411 Fact or Fiction 05.24.12: Big Show’s Turn, Punk vs. Bryan, 3 Hour Raw, More

1. The Big Show helping John Laurinitas defeat John Cena at Over the Limit was too predictable.

Jeremy Lambert: FACT. When Big Show first brought Big Johnny back out to the ring, I thought he was just being a nice guy and helping out John Cena. But the longer things stalled in the ring between Cena and Show, the more obvious it became that Show was going to turn on Cena. Once it happened, I wasn’t shocked, but I really felt bad for the little kids in front of me with their Cena shirts. The Big Show is no better than Kane at this point. He’s always used as the big giant to destroy guys, but in the end he loses and ends up looking stupid. The only difference between him and Kane is that the fans actually care a little bit about him.

Manu Bumb: FACT. Maybe not for newer fans, but for me, I figured it out moments after the stipulations were read. Almost instantly I thought back to the Steve Austin vs Vince and Shane McMahon ladder match, where Bossman was kicked out of the corporation before the match, and welcomed back afterwards. My friend, who as far as I know doesn’t really even keep up with the shows anymore, figured it out before the main event.

Score: 1 for 1

2. The CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan Over the Limit match lived up to the hype generated by the IWC.

Jeremy Lambert: FACT. Now my opinion might be skewed because I was in the arena and when you’re in the live crowd, matches usually seem better due to the atmosphere, and the fact that you don’t have to listen to Michael Cole on commentary. The match itself was great, with plenty of back and forth action and a clever finish to set up a rematch, but the crowd took it to another level. I don’t think a moment went by without a “YES!” or a “CM PUNK!” chant. Even if there was a slow moment in the match, the crowd picked it up by starting a chant and getting Punk and Bryan going. It was an awesome match live and I hope it translated on TV and wasn’t ruined by poor crowd micing or the terrible commentary crew.

Manu Bumb: FACT. I don’t really know how much the IWC hyped it up, but I was there live, and the match, combined with the energy of the crowd (the best Raleigh crowd since Summerslam 2000), was great. I don’t know how it came across on TV, but live, it was FANTASTIC! You can argue match length, or the winner, but at the end of the day, anyone who wasn’t happy with that match has a personal reason to dislike it. Maybe Punk stole their girlfriend, or Daniel Bryan Danielson….ate their vegetables? Point is, it was a great f’n match.

Score: 2 for 2

3. Chris Jericho not winning a single PPV match since his return doesn’t matter.

Jeremy Lambert: FACT. Sad as it is, wins and losses don’t matter all that much in wrestling. Guys get title shots after losing all the time. So Jericho not winning a PPV match since returning really don’t matter all that much. What matters is that Jericho has been in big matches since he came back in January, every match he’s been in has been good, and he’s been good on the mic as well. That’s what most wrestling fans care about. So the fact that he keeps losing these big matches means very little as long as he stays at the top of the card and in title matches.

Manu Bumb: FACT. If you had asked me this during Jericho’s first WWE run, I would’ve said fiction. In fact, I’m reading his second book right now, and it’s really interesting reading his opinion on his first run and how he was being used. But in between that run and this run was, in my opinion, his best run ever. He was treated as a main eventer, got the title, and had a great feud with HBK. After a run like that, it would be impossible to deny that he’s made it. And once you make it, once you have the company’s trust, the world is your oyster – wins and losses no longer matter for someone at Jericho’s level. C’mon baby!

Score: 3 for 3

4. The modifications to Tensai’s persona will help him connect better with the WWE Universe.

Jeremy Lambert: FICTION. I don’t think anything they do with Tensai is going to help him connect better with the fans. A lot of fans still see him as Albert and other fans just don’t care about the evil foreigner gimmick because we’ve seen it so many times. Tensai will start out hot, destroy everyone put in front of him, possibly win a world title, no one will care, then he’ll lose the title and fade into the mid card before they turn him into a lovable babyface who gives rice to kids before he enters the ring.

Manu Bumb: FICTION. What? Is this the thing I read about where he yells at his Asian and drops the “Lord” title? enh. What would help him connect better with the fans is not pushing him down our throats, and showing us how he improved while in Japan. This isn’t 1986 anymore – just because monster heels worked back then doesn’t mean it’ll work now. I can’t even remember the last stereotypical monster heel that got shoved down our throats successfully. Give him some time, if he really has improved, eventually fans will come around, but so far, he’s still just Albert with an inexplicable push.

Score: 4 for 4

SWITCH!

