I have harsh opinions and I'm not afraid to sound like an indie fan snob or part of the IWC cult of haters you people believe in.
We are all wrestling fans. Watching at home, watching live, watching from a tall building in Dubai. We all love to see guys throwing each other inside a ring, and that's what makes us be so unhappy with WWE.
This isn't a hate article about how you should only watch indie promotions and ...pffff TNA HAHAHAHAHA
This is about quality. We will pay the $9.99 a month with no regrets if we just get quality and I think WWE could learn a thing or two about quality from the biggest indie promotion around: ROH.
This isn't a hate article about how you should only watch indie promotions and ...pffff TNA HAHAHAHAHA
This is about quality. We will pay the $9.99 a month with no regrets if we just get quality and I think WWE could learn a thing or two about quality from the biggest indie promotion around: ROH.
Technique
Let's be honest, you want wrestlers to show off. Not like Ziggler, but like Seth Rollins and Randy Orton doing a curb stomp into RKO, you want to see that kind of amazing reversal, that kind of creativity, that kind of teamwork among professionals - the kind of thing Reigns doesn't have, but I'll get to that.
A lot of people say in ROH every move is a finisher and the actual finishers don't feel special. I agree I've seen a PPV or two that went crazy with the moves, but it's really just on special occasions, and I think we can all agree, wrestlers should be tested like that - specially if they're going up to WWE and eventually to Wrestlemania.
Not only you have finishers that look incredible or brutal, but they're also very creative and well performed. Sometimes normal hits (such as clotheslines and punches) look bad, but that happens all the time in WWE too, there's a very clear difference in the quality of their submissions though. While the best you'll get on RAW is maybe Daniel Bryan, on ROH you have guys like Sydal (former Evan Bourne) doing his "namaste" leg submission - I don't actually know what it's called.
So when will we have another Stunner or Walls of Jericho? Finishers you actually get excited for?
Or really just a good judgment of performers based their performance? Sure, a shitty wrestler may win you over with his charisma, but that won't do for people who want to watch actual wrestling.
Neville rarely ever gets to talk and he's always fun to watch because of how well he performs and the nature of his moves; Rollins talks a lot, with great mic skills and heelish charisma and always performed well, even if WWE didn't give him much of a chance of showing how good he is on RAW (NOC match against Cena was incredible on both sides); Reigns is shit on the mic, shit on the ring and is their top face? Come on WWE.
Not only you have finishers that look incredible or brutal, but they're also very creative and well performed. Sometimes normal hits (such as clotheslines and punches) look bad, but that happens all the time in WWE too, there's a very clear difference in the quality of their submissions though. While the best you'll get on RAW is maybe Daniel Bryan, on ROH you have guys like Sydal (former Evan Bourne) doing his "namaste" leg submission - I don't actually know what it's called.
So when will we have another Stunner or Walls of Jericho? Finishers you actually get excited for?
Or really just a good judgment of performers based their performance? Sure, a shitty wrestler may win you over with his charisma, but that won't do for people who want to watch actual wrestling.
Neville rarely ever gets to talk and he's always fun to watch because of how well he performs and the nature of his moves; Rollins talks a lot, with great mic skills and heelish charisma and always performed well, even if WWE didn't give him much of a chance of showing how good he is on RAW (NOC match against Cena was incredible on both sides); Reigns is shit on the mic, shit on the ring and is their top face? Come on WWE.
Creativity
Something I've noticed in ROH is how most of the time the winner of match is the one who did the dangerous moves and was over during most of the match or the guy who had the best strategy, it actually feels like the winner deserved his win. Not only that but every match matters, every match counts towards a storyline and defeating a champion isn't just another win. WWE has feuds go on forever with no real change to the story and pretty much anyone can defeat the champ(for some reason all the heels are weak cowards)
With that in mind, ROH does a lot of good back and forth and every hit feels like it matters. You won't have a guy taking a beating during the whole match and still winning in a comeback surprise roll up, or winning just because their manager yelled something at their opponent. The winning moves always look strong, even if a couple of finishers have happened before, the finishing moves have to look stronger.
