At 37 John Cena is not what you'd call old. But so far in 2015 two members of the WWE roster have been scripted to mention that 'The CeNation Leader' is "old", the implication being that he's past his best. The first was Seth Rollins in the build to Royal Rumble. The second was Rusev in the build to Fast Lane.

Neither of those guys are low profile. We were meant to get the message that Cena's been around for a long time and that his best days may lay behind him. Nothing to do with his booking happens by accident. But it's not yet clear what this is leading to.

Washed up? Doesn't look it to me.

It's possible the concept of Cena being past his best has been introduced as an excuse for any upcoming losses he suffers at the hands of Rusev (and anyone else for that matter). More likely it's tied into the planned ascent of golden boy Roman Reigns to the top of the company. By laying groundwork regarding Cena's status now a Reigns versus Cena one-on-one match at SummerSlam or WrestleMania 32 would have that little bit more meaning. The man on his way to the top against the veteran who's had his day in the sun. Plus, in the WWE hive mind, Reigns will probably find it easier to establish himself as the top lad without Cena emphatically in the role.

Over the last month there's been a lot of talk about Roman Reigns' controversial victory in the Royal Rumble match. It's been a bit confusing, mostly because Reigns won the Rumble completely fairly. He eliminated Big Show and Kane, they came back into the match illegally and The Rock showed up to help Reigns take care of them. Rusev, Reigns' fellow finalist, returned to the ring after 'The Brahma Bull' had stepped out and was thrown out by Reigns and Reigns alone. The only controversy was how poorly it was all laid out, not the nature in which Reigns won.

This Monday, events transpiring on Social Media would actually take precedence over the events on WWE's Monday Night RAW program when out of nowhere, the Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts of WWE Superstar Seth Rollins were (allegedly) hacked into.  I say "allegedly" because if a password was known by, let's say, a jilted ex-lover, that's not a hack at all - that's someone being reckless with their personal information.  Posted from the account of Mr. Money in the Bank was a naked picture of WWE NXT developmental Diva, Zahra Schreiber.

The problem with this entire situation is that Rollins is (now was) engaged to his long-time girlfriend of many years, Leighla Schultz. 

Despite being accidentally kicked in the head Drew Galloway at the end of the previous evening’s show Heather Lynn was in the ring when the EVOLVE 37 stream started up. She introduced the show before coming over all woozy and in need of a sit down. Joanna Rose replaced her to handle the intros of the first match. If she wasn’t able to speak why did Lynn bother to turn up? I mean, yes, obviously it was to get over the kick she’d taken from Galloway, which in turn reminded everyone that Roderick Strong is a bit of a cad, but in real life terms why did she attend the show?  

Hey everyone, I’m Suit Williams. If you don’t remember me, I used to be one of the poor unfortunate souls that reviewed TNA Impact back during the JasonRivera.com days. I wanted to do more writing for Listen to This Show, so I decided to use the WWE Network to help me. I came across this website that gives you a random PPV that is available on the Network (you can find it at randomppv.info). So, every few weeks, I will be going to the randomizer and reviewing whatever comes up. Let’s hope this goes well.
The first pay-per-view I will be watching is…:

I’ve never seen this PPV, so here’s nothing.

 

We start with a promo for tonight’s main event, that hot young babyface Randy Orton defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H. This match could literally have happened in 5 different years. It’s September 12, 2004, we are live from Portland, Oregon, and Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are the commentators for the night. I will be doing running commentary as the show goes on, so let’s get this going.

EVOLVE kicked off the year with what has become an annual visit to Florida. The first of the weekend’s two shows kicked off with Joanna Rose welcoming us to the Orpheum (WWN’s preferred Florida location) and introducing “new” Open the Freedom Gate champion, Johnny Gargano. She said new even though Gargano had had the title for around a month and a half at this point. Once Gargano arrived she simply handed the microphone over and left the ring. She didn’t even bother interviewing him. I found myself wondering, not for the first time, what she’s paid for.

Time for that RAW recapping thing I do.  Once NCIS ends.

