamroll the other, but it doesn't hurt anyone.

But Ziggler? That absolutely hurts Ziggler. Completely kills him.

It comes to the main problem, that WWE needs to be making new stars and top-level talent. Ziggler is absolutely on that level, and the trigger should be pulled on him a while back.

But instead, this.

It's not so much of me being upset about Brodus getting a win or PPV, it's more about Ziggler being treated this way.

In other words, it's like watching the Goobledegooker come out and squash Curt Henning in a full on, equal, officially set up, PPV match in a 2 minutes.

Myron - I'll be back in the office tomorrow and will be able to explain why I think Show .v. Cody works. I think it needs to be taken within the context of the match and the wider storyline, and that match was booked oddly to actually make Cody look the face and Show the heel. I suspect Show is in for another turn, and if used right, its why the end will work.

As for the Brodus/Ziggles debate. I do think Mike has had a downer on the character from day 1, but I do think he has a point this time about the way Brodus is being booked. I actually agree that the WWE hasn't done enough to sell the - well I'll use the word here as its the word of the moment - but the legitimacy, of Brodus. I think he needed a few matches where he really showed aggression and mauled someone badly when they pissed him off. Then the fun guy image stuff still works, but behind it is the genuine threat. Otherwise I do find I sympathise with Mike's point that it doesn't look convincing for him to finish people with a headbutt and a splash. So while I like the gimmick and I like the fun stuff, for me, its fast approaching the line where its getting stale, and they need to think that more to do with him.

Personally, I think a team with Santino would be better than using him to put down a talent as good as Ziggles.

Finally, I agree on your point about that and the Ryback squash getting PPV time, but the US title and tag titles not. But I suspect the tag belts are going to be part of a storyline to get the Abraham Washington manager character over. He starts managing them, and in doing so gets them and the belt air time (we can agree that the tag champs shouldn't NEED a gimmick to get air time, but that's another consideration!)

I'm not in the office tomorrow, back on Weds. Will catch up when I get back. Like I said it just didn't read right on paper but it may (and probably did) make more sense seeing it.

Fair enough of Clay. I like the idea of Santino and Clay. I think that would have a lot of legs to it, if played right.

I do agree on the tag belts. Like you say it shouldn't need a gimmick to sell them but anything that gets them more across the better