Super Meltdown: How the WWE Shit Themselves
The Royal Rumble occurred over a month ago, but all the momentum which developed throughout that PPV and in anticipation of Wrestlemania was lost at Super Showdown on Thursday. With Elimination Chamber looming a week from Sunday, no one expected Super Showdown to alter the landscape or turn heads, but it did in the worst possible way. With the exception of The New Day and Miz and Morrison putting on an entertaining tag team clinic, each match was under par or overshadowed by nostalgia acts once again. Many things can be said about Brock Lesnar, Carillo versus Garza, the repeat of Corbin and Regins, and the horrific gauntlet match, but they don't compare to the travesty WWE created when Goldberg defeated The Fiend.
Goldberg had been absent from WWE since last year's Super Showdown with the Undertaker (lets not talk about that one), but during his absence, he was inducted (deservedly) into the WWE Hall of Fame. The icon that was Bill Goldberg and his undefeated streak should always be remembered as one of the greats, but those times are in the past. Matches that feature Goldberg only last a maximum of five minutes not including entrances; to put it simply, Goldberg can't wrestle at this stage in his career. A match at Super Showdown with The Fiend, WWE's most popular rising character, seemed like another opportunity for The Fiend's character to elevate. If WWE wanted Goldberg to win from the start, then they could have had Goldberg's confrontation of The Fiend differ from other superstars, but Goldberg continued the 'I'm not afraid of you and I'm not playing your games' trend. Very few expected The Fiend to actually be next, but WWE was prone to shit themselves, and The Fiend became the next debacle. Goldberg landed four spears, two knees, a headbutt, and the worst jackhammer known to man. That's all it took to pin The Fiend. It's almost as if WWE thought their fans had not been watching the past year where The Fiend annihilated every opponent and kicked out of every finisher. Pyrotechnics were ineffective and a clown mallet couldn't keep The Fiend down. Since WWE put no effort into the story surrounding Goldberg and The Fiend, it's a slap in the face to all fans who have been following The Fiend and praising the WWE's development of the character. To say the enigma of The Fiend has vanished is premature, but to say the WWE shit themselves once again is more than fair.
Once Wrestlemania season comes around, WWE feels like they have to force feed nostalgia acts to garner more views and national attention. Superstars like The Undertaker, Triple H, The Rock, and others always start appearing and stealing time away from the main core of WWE wrestlers. It's more of a slap in the face to all the WWE wrestlers who have been carrying the business for the past year as they see nostalgia acts replace them at the highest stage. It's like if you were on a basketball team and were winning a tight game through 3 and a half quarters, and then the coach subs in all players from past years in the final 2 minutes to hit the buzzer beater, gain all the glory, and win the game. To be honest, it is bullshit, and WWE needs to stop. A few old guys wrestling other old guys (Edge vs Orton) or a clash of eras with creative storytelling (maybe Styles vs. Undertaker) can be appealing on the big stage, but WWE again is going to rely heavily on older wrestlers or at least part time wrestlers for the main card at Wrestlemania.
The question that plagues the WWE universe is why have The Fiend, at the height of his popularity on route to an epic Wrestlemania match that could feature any number of faces, lose the title? If The Fiend wasn't going to enter Wrestlemania with the title, then why have Goldberg win instead of Daniel Bryan? WWE has a lot of explaining to do before Wrestlemania in order to salvage the catastrophe that took place at Super Showdown. While there is no logical reason to have Goldberg defeat The Fiend given the storytelling, WWE is most likely attempting to provide Reigns a long title reign that doesn't go through The Fiend or a popular character. However, Goldberg is actually quite popular--though he might not be after being at the forefront of WWE's poor decision making. Why pass up on the Wrestlemania worthy rivalry between The Fiend and Roman Reigns? There is history between the two, and the fans, who will boo if Reigns wins, always boo Reigns unless he loses. Given enough time, the story between Reigns and The Fiend could highlight the greatest stage of them all, as the two also have in ring chemistry.
The Fiend losing the title is not the problem; the way he lost the title is the problem; the response to losing the title is the problem. In creating the supernatural character of The Fiend, the WWE gave themselves an obstacle to overcome. A complex story, psychological warfare, and something new was what it would take for a superstar to conquer The Fiend, but rather than write interesting stories and create legendary matches, the WWE decided to shit themselves by having Goldberg defeat The Fiend cleanly without anything new. They created an obstacle, and then decided they didn't like the obstacle and acted like it never existed. The WWE treated their audience like ignorant children who will believe everything their parents say. To say this is a new problem with WWE would be false. Kevin Owens suffered the same consequences when Goldberg defeated him last year; Brock Lesnar won the title in five seconds on a weekly show; and Bray Wyatt won his first WWE Championship title only to lose it at Wrestlemania 2 months later. Friday Night Smackdown will likely be heavily filled with boos and rightly so. From my dorm room, I will be reigning boos at the Television as Goldberg gives the same speech he's been giving ever since he returned last year. WWE doesn't learn and either placates to the fan base or acts like they don't watch. When this year's Wrestlemania is one to forget about, don't be surprised if many wrestling fans switch to NXT or AEW where the creative writers build meaningful stories through impressive feats of strength and athleticism combined with technically sound wrestling. The only reason WWE stays afloat is because of talented wrestlers like The Fiend, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins (yes I know that NXT is technically WWE, but it is different than Smackdown and Raw in how it develops stories). If the Fiend and a few other wrestlers moved somewhere else, I would follow, but for now all the WWE universe can do is boo and hope the WWE will eventually become potty trained.
Comments
Post a Comment