You have Moose swinging his opp into the barricade multiple times, Elgin slamming two guys at the same time, the ropes being used in a smart and strategic way, spinning swings and trading punches like in a real fight. The back and forth in ROH actually feels like the momentum is changing, not like they have to pretend there's a chance someone will win clean against their top faces.
This also counts for moves as I said before, you have Moose - an ex-football player - go into a no DQ match and do a spear while wearing a football helmet(I think this was the last Glory by Honor PPV, the use of objects was very creative too).
ROH matches feel dynamic and they use everything available, not because it was there so they have to use it but because it makes a difference in the match. You have the relationship between wrestlers matter when they follow the code of honor or with how they proceed with the match, sometimes spending some time testing strength against each other (Elgin vs Moose[& Cole] - Survival of The Fittest) or trash talking, or even praising their opponent.
In WWE it's the guy they're feuding against coming in after one of their matches or just talking shit from the ramp.
With that in mind, ROH does a lot of good back and forth and every hit feels like it matters. You won't have a guy taking a beating during the whole match and still winning in a comeback surprise roll up, or winning just because their manager yelled something at their opponent. The winning moves always look strong, even if a couple of finishers have happened before, the finishing moves have to look stronger.
You have Moose swinging his opp into the barricade multiple times, Elgin slamming two guys at the same time, the ropes being used in a smart and strategic way, spinning swings and trading punches like in a real fight. The back and forth in ROH actually feels like the momentum is changing, not like they have to pretend there's a chance someone will win clean against their top faces.
This also counts for moves as I said before, you have Moose - an ex-football player - go into a no DQ match and do a spear while wearing a football helmet(I think this was the last Glory by Honor PPV, the use of objects was very creative too).
ROH matches feel dynamic and they use everything available, not because it was there so they have to use it but because it makes a difference in the match. You have the relationship between wrestlers matter when they follow the code of honor or with how they proceed with the match, sometimes spending some time testing strength against each other (Elgin vs Moose[& Cole] - Survival of The Fittest) or trash talking, or even praising their opponent.
In WWE it's the guy they're feuding against coming in after one of their matches or just talking shit from the ramp.
Interesting Storylines
I don't think I've seen a storyline in ROH that didn't catch my interest and make me curious about what would happen next. Latest ones include: Prince Nana distributing mysterious letters and Castle losing his Boys to Silas "The Last Real Men" to be turned from boys into manly men.
Sure, it's all low budget and simplistic, but it's fun! Certainly more fun than WWE's storylines that involved cars(storylines, not gimmicks, Eddie's lowrider was awesome).
ROH also has a lot of talented talkers with guys like Cole advertising shirts and Jay Lethal advertising ...Health Alert Hotline? Okay, nevermind Lethal.
Their characters work, proof of that is their heels are booed and their faces are cheered. The only heel actually doing his heel job in WWE right now is Sheamus.
Their gimmicks actually show in the match, can you believe that? Your gimmick actually influencing your match? Vince would shit his pants if he saw that!
And what great gimmicks! The House of Truth, ReDragon, The Young Bucks, Moose, Elgin, ACH, Sylar, AJ Styles, and good lord what can I say about Castle. (almost) Everyone has a nice gimmick that makes sense and works well in matches. Unlike Ryback who is just, you know, a big guy.
I will admit though, they do copy some things from old WWE stuff, like how The Young Bucks are pretty much two HBK's in DX, but it's nonetheless enjoyable.
But speaking of those great tag teams...
Sure, it's all low budget and simplistic, but it's fun! Certainly more fun than WWE's storylines that involved cars(storylines, not gimmicks, Eddie's lowrider was awesome).
ROH also has a lot of talented talkers with guys like Cole advertising shirts and Jay Lethal advertising ...Health Alert Hotline? Okay, nevermind Lethal.
Their characters work, proof of that is their heels are booed and their faces are cheered. The only heel actually doing his heel job in WWE right now is Sheamus.
Their gimmicks actually show in the match, can you believe that? Your gimmick actually influencing your match? Vince would shit his pants if he saw that!
And what great gimmicks! The House of Truth, ReDragon, The Young Bucks, Moose, Elgin, ACH, Sylar, AJ Styles, and good lord what can I say about Castle. (almost) Everyone has a nice gimmick that makes sense and works well in matches. Unlike Ryback who is just, you know, a big guy.
