We here at Hit or Miss are on the road to WrestleMania! Matt Waters and Chris GST join me this week….so read on!
Hit or Miss: The stipulation that if Aries fails to capture the Open The Freedom Gate title he will leave Dragon Gate USA
Matt Waters: Miss. I’m not his biggest fan, particularly since he left ROH, but he definitely adds more than he subtracts to any show and he’s probably the biggest ‘free agent’ out there. In a company that is built around foreign talent and indie talent that aren’t stars yet (but will be), they could use a name people know. I also don’t like these kind of stipulations when they’re too obvious. Yamato only just won the belt and Aries has been doing a lot of work out in California, so it seems fairly obvious he’s going to lose, put Jimmy Jacobs over one last time and move to LA permanently.
Chris GST: Miss in that does anyone really believe he is going to leave DGUSA? Though we have had lots of videos about Austin possibly leaving the wrestling business after not getting on Tough Enough. But who is to say what he will do. Heck why would he leave unless he’s starting an entirely different line of work that requires him to not be able to juggle a small wrestling career possibly just limiting where he gets booked.
1 for 1
Hit or Miss: The final Raw before WrestleMania
MW : Hit. Gargantuan hit. We got three of the best promo segments in recent memory. Punk made his feud with Orton interesting after weeks of monotonous Orton vs The World matches. Randy being unable to Punt, and Punk destroying him with a simple thigh kick is very interesting. He was a hypnotic way to open the show. Then as the night continued on we got a bone-chilling stand-off between Triple H and Undertaker, complete with an appearance from Shawn Michaels. I’ve been saying for weeks that their match is probably going to be the best one of Wrestlemania and people need to get over the “they’ve faced already” thing and recognise how tremendous the build has been and that their legacies mean so much more in 2011 than they did in 2001. Edge and Christian teamed up, which is always fun. Vickie Guerrero did a Jo-Mo entrance, and then we finished up with the most must-see promo in wrestling in years. Rocky was Rocky, Cena delivered, Miz did well for himself, and the physical confrontation was fantastic.
CGST: Miss in the sense that even though I felt this was a good show but at the same time is it too little too late? Elimination Chamber buyrates are out and 191,000 with the go home show being basically about The Rock. And The Rock is going to be on live next week as well so why would I plunk out $55 to see him at WM? Really I’m just interested in Taker/Hunter and Cole/King and even that is barely enough to convince me that $55 would be worth it.
1 for 2
Hit or Miss: Eddie Edwards winning the ROH World Title
MW: Hit. Been a hit since it happened and it’s still a hit. Is here main event yet? No. But the ROH World Title is basically a key to the proving grounds of wrestling. Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness were great before, but their long string of defenses of the belt made them true legends. Edwards has the talent to get to that status and his improvement year on year is pretty scary, so who is to say this time next year he won’t be even better? It shocked the fans, provided a feel good moment, and gave Atlanta a brand new spin.
CGST: Hit and I particularly like the way they booked him to win with a roll up. It gives near falls meaning just as when Joe used to be known for being caught by roll ups before title defenses. I have to say that Eddie, albeit might be a transitional champion I think that since most fans feel that Davey is going to be champ it is all about who is he going to be going up against and just like Jerry Lynn, who is Eddie going to lose to if he loses. It creates some excitement for the ROH title and of course the rumors going around about ROH possibly finding a new tv deal for around the summer means that we could see a title change for a first TV taping.
2 for 3
Hit or Miss: The Briscoes apparent heel turn
MW: Hit. They’ve gotten a little boring doing the top face team act, defeating everyone and only losing when heels cheat. They’ve been this way for nearly 5 years now and if only to freshen things up it’s a good thing. It also means that the All-Night Express and/or Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team can become the top faces and the Briscoes can be top heels if the Kings lose and split. If this is a real heel turn they chose the right city to do it in, but we’ll have to see what happens in non New York venues.
CGST: Hit. They have been so stale IMO and really they are so great as these kick ass heel types in that everyone knows they are tough and can beat anyone and now they are going to go back to a more violent style and that always equals money.
3 for 4
Hit or Miss: Roddy Strong’s reign as ROH World Champ
MW: Hit. Was it all sunshine and roses? No. But I enjoyed his time with the belt, even if it was cut a month short by him going to Japan immediately, and despite some questionable moments involving Homicide. The build with Davey Richards and subsequent match at Final Battle were in my opinion fantastic, and the story of Roddy being a desperate champion after fighting so hard to finally win the belt was an enjoyable one. I didn’t like that they abandoned the idea of him being unaware Truth Martini had been helping him, and his promos weren’t money, but overall he deserved a go with the belt, and he was definitely starting to find his feet towards the end and I hope he gets another run with it down the line.
CGST: Hit. I’ll say hit in that he didn’t really excite the world but he was passable and I feel his character means more to me now. That’s what is supposed to happen and if he can just keep building upon this character and possibly turn on Truth, it is going to mean something when he’s chasing the title again.
4 for 5
Hit or Miss: The Miz/Rock/Cena angle
MW: Hit. The Rock and Cena in the same ring, what more do I need to say? OK, I’ll say more. The back and forth exchange between the two over the last month has been the kind of entertainment fans have longed for. Rock’s mockery and use of the child had us all in stitches and the fruity pebbles and barney the dinosaur references were hilarious. Cena deciding to rap again was a real treat, although his second one fell a little flat. I love that he’s stood his ground and continues to point out the truth of the situation, and I also respect it when he just stands up in the face of criticism and smiles. He’s a strong-headed individual and I don’t think enough good things are said about how he handles his position in the company. Oh and The Miz was there too…. just kidding, he’s been on-point too. Destroying Cena week after week has turned a questionable match with a questionable champion into something truly intriguing. Dressing up as The Rock was the best thing since Punk dressing as Jeff Hardy, and his dismantling of Cena afterwards cemented him in the main event. And then it’s all capped off with the exchange on Raw this week. Wonderful stuff.
CGST: Hit. Rock equals money. Cena equals money. Miz no matter what is getting something out of this. Nobody is losing albeit I understand the thoughts that possibly Miz is being over looked but I think if booked well we will see a Cena/Rock match that will be great for the fans and Miz could do something dastardly and really make a strong heel out of himself.
5 for 6
Chris and Matt went 5 for 6 this week in the final Hit or Miss before the biggest wrestling weekend of the year. Join us again in a couple of weeks for the next volume. Be good all!
On a related note I, along with some other writers from the site, will be in Atlanta this weekend. I’ll be tweeting live from every event I’m at…so follow me on twitter if, you know, you want to know what’s going on.
Twitter.com/matgalyon
