More In Depth Thoughts On Elimination Chamber 2014
This is a bit late but it’s been a busy few days.
The pre-show match was nothing special but it was nice to see Cody and Goldust get a win. They’re too talented to be wasted jobbing to guys like Ryback and Axel. Their run at the top of the division is long over but at least they can still do stuff like this.
Swagger vs. Langston was WAY better than I was expecting. Jack needs to change something up though as his character is just so damaged. It’s almost impossible to shake that stigma when you’re the same character with the same moves and look every single night. It also doesn’t help that he’s in there with Cesaro who is getting a huge push at the moment and looking like a star. There’s talent in Swagger but he needs to be repackaged like two years ago.
Langston looked good and there’s always going to be a spot for someone who can just run people over and throw them across the ring.
I’ll look at all the Bad News Barrett bits at once. The idea is good but the execution hasn’t worked for me. Just telling people that they’re fat and that Europeans are better isn’t going to get him anywhere. Have him do actual bad news like “chant all you want, Bryan isn’t getting the match” or “the fans don’t care about you” and the character serves a purpose other than just randomly appearing for ten seconds.
The Outlaws retaining the titles is fine if they actually drop the things at Wrestlemania. At the end of the day though, it doesn’t help that they keep winning the matches clean, thereby looking better than the challengers. The Outlaws got over by using every possible method of cheating known to man and then inventing some of their own back in the 90s. Since then the power of nostalgia has made them into great workers and people are acting like that actually happened. It would work for the Hardy Boys or a team like that, but this is getting more and more bizarre every week.
Titus vs. Darren was exactly what I thought it would be. The crowd didn’t care for most of the match so thankfully the guys went home in a hurry. Titus will be good when he gets a better opponent. I feel sorry for Young as he’s not terrible but there’s just nothing special to him and it’s showing.
I don’t know what I can say about Shield vs. the Wyatts. The match was amazing and everyone looked like a star. The booking was great too with Reigns getting caught 3-1, thereby protecting him from taking a big loss. Yeah he got pinned, but no one is going to look down on him for not being able to fight off all three Wyatts at once.
AJ vs. Cameron was what it was. Cameron looks good in the shorts and tight top but there’s just nothing there in the ring. Thankfully it looks like we’re moving towards AJ vs. Tamina who can go in the ring.
That brings us to one of the more interesting match of the night. Batista had his first singles match since his comeback and looked pretty horrible. The match was basically a squash until the very end, but the more interesting part though was the crowd. They flat out do not care about Batista at all and do not want to see him in the ring. A heel turn will help, but he needs to do something more than that at this point.
Del Rio wasn’t bad out there but he might as well have been anyone on the roster. He looked fine in the ring like he always did, but he was little more than Del Rio being sacrificed to Batista to set up a match that almost no one wants to see. The wrestling was fine but the crowd was the story here and it’s a story that needs to be fixed sooner rather than later.
The Chamber was about what everyone was expecting but it was still very entertaining. Sheamus and Cesaro having a brawl throughout the entire match worked very well and I could see the two of them having a match at Wrestlemania as a result. Sheamus never had a chance to win but that Brogue Kick through the pod was as good looking of a spot as you were going to get. Cesaro didn’t really get to show off that much but the win over Orton and showcase match against Cena were more important than looking good in a match he wasn’t going to win anyway.
The rest of the match was fine as well with Orton taking a beating but surviving long enough to keep the title. Kane and the Wyatts interfering was predictable but it still worked quite well. Bryan getting screwed over sets up HHH vs. Bryan at Wrestlemania (in theory) and Cena vs. Bray is ready to go as well. Good match to end a very good show.
The main story coming out of Elimination Chamber was that WWE being on the road to Wrestlemania. Things have cranked up again this year and the next six weeks are going to be a very fun time. I could even live with the Network stuff as it’s certainly a huge moment that deserves the hypt it received. Great show here with Shield vs. Wyatts being must see stuff.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Summerslam at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
Might be a good time to start.
I saw this on the blog of doom. I think it encapsulates what fans have been trying to say. Credit to Rick Poehling
Daniel Bryan should be in the title match at Mania because that is what the story IS. Go back to the original buildup with him and Cena for the match at Summerslam. The whole issue is about Bryan being the best in the WWE, and that is contained in him winning the title. At Summerslam, and ever since, he just wants a fair shot at the belt. For once, they’ve actually told the story correctly in regards to making the title the MOST important thing in the world to Daniel Bryan. He wants that belt. Each time he was screwed, he was screwed out of winning the title. He wasn’t screwed out of being the ‘face of the WWE’ or any of that crap. He wanted the belt. The belt meant something to him as a character.
So, we object to him facing HHH at Mania because that’s not the payoff to the ongoing story. It’s a side issue, and we already did that with the Wyatts. The fact is, people don’t just want to see Bryan win, they want him to win the title at the biggest show of the year after being screwed the whole time because that’s the logical endgame to this whole sordid affair. It’s the logical climax.
CM Punk, on the other hand, since laughing at HHH during the unification ceremony, and being attacked by the Shield and being put at number 1 in the Rumble, hasn’t been consistently chasing the belt as a measure of his story. He’s been chasing down those who have held him back. That’s why, for him, HHH is the logical endgame right now. The man who’s been trying to take him out the whole time is the man who is tired of his crap, who’s been trying his hardest to get him to quit. That’s the story for Punk. He took his ball and went home, because HHH finally beat him. He won, and Punk gave up.
So now, if Punk returns, it should be for vengeance against the man who drove him from the Fed. He comes back, apologizes to the fans for walking out, says something along the lines of “I gave up, but you all brought me back because you wanted me here, and I only came back to give you what you want: me against HHH, and Daniel Bryan fighting for the title.” THAT’S the story.
It’s not that Bryan/HHH will be a bad match, or that WE need Bryan to win the belt at the biggest show of the year. The story needs that to happen because that ending is what they’ve been building towards. It’s logical, consistent storytelling and progression, and it’s mind-boggling that they can’t see it.
Since when does WWE pay attention to logic and continuity?
Since when does wrestling in general do that?
They had something special with Cody a few months back that’s been totally squandered.