I will admit though, they do copy some things from old WWE stuff, like how The Young Bucks are pretty much two HBK's in DX, but it's nonetheless enjoyable.
But speaking of those great tag teams...
Tag Team Matches
The tag tem aspect of tag team matches actually matters in ROH. NXT does some good work with their tag matches, with some actually unexpected outcomes, but ROH is still a few levels above them.
The only good tag team moves you get to see in WWE are The Dudley Boyz's, and that's because they're from the attitude era. Look at any match with The Young Bucks or ReDragon and you'll see some incredible teamwork and great moves.
(Here's a video with a great performance from The Young Bucks, start at 3:42 in case it doesn't automatically -they make their opp piledrive their own partner, it's awesome)
Using the ref to your advantage, throwing your opponent into his own tag partner, trowing both opponents into a corner and hitting them at the same time or kicking them around like a rag doll, that's not even a third of what you'll see in ROH. There's so much you can do with tag team matches, but WWE makes them incredibly boring. Everyone's been complaining about The League of Nations, but they're the only team with any in-ring chemistry I've seen in a while - and they're still levels away from any ROH team.
Imagine how good New Day could be if they got to perform like a ROH tag team in-ring and kept their mic time and gimmicks, they would bring the fun you see in a Young Bucks match into WWE.
Or how evil the Wyatts would seem if they got to apply tag teams moves that looked like the sister abigail or could really mess with their opponents.
My opinion is, WWE thinks we're too stupid to keep up with a tag team match that has more than one or two things happening at the same time.
(Here's a video with a great performance from The Young Bucks, start at 3:42 in case it doesn't automatically -they make their opp piledrive their own partner, it's awesome)
Using the ref to your advantage, throwing your opponent into his own tag partner, trowing both opponents into a corner and hitting them at the same time or kicking them around like a rag doll, that's not even a third of what you'll see in ROH. There's so much you can do with tag team matches, but WWE makes them incredibly boring. Everyone's been complaining about The League of Nations, but they're the only team with any in-ring chemistry I've seen in a while - and they're still levels away from any ROH team.
Imagine how good New Day could be if they got to perform like a ROH tag team in-ring and kept their mic time and gimmicks, they would bring the fun you see in a Young Bucks match into WWE.
Or how evil the Wyatts would seem if they got to apply tag teams moves that looked like the sister abigail or could really mess with their opponents.
My opinion is, WWE thinks we're too stupid to keep up with a tag team match that has more than one or two things happening at the same time.
The Roman Reigns Situation
Or how badly WWE treats their talent, which is evidenced by how well they treat Roman Reigns, leaving the actual talent behind.
We have guys like Owens who are talented but aren't ready, you have guys like Cesaro who are talented, ready, willing and ...Gable.
And then you have the top guys. Cena is over, but very professional and can work well with pretty much anyone. Brock is there for the sole purpose of getting better ratings in PPV's and putting people over/burying them - he is but a tool. Seth is booked like shit. The New Day is all they have. Daniel Bryan has been out for a while. Randy Orton's matches are always the same and he doesn't work well with others. Did I forget anyone?
And for a couple of years they've been trying to sell you Roman Reigns as the new The Rock who is actually a new John Cena without the professionalism.
The wrestlers I mentioned have something to show, to prove they're worth giving a title to and using as the face of the company, but Reigns doesn't and I'll explain why.
He doesn't perform well
You can put him up against anyone, he's boring to watch, overpowered and anything that resembles a good match only happens because of his opponent(as seen in HIAC vs Bray Wyatt). He has no character to put into his moves and he's just not big enough to be a "powerhouse" no matter how strong you make him look. His moves aren't well performed, his overusage of the spear and punch only makes them look weaker every time and his clotheslines look weak, his corner punches look weak as if his arm was half-dead, he just doesn't look like he's damaging his opponent at all doesn't matter how well they sell it.
You may disagree, you may think he does perform them well, and that's your problem but if you take anyone else in the roster and tell them to perform the same moves they will crush Reigns like he's nothing.
