The Triumvirate of Truth 6.24.12 Bryan and Punk at Money in the Bank, the end of Cena vs Ace Feud, More

This week saw a dynamic shift in the power paradigm of the WWE. Johnny Ace was fired at No Way Out, and in case we didn’t understand this, we had a going away party on RAW for him, complete with a few Attitude Adjustments and an STF. We’re inching closer and closer to August, where Summerslam takes place, and some can already feel the heat building for that hot day in Los Angeles. Before we get there, however, there is a Money in the Bank PPV to be had, and if the WWE is smart, they’d take notice of the young guys that are just itching for what this opportunity possesses.

This week, we talk about an ex-cheerleader that should keep his Twitter hands away from the keyboard, the possibility of Daniel Bryan in the main event of Money in the Bank, whether or not the ending of People Power was sufficient enough, and more! Joshua also brings up the expectations of Vinnie Mac in terms of his wrestler’s size that brought about good conversation. Join us as we talk over some things that matter to no one but wrestling fans!

1. How do you think Daniel Bryan will play into the card at the Money in the Bank PPV?

Michael Uphoff: I really hope that Daniel Bryan gets to face CM Punk for the WWE Championship at the Money in the Bank PPV. I would really like to see it in some sort of gimmick match that plays to their strengths, like a submission only match, an ultimate submissions match, or hell even like a 30 or 60 minute Ironman match. With the match that they had at Over the Limit, and the Triple Threat match they had with Kane at No Way Out, I really want to see them lock up once more at least. I would like to see an Ironman match the most, though.

If Bryan is not in the WWE title picture for MITB, I would highly suspect that he would be in one of the MITB ladder matches. If he is in one of those matches, I would bet on him being the favorite to win. That doesn’t mean that he WILL win, just that he would be the most likely to do so. I’d love to see him remain on RAW and see this storyline with AJ, Punk, Kane, and him resolve further, but as the philosopher Jagger once said, “You can’t always get what you want.” My suspicions are that he will be in one of the MITB ladder matches. I do hope, though, that he gets to face Punk one more time.

Tony Acero: I like some of Mike’s ideas, such as a submissions match or something of the sort. In fact, I think I heard rumors that this was what they originally planned before throwing Kane into the mix. Either way, I can see him in the title picture, still, because there’s a lot left to the story that is still unwritten (hopefully that was metaphorically and not literally). There is the possibility, however, that Bryan could be in the MITB match due to lack of actual bodies. I’m not sure I’d like it, storyline wise. I mean, I think it’d be a great addition, and would add some good wrestling to matches that – according to history – are pretty damned good, but I think Bryan is at a level where he shouldn’t have to WIN an opportunity for a title shot, especially considering he’s already in the picture. Either way, I don’t know for sure how he will be involved, but I predict another title shot at Punk more than him being a part of the MITB match.

Joshua Stangle: Unfortunately, Bryan has been built up rather poorly as of late. Considering how well CM Punk and Daniel Bryan did at the last MITB show, I would find it very interesting to see them face off in the WWE Championship match at this year’s version of the show. However, both Punk and Bryan are already set to face off against each other at the 1,000 episode of RAW, which lessens the chance that they will face off in a singles match at MITB. Kane is also still heavily involved in the storyline with Punk and AJ. Bryan is no longer a necessary component in that (at least at the moment). I would love to see Bryan win a second Money in the Bank match, only this time he should actually be given momentum while carrying the briefcase.

2. Does height and build really help make a wrestler popular?

Joshua Stangle: Wrestling news reports have stated that Vince McMahon plans on changing his hiring practices to only seek larger individuals to wrestle for his company. The minimum requirements given to talent scouts are that the prospects must be at least 6’2″ and 240 pounds. He feels as though taller and bulkier wrestlers have an easier time becoming popular than smaller wrestlers. Part of this is certainly true, as a wrestler that looks out of shape and weak won’t be taken seriously. Many of the top tier draws in wrestling history had excellent physiques: Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Stone Cold, John Cena, The Undertaker, Goldberg.

McMahon has his own personal mentality towards the business and much of it has brought him great success. However, this theory is flawed. This is discounting all of the stars who didn’t have the “superstar look” who were legitimate draws. Wrestlers such as Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Rey Mysterio and Mick Foley all drew considerably for McMahon, as well as other promotions. The problem is that the current WWE creative team doesn’t know how to build, or maintain, new main event talent once they get past a certain point. Only certain people in the company are allowed to look strong, while the rest of them are given tepid pushes that stall out. The current roster doesn’t reach a greater audience because a severe lack of quality writing and booking (as well as marketing).

