A lot can happen in one week.
Last time we saw each other, the streak was intact, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was resting firmly on the shoulders of Randy Orton, AJ Lee was skipping around with the Divas title and the Ultimate Warrior was still with us, likely celebrating his Hall of Fame induction.
One week later, and everything’s different. Legends left us, streaks were broken and a new era has begun. An era of younger, fresher stars, hungry for competition.
So much happened in the week that I can’t seem to choose one that stands out the most, so today I’m presenting you with my reactions and opinions on the five biggest moments of the week in WWE, or at least, my five biggest moments… Some of them are heart-warming, some of them are shocking, some of them are outright sad, but they all shook the foundations of WWE as a whole. Let’s get to it.
The King of Swing
For a long time, we have been sending our praises out to the solid gold Cesaro, who was relegated to weeks off television, tag-teams without direction and the occasional match on WWE Superstars. Throw in Mr. McMahon calling you “boring” and you’ve got yourself a bad first few years.
But this week, our prayers were answered and Cesaro got his opportunities to shine, and he revelled in them. Let’s start with the WrestleMania Pre-Show, shall we?
In an action-packed fatal four-way tag-team match, Cesaro and Jack Swagger found themselves against Rybaxel, Los Matadores and the Usos. After a gruelling elimination-style match, the Real Americans just came up short in their efforts to achieve tag-team gold.
But after weeks of animosity between Cesaro and Swagger finally boiled over, Swagger’s Patriot Lock proved unsuccessful as the former ‘All-American American’ found himself on the receiving end of a Cesaro Swing, well and truly ending all future prospects for these two men as a duo.
This would not be the final time we saw Cesaro at WrestleMania, as he would be a competitor in the ‘Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal’ set up by Hulk Hogan to honour his late friend. The match would see many exciting moments, such as Kofi Kingston’s phenomenal efforts to keep himself in the match, and 30 swings for WrestleMania 30 from Cesaro, but the finish is what had everyone on the edge of their seats.
As it came down to the final two, it looked like the Big Show would be closing in on a victory. But as Cesaro countered the body slam, he hit Show with a European Uppercut and in a phenomenal feat of strength, lifted the Big Show over his head and tossed him over the top rope, thus winning the coveted trophy.
The next night on Raw, as if it couldn’t get any better, Cesaro was presented with his award. An award that took five men to lift into the ring, but Cesaro could lift over his head with the greatest of ease. As Zeb Colter went to speak on behalf of the Swiss Sensation, Cesaro cut him off and announced to the world that he was not a Zeb Colter guy… He’s a Paul Heyman guy!
It’s about damn time, eh? That’s all I can say about that one. It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed Zeb Colter managing Cesaro, it’s just that the man deserves so much more than what he was getting. Up until ‘Mania season, the Real Americans had no direction whatsoever, so don’t be surprised to see Swagger go back to that when he’s done with Cesaro.
And no matter how good Colter is, I don’t think anyone can top Paul Heyman. The man is a wizard. He will take Cesaro to heights never seen before. And don’t worry about Cesaro ending up like Axel or Ryback, because they couldn’t get over as heels on their own. Cesaro can, so that mixed with Heyman’s greatness will surely be a recipe for success.
I see huge things in Cesaro’s near future. An Intercontinental Championship reign, perhaps? He’ll definitely be a major threat at Money in the Bank, that’s for sure! The possibilities are endless, and quite frankly, I won’t be surprised to see Cesaro in a main event at WrestleMania 31. The man neutralized the Big Show on Smackdown, for Christ’s sake!
The future of the WWE is rapidly starting to settle in, and Cesaro will undoubtedly be one of the top guys in years to come.
Turning the Paige
Anyone who knows me well, knows how I feel about Paige. She is everything the WWE wants in a Diva. She is beautiful beyond belief, she is an amazing athlete in the ring, she’s got the brains to back it up, wrestling’s in her blood, she has a much different look and style to just about every woman who’s set foot in the company and the fact that she’s British makes her great for international media and such.
Paige has been one of my favourite wrestlers to watch (male or female) for the last few years, and for good reason. She has taken the developmental territory by storm as the first ever NXT Women’s Champion. So I guess you could say I was happy to see her finally debut on Raw this week.
In case you missed it, Paige came to the ring to congratulate AJ Lee on her successful title defence at WrestleMania, but instead, got a face full of bitch-slap for her troubles. So AJ, being the cocky, maniacal vixen that she is, decided to put her title on the line against Paige right there and then to see what the rookie was capable of. Needless to say, it didn’t go quite as planned.
