411 Fact or Fiction 11.07.13: Building Survivor Series, Sting to WWE, Shield Breakup, More

1. The feud between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan vs. The Wyatts will do more to elevate the Wyatts than hurt Punk and Bryan.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT If four months of everyone with even a modicum of power in the WWE hierarchy calling Bryan a “goat-faced troll” who’s not worthy of carrying the main title can’t hurt him, and if saddling Punk with Ryback and Curtis Axel in a never-ending feud with Paul Heyman didn’t hurt him (much less Kevin Nash and HHH ruining the momentum of the “pipe bomb” promo), then putting over some monster swamp people isn’t going to do anything to hurt their credibility or standing in the WWE Universe. The Wyatt Family, on the other hand, finally has something to do that doesn’t involve threatening mid-level guys who aren’t really over. Sure, the start of the angle last night didn’t exactly do anything to elevate the Wyatts; however, as long as Harper keeps having good matches (and the fans continue to chant “yeahyeahyeahYEAHYEAH” along with him), I don’t think taking a loss to the longest-reigning WWE champion of the last twenty-five years is going to do much damage either. Realistically, Punk and Bryan should be smarter than Harper and Rowan, as we saw last night, but the key is going to be Bray – once he gets involved, the balance should swing in favor of the Wyatt Family, even especially if Bryan and Punk add someone like Miz or Kofi or Truth. But basically, there’s only two ways this can play out – either the Wyatt Family comes out of it looking like a legitimate threat to the tag team titles and/or most main eventers (obviously not Super Cena or the HHH-backed Orton, though), or they end up floundering in the mid-card. Either way, it’s not going to do anything to hurt Punk or Bryan.

Tony Acero: FACT As unfortunate as it is, Punk and Bryan couldn’t stay at the top of the card forever. True, I don’t think Bryan got his just due, but that’s for another question. In regards to the current storyline, I feel that yes, this feud will help the Wyatt Family more so than the other way around. Before this, the only storyline The Wyatts truly had was against Kane. Sure, there was a one-off with Kofi and maybe a little spark with The Miz, but we have to admit that they’ve been floundering since their debut – and they’re far too badass for that. The opening match from RAW alone did more for Harper than any beat down he could have possibly given. With the Family going against Bryan and Punk, and possibly leading to a Survivor Series match, it will do enough to elevate them. The trouble then comes – as always – at the end of the feud and where the Family goes next.

Score: 1 for 1

2. Sting will end up with WWE and in some form, be a part of WrestleMania 30.

Wyatt Beougher: FICTION Don’t these rumors start up every year around this time? Honestly, what does Sting bring to the WWE? Contrary to what the mutants in the Impact Zone would have you believe, Steve Borden does not, in fact, “still got it”, and he hasn’t since WCW died. Besides, most of the “reports” cited that Vince wanted Goldberg and Sting for Wrestlemania XXX because Hogan wasn’t going to be a part of it, but now that he’s allegedly back with the company, I’m sure McMahon’s not pushing for a guy who’s never been part of the WWE to come in and be a part of the thirtieth Wrestlemania. Besides, Sting compared McMahon to the devil, so I’m sure he’s content working what essentially boils down to a part-time WWE schedule in TNA, taking that Panda Energy/Viacom money and putting on lackluster matches in front of deluded (but happy) fans. In summation – this is a rumor, one that’s never going to die, and Sting’s not coming to the WWE.

Tony Acero: FICTION I really don’t see this going down. Do I think Sting will be a part of the WWE in some capacity in the future? Sure, but not to wrestle. I feel he’ll get the HOF treatment, and the DVD that he deserves, but for some reason I don’t see the WWE as all that interested in Sting. Maybe it’s my own proclivities towards WWE that has caused a feeling of apathy towards the Stinger, but I don’t see what he would add to any show aside from nostalgia. When it comes to WM 30, I think it’s far too soon for him to be there, as he will still have the scent of TNA all over him. This isn’t an Anti-TNA post by any means, I’m simply pointing out the fact that I don’t think Vince would be able to withstand the obvious nature of reliability in terms of Sting and TNA. Wrestlemania 30 is far too soon for Sting to make an impact or even a sighting.