I’m not saying that the size isn’t an important factor in becoming a legitimate draw, but the creative department never gives any other talent enough of a push to really determine that. The final issue here though is that McMahon feels that his roster is too focused on smaller wrestlers. I can’t disagree with that, as most of the larger wrestlers on the roster are now getting rather old.

Tony Acero: Tell this to Wellness, Vince. I think Joshua hits it right in the nuts with his pinpointing the problem down to the writing team. A good writer or writers could make shit look like gold if done right. I will admit that there is a place for the big guys, and when you look at someone that is larger than life, it’s more of a Cena physique than a CM Punk one, but even so, the demands for a superstar with cena build will crash and burn faster than Tensai’s push. Compelling characters is what sells a great story-telling product, and like any television show on TV, a connection with the audience. For whatever reason, the WWE neglects to acknowledge the most obvious of problems; that being that the current staff cannot handle characters well at all. The need for a big guy is simply an easy way out, because I’m assuming they feel that it just makes the build so much easier. It doesn’t. There are countless failed attempts that were around that size or bigger, and it would behoove McMahon to realize that.

Michael Uphoff: I get why Vince wants bigger and taller wrestlers to be in his company. A lot of his bigger and more popular stars are that size and are getting older, like what Josh says. However, as Josh points out by only wanting that size and above discounts all the great talents that are smaller and helped build WWE, like Bret, Shawn, Rey, Eddie. It really doesn’t help when your creative team doesn’t know how to properly push someone to make them stars, because as we all know, WWE’s creative team is shit

3. Should Orton be put back in the main event after he returns from suspension?

Joshua Stangle: Rumors have it that upon returning from his second wellness violation, Randy Orton will be pushed back into the main event scene. I have mixed feelings about this as Orton is a great talent and top star, but has shown that he might not have matured all that much. With Smackdown near barren of top level faces, the show could really use someone like Orton in a major role. Last year, Orton had many quality matches and a great run as champion on the show. He has matured as a wrestler, but whether he has matured as a person is open for debate. Stories have been told about Orton’s past immaturity, some of it was fabricated, some of it was not; but signs that he may have regressed are troubling. The WWE has invested a lot of time and build into him, hopefully, he cleans up and comes back even better. I think that the WWE needs him in a main event slot on Smackdown. It isn’t a matter of how mature he is, but rather a matter of necessity for the show…at least for now.

Tony Acero: Consider this an extremely selfish answer, but yes. There’s really nowhere else he can go. Look, if he wants to possibly ruin his career by doing whatever it is that he’s doing, then that’s on him. I was very surprised and a little upset when I found that he violated Wellness once again, because he’s been on such a tear! I’m hoping this was a minor slip up and he’ll be right back on track. Some would call the break a bit of a blessing, I think, because he was getting a little stale as a character. Realistically speaking, Orton is going to come back and his spot will be ready for him. I don’t see him going any lower than mian event status at this time of his career.

Michael Uphoff: Do I know if Orton has matured? Well, he has certainly matured in the ring, I’ll give him that. However, I don’t know if Orton has matured as a person, and for his sake, I really hope he has, because the WWE really needs him in the main event scene. Orton may not have regressed to what he formally was or may have been (as some stories were fictitious), but it would be a shame if his career ended on such a sour note. He has many years left in the business and SmackDown could really use him at the moment

4. John Cena is reported to face CM Punk for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam. What are your thoughts on this, and also your thoughts on the attacks on his character by Ken Doane?

Michael Uphoff: WWE reportedly does not want to see their top draw in the fourth match (behind the two title matches and HHH/Lesnar), so they are reportedly going to have Cena face Punk for the WWE title at SummerSlam. I’ll say this right now; if it means I don’t have to see the AWFUL SHIT they have put Cena in the past few months, I’d gladly pay to see Cena in the title hunt again. That being said, I don’t want to see Cena holding the WWE title again. He has transcended the title and doesn’t need it anymore. Punk is doing great things with his title run and shouldn’t need to drop the strap anytime soon.

Moving on to his personal life, I really don’t give a shit. So maybe he cheated on his wife with a Diva. People cheat on their wives every day. Why should we care? Because it’s Cena? Stop airing dirty laundry, Doane. You come off as an asshole for doing so. A man’s personal life should never be aired over the Internet, but I guess it’s a price a celebrity pays in this technological age when they do something wrong. Look at what happened to Tiger. I’m not comparing Cena to Tiger, but in reality we shouldn’t be airing intimate details of their wrongdoings (only alleged for Cena). I really only care about Cena when he is doing stuff for the WWE. Personal is separate from professional.

