Seth Rollins and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Coming at you from Ohio State University, where the first hour and fifteen minutes put me to sleep and I missed all the good stuff that happened during the second half of RAW.  When I woke up the next morning, I found there was a better show taking place on the internet than on the USA Network the night before.  That show being the real life drama of Seth Rollins.

If you’re a wrestler and you make it onto sites like wwtdd.com and deadspin.com and TMZ.com then you know you’ve got problems.  

Ok, quick recap, Seth Rollins has been cheating on his fiancé with an NXT side-piece.  Said side-piece had a nude photo taken of her and was posted on Rollins’s Instagram account.  

SIDE NOTE, this also meant that the same nude picture found its way onto the WWE website because of course anything posted by one of their wrestlers on social media gets automatically uploaded to their computer feed.  

A nude pic of an NXT-er?  That’s just a happy accident.  The shit hit the fan when Rollins’s fiancé saw the nude pic, got a little upset and started blasting nude pics of Seth Rollins and some intimate love sonnets Rollins wrote to his, what I like to now call, “developmental territory” on Twitter and Facebook.  This is why the only social media I use is LinkedIn.  You never hear of any salacious hacks of someone’s LinkedIn account.  Of course you never hear of anyone getting a job from their LinkedIn account either.  But I digress…

This is all fun for us to joke about but there’s a real opportunity here for the WWE and Seth Rollins.  “Any press is good press.”  No one knows that better than the WWE.  What better way to distract the fans from the snooze-fest that is Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan (we’ll get to that in a second) than to build off some scandalous press for your main heel?

Here’s what the WWE should do.  We all know the adage of, “The coverup is worse than the crime.”  In that vein Seth Rollins and the WWE should start pumping out this story:

Seth Rollins is the ultimate heel.  Not only did he “sell out” but he cheats on his fiancé and is just a despicable person.  HE CANNOT BE TRUSTED!!!  In or out of the ring.  Rollins should say, “Yeah, I did it.  So what?!  I’m the chosen one.  From Hogan to Flair to HBK, all the top guys live life to the fullest, unlike all you losers sitting around watching us from the couch.  When I come to town, hide your wives and daughters!”  

Regardless, I’m guessing Valentine’s Day won’t be the happiest time of year for Mr. Rollins.    

One last item before we get to the Power Rankings.  For the past month, everyone’s favorite punching bag has been Roman Reigns.  The majority of complaints have been that Daniel Bryan didn’t get the win and subsequent “push” from the Royal Rumble.  To all those that are crying for Daniel Bryan all I have to say is; Did you watch Monday’s RAW?  

Neither wrestler is particularly ready to snatch the WHC from Brock Lesnar’s grip.  Granted, the WWE isn’t helping the situation by force-feeding us a steady diet of Big Show and Kane as the main obstacles that are supposed to put over the Bryan / Reigns duo.  But at this point, does it really matter?  On this week’s podcast, Fred helps me talk through a few scenarios that would help get either Bryan or Reigns over as plausible winners at WM31.  

Please listen and subscribe to the BEARcast - WrestleCast.  This week is a great episode that will make up for the lackluster RAW.  Fred came by for a LIVE recording and those are always the best.  you can find us at www.worldofbear.com / http://www.bearssportstalk.blogspot.com / and on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/world-of-bear/id828777439?mt=2

If you’re looking for a well done, slow simmer to a possible epic match, look no further than the work that the WWE is doing with Bray Wyatt.  They’ve been building him up with solid wins, in great matches, against worthy opponents over the past few months.  Fred has been pushing the idea of a Wyatt / Undertaker match at WM31 but I didn’t truly see it until this week.  All the wins and all the odd promos towards an unknown enemy now seem to be directed straight toward The Dead Man.  It’s still hard to imaging that Undertaker would come back just to loose at WM31 in order to put Bray Wyatt over, but it’s just as hard to believe he’d come back for one last match, win (to be 21 and 1, and 1 again?) and not stick to tradition by giving back to the business and “going out on his back.”  The execution isn’t clear but the fact that everything is set for a big Undertaker reveal at FastLane seems to be… dead on!  (sorry, I had to do it) 

   

So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 2/09/2015...