Score: 2 for 2

3. Vince McMahon saying that Summerslam failed due to, “fans not buying the attraction” was his way of blaming the poor buyrate on Daniel Bryan.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT Surely it had nothing to do with Vince running down Cena and especially Bryan for a month ahead of time, making it feel like Cena taking on a guy who didn’t deserve to be in the ring with him. And it absolutely wasn’t because the only other match on the card that had any real build to it was the Punk/Lesnar match. Certainly, it had nothing to do with the fact that Cena had clearly pointed out his massively deformed elbow, thereby giving him an excuse for losing the match long before it ever started. No, I’m sure fans just didn’t “buy the attraction” of the best wrestler in the WWE taking on the most popular member of the WWE roster. The argument that I keep hearing is that for as over as Bryan is with the live crowds (and he is, make no mistake about that), he can’t monetize that fan base to actually buy PPVs. My two counters to that argument are as follows: a) Bryan captures the casual fans in live crowd because he has an easy-to-do chant (that’s now being co-opted by the Big Show) and puts on exciting matches; that hasn’t yet translated into pay-per-view buying fans because he hasn’t consistently been booked someone who is as important as the John Cenas and Randy Ortons of the WWE. Which leads into my second point – the Daniel Bryan fans who would actually buy the PPV have no real reason to, as he’s had his legs cut out from underneath him every time he should’ve been having a big PPV moment. Wrestlemania 28, again Sheamus, in what should’ve been an outstanding match (based on the fact that they actually had several outstanding matches at other points)? 18-second loss. Beating the biggest star in the WWE at SummerSlam this year? Pedigree, cash-in, instant loss of the title. Every attempt to get the title back since then? Screwy BS designed to make him look inferior to Orton. It’s not rocket science, Vince – if you want people to “buy the attraction”, you need to make them believe that it’s a) something worth buying, and b) not a false bill of goods. When people were calling their cable companies/satellite providers demanding refunds after Bryan was stripped of the title following his win at Night of Champions, maybe that should’ve been a clear indication that they bought the PPV for Bryan. The so-called “monetized” fanbase is there, you just keep giving them no reason to open their wallets.

Tony Acero: FICTION I’m not saying he doesn’t blame Bryan, as I’m pretty sure all the blame is on him, but the statement in question has little to do with Bryan, and more to do with what Vince assumes Summerslam is. It has slowly risen to become the number two ppv in the company, and damn near to the level of Wrestlemania. The weekend here in LA during that time is all kinds of crazy, and I’d expect that Vince and Co have certain…expectations for it, regardless of the card. Therein lies the issue, however, as for whatever reason, they feel that the event sells itself. To a degree, it does, but there is always going to be a need for GOOD storytelling, and as awesome as it was to see Bryan win the title (even for a short time), the build up to the show made the ending very, very predictable, and caused an outrage I remember well.

Score: 2 for 3

4. AJ Styles defending the TNA Title in AAA as well as in Japan for Wrestle-1 is a great addition to his leaving TNA with the title angle.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT I’m on the fence with this one, but Styles wrestling for AAA and Wrestle-1 theoretically means he’s not wrestling in TNA, so “Yay”, I guess? There are several things I don’t like about this angle, primarily that doing the “Punk leaves the WWE with the title” angle so soon after the WWE did it, only with a wrestler with about 1/50th of Punk’s charisma just isn’t clicking. Also, AJ falls into the same category as RVD for me – he’s doing the exact same moves, with the exact same set-ups, that he did 10 years ago (also the same reason I disliked Randy Orton so much as a face – he’d sleepwalk through a match, just going from spot to rest hold to spot without attempting to tell any kind of story). Sure, AJ’s a lot better in the ring even now than RVD was at his peak, but seriously, dude, show me something new. Even Pokemon John Cena (Cenajohn, go!) learned a new move last week and we’ve long thought that all five of his move slots were locked. Maybe AJ getting to work in AAA and Wrestle-1 will freshen up his act a bit, at least in the ring.

Tony Acero: FACT Little things like this make the story all the more intriguing, and I’m glad that TNA isn’t afraid to allow it and embrace it. It makes the wrestling world that much bigger, and creates a camaraderie amongst companies that make each one seem as important as the other. In that world, TNA is the big fish (ignoring WWE for a minute), and having their champion go elsewhere adds value to the other companies without diminishing TNA’s name or status. Aside from that, it allows AJ to travel and get some more seasoning on a career that is already pretty solid.

Score: 3 for 4

SWITCH!