5. Extending WWE Raw to three hours is a good idea.

Manu Bumb: FACT. Honestly, good, bad, who knows? Just because WCW couldn’t do it well (although, I remember being really excited when they first went to 3 hours), doesn’t mean WWE hasn’t learned from their mistakes. I can’t believe I just said that…..it’s rare, but it happens (thank you Stunt Man Tommy). The card carrying IWC member in me says it’s a horrible idea, because even at 2 hours, Raw isn’t that good most of the time, but who knows, maybe this will be the kick in the pants they need to improve the product? I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t WWE’s idea to go 3 hours, but USA’s, so from that perspective, it was a good idea, because you want to keep your network happy, and if going to 3 hours makes them happy, you go to 3 hours. Plus, it’ll let them use social media for an extra hour, which they like doing and gets them recognized in new areas.

Jeremy Lambert: FICTION. Unless you’re the USA Network, this isn’t going to end well. Vince has never wanted to go 3 hours every week and the writers are going to be on suicide watch having to write 3 hours every week and then re-write it when Vince decides it sucks. I’m not even sure fans will be happy because most three hour shows drag and are filled with a bunch of nonsense and “comedy.” The only silver lining is that we could get some good matches every week because guys will have more time to deliver in the ring.

Score: 4 for 5

6. Alex Shelley should have remained with TNA instead of trying to ply his trade elsewhere.

Manu Bumb: FACT. Sure, TNA hasn’t used him (or Sabin….or most of the roster…how are they still in business?) to his potential, but….it’s WWE. Remember what Evan Bourne was doing before his injuries and suspensions? Having great matches that ultimately meant nothing. Yes, there are rumors of a cruiserweight show on an alleged WWE network, but that’ll mean less than NXT (pre-FSU move….assuming the move to FSU makes the show more important within wwe) if it actually happens, and if any cable companies pick up the network. Plus, Mick Foley likes him – which might as well be the kiss of death in WWE. That’s almost as bad as being a Paul Heyman guy!

Jeremy Lambert: FICTION. I admit that I don’t watch TNA, or even keep up with the show through results, but is Alex Shelley even on the show anymore? If he is, I doubt he’s getting much time and I’m sure he’s overshadowed by the “stars” in the company. At least on the independent scene he’ll have more time to wrestle and connect with the audience. Who knows, maybe he signs with WWE developmental and works his way up through the system. I’ve always liked Shelley and think he’s a very talented guy, but it was clear that his time in TNA was up after all the changes they’ve gone through over the years.

Score: 4 for 6

7. Impact Wrestling being live every week during the summer will make the show more interesting.

Manu Bumb: FICTION. Define interesting? Good booking would make the show more interesting (not just wrestling matches, but angles, storylines, the things that make wrestling fans care about the wrestlers and their matches). For some fans, going live will add that element of “anything can happen!”, and I’ll admit, that’s fun, but that will only get them so far – do not forget, Brooke Hogan is coming on board, and G Bischoff is already there – the thought of seeing them live makes me want to shoot my TV – do you remember how obnoxious Brooke Hogan was on TNA PPVs when her daddy first joined TNA? No? Oh right, I was the only one dumb enough around here to order those shows.

Jeremy Lambert: FICTION. As long as the writing still sucks, it’s not going to be more interesting. In fact, it’ll probably make the show seem even more second-rate because they won’t be able to pipe in crowd noise in post-edit. Live just isn’t as big of a deal as it used to be. TNA tries to make it seem like a big deal because they always have some big surprise on their live shows, but if they’re live every week, I can’t imagine them having some big surprise every single week. It’s not like live shows have any impact on the rating, and in TNA, we all know that the only thing that matters is ratings.

Score: 5 for 7

8. Ric Flair will be back with WWE by the end of 2012 and the fans will forget about all the negative news about him over the past couple of years.

Manu Bumb: FACT. If wrestling fans can forget about Steve Austin beating his wife, an all the other f’d up shit wrestlers do (except for he who shall not be named), forgetting about Flair being a drunk, whiney bitch will be an easy one. And now that flair’s outside bookings are probably drying up (compared to the year following his retirement), and he needs a teat to suck off of, it’s practically guaranteed he’ll be back in WWE sooner rather than later.

Jeremy Lambert: FACT. Ric Flair has been given a million chances and even though he screws up every single one of them, fans still love to cheer and “wooo” anytime his music hits. He still cuts a hell of a promo and knows how to get the people into things, and when a guy is standing in the middle of the ring and has you in the palm of his hand, you quickly forget about what he’s done in his personal life. The only part of this statement that concerns me is him being back in WWE. While I think it will happen, I don’t think it’s a given. But with Triple H wielding more power and Vince wanting to change Raw GMs every 2 months, it’s possible that Flair is brought back as a figurehead by the end of the year.

Final Score: 6 for 8

Our North Cackalackian friends had a great time at Over the Limit and seem to agree on most recent topics, but part ways on Alex Shelley & a three hour Raw. If you’d like to chime in on these topics and let Jeremy & Manu know if you agree or disagree with them, go ahead and comment! Thanks to Jeremy & Manu for participating, and we’ll see you back here next week for more 411 Fact or Fiction!