PWP Nation’s Bruce Hart previews the major matches from WWE Roadblock.
Greetings, I trust this finds you all in the Christmas spirit. It seems that every time I turn around lately, the WWE is having another pay per view and this week is no exception. The “Roadblock: End of the Line” extravaganza marks the third pay per view in less than month (the others being Survivors Series and last week’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs charade).
Initially, the WWE (or WWF, as it was called back then) had only one pay per view a year – which, of course, was WrestleMania. At the outset, I thought, WM was a great concept – their version of the Super Bowl or the World Series and they would pull out all the stops for it, including mega main events, such as – the classic Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant showdown; celebrity guests like Muhammad Ali, Donald Trump and Mr. T, and it was worthy of all the accolades and a penultimate climax which wrestling fans all justifiably looked forward.
After a while, the WWF decided to expand to four major pay per views annually, including: the aforementioned WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble – which were spaced out about every three months, kind of like wrestling’s version of golf’s Grand Slam (the Masters, the U.S. and British Opens and the PGA). I might add that each of the WWE’s so-called majors had a distinctly different theme or format and they soon became a popular tradition among wrestling fans.
As of late though, with a damn pay per view every other week, or so it seems, and not much separating one pay per view from the next, it’s becoming increasingly hard to get into them, or to take them seriously. Can you imagine if the NFL was having the Super Bowl or supposed equivalent every few weeks, or if the NCAA was hosting basketball’s Final Four every month, or if the NHL was contesting the Stanley Cup half a dozen times as year? After a while, those epic events would cease to mean anything and nobody would be getting excited about them or taking them the least bit seriously – which, unfortunately, is the way wrestling fans are starting to react to pay per views these days.
Compounding the problem is that back in the 80’s and 90’s, when there were still territories like my dad’s Stampede Wresting promotion, Minneapolis, Texas, Tennessee and others still running on a regular basis, there were a hell of a lot more great workers for the WWE to incorporate into their programs. That certainly isn’t the case anymore, as the number of decent workers today pales in comparison from back then – which is why the WWE has to keep bringing back long in the tooth veterans and aging blasts from the past, or is choosing to push unproven rookies, contrived gimmicks (such as TLC, tits and ass and other cheap compensation for actual wrestling), which only further dilutes the product.
Although my dad wasn’t a drinker, he used to say, somewhat sardonically, in reference to the WWE’s ‘more is better’ approach, that, “I’m not a drinking man, but I know that if you keep watering down the whisky, after a while it’s not worth drinking.” That kind of sums up the state of wrestling today and I defy anybody in the WWE or elsewhere to tell me that the quality or quantity of pro wrestlers today is anywhere near what it was back then.
In any case, I won’t belabor the point about the WWE’s “more is better” minds et regarding pay per views and will endeavor to preview the main matches on this weekend’s “Roadblock: End of the Line” extravaganza, including the quadruple main event: Chris Jericho vs. Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens in a WWE Universal title match, Sasha Banks defending her WWE RAW Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair and a triple threat cruiserweight title bout, with Brian Kendrick, TJ Perkins and Rich Swann.
As for Jericho and Rollins, this has the potential to be a ‘match of the year’ candidate, as both are old school style workers who have an innate ability to relate to the fans and to make the fans relate to them (which is really what working is all about). I have no doubt that Chris and Seth can rise to the occasion, however one potential drawback is that both are still perceived to be kind of obnoxious, devious heel types and, as such, it’s kind of hard to be rooting for the fans to figure out who to cheer for. Having said that, if Jericho brings his A game, this should be a great match. I have no idea what the WWE’s plan is here, but I’d be surprised if Seth doesn’t somehow get his hand raised.
Next, we’ll assess the Universal title clash between champion Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns. As is the case with Jericho and Rollins, neither Owens (who’s an out and out heel) or Reigns (who’s a face, but seems to be more disliked than liked by most of the marks), is that popular – which is a potential drawback. I’m also not that sure if Kevin and Roman’s styles really complement each other either, but I think they’re both good enough workers that if the powers that be in the WWE creative department give them a decent, plausible finish they should have a good match.
My anticipation is that Owens – who, by all accounts, has been doing a terrific job with the Universal strap, will be going over and retaining his title. If it’s done right, I think that Roman – like many other iconic baby faces, would probably gain considerably more glory in defeat if he won, which should keep him strong, regardless of the outcome.
Another major bout on the Roadblock card will be the women’s title match between arch rivals Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks. No knock on the new SmackDown women’s champion Alexa Bliss or her predecessor Becky Lynch, but Charlotte and Sasha are definitely perceived to be on a higher level than the SmackDown girls and, as such, this has the makings of an awesome encounter. I might add that I don’t care for the cheap heat Charlotte’s been getting lately by abusing and putting down her legendary father, Ric, but, giving credit where credit is due, she’s been doing a terrific job of raising the profile of women’s wrestling in general, the past few months. I’m expecting Charlotte to somehow go over here – hopefully on a relatively straight finish, with no contrived contingencies and nothing that further desecrates the legacy of her dad.
The other main event is the cruiserweight title match and this has the potential to be the best match of the night, as Kendrick, Perkins and Swann are all great workers and seem to have awesome synergy. Just like in the UFC, which has seen lighter weight class guys like Connor McGregor rise to the top, the cruiserweights are beginning to make believers out of a lot of people, myself included. For some reason, I could see Kendrick being put over here, although any of them are more than worthy.
On that note, I’ll call this a wrap, but seeing as this is the last edition of Hart Murmurs before Christmas, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and fulfilling New Year. God bless.
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