1. Bray Wyatt (1) – I just talked about it.  He’s on a hot streak and is clearly focusing his crazy promos at someone.  
   
2.  Dolph Ziggler (2) – Watching Ziggler lose to Bray in the Match of the Night and knowing that Bray could be setting up a huge story, Dolph shouldn’t feel bad.  He’s proving to be the heir apparent to HBK in-ring.  His style, his moves, his sells and just overall craftsmanship each night reminds me of HBK.  My only hope is that he lands a good feud for WM31 or if he IS stuck with the likes of Ryback and Rowan to face off against the dregs of The Authority, Ziggler can shine as he did at Survivor Series. 
3. Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman (N/A) – Thank you Paul Heyman for saving us.  By far the best promo of the night but did you expect anything less?  The bigger shock was that Brock was there.  What’s his role at FastLane?   
   
4. Damien Miz-Dow w/ Miz (8) – Who cares that he lost to Sin Cara (who should've gone straight from the ring to the Greyhound bus waiting to take him back to Florida to join his tag partner in NXT’s Rival show).  Another slow burn to a great WM31 match.  Even my girlfriend stops to check out the antics between Miz and Miz-dow.  That’s all you need to know about the level of performance that they’re putting on.
   
5. Cody-Stardust and Dustin-Goldust (13) – Another great feud.  I realize I’m probably more into this feud that most people.  I love what Cody has done with the Stardust character over the past year.  If this plays out to be Goldust’s farewell and they’re able to bring Cody Rhodes back AND put him over all in one great family storyline, I’m in 100%.  
6. Tyson Kidd w/ Natalya and Cesaro (9) – I didn’t realize Kidd had this much charisma to go along with his Hart Family wrestling training.  This is one storyline that I hate seeing the KayFabe being broken on Total Divas.  Kidd and Natalya really have something on screen together.  I don’t want to know that they’re fighting behind the curtain.  Cesaro is great but lacks a vision.  Throwing these three together seemed odd at first but it’s working.  I’d like to see them get a gimmick if they’re going to stick together as a tag team for a minute.  It doesn’t have to be super committed like The Ascension or The New Age Outlaws but something as simple as Team Hell-No (Kane and Bryan) would be enough.
   
7. The Usos w/ Naomi (10) – The perfect opponents for Kidd / Cesaro / Natalya.  Or it should be the other way around since the Usos are the Tag Champs.  Either way, a mixed tag match between all six of these great in-ring workers should be awesome.
8. Paige (15) – Not only did they have the monumental task of coming out after an hour of mind numbing programing and a dead crowd, but Paige and the Bellas were able to spark the crowd and get them fired up for the next hour which turned out to be good.  Besides being the only thing worth watching on Total Divas, Paige is also one of the best performers in the WWE.  I’m truly shocked to be saying this.
9. The Bellas (16) – You can listen to Fred and I rail against the Bellas a year ago on the WrestleCast (www.worldofbear.com) and I despise them on Total Divas, which makes what they’re accomplishing in the ring even more impressive.  It’s not Shakespeare but each of them brings to the table what the other lacks.  Together they make a really solid wrestler.  I’m actually excited for this Paige vs N-Bella matchup. 
10. Dean Ambrose (14) – His beating up on Curtis Axel isn’t important.  What’s important is this looming feud with Wade Barrett.  It’s nice to see someone make the claim that the IC strap is important and is going full-out to obtain it.
11. Curtis Axel (18) – Call me crazy.  I can’t lie.  I like this #AxelMania bullshit.  That being said, I don’t want to see this go much further.  Reigns should come out and toss him over the top rope in a squash match just to shut him up. 
12. Seth Rollins (4) – Put aside all the personal issues, he’s still a great performer.  Everyone assumes his next opponent will be RKO, who’s been mysteriously absent.  Is an RKO return at FastLane one of the twists we should expect?  Last time the WWE gave away a free PPV before a major event, we got the arrival of Sting.  
13. Daniel Bryan (3) – You could easily flip Bryan and Reigns around here.  They’re practically the same character except on is bigger and better looking while the other has a catchy phrase and is one of the best wrestlers.  We should know more regarding what’s next for both Bryan and Reigns by the end of FastLane.
    
