So, we finally got a new title belt after eight years of an overly-blinged out, overgrown toy, didn't we? The point of articulation was eliminated, but the oeuvre of the hardware stayed the same. Diamonds, the scratch logo, HUGE faceplate... it looked more like a title belt than the Spinner did, but it also felt in the same spirit as the recently deposed title. CM Punk claiming that he wanted it didn't change the fact that Vince McMahon's sensibilities are still garish. The man loves his oversized bling. Are we sure he's a crotchety old white Republican and not a secret rapper on the side? Anyway, the best looking Championship in the company remains one they ported over from WCW. The funniest thing to me, though, is that the cosmetics of the actual title belts seem to be a bigger starter of conversation than the treatment of them.
The WWE Championship itself hasn't gotten it too bad. The Big Gold Belt has gotten protected too. But man, why did I have to sit through another Antonio Cesaro/Miz match tonight (even though it was really good, and thus is the paradox of this feud), made specifically a no-DQ match, only to see it not be for the Championship? Just to set up a deus ex machina for a Mania blowoff that no one wanted to see? It's so frustrating at times to sit through RAW and watch a bunch of piddling little things drive down the quality of a show that had the tools to be great. I mean, let's work backwards. That final segment was pretty much the ceiling for The Rock outside of the ring. He went in, talked shit on Punk, got through his material concisely, didn't slander an entire gender or sexuality, and sparked the final action. That Rock can populate my TV screen anytime he wants. That's The Rock I like.
The wrestling on the show was pretty stellar too. The way that they're protecting The Shield is amazing, especially given how ratty they treated The Nexus during most of that run. They're also the most dynamic stable I've ever seen by far. Again tonight, they moved seamlessly as a unit, a machine that was greater than the sum of its parts while at the same time exposing the gears to show how they were able to work. Not only were they again given the faith to hang with the big boys, they actually looked like they belong. The case was obvious for Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, both men tempered and seasoned in two of the most ready-made independent promotions before their arrival in WWE, but Roman Reigns has been the biggest revelation in the group to date. The man is a bona fide hoss. I'd also say that the aforementioned non-title US Title match and Jack Swagger/Daniel Bryan were excellent matches too.
Maybe the best part of the show was Swagger's and Zeb Colter's manifesto. I admit that I was a bit bummed when the actual State of WWE address happened in the ring. I loved the ethos of their initial video. It looked so much like a bad YouTube Tea Party/militia nut missive, right down to the bad production values, single stationary camera, rickety fence, and Gadsden flag hanging in the background. I agree with commenter Paul from last week. As long as Colter doesn't start targeting specific races/ethnicities/nationalities, this character set is going to be golden. Having Colter come back to be the mouthpiece of the tandem with Swagger in the background just yelling "WE THE PEOPLE, WE THE PEOPLE," feels so ridiculously organic, and that's not something that I've been able to say about WWE very often.
But in the end, it's always coming back to the belt, isn't it? I said on Twitter that it could be worse, and I stand by it. Honestly though, I'm not concerned with cosmetics. I'm concerned with moments. Rock introducing that new title gave them an iconic moment in time, Punk taking the Spinner Belt, Pearl Harboring Cena with it from behind, and then tossing it aside like yesterday's garbage after generally fixating upon that specific piece of hardware for the last 500+ days... that was a statement, and an incredibly powerful one at that. If the path to Mania does indeed have three roads converging in the main event instead of two, then tonight's kickoff to that proved one thing. CM Punk will do just fine cutting the bullshit between Rock and Cena and providing something of a strong presence to drive forward real conflict. To me, that's way more important than what the fucking belt is going to look like.
The WWE Championship itself hasn't gotten it too bad. The Big Gold Belt has gotten protected too. But man, why did I have to sit through another Antonio Cesaro/Miz match tonight (even though it was really good, and thus is the paradox of this feud), made specifically a no-DQ match, only to see it not be for the Championship? Just to set up a deus ex machina for a Mania blowoff that no one wanted to see? It's so frustrating at times to sit through RAW and watch a bunch of piddling little things drive down the quality of a show that had the tools to be great. I mean, let's work backwards. That final segment was pretty much the ceiling for The Rock outside of the ring. He went in, talked shit on Punk, got through his material concisely, didn't slander an entire gender or sexuality, and sparked the final action. That Rock can populate my TV screen anytime he wants. That's The Rock I like.
The wrestling on the show was pretty stellar too. The way that they're protecting The Shield is amazing, especially given how ratty they treated The Nexus during most of that run. They're also the most dynamic stable I've ever seen by far. Again tonight, they moved seamlessly as a unit, a machine that was greater than the sum of its parts while at the same time exposing the gears to show how they were able to work. Not only were they again given the faith to hang with the big boys, they actually looked like they belong. The case was obvious for Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, both men tempered and seasoned in two of the most ready-made independent promotions before their arrival in WWE, but Roman Reigns has been the biggest revelation in the group to date. The man is a bona fide hoss. I'd also say that the aforementioned non-title US Title match and Jack Swagger/Daniel Bryan were excellent matches too.
Maybe the best part of the show was Swagger's and Zeb Colter's manifesto. I admit that I was a bit bummed when the actual State of WWE address happened in the ring. I loved the ethos of their initial video. It looked so much like a bad YouTube Tea Party/militia nut missive, right down to the bad production values, single stationary camera, rickety fence, and Gadsden flag hanging in the background. I agree with commenter Paul from last week. As long as Colter doesn't start targeting specific races/ethnicities/nationalities, this character set is going to be golden. Having Colter come back to be the mouthpiece of the tandem with Swagger in the background just yelling "WE THE PEOPLE, WE THE PEOPLE," feels so ridiculously organic, and that's not something that I've been able to say about WWE very often.
But in the end, it's always coming back to the belt, isn't it? I said on Twitter that it could be worse, and I stand by it. Honestly though, I'm not concerned with cosmetics. I'm concerned with moments. Rock introducing that new title gave them an iconic moment in time, Punk taking the Spinner Belt, Pearl Harboring Cena with it from behind, and then tossing it aside like yesterday's garbage after generally fixating upon that specific piece of hardware for the last 500+ days... that was a statement, and an incredibly powerful one at that. If the path to Mania does indeed have three roads converging in the main event instead of two, then tonight's kickoff to that proved one thing. CM Punk will do just fine cutting the bullshit between Rock and Cena and providing something of a strong presence to drive forward real conflict. To me, that's way more important than what the fucking belt is going to look like.