5. The closing angle to Monday’s Raw made you excited for the Survivor Series PPV.

Tony Acero: FICTION Not in the least. The possibility of Punk and Bryan being an integral part of a storyline with the Wyatts gets me pumped. The six man tag with Cena, The Rhodes, The Real Americans and Sandow got me excited at the possibility of them having their own elimination match got me excited. The Big Show and Triple as the focal point and ending of the show did absolutely nothing for me. I’m not completely against the storyline, and although I don’t want to sound like an IWC pundit, Triple H being the highlight of RAW really, really bothered me. The most exciting part about last night was Kane walking out in a suit, and that’s about it…

Wyatt Beougher: FICTION Big Show doing Daniel Bryan’s chants and getting Daniel Bryan’s title shot? A tired Shield/Randy Orton beat down? The only good thing about that final segment was the reappearance of the Devil’s Favorite Comptroller, Glen Jacobs, and the comments that ensued in the live discussion thread that I visit during RAW (I won’t get into specifics, but “It’s the Wrestlemania f***ing Wine Mixer” and “Kane only turned because he was mad that his mask wasn’t movie quality” were probably the best of the bunch). Okay, the musical chair shots were good, too. “Hi-ho, hi-ho, I like to hit Big Show” *whack*. Seriously, is this Vince McMahon just trolling the internet? The guy the internet loves gets over, gets buried for four months in spite of having four title shots (and two title wins) in that span, and the guy Vince picks to take his spot is the biggest guy on the roster, the exact type of guy Vince has long been accused of favoring without merit? It has to be a troll job, right? Don’t get me wrong – I dig the Big Show, I really do. He’s one of the best actors on the roster (which is like being the best swimmer in the kiddie pool, I know) and everything leading up to last night’s “settlement” had been gold (especially when he knocked out Dusty, only to catch and gently lay him on mat while openly weeping), but the entire way the angle has been built, the end game has been Show getting his revenge on Triple H and Stephanie, not their proxy with his strange aversion to pants. Sure, we all know that Big Show is never going to get a real measure of payback on Stephanie because she’s a female and a McMahon, and he’s never going to go over Triple H because TRIPLE H, but man was last night’s ending anticlimactic. The worst part is that I know we’re going to get a Kane/Show match as a result, and unless they do that whole catch-as-catch-can thing that they did once before, that’s not the type of build that’s going to make me buy Survivor Series.

Score: 4 for 5

6. Magnus will win the eight-man tournament to become the new TNA World Champion.

Tony Acero: FACT Considering my lack of TNA knowledge, I asked a very knowledgeable source this question, and he had some interesting thoughts. My sources* say that Magnus will eventually be revealed as Dixie’s handpicked choice to carry the company (in other words, be the Randy Orton of TNA) and feud with a returning AJ styles. What this means in terms of wrestling is some quality matches and a possible reinvigorated main event storyline in the Impact Zone. With dissension looming over the MEM, it’s almost an assurance that Magnus will be the dude to take the title back. While I’m sure I’m not the first to draw the parallel, this is some very, very closely related WWE-like storytelling. With Styles as the Punk who left the building, and Magnus as the new FACE of the company, and an owner who may or may not know what she is doing. Now all they have to do is find a Daniel Bryan.

By sources, I mean Greg DeMarco

Wyatt Beougher: FACT Magnus, who’s been with TNA for nearly six years now and is decidedly mediocre both in the ring and on the microphone, is considered “the future” – that right there should tell you how screwed up TNA’s line of thinking is. But even though the writing is on the wall, let’s look at the rest of the field, shall we? Jeff Hardy the closest thing TNA has to John Cena in terms of moving merchandise, Chris Sabin is playing Bo Dallas’ NXT character without the joyful exuberance that makes it work so well for Bo, Bobby Roode and James Storm are wrestling for the 8000th time since their tag team broke up and both are kinda busy doing other things (Roode being awesome with EGO and Storm being homophobic with Gunnar), the ship has sailed on Samoa Joe, unfortunately, Kurt Angle is too unreliable outside of the ring, and Austin Aries has been shunted off to the side since Sabin won the title shot Aries won impersonating Suicide. In theory, you could make a case for any of these guys winning the tournament and the title, but Magnus is the only one who hasn’t already been the TNA champion and who has really been consistently booked over the past few months, which makes me think he’ll win it, even though I personally think Roode and Aries are better choices.