Paige somehow managed to escape the Black Widow and nail AJ with the Paige Turner (I do love me a good pun), subsequently earning herself the Divas Championship on her very first night on the main roster. Talk about your good debuts, huh?
I think this was a brilliant move on the WWE’s behalf. Paige has proven herself worthy of whatever WWE has to dish out during her time on NXT, so to bring her in for months of meaningless one-on-one matches first would have somewhat counter-productive.
This way, we’re already in a bit of a rookie-pro situation, where AJ can spend weeks complaining about how Paige’s victory was nothing more than a fluke, and vow to win back what’s rightfully hers. This can then lead to a showdown at Extreme Rules, where the two women could easily pull of one of the best Divas matches in WWE history.
AJ Lee and Paige are arguably the two best female wrestlers on the roster, so seeing them square off in an actual match, with hopefully 10-15 minutes of allotted time, would likely prove beneficial to everyone.
I’ve been saying it for quite a while, but women’s wrestling is on the rise in the WWE, and Paige’s debut is the next huge step towards completely revitalising the division. I have always been a fan of watching the women wrestle in WWE. Nobody pays them much attention in terms of their talents and abilities, because they’re rarely given the time to showcase it.
But if you watch a lot of today’s Divas in lengthy matches, you’d see what you’ve been missing out on. Watch NXT, or go watch some House Show videos, because the Divas usually get a good chance to actually wrestle when a show’s not televised.
With just a small amount of time, the Divas in the WWE could really blow your minds, and Paige is the prime example of that. She is a gem, and the WWE are lucky to have her as their Divas Champion.
Eat. Sleep. Drop Jaws.
For 21 years, The Undertaker has walked down the ramp at the Showcase of the Immortals and beaten any and all obstacles in his path. His 21-0 streak was unprecedented, unmatched in any other sport, and made WrestleMania that little bit more special every year.
But this past Sunday night was a different story. Fans heading into WrestleMania had no idea what to expect from each main event that the show had to offer, except for one. The Streak has been a constant for nearly a quarter of a century, so it was only natural for fans to be 100% certain that this would be the same. 22-0, call the match, get it over with.
For the first time I can remember, the legendary streak had made people lose interest in The Undertaker’s match at WrestleMania. Sure, there was a lot of investment, but deep down, a lot of people were indifferent to seeing this match because they were sure of the victor. Hell, someone even placed a £35,000 bet on Undertaker to win. If that’s not certainty, I don’t know what is.
So it was only right that the fans would react the way they did when Brock Lesnar nailed a third emphatic F-5 and pinned the Deadman for the first time ever at WrestleMania. I was so shocked, my jaw nearly had to be closed with a crowbar.
When Lesnar hit his second finisher, I remember thinking, “haha, imagine if Brock Lesnar actually won?” And when he delivered the third, I was thinking “really? Another one?” What followed was the single most shocking thing I’ve witnessed in my 12+ years as a wrestling fan.
Brock Lesnar had conquered the streak. For the next hour I was a mixture of shock, awe, grief and aggression. I think denial may have crept in there on occasion as well. And based on the faces in the crowd, the atmosphere during the Divas match, and all of the fabricated stories online about how “Brock Lesnar changed the script” or “Undertaker’s concussion made him forget to kick out”, I wasn’t alone.
I think the one thing that got to most people was the fact that Brock Lesnar was the guy to take the streak away from us. We’ve all aged with the one constant of the streak, almost every year for 21 years, it’s become a part of us just as much as The Undertaker himself. So to see it end at the hands of someone who is going to leave immediately until his SummerSlam pay cheque kicks in, made us all a little bit on edge.
If there was anyone in the world to put this into context, it was Paul Heyman. And as we saw on Monday Night Raw, Heyman slapped us in the face with an enormous “I told you so”, in one of the most passionate, intense promos I’ve ever seen from the man. “Brock Lesnar is the ONE in twenty-one and one”, and no matter what happens now or what happens in a year, we’d all benefit from taking Batista’s humble advice and dealing with it.
It’s still hard for me to put into words how I feel about the streak ending. On one hand, I’m right there with everyone when I say that I’m pissed off that Brock Lesnar was the guy to do it. Cesaro, Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns were the names thrown around that would’ve been perfect to end the streak, and it would’ve made one of their careers. And trust me, I would have loved to see the rivalry between Bray Wyatt and The Undertaker.
On the other hand, regardless of the victor, I think it seems somewhat poetic that the streak would end at the thirtieth anniversary of WrestleMania. A show which well and truly witnessed the beginning of a new era in WWE. An era where Daniel Bryan is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Paige is the Divas Champion, proving herself as the next generation of women in WWE, The Shield is running rampant, Bray Wyatt is scaring the shit out of everyone and Cesaro’s victory on Sunday is the new ‘Hogan slamming Andre’.
