Hart Murmurs #99
by Bruce Hart March 16, 2018
Greetings. Even though last weekend’s Fast Lane show wasn’t considered a major pay per view and was essentially supposed to just set the table for the upcoming WrestleMania extravaganza, it proved to be one of the best shows – from a pure wrestling perspective, that I’ve seen in quite a while.
In fact, I’d venture to say that WrestleMania will have a tough time topping it.
Two matches, in particular, that I found to be particularly good were the United States Championship match between Bobby Roode and Randy Orton and the six man shootout between Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, John Cena, Sami Zayn and WWE world champ – AJ Styles.
Even though Roode and Orton are respected veterans, their match exceeded all expectations, as they set a great pace, with impeccable timing, well-executed false finishes and old school intensity.
In the end, Roode dropped his United States strap to The Viper, but probably gained more glory in defeat than for any match he’s ever won.
Not to digress, but the match reminded me, in many ways, of the classic Intercontinental title bout, between my brother Bret and my brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith, at SummerSlam, back in the 90’s. Even though Bret, like Roode, did the honors, the match made everyone realize how talented he really was and shortly thereafter, the WWF had him beat Ric Flair to win the world title.
I could conceivably see Roode’s stock rise in a similar fashion.
I’m not sure what the WWE has in mind for either Orton or Roode at this stage, but it would seem like a great idea, all things considered, to have them go at it again for the US Title, at WrestleMania. The only potential drawback to that might be that if the re-match is anywhere near as good as their Fast Lane match, it might overshadow some of the other more heavily hyped main events on the card.
In any case, full marks to Randy and Bobby for a hell of a match. If nothing else, you’ve made the United States Championship meaningful again.
Speaking of great matches, the six man world title shootout at Fast Lane was also exceptional. I might add that prior to the match, there was a fair bit of skepticism that the various combatants (Corbin, Ziggler, Owens, Cena, Zayn and Styles) weren’t capable of bringing out the best in each other, but that didn’t prove to be the case, as they all would rise to the occasion, and, in the process, rendered an absolute classic. Even though AJ ultimately emerged victorious, the real winners were the fans.
As it stands now, AJ will be defending his WWE world title at WrestleMania against enigmatic Japanese challenger, Shinsuke Nakamura. I’m kind of amused that AJ, the defending world champion, had to win the grueling six man battle, in order to qualify for a title match at WrestleMania against Nakamura, who only had to vanquish an undercard jobber (Rusev), in order punch his ticket to WrestleMania – that seems kind of ass backward to me.
In any case, I’m eagerly looking forward to Styles and Nakamura, as it has the potential to be a real classic, as well.
The other match on the Fast Lane show that really impressed me was the Smackdown Women’s Championship match between Charlotte Flair and NXT alumnus, Ruby Riott. Before the match, there was justifiable concern that the inexperienced Riott might not be ready for a prime time push, but she silenced the skeptics with an inspired performance.
In the past, I’ve expressed my dissatisfaction with the state of women’s wrestling – which used to be more about aesthetics than athletics, but in the past year or two, giving credit where credit is due, the girls and the WWE have really raised the bar, with girls like Asuka, Charlotte, Alexa, Sasha, Becky, Naomi and others really raising the bar.
Kudos to all of them – keep up the great work!
On that note, I’ll call this a wrap, but will look forward to catching up with you all next week for more picks and pans on the wrestling scene.