Score: 5 for 6

7. Paul Heyman is currently the best promo guy in the business.

Tony Acero: FICTION I have to give this title to Punk. Heyman has great skills behind the mic, and he shows such conviction in his sleaziness that it’s impossible to think he isn’t that behind the curtain either. He’s vindictive, metaphorical, and pretty damned awesome. But! There are times where he comes off a bit too much. His hyperbolic methods can get a bit tedious from time to time, and sometimes he stretches a metaphor a bit too much. He is perfectly capable of cutting a great promo, but in some rare cases, he comes off as a caricature more so than a character, and that’s truly the only complaint I can make. Punk, on the other hand, he just always comes off as genuine and real. He’s one of the few that calls out the cliché, acknowledges his current doing of it, and still comes off as pretty damned cool. Many have tried to do the “I know you’ve heard this before, but I’m going to say it anyway” type promo and it comes off as run-of-the-mill. Punk does just that from time to time, but adds such conviction, you can’t help but think it’s fresh – or at least a fresh take.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT Last night’s weird phone interview notwithstanding, Heyman consistently kills it on the microphone. He’s exceptional at manipulating the crowd, his character is consistent and he plays it up to the fullest, and his ability to manipulate his voice/pitch, facial expressions, and body language is unparalleled. To illustrate just how good Heyman is with promos, look no further than his angle with CM Punk. Punk, a guy who garnered mainstream popularity for his pipe bomb promo, was left in the dust by Heyman. Heyman kept working new material into his promos each week in form of boasts and/or threats, while Punk just kept essentially saying the same thing over and over (and over and over) again. We get it, Punk – you’re not going to stop until you’ve murdered Paul Heyman, dismembered his corpse, buried the pieces in individual graves after burning them in effigy, and then pissed all over the soil on top of them. Meanwhile, in that time frame, Heyman had the amazing volcano promo, completely played on the crowd’s homophobic tendencies with his proposal to Ryback to be a Heyman guy, and was generally just a lecherous creep any time he was around Renee Young. If JP Prag and James “JT” Thomlison were still doing the outstanding Hidden Highlights column here on 411Mania, they could dedicate a section to Heyman nearly ever week.

Score: 5 for 7

8. The Shield will breakup before WrestleMania 30.

Tony Acero: FICTION If they do, I think we may have rushed the potential of the group. This group is far from done in what they can do and how they can be used, but for whatever reason, the E (and the fans) assume that there’s nothing left for them to do. That’s not how wrestling works, people, it’s simply the fact that we have soooo much wrestling now that what used to take months can now be completed over the course of a week. The Shield is a group that can move up and down the card and still be something. Yeah, they started off hot, but I feel they haven’t fully petered out. In fact, I feel there’s a lot more to do with them. When’s the last time we saw a three-man power group like this? These guys have longevity, and shouldn’t be broken up. However, if we are to assume the inevitability of the situation, I still think that Wrestlemania 30 is far too early for a break up and won’t work out too well without rushing or making just one of the three a star (most likely Reigns). When they do break up, the ideal situation would be for all three of them to rise to the top and become something, but I can’t recall the last time the WWE had the capability of elevating more than one person at once…

Wyatt Beougher: Ugh, FACT Damn you, Larry! Making me think about Big Show/Kane, TNA rehashing Punk/Vince/Cena with AJ/Dixie/Magnus, AND the Shield break-up? Cook never did me like this! Seriously, though, the WWE is apparently very high on Roman Reigns and they want to make him a face, so they’re going to break up the best-booked group of developmental guys to come up to the main roster possibly ever. As much as I love the Shield as slime ball mercenaries who talk about justice but are only after money, it wouldn’t be that hard to turn all three of them face and prevent an unnecessary break-up. The crowd wants to love them already – they showed up in a helicopter, for crying out loud! – all it would take is a beat down on Orton and The Big Red Libertarian, followed by a promo about how working for The Authority has given them the financial autonomy to actually fight for justice in the WWE, and there you go – you’ve still got an awesome group and the fans can cheer for them like you want them to. Or, since the WWE only knows how to make their faces either sarcastic assholes or horrible misogynistic/racist people who attack their opponents from behind, just have them get mad about potentially being pushed out of their enforcer role by the Wyatts and go back to being chaotic neutral.

Score: 5 for 8