Welcome to another edition of eWN Round Table, where we gather some of the most active writers here on eWrestlingNews and share the platform to answer some questions surrounding a centralized topic, upcoming event, etc.
This is meant to showcase the potential for both a wide range of perspectives as well as how sometimes, there can be a group consensus no matter what your viewpoint is, so we also invite all of you to join in on the discussion by answering these questions yourself in the comments section below.
For this particular volume, we’ll be focusing on WWE Crown Jewel2019.
Participants for this round = Anthony Mango, Richard Staple, and Ethan Absler.
1) “Some people are very much against outsiders like Cain Velasquez and Tyson Fury coming into WWE and beating superstars. What are your thoughts on those celebrity guests? Should they win or do they have to lose?”
MANGO: I’m of the opinion it does no good for the WWE superstars to lose pretty much ever. Making the roster look weak just to appease a celebrity act’s ego just hurts the overall perception of wrestlers as the top of the line athletes. With Velasquez and Fury, they do have legitimate backgrounds that make it an easier pill to swallow, but I’d rather both of them lose, even though I don’t think either of them will.
STAPLE: I personally don’t care about either man so far. WWE is a sports entertainment business and it’s all about making money through big names. I’m not against having celebrities in general, but coming in and taking the spots for those who’ve paid their dues in this company kind of sucks.
ABSLER: Celebrity guests are a very hot topic for me. In general, I am against celebrity guests because I usually think they do a poor job and steal the spotlight away from superstars who do this as a career day in and day out. With that being said, there are a few exceptions like John Stewart, who I personally thought enhanced the feud between John Cena and Seth Rollins. My answer to the question: It depends who the celebrity is wrestling. In this case, Velasquez and Fury are both qualified martial artists, therefor could beat Strowman or perhaps even Lesnar. Unless the celebrity would benefit from a win greater than the actual wrestler would, then I believe it shouldn’t be done.
2) “Since the Falls Count Anywhere match cannot be stopped for any reason, what convoluted way do you think WWE will pick to have as the finish for the Universal Championship match?”
MANGO: I actually feel like any rational person will be unable to predict the possible ways WWE plans to end this match, as the ideas likely don’t follow any logic. If Wyatt wins the title, they can avoid making it a mess. But if Rollins wins or he retains the championship without scoring a pinfall or submission, they’ll bend over backwards to do something stupid and hope everyone just forgives them the next night on SmackDown without having ever learned a lesson from the past 1000 times that didn’t work out.
STAPLE: Honestly, who knows? If a Hell In a Cell match can be stopped for being too violent, maybe a Falls Count Anywhere match can be stopped for being too far away from the ring. The Fiend is on Smackdown, so he’s not winning, but I’d like to think WWE would know better than to have Seth beat him straight up. I’m thinking they’ll just have Seth end up getting lost somewhere and have us forget about everything. What a failure of a feud this was.
ABSLER: I’m can’t put my finger on what it is, but something about the match not being able to be stopped for any reason seems a little fishy to me. I don’t know how this match will end, but probably violently and I doubt it will be a finish that is free of controversy.
3) “Would you rather join Team Hogan or Team Flair?”
MANGO: Both sides have their problems, but I think I’d go with Team Flair. I just wouldn’t want to hang out with them afterward as I feel like it would be exhausting.
STAPLE: Team Flair.
ABSLER: I personally would rather join team Flair, but as for the actual match, I don’t care too much who wins. I just want to see a good match.
4) “Should Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair ever have any more matches? If so, who should they face?”
MANGO: They absolutely shouldn’t wrestle anymore. They’re far too old to be taking their health in such risks. If they had to, though, a good opponent for either of them would be Velveteen Dream.
STAPLE: Yes, and they should face off against each other. Winner gets to pay the other’s hip replacement surgery bill.
ABSLER: Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan should not have any more matches. Being a manager for a match or a special guest for something is one thing, but actually getting in the ring is another thing and I believe it would be unsafe.