And as many would agree, in order to start a new era, another one has to end. Which is why I think they made the right decision for Undertaker to lose this year.
And as for Brock Lesnar being the guy to do it; who are we to decide anyway? The Undertaker hand-picked Brock Lesnar as the man to end the streak, and after all the Phenom has done for us in his career, I think we owe him the courtesy and the will to end it as he sees fit.
I know our idea of the streak ending provided a better hope for the future, but you just have to watch this week’s Raw to see that the future is already in good hands. It was one of the best episodes in a very long time, and the yound blood played the predominant role throughout. What does that tell you?
I’m still in shock that The Undertaker’s legendary streak is over, but rather than whining and complaining about it, why don’t we show ‘Taker the respect he deserves and just accept it? I’m honoured to have been present for one of those 21 victories of The Undertaker at WrestleMania, because alive or not, the streak remains one of the most impressive accolades in sporting history.
The Warrior is Immortalised
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last week, you’ll know that beside the excitement and the thrill of Raw and WrestleMania, the wrestling industry suffered yet another tragedy this past Tuesday evening.
The Ultimate Warrior, merely days removed from his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, and one night after delivering a passionate speech about his legacy, collapsed outside of his hotel and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
We here at SLTD Wrestling put together our thoughts and responses to Warrior’s legendary career and life earlier in the week, so I’d encourage everyone to give it a read. We all have a great respect for the Warrior, and it is a very heart-felt article, so have a look here when you get the chance.
While everyone (including myself) mourns the death of a true legend in the industry, I can’t help but feel somewhat happy for Warrior to be able to bury old hatchets and have his life commemorated on the weekend before his death. It really was a beautiful thing to see him re-engaged with the company he loved from the bottom of his heart after nearly 20 years away due to old conflicts.
His speech on Raw was touching, impassioned and slightly haunting due to what followed, but it was from the heart, and showed that, for however long it lasted, the Ultimate Warrior was back. Not just the man, but the attitude, the persona. The character that backed up Warrior’s ceaseless energy every night back in the day.
We may have bid farewell to one of the most iconic faces in wrestling history this week, but I’m thankful to have seen him back where he belongs for his final days. The Ultimate Warrior loved professional wrestling, and while it is tragic to see him go right after his re-emergence in the WWE, the man died doing what he loved. To me, that’s all that matters.
Yes-tleMania is running wild
After eight long months, the events from SummerSlam have finally been set right. Daniel Bryan defeats Triple H in the opening contest at WrestleMania, comes back out just a few hours later and has yet another extraordinary match against Randy Orton and Batista.
He went through chair-shots, spears and one horrifically beautiful table spot, but Daniel Bryan still emerged on the other side as the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. If that isn’t a happy ending, I don’t know what is.
But now comes the hard part. Daniel Bryan is on top of the ladder in WWE right now. Winning a title is hard, but keeping it is harder, and now Daniel Bryan finds himself with the fairly daunting task of defending the belt, while maintaining the love of the fans.
We’ve seen it with a lot of people in the past. WWE fans can be ruthless, in that they love an underdog with all their hearts, but as soon as that guy wins, they lose interest. I don’t see that happening with Daniel Bryan, but you really never know in the WWE.
Regardless of the fans and their bandwagons, Daniel Bryan is on top of the world, as he should be. Like they said on Raw, he deserves it after being held down for so long, and I am really looking forward to seeing Bryan represent the WWE as the face of the company. And as we all know, a Champion isn’t complete without his challengers, so it’ll be interesting to see who gets the opportunity to wrestle Bryan for the gold over the summer.
Cesaro? Dolph Ziggler? Wade Barrett? The list is endless, and would keep Bryan occupied for a long time during his title reign, so once he gets finished with Triple H, Kane, Batista and Randy Orton, maybe it would be cool to see the title defended against other young stars.
No matter how it goes, we can still say we got what we wanted. Daniel Bryan is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and is he going to stay that way? …YES!
Right, that’ll do for today, folks! I’m completely free for the next few weeks, so you may be seeing more of me than usual. Maybe I’ll reclaim my role live-tweeting Raws, or make an appearance on SLTD Radio. You never know!
If you enjoyed this look at the top moments of WrestleMania and the week that followed, do me a favour and leave a like on Facebook, Tweet the link and leave your comments below! They’re always read and appreciated.
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Thanks for reading!
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
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