This week we saw, even more, call ups from NXT on Monday Night Raw and Smackdown Live. We also saw a “classy” interference come out once again. Are we ready to cheer on these new talents or will they get pushed to the back of the shelf like some of the NXT stars from the past few years?
Welcome to the Big Time Ricochet
I try to catch NXT as often as possible but it’s not a must watch for me. Sometimes I go back the day following an event and only watch a few matches that are of interest. This guy is always one that I make sure to watch though. He has a great look, good ring presence, and his move set is on point…. That being said I’m not sure any of this new 
talent is quite ready for the weekly televised shows. Guys like Nakamura, Tye Dillinger (now released) and even Asuka have been back burnered a lot since moving up to the main roster because they didn’t have the right support. I hope WWE listens when we say that we want to see more of this guy in the ring. Please give him a chance, and I don’t mean just 2 weeks to show us that he deserves to be here. Push him! Put him in matches that count but also make him earn any title before you just slap it on him. I want to see this guy in the ring with guys like Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio and even someone like Mustafa Ali. Let’s see some exciting match-ups….you don’t have to let him win all of them but give him a chance to show us what he can do with some talented superstars.
Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Aleister Black
All of these guys had the NXT fans behind them but will it be the same on the main roster. I have a feeling that at least one of these guys will drift back into the shadows post WrestleMania unfortunately.
While all of them have in-ring potential, I think it might be too soon. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Aleister Black excels because he’s fun to watch. He definitely has the look and capabilities, but I’m wondering if the WWE Universe will get behind him. It seems to me that the fans that watch NXT do it more for the wrestling and less for the storyline that becomes part of the main roster. Those are simply your more hardcore pure fans. Ciampa and Gargano are very talented and great on the mic, but I just don’t know if the fans are going to support them on the main roster.
Last… Lacey Evans
I keep hearing that Lacey Evans is going to get a big push after WrestleMania… Why? Not to sound crazy but “What about Asuka?” I feel like there are quite a few females already doing great work on the main roster who deserves a big push far more than Lacey does. I know that she’s probably a great “bad guy,” but honestly I find her a bit annoying and looking a lot too much like Charlotte. 
I’m all about the women’s evolution, but we have so many ladies already fighting for screen time on the roster that have worked longer and harder who should get the spotlight a little first. I know that her gimmick was over pretty well in NXT and her stature is more of what Vince wants, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this is the one that gets pushed to the back of the shelf out of all of the recent talent call ups. I just don’t see a place for her in the spotlight right now.
There already seems to be so much unused talent on the current roster that I’m not quite sure where these new faces will fit in… Then again, I’m not in charge of a company that makes millions of dollars every year so really who am I to judge right.
an amazing in-ring persona, is an incredible athlete and could be a big draw if given the opportunity. Do you follow her on social media? While Mandy Rose seems to be the beauty of the team that Sonya is the other half of, she is the real star while in the ring. I’ve often made the comment that she could kick the ass of a lot of the men on the current roster without breaking a sweat. She is determined, serious and she also gives a voice to the LGTBQ community in an industry that we rarely see the courage to do that. When she was brought up from NXT and teamed as a part of Absolution I was excited to see what they would do (then Paige’s injury ended that run.) Right now we are still only seeing her as a part of a tag team, but hopefully, shortly that will lead to a singles push.
splash in the headlining matches each week. He is so fun to watch. I hadn’t seen him compete until recently because I don’t usually tune in to the cruiserweight matches each week. I’ve enjoyed watching his in-ring performances and have found myself cheering him on most of the time. I’ve found that I like seeing the smaller guys compete because they are more willing to and better at the high flying aerial moves then the bigger guys are. This guy is incredible from the top rope and doesn’t seem to let his size hold him back in the ring. While I don’t dislike the bigger guys, I feel like they are sometimes limited in their move set because of that. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Mustafa.