14. Roman Reigns (6) – Just read Daniel Bryan’s ranking.  Swap Bryan’s earthly hipster look for Roman’s wet hair, utility vest and chiseled features and you’ve got the same info.  “Believe That!” 
15. The New Day (N/A) – They have all the potential in the world…IF THEY WOULD JUST TURN HEEL!  Oh, and it’s nice to see that by the second week of Black History Month we finally get a few black males in an actual match.  That’s called progress, boys and girls… 
    
16. HHH and Stephanie (5) – I’ll let them slide considering they were probably dealing with the HAZMAT crew needed to clean up the mess Rollins, his fiancé and his cock were making on the internet.  (fear not, WWE-fashion expert is on his game… I give her a C for Monday’s wardrobe, didn’t like it)
17. Rusev w/ Lana (12) – She’s a total smoke show.  Every week I’m amazed that they get her skirt shorter and her top tighter.  If this was still the Attitude Era, she’d definitely be done up in that Sports Illustrated / Playboy body paint where is looks like clothing, at least for a PPV.  Oh, am I supposed to care about anything else???
18. John Cena (7) – They have to reference the eye but no one seems to know what the injury actually is from?  Is it pinkeye?  Or is it his robotic endoskeleton trying to shed it’s fleshy human parts so that he can begin lead the robot revolution?  IS this the real life beginning to The Age of Ultron?  Run for your lives!  Finish reading this and download the WrestleCast, but right after that RUN!
19. Ryback (19) – Watching him flipping and flopping his Monsanto grown GMO muscles all around the ring like a deranged fish out of water bores me to no end.  Was there ever a bigger backhanded slap than when Ziggler, Rowan and Ryback came out to face The Authority’s minions than when it was Ryback’s music that led the charge?  Ziggler please.
    
20. Big Show and Kane (20) – I’ve never once said, “You know what RAW needs, more, longer Big Show and Kane segments.”  In fact it’s usually the hard opposite of that.  But for some reason we got about an hour and a half of Big Show and Kane on Monday.  Not a surprise I fell asleep through most of the show.

Honorable Mentions

NXT Rival – When not fronting as the stash house for the main roster’s road whores, the NXT is one of the best shows in wrestling.  The WWE is not overselling this.  Check it out, you’ll enjoy it.  And it’s free this month (to new subscribers)

Sheamus – Returns… eventually…

Fake Sting – Could have done without that.  I was under the assumption this “face off” was going to be at FastLane anyway.  It made no sense.

Rikishi – Congrats on making the Hall of Fame.

Side Note(s)

2nd week of Black History Month.   Nothing says BHM like seeing a man running down the isle, carrying little white children and shucking and jiving in the ring while wearing huge chains around his neck.  JYD looked like he just escaped from Candyland after Django blowed it up good.  The sad part is that everyone loves the JYD.  He’s one of the most iconic characters of the 80’s and beloved.  He’s just not the poster boy for Black History Month, or at least the image of him looking like he came off the set of 12 Years a Slave.   

Booker T was in rare form starting with the first match.  That must be what it sounds like when I’m trying to explain all the characters and plot lines to Game of Thrones.  You know that he’s speaking english and that HE understands what he’s saying, it’s just the rest of us that have no clue on what’s coming out of his mouth.  He has the inflection and tone of a wrestling announcer.  It reminds me of Ariana Grande.  I know air is passing through her vocal cords and they’re making a very pleasant sound but I can’t tell you one fucking word she’s saying.  

Until next week…

WK

@wkbear