He doesn't have any charisma
He's not fit to be a face. He acts like a douche, not like a silent badass (that would be Neville), and any time you get him on the mic, even the way he talks is so incredibly douchey. Everyone has to make him look strong and his family has to always be there to give you hope he's a second The Rock. He doesn't have the hustle, loyalty and respect to be a top face and his character doesn't have any development for him to be just slightly heelish.
I mean, what is his character anyway? He's the guy who lost his little group and can't let go. Or he's the guy who's chasing the title but can't look strong on his own.
And then you take his interviews.
"Roman Reigns says he doesn't care about fan criticism and says he’s a guy getting rich"
"Reigns mocked stories about CM Punk creating The Shield, and said that the only thing that Punk made was his Pepsi tattoo on his shoulder."
This doesn't look good for a top face. Faces already have a hard time in WWE, if you act like a dick and shoot at one of the most beloved wrestlers in the company you don't even deserve to be liked, you're doing a shitty fucking job.
And of course, his in-ring performance has no personality. Just like him.
He's not fit to be a face. He acts like a douche, not like a silent badass (that would be Neville), and any time you get him on the mic, even the way he talks is so incredibly douchey. Everyone has to make him look strong and his family has to always be there to give you hope he's a second The Rock. He doesn't have the hustle, loyalty and respect to be a top face and his character doesn't have any development for him to be just slightly heelish.
I mean, what is his character anyway? He's the guy who lost his little group and can't let go. Or he's the guy who's chasing the title but can't look strong on his own.
And then you take his interviews.
"Roman Reigns says he doesn't care about fan criticism and says he’s a guy getting rich"
"Reigns mocked stories about CM Punk creating The Shield, and said that the only thing that Punk made was his Pepsi tattoo on his shoulder."
This doesn't look good for a top face. Faces already have a hard time in WWE, if you act like a dick and shoot at one of the most beloved wrestlers in the company you don't even deserve to be liked, you're doing a shitty fucking job.
And of course, his in-ring performance has no personality. Just like him.
He's a waste of time and money
Unless you turn him heel(though he will still have a bad performance) he will always be a waste, he's wasting other 'superstars' in boring matches, wasting Brock Lesnar to try to put him over, making a lot of people lose interest in the product because his matches are main events now and they bring nothing new or interesting. If you just let him be in the mid-card and have regular matches there would be a greater chance of him growing and evolving(like a magikarp).
Is this really the level of the biggest wrestling company in the world? With a ton of superior talent in the roster you push one guy because he looks good and is related to The Rock?
Unless you turn him heel(though he will still have a bad performance) he will always be a waste, he's wasting other 'superstars' in boring matches, wasting Brock Lesnar to try to put him over, making a lot of people lose interest in the product because his matches are main events now and they bring nothing new or interesting. If you just let him be in the mid-card and have regular matches there would be a greater chance of him growing and evolving(like a magikarp).
Is this really the level of the biggest wrestling company in the world? With a ton of superior talent in the roster you push one guy because he looks good and is related to The Rock?
Make wrestlers earn their place, let them put on a great show and try to capture the audience themselves. You keep them restricted so it can be done your way and the ratings keep dropping.
I used Reigns as an example of WWE's bad management, but this is just one of the many things they fuck up.
I'm not even entirely against him, I just don't find him entertaining the way he's being presented at the moment and would like to see improvement - I like WWE, I want it to be better and I know many others do too. If ROH can be as good as it is with the little budget they have, I can't even imagine what WWE could be like if they followed a similar formula.
The only thing I think WWE should not copy is making their matches as long and as complicated, they still have children among their audience and have to appeal to people who can't let go of their phones. They should work on the same aspects, but not overdo it.
I used Reigns as an example of WWE's bad management, but this is just one of the many things they fuck up.
I'm not even entirely against him, I just don't find him entertaining the way he's being presented at the moment and would like to see improvement - I like WWE, I want it to be better and I know many others do too. If ROH can be as good as it is with the little budget they have, I can't even imagine what WWE could be like if they followed a similar formula.
The only thing I think WWE should not copy is making their matches as long and as complicated, they still have children among their audience and have to appeal to people who can't let go of their phones. They should work on the same aspects, but not overdo it.