Elias is a perfect antagonist to the crowd and other wrestlers. He needs so much more screen time and in-ring opportunities. In stature, he reminds me a lot of Macho Man, on the mic he grabs attention like Heyman and in the ring he is all his own. He is also the look that could put him on Vince’s radar as a top star. I just keep thinking it will happen his push has to come. As a loud, network subscribing and supporting member of the WWE Universe, I hope that someone out there hears my demands. We want to Walk With Elias.
happy for once. Finn is a worker, he’s a great guy, he has a great fighting style and even though I love the Demon King persona he doesn’t even need that to make the fans cheer. In the ring he puts on a great performance, is amazingly talented and gives 110% in his job. Let him have a chance. Listen to the fans give Balor a shot and let him wear the title around his waist for a while. Let the fans enjoy the champion they want!
e time she was in NXT, it’s great to see her showing her true potential both in the ring and on the mic. Rousey was fun to watch in the octagon, but I’m not a big fan in the WWE ring. I feel like she needs to have a little more finesse, be sharper with her moves and sell things better. Also, we already have Lesnar being sold as invincible, Rousey can’t be packaged the same way. Make her work for the title a bit.
So we saw Rollins win the Men’s Royal Rumble and I’m fine with that. Rollins works hard, he wrestles hard, and he is also fun to watch. I would much rather see him with the belt over Lesnar any day. Can you tell I’m not a fan of Lesnar? I want a Champion who will actually wrestle, who we will see in the ring on a weekly basis and who will actually put on a good show anytime he is in a match. Rollins will be a great change to our current predicament of not ever seeing the Champion, the title defended or having expectations that it could possibly change hands. Everyone knows ahead of time that we won’t see Brock make an appearance on Raw unless it’s the week before a PPV and then he only bounces around a little…. he doesn’t put the title on the line.
Who knows maybe we’ll get to see Charlotte, Mella, and Asuka all take their frustrations out on Lynch before the big show at the end of January but I’m sure she will still come out of it looking strong. No one in the WWE right now has the straight fire that Becky possesses. Please don’t mess it up… let her keep going and continue to be the crowd favorite.
In my opinion (keyword here: opinion) he is one of the most overrated wrestlers of the past ten years. He is overpaid, underworked and way overhyped. It’s time for a change and since the WWE Universe seems to want to see the Universal Champion depend the title on a regular basis put it on Braun, Drew, Seth, Dean, Finn or even Dolph for that matter. Make the champion work for the title and show some love for the fans at the same time.
Let’s have some of these folks feud ahead of time and build to a very dramatic ending to the best Rumbles we’ve seen in years. It’s a little late for much build but maybe opening up some old wounds and feuds could help get the fans more attentive.
most popular WWE superstar because of her in-ring and social media antics. It feels like the blue brand might have bigger opportunities for its female talent. Becky will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in 2019 and will regain a title belt pretty soon. Asuka and Charlotte will be a speed bump in that journey, and the three will provide great matches for the fans. Hopefully, we’ll also see a reunion of the 4 Horsewomen of the WWE to take on the ladies of the same name from UFC. Let’s keep the momentum going with the women’s evolution all of the way into 2020. Will we see a tag team division also formed in the women’s division? It seems like that would be the next move to make since so much female talent has been recruited and continue to be brought into the spotlight. We also need to see Paige in a new role that gives her tv time since we can no longer watch her perform in the wrestling ring. Women need to continue to have some front and center camera time.
We should see Mr. Monday Night get a substantial push because he is in fact so good on the mic and in the ring. Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe and several others in the division need to stay at the forefront as well. While I am happy to have Daniel Bryan come back to the ring I haven’t been all that impressed by this recent change in character and hope that something clicks for him in the near future. Also, let’s see Shinsuke’s talent shine instead of the ridiculous low blow antics they have been using recently. The new Dean Ambrose dynamic is good, and I hope that they continue to build on this throughout the year. The men’s division is already loaded with so many great characters that I hope WWE doesn’t do the same old thing and get stuck only using the same guys over and over every week.