Somebody died.  Cool.  Sometimes I randomly catch myself wondering if Abby from NCIS does anal sex.  Last week the face of Wrestlemania was changed when Daniel Bryan was inserted due to public fan opinion.  WWE brass cares more than I do.  I’d have kept my Reigns-Lesnar plans and not given a shit to show the people “you can’t always get what you want.”  Currently the idea is somehow Bryan and Reigns won’t get resolved at Fast Lane and the main event of Wrestlemania will be a Triple Threat for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship anyway.  I hope Reigns wins on principle.

NXT "takes over" Canvas 2 Canvas as artist Rob Schamberger shows off his latest piece celebrating the rising stars who will show up at NXT TakeOver: Rival on the WWE Network on Wednesday.

Want to own a piece of WWE art? Visit http://auction.wwe.com/ or http://shop.wwe.com/. 

Also be sure to check Rob out on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/robscham...

http://auction.wwe.com/iSynApp/showPa...

http://shop.wwe.com/on/demandware.sto...

WrestleMania 31’s beginning to take shape. Roman Reigns has won the Royal Rumble and seems likely to retain his number one contender status against Daniel Bryan at Fast Lane. Doing so will see him go on to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE title. Lesnar isn’t currently scheduled to defend his title at Fast Lane, making his defence at ‘Mania all but a certainty.

Sting will wrestle at 'Mania. Unfortunately.

 

 

 

So, at the time of this writing the entire WWE Universe has turned heel on World Wrestling Entertainment. The hashtag of #CancelWWENetwork is trending world wide, and people are actively shilling both indy promotions and New Japan Pro Wrestling. So much so, that NJPW World went down temporarily from a sudden influx of hits they weren't expecting. It would appear to me that this would be a good time to write that primer on New Japan that Riv kept hoping I'd do but I was too lazy to actually do. Well, fuck it. May as well kick Vince while he's down by adding to the help in dropping the WWE and exploring other options.

I. About this guide

Most fans of Japanese wrestling are cunts. They're the hipsters on the wrestling industry. They will give you shit for wanting English commentary. They will actively insult you on a personal level for liking anything that ISN'T that. God forbid you watch WWE. You'll be viewed as a leper. They will claim they want more people to watch puroresu (essentially it means pro wrestling in Japanese. Just call it that. Fuck the official term), while actively acting like your standard hipster that doesn't want people in their nifty new clubhouse. I, however, don't give a shit what you watch. I, however, absolutely want subtitles or English commentary. And I, however, absolutely want more people in my fucking clubhouse. How the fuck else am I going to make fun of Tanahashi's awful air guitar gimmick? Plus, I think Riv would enjoy Taichi because he randomly takes his pants off mid match for some reason.

We found out on the studio-bound post-Royal Rumble episode of RAW that Fast Lane will feature the first ever (televised) match between John Cena and Rusev. It was unexpected. Despite the two men having a bit of a shout at one another the previous evening on the Rumble fallout show nobody had expected their match to occur until WrestleMania 31. Because a man with a year-long unpinned and unsubmitted streak seemed like the perfect person to throw up against the mighty Cena at the biggest WWE event of the year.

The decision to bring the match forward to Fast Lane is probably designed to make that show seem more worthwhile, encouraging Network subscriptions and pay-per-view purchases. To a lesser extent it might be about making the first edition of what is likely to become an annual event memorable. And it should work. Cena v Rusev is a WrestleMania-level match, a big addition to a B level card.

Fast Lane's a definite for Rusev and Cena. I'll think they'll go to 'Mania too.

 

Another Takeover special has snuck up on us. Pretty easy when it’s a month earlier than expected. This was what’s come to be known as a “go home” episode. That’s a term I loathe, for the record. I don’t think it will ever appear on this blog again.

This show featured the semi-final matches in the NXT number on contenders tournament. Adrian Neville faced Baron Corbin and Finn Bálor clashed with Hideo Itami. Both matches were worth a watch. Bálor v Neville in the finals should be excellent, as should Owens versus NXT champion Sami Zayn.

