Hello! I am here to bring you the first edition of this series. The subject matter will consist of WWE and TNA moments throughout the year; the disappointing moments, the face-palm moments, the moments which made you wonder why you still watch wrestling, and the sad moments that hit us all. Some moments may only be mildly disappointing, whereas other moments may have disappointed all of you Nevertheless, I will be bringing the pain. The moments are in no particular order. This is not a list like my previous “top # lists”, but I do want to try to keep it chronological if I can. January is a good place to start don’t you think? Let’s see what happened way back in January.
January — WWE failed to realize the popularity of Daniel Bryan.
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! Daniel Bryan was in a heated feud with The Wyatt Family near the back end of 2013, and his popularity was extremely apparent to anybody with two working eyes and ears. He was so over the fans would chant for him when he wasn’t even there. They would explode whenever his music hit. They would continue to chant “YES!” outside arenas after shows and his “YES!” chant crossed over to other forms of sports. It was spreading across the globe, and it became apparent that WWE was not ready to capitalize on the popularity of Daniel Bryan.
As the Royal Rumble drew closer, it was made clear that Daniel Bryan would be wrestling Bray Wyatt, and he would not be entering the Royal Rumble. This was disappointing for fans, and especially Mick Foley, who warned WWE before the Rumble that anything less than Daniel Bryan winning the Royal Rumble match would be disappointing. The fans hoped they would change their mind and have him enter late into the match. WWE didn’t listen, and after a lackluster PPV filled with Wyatt defeating Bryan, a Brock Lesnar vs Big Show squash match, and an Orton vs Cena title match no one cared to see, we got the following fiasco:
All I could do was feel sorry for Rey Mysterio. I also felt absolute disgust with WWE creative for assuming people wanted to see Boo-tista main event Wrestlemania. How could they not see what was right in front of their noses? Mick Foley had the following to say on his Facebook page in response to the Royal Rumble: HEY WWE….WHAT THE F?
The Royal Rumble was the last time we saw CM Punk in a WWE ring . That’s a whole subject in itself, and I already wrote a five page CM Punk article in September: Bridges Between CM Punk And WWE Continue To Burn
March — TNA lacked direction. and then we got Willow.
During the aftermath of Hulk Hogan leaving at the end of 2013, TNA had noticeably improved. They were still finding their feet though, and some of the shows were mediocre. Magnus was the champion, and Samoa Joe was challenging him. It was the first time in years that Samoa Joe had challenged for the World title, and I assumed we would get a decent title match at Lockdown. Boy, was I ever wrong.
The match was getting good until the end, when Abyss’ hand appeared through the ring mat and dragged Samoa Joe’s body into the deep dark abyss below. It was silly, it was uncalled for, and it’s been done many times before. It was meant to be the introduction of Magnus’ new bodyguard so he had someone to protect him after Dixie’s team lost later in the night, but it was badly done. I still wonder why they had to spoil the match with it. The partnership of Magnus and Abyss didn’t last long, and I was happy about that because it didn’t make much sense to anyone.
Jeff Hardy made his Willow debut at the same event, joining Team MVP and contributing to their victory. The problem was, Willow was doomed from the beginning. I thought it was cool, something different, something fresh for Hardy to do. TNA made Willow a babyface. How does anyone look at Willow and assume the character will immediately work as a babyface? Willow is a monster, not a fan-favourite. Willow had the potential to be something unpredictable, using innovative ways to ambush opponents, but instead he was made a babyface and began a feud with EC3 and Rockstar Spud.
The whole point of the Willow character was to be unpredictable and mysterious, but it just never happened. It was disappointing to see Willow come to an end so soon, there was potential there. But then again, maybe the Willow character did suck that much it didn’t deserve anything. In my opinion, It could have been a lot more than it was, but I think the fans wanted “The Charismatic Enigma” more than Willow.
April — The Warrior’s heart beats its final beat.
WWE turned things around after the Royal Rumble, and fixed it by Wrestlemania. Daniel Bryan was champion, The Shield continued their dominance, and the end of the streak shocked fans around the world. But in one of those moments that I can’t label as disappointing (although to some extent it really is) entirely, The Ultimate Warrior passed away at the age of 54. We all witnessed the most eerie promo of all time, even though we didn’t understand the significance of it right away. The promo will resonate through time and space for centuries to come. OK … maybe I was channeling my inner Warrior there, but nobody can doubt the promo he delivered before his death was one about the love for professional wrestling, and it was surprisingly calm and soothing.
The moment we saw the news of his passing, we were overcome with sadness and disappointment. Warrior had just returned to WWE after many years away from the business, and after a full embrace between Warrior and WWE at the Wrestlemania Hall of Fame ceremony, it was all over just a few short days later. RIP Warrior.
May — Another heel authority figure in TNA?
MVP became the Director of Operations after his team won at Lockdown. It appeared we would have a different kind of authority figure, but TNA scrapped that idea in such a disappointing way. Eric Young won the World Heavyweight Championship in April (remember the Daniel Bryan comparison?) and defended his championship almost every week. He was set to enter a program with Kurt Angle, but Angle’s injury forced TNA to create an alternative direction. MVP turned heel in May by attacking Eric Young from behind with little buildup.
It was disappointing because the fans had already seen Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan, and Dixie Carter as heel authority figures in the past few years. It was time for a change, it was too much of the same. In the storyline, MVP booked himself into the title match at Slammiversary XII, but MVP suffered a torn meniscus. The injury forced a change, and instead Eric Young defended his title against Austin Aries and Lashley. MVP lost his powers in June, after his blatant abuse of power forced the board of directors to replace him with Kurt Angle.
TNA had to change direction because of injuries, but decisions made felt rushed. and it was too much like WWE with The Authority. Kurt Angle has done a good job since June. Competition is high, and his appearances are low. Angle has become the polar opposite of former TNA General Managers/Directors, and it has refreshed the product. He does not get involved with feuds, he does not have anyone watching his back, and he only shows up when important business needs to be done. It’s real, it’s damn real.
Thanks for reading everyone. Part 2 coming up soon.