And finally, let’s have a women’s tag team division. The teams that we have now are great, and feelers have been put out to form more if needed. These women go out and work just as hard every day as the men do and they deserve the same opportunities. Just imagine seeing belts on the Riot Squad or the Iconics and the great matches that could come from that.
knew that WWE wasn’t going to let Rousey lose in the ring this early on, but I’m not sure anyone could’ve predicted the outcome of the match. While we all wanted to see, The Man cause a ruckus in the ring with Rousey because of a broken face that didn’t happen on Sunday. The outcome of missing Becky wrestle was that Charlotte went out in style by attacking Rousey and not stopping. By far the best match of the night and the week showing us what could happen if we see the two women meet again at Wrestlemania.
How many people want to continue to see Corbin yapping in the ring and talking about how great he is on a weekly basis? I understand you want to portray him as a bad guy but seriously let’s find a way to see more talented men wrestle. Then we go to Ronda with an open challenge, and the result is sending out the oldest female wrestler on the brand. Not that Mickey James isn’t great, but again there are more talented athletes she could be facing. When will we get to see more of Ember Moon? There is some young talent that needs to be featured. The Seth and Dean segment might have been the most exciting part of the night.
They did keep seem to keep Charlotte’s momentum going by having her take out both of the Iconics (always a good thing.) The rest of the night kind of drug by like Raw did with The New Day as the only other high spot of the night. I know that Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio was supposed to be a highlight while I do love watching Rey compete I am not a fan of Orton and don’t like the way he is often pushed while others take a backseat.
It was around that time when The S.H.I.E.L.D broke onto the main event scene. These three guys came out and made a significant impact on the main roster in a way that no one had in a long time. While Rollins had agility and Ambrose was unpredictable Reigns seemed to be the one who was the quiet, enforcer type. Not only were they skilled in the ring together but they also had the capabilities to be Superstars on their own. They have each had the opportunity to make their skills shine. Even when Rollins turned his back on his friends in the ring I can only imagine that they still shared words and friendly exchanges in their personal lives. You could tell from watching that these guys were brothers outside of the squared circle as well. They were the kind of guys who had your back, and you would have fun just sitting around and having a beer with.
A man, who I’ve liked and cheered for some time, became a man that I will now say a prayer for and wish him nothing but the best in the next part of his story. This man has also shown compassion for kids and fans with health issues the entire time he has been in the public eye. He deserves to be backed during his health battle ahead.
the women’s division deserves to be pushed even more. While Charlotte is the female superstar that WWE has pushed since arriving on the main roster, it was great to see Becky move out of the shadows and become the Smackdown Women’s Champion once 
of the best talents in WWE, and they deserve to be wearing the belts. It seems that Ambrose was missed while he was out due to injury and “Monday Night” Rollins is on fire right now. As a former “hater” of Rollins, after he turned on The Shield, it’s hard for me to admit that he is now one of my favorites to watch. If we are going to see Reigns carry the belt for a while let’s start building the Roman Empire up. ow
Jeff and Randy Orton have feuded in the past but never inside of Hell in a Cell. Randy does seem to be taking his frustrations out on Jeff in a much more vicious way than in the past. We also know that Jeff is not afraid to go “extreme” so what will this match mean for him. Will he risk it in ways that he’s never done before or will he hold back because he knows his body may not be able to handle much more.
Matt work great in the ring together, and Jeff does well without him… but that also means that Jeff has to take more risks to be seen as “extreme.” He recently caught some grief online for not doing some of his signature moves at house shows for WWE. While I understand that will he be okay with disappointing fans by putting on his best performance?
I will always be a fan and will keep my fingers crossed that he can continue for a little while longer. If not for me then for my daughter who decided in 3rd grade that she wants to be a wrestler when she grows up or for the millions of other fans who like to see the “whisper in the wind” performed in the ring on Tuesday nights.
Why Women Watch 