Basically, this episode was more proof that NXT is WWE’s best show.

Intro

Tweet 1: NXTreat.

Tweet 2: Something about the credits first. I like that they flash up the names of the major wrestlers on the show. Makes it easier to get into.

Carmella v Emma

Tweet 3: Enzo. With a nose ring.

Tweet 4: Carmella's still being presented as a face. She's still less over than enhancement talent Blue Pants.
Tweet 5: Also, Carmella is a worse dancer than both Enzo and Cass.

Hot as hell. Allegedly.

 

One of the few consistent stories WWE’s told over the last few months has been the one concerning the marital problems of Tyson Kidd and Natalya. It’s been a prominent part of Total Divas and has been a regular, if minor, aspect of the pair’s appearances both on the main roster TV shows and NXT. All the signs indicate that it’s not something that’s going to come to much outside of Total Divas, which is a waste because WWE could do something memorable with it if they wanted to.

Note Tyson's complete lack of interest.

It’s been pretty well established that part of the problem is Tyson having a problem with Natalya getting the spotlight when he doesn’t. There have been times where he’s posed in front of her after she’s gotten a victory and he’s frequently not bothered going to ringside for her matches, while she accompanies him for all of his (unless a storyline reason prevents her from doing so). There’s also been the more highlighted stuff with Tyson being “overly friendly” with Nikki Bella when she’s been competing against his wife.

Why does ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin not have a greater presence on the WWE Network?

Roman Reigns on the screen there. Keeping him strong.

To a certain demographic Austin is still a very appealing figure. That demographic forms a large part of the WWE Network’s subscriber numbers1. There are people that would pay to listen to hear him talk. Maybe not $9.99 a month, but it could certainly be a contributing factor. He’s a good communicator, is passionate about the business in general and WWE in particular, and his status as one of the company’s biggest ever stars gives him all the credibility he could ever need.

Would Itami get as much time on RAW?

In 2014 NXT gained a reputation for being WWE’s best weekly show. RAW was too long and burdened with filler material, SmackDown was mostly inconsequential, and Main Event and Superstars were entirely skippable. This rep must have been great news for the separate roster that competes on NXT. But at the same time you do have to wonder why something categorised within WWE as a developmental programme, somewhere for people to learn their craft, is so routinely thought of as being better than a show that features the likes of Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt and John Cena, the supposed A-listers of the wrestling world.

Heyman trying to telepathically communicate with Lesnar.

It’s looking like Brock Lesnar may soon be losing the WWE championship. Whether he loses the prize to Roman Reigns in the WrestleMania main event, to a Money in the Bank contract cash-in from Seth Rollins or via some other, as yet unknown, means, the likelihood is that he won’t be champion come Tuesday March 31. In fact that day may see him start preparing for his return to MMA. Which would put an end to his relationship with advocate extraordinaire, Paul Heyman.

Time for RAW – there was no recap last week because I felt like recapping snowed-in promos just wasn’t going to cut it.  Following all the backlash from Roman Reigns’ general existence, WWE is looking to try to right some wrongs tonight and have been hyping that HHH has a big announcement tonight.

HAIL HITLER.

Artist Rob Schamberger recalls WrestleMania III where Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan clashed while "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat stole the show with one of the greatest matches ever.

Want to own a piece of WWE art? Visit http://auction.wwe.com/ or http://shop.wwe.com/.

Also be sure to check Rob out on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/robscham...

http://auction.wwe.com/iSynApp/showPa...

http://shop.wwe.com/on/demandware.sto...

A few weeks ago I wrote about Brock Lesnar’s future. I ended by predicting that he would move back to MMA, mostly because I don’t think WWE will want to continue paying big money to someone with his schedule when they’ve had to cut costs and the Network hasn’t been the spectacular hit they predicted. But I’ve since thought of a scenario that could see Lesnar stick around, one that WWE could feasibly go with.

Could Lesnar hold the gold until 'Mania 32?