5) “Who do you think will win the United States title shot battle royal?”
MANGO: Humberto Carrillo, unfortunately. It wouldn’t shock me at all if their match on Raw was just a test run to see if they want to do it again on Thursday.
STAPLE: I’ll be honest in saying I forgot about Styles being the champion. It’s been so long where I’ve seen an AJ Styles match that felt like a huge deal. In all honesty, I cannot be sure. I’m thinking they might have a local talent challenge AJ, just for the crowd.
ABSLER: I think Andrade has the best chance of winning this Battle Royale. Historically, he has performed well in this type of matchup and Andrade is running on a lot of momentum. A title match against AJ Styles seems like the logical next step for a superstar like Andrade.
6) “If the World Cup returns next year, what “best __ in the world” should WWE try to crown?”
MANGO: Boy would it be a fun change of pace if they could do a World Cup for the women, wouldn’t it? If not that, I think I’d go with the superheavyweights. When was the last time WWE had something that focused on people who were above a certain size? World Cup to determine the Best Big Man, featuring Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, Big Show, Babatunde, etc.
STAPLE: Well, last year’s World Cup was a massive failure because it was the prelude to Shane McMahon becoming the top heel in the company. If the World Cup is exclusive to shows in Saudi Arabia, then we can count out women. If it’s not, then I’d try that.
ABSLER: I would be a fan of another Cruiserweight type tournament to crown the best Cruiserweight wrestler in the world. For the record, I am not a fan of the “Best in the World” tournaments, but if they are going to continue and no Women’s Division matchups take place in Saudi Arabia, then Cruiserweights are the best way to go.
7) “Which superstar do you feel is the biggest omission from this lineup?”
MANGO: The women’s roster, originally. Now that Lacey Evans and Natalya are wrestling, I think it’s strange Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair weren’t chosen to participate.
STAPLE: Kind of tough to say. With the tag team tournament, battle royal and tag team match, most people are accounted for. I understand certain superstars such as Kevin Owens and Daniel Bryan have reservations about traveling to SA so I’m not sure they count.
ABSLER: Every female wrestler on the roster is the biggest omission from this lineup. WWE continues to go to Saudi Arabia although they don’t allow any females, Sami Zayn, Aleister Black, or anybody that openly opposes the government there. Mainstream stars like Daniel Bryan and John Cena also still refuse to participate in the show. I think there are too many omitted superstars on this lineup, and for the wrong reasons, to name just one or even a few.
8) “If you could add one more match to this card, what would it be?”
MANGO: If I could have put a women’s match on the lineup, it would probably be something like a Triple Threat between Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya, rather than Natalya against Lacey Evans. They’re three of the most prominent women who have been in the company in this modern era and all of them deserve to make history. Plus, adding Natalya in there would make it less bothersome to see Flair vs. Lynch for the millionth time, and I’ve seen enough of Nattie against Lacey.
STAPLE: Oh I’m good thanks. No more matches for me on this card, lol.
ABSLER: I would add Bayley vs Charlotte for the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
9) “Which match are you most excited to see on this pay-per-view?”
MANGO: Oddly enough, I feel like the one I’ll enjoy the most will be the battle royal, even though it’s the second-least important on the card.
STAPLE: Wish I could say I’m excited for any of the matches, but WWE has been in a perpetual state of average programming it’s hard to get excited anymore. I suppose I’m interested to see if they’ll have Cain go over, but in terms of a match I’m looking forward to, WWE has robbed me of a lot of my joy lately, especially when compared to the Wednesday night lineup.
ABSLER: I am most excited to see Seth Rollins defend his title against The Fiend Bray Wyatt in a falls count anywhere match. The match guarantees a finish so I am at least looking forward to seeing what that finish is.
Big thanks to everyone who took part in this edition!
Those are our thoughts, but what do you have to say about these issues? Keep the discussion going by chiming in via the comments section below!
