Some People Hate
I wasn’t overjoyed about Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble. Not because I don’t like the guy; one of the first things I wrote on Cageside was about the genius of his mob boss gimmick. I took issue with it being more of the same when WWE creatively feels stuck in mud, and fear of how he and CM Punk would build this thing considering Roman’s schedule. That said, I knew he and Punk could at least hit a triple
given the right circumstances and content.
They hit a home run in week one.
Promo “battles” aren’t about who got the better of whom for me. That’s what rap battles are for and I love those dearly. Promos should be about character, conflict, and drama. Establish the characters or keep things within the bounds of established characters, lay out the conflict beyond the championship, and organically create drama. These two did that and then some with their words and body language. More importantly, for me anyway, it also revealed even more depth for Roman as his usual cool and calm demeanor turned into rage. Punk has a way of bringing that out of people. But like one of my favorite championship stories in WrestleMania history (Mania X-7) it felt real.
It started with Roman smartly acknowledging—no pun—his mixed history in Philadelphia. He noted the last time he won a Royal Rumble in The City of Brotherly Love, it was a very different reaction than the cheers that greeted him this week. Seriously, a decade ago they booed this man like he was Santa Claus. This week they welcomed him like he was Jesus riding into Jerusalem. All that felt genuine! Roman looked like a guy genuinely touched at how far he’s come.
He even referred to himself and the audience as “we.” The people acknowledge him and he returns the favor. That continues the growth Roman showed last year when he became more thoughtful about putting his neck on the line for others rather than thinking about how much neck they can lose for him. I liked the crowd immediately understanding their role and showing Punk was the only choice for Roman. Of course, when you chant his name he will appear.
Now, earlier, Finn Balor made it clear he wants Punk and that championship. Why bring that up now? Because Punk interrupted Roman, stepped in the ring, walked past him, looked in the camera, and spoke directly to Finn. That set the tone for everything that happened for the rest of the segment while underlining where Roman eventually went.
To his credit, Punk was clearly motivated. He talked about Roman jocking his style: Roman hooked up with Paul Heyman and had a long championship reign. He gave him props for earning the right to pick when he wants to work, where he wants to work, and how often. But he also said Roman would take the easy way out and pick Drew McIntyre. Props to Roman for giving Drew props after Punk threw him strays. But in doing so, he clowned Punk for going to pieces over a “bracelet,” which showed just how much Punk got under his skin. You got to really hate someone to laugh at them going to pieces over their dead dog. I mean, that’s the type of hatred I never want to experience.
Yet that’s what this all boiled down to. The more Punk talked, the more pissed Roman became. The more Punk mentioned Roman being in the shadow of his greatness, the more the Tribal Chief looked ready to swing on him. Something was burning inside this cat in a way I’ve never seen it before. So when he got the chance to speak, he made it very simple: He’s choosing Punk because he hates him.
There’s plenty of history between these two that both men touched on, but, like Punk and Seth Rollins, there’s this feeling that Punk drops bombs without considering bystanders in the blast radius. That line about Punk’s Colt Cabana podcast appearance making Roman’s life tougher than it needed to be? That’s real. How could it not be? Punk did try to burn WWE to the ground with seemingly no remorse for those who might find themselves buried under the ashes. Seth plays that one way but because he’s so outward with all of his emotions, it feels less threatening. Roman on the other hand looked like the most dangerous man in the world. This was him minus the veil of invincibility. No cousins or Paul Heyman beside him either. And it rocked my world.
Can the territory keep their foot on the gas? I hope so. This thing can’t have stops and starts; I need sustained momentum. I’m not saying it all needs to be a home run but if these two can deliver doubles or triples consistently until April, WWE might actually earn the right to charge all that money for WrestleMania tickets.
B-Sides
- The tale of two NXT rookies. Je’Von Evans, a little worse for wear coming off Royal Rumble, battled El Grande Americano, while Oba Femi beat down the War Raiders. Yes, plural. Je’Von’s match was less about the match, which he won, than it was about more set up for an eventual clash between El Grande and Original Recipe El Grande. Je’Von got the win thanks to
Chad Gableel original distracting the current incarnation. But then there’s Oba. Man, the War Raiders are former tag champs! Remember that? Remember the whole story about their journey from the bottom now they’re here? No Drake. Their only direction now is south as Oba made them look like children. And these aren’t small men at all. I’m not mad at any of this though. Oba dominated NXT for the most part, and he did the same in the Rumble. If they’re truly making him into WWE’s next big thing, then he should obliterate everyone in his path. I don’t know who the War Raiders had on their itinerary but I honor their sacrifices in name of Oba’s eventual reign over everything. - Bron Breakker kicked off Raw in a foul mood. Understandable after his horrible, terrible, no good, very bad weekend. He wrecked the commentary table, pressed Corey Graves, and became further incensed when Adam Pearce showed up. Of course, all of that felt minor compared to LA Knight hitting The Vision with a surprise attack that left them reeling. I didn’t speak much on Bron’s Rumble because I wanted to gather my thoughts. Consider them gathered: I don’t like what they’re doing. He went from turning on Seth Rollins in a huge moment, to battling CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship in Brooklyn, to being the focal point of Vision’s Rumble plans, to now getting moved out of the championship picture in favor of more of the same. The Vision is lacking their namesake sans Seth and nothing happening with Bron is helping clear away those cataracts. LA Knight is dope, don’t get me wrong. But this doesn’t seem like the trajectory they wanted a few short months ago. And in deviating, Bron’s lost a little allure for me as he bumbles and squabbles with Raw’s GM.
- The Bella Twins want tag gold. That much was obvious at the Rumble, but now it’s all out in the open. I wish the Tag Team Champs were present for the segment but I get this was all about reveling in Brie Bella’s return.
- Ah, GUNTHER. The man sure knows how to heel it up. He comes out to AJ Styles’ music, mocks AJ, and then dares the crowd to do anything about it. Out comes Dragon Lee to avenge his former tag partner only to be bug on a collision course with a windshield. I don’t think Dragon Lee is the guy to feed to GUNTHER right now. Am I supposed to think he has a shot at beating The Ring General?
- Stephanie Vaquer has new music. No, sir, I don’t like it.
- I did like the Philly Street Fight between her and Raquel Rodriguez. It started tame and ramped up the violence. I wish it was more in the crowd and just started as a fight but WWE is inconsistent with how they book these types of matches. Before the match, Raquel told Liv Morgan to stay in the back. One, she wanted to beat Stephanie by herself but two, there’s tension between them after Liv eliminated Raquel from the Rumble. Liv agreed only to say “nah” at a juncture in the match where Raquel really didn’t need any help at all. Raquel still had a chance to win after Liv and Roxanne Perez got in the way, but La Primera came out on top. And it looks like Liv chose Stephanie for her Mania match. Or did she? We’ll get confirmation soon enough but the Judgment Day beef brews.
- Remember LA Knight showing up to mess with The Vision? Adam Pearce told Paul E. that he sent LA home. Well, either LA came back or Adam lied because the Megastar interfered in Bronson Reed’s match against Penta. LA hit Bronson with a BTF on a chair outside the ring behind the ref’s back, which led to Penta getting the countout victory.
Maybe it’s the main event segment but this felt like an excellent episode. This was the perfect way to start Mania season in earnest. They built stories, foreshadowed some others, and then let Roman and Punk do what they do best.
What say you, Cagesiders?