Tony Acero: I’m tired of Cena. Everyone knows that, and I don’t like talking too much about it because of that fact, but the character of Cena has been built all wrong in the past few years. I get the need for heroes, I understand the necessity for larger than life characters, but the WWE’s inability to make compelling anti-Cena’s is the issue that is much larger than whether they’re handling Cena correctly. I don’t want Cena in the title picture, BUT if he is going to be in it, I’d much rather have it against Punk than anyone else, because at least then there is doubt being present. Doubt that Cena could actually win and take the belt. It would also make for some good matches that would, admittedly, have me cringe each time a near fall happened with Cena on top. And seriously, that feeling is a good one.

As for the personal stuff, I’m going to echo Uphoff’s sentiment in that I could give two fucks less as to what Cena does behind the curtain. It is NONE of my business, and it is really none of Doane’s either to be putting it out there to the public. We’ve long since heard that Doane isn’t exactly the greatest guy, but man this is a new Chris Brown level of low. Whether Cena did what Doane is accusing or not, it’s so juvenile to post it on Twitter. A social forum in which no one can monitor what you say really does give people balls (just look at our comment section), but it doesn’t change the fact that all you’re doing is yelling with a keyboard about someone that you probably know jack shit about. It’s just a dumb ass move on Doane’s part that makes him look all the more bitter and childish.

Joshua Stangle: It really depends on how they do the feud because current cheesy Super Cena against somewhat cheesy Punk sounds rather dull. Their Summerslam feud last year was the same thing, only that was right off the heels of the hottest storyline of the year. Cena doesn’t need the title anymore, especially since the spotlight still shines near entirely on him. I won’t say that Punk is doing great things with his title run because it’s been rather underwhelming considering who his opponents have been. As far as Ken Doane goes, feel free to insert a Matt Hardy V.2 joke here. No wait, that would imply that Cena is going to turn heel and Ken Doane will be rehired by the WWE. I don’t care about any of this.

5. Was the ending of RAW a sufficient and satisfying end to the John Cena – Johnny Ace feud?

Tony Acero: I find it troublesome to answer this, because we truly don’t know if this is the end. Assuming that it was, I still find it insufficient and not as satisfying as I wanted it to be. I will say this, near the end of RAW, there was a relief that you get when you’re nearing the end of a bad chapter in a book. It felt good that we may be moving onto something new, and it seemed noticable that this was the end. So, assuming that is the case, I am glad that they closed the book. However, I couldn’t help but feel that this ending would have felt so much more better if it were someone else. John Cena is not a hero. He’s not even a person I can actually get behind. There’s never a doubt that he’ll lose, and he’s overcome numerous odds in such a fashion that his success was never in doubt. This troubles me, because if it were someone who I could get behind; a hero, then perhaps I, and everyone else, would have felt like the end of RAW was something worth shouting for, and feeling elated. However, it just fell flat.

One more thing that bothered me about it all, was that this was to be the ending of a long arching storyline. If that is the case, then why the hell wasn’t this done at the Pay-Per-View? Why did we have an entire show with a person who has been fired have more time on-screen than the supposed NEW temp General Manager? People pay for Pay-Per-Views – I assume – to see the close of stories and for some good wrestling. This just all seemed like more of the same, using a PPV to sell a television show. It’s not deplorable to the point where I will lambast them to no end, but it is a bad business model.

Michael Uphoff: Tony’s right. That ending to RAW fell flat and was not a satisfying conclusion to the Cena/Ace feud. The only thing I cared about was Ace getting the shit beat out of him for taking up so much TV time from people who could have used it to better themselves and their characters (Ryder, Ziggler, Kofi, etc.). I haven’t cared about Ace since he won at WrestleMania, and I didn’t even care about him before when he was feuding with Teddy Long. John Laurinaitis has been nothing but an absolute waste of oxygen and space since he became General Manager, and I’m just glad he is gone.

Joshua Stangle: The quality of the final segments with Laurinaitis certainly matched the rest of his feud with Cena. I hope this is the last we see of Laurinaitis in an on screen role. This feud exemplified every reason why the WWE is losing viewers, in my opinion. Laurinaitis’ character was cheesy and utterly incompetent. Super Cena came out and saved the entire WWE Universe and locker room from the tyranny of the incompetent Johnny Ace. Lame jokes were cracked. Bad promos and matches were had. My time was wasted. The end was good in the way that it means this miserable feud is over, and we’ll never have to see it again.

For Tony’s point as to why this wasn’t done on pay per view: because most of the conflict was finished at No Way Out. The next night on RAW was kind of like an epilogue; only an extended, poorly done epilogue. Ace was no longer a threat after No Way Out. Then again, it could also be due to the WWE focusing more on television ratings rather than pay per view buys.

The wind from Big Show’s fist done knocked me out!