Guys, you have to check out Antonio Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston for the U.S. title on Main Event. One of the best matches of the year so far, easily.

Surprised by the praise. Cesaro performed well, but the match itself left me a little cold. Particularly with the Kofi surprise kick finish. Was a bit like watching someone play one of the video games on easy with a UFC-style KO mode. Not a lot of psychology; a succession of moves, not a lot in the way of transition. Just a sign of the times, maybe?

The title change was obviously a sign of the times. Still a bit miffed by the circumstances of the whole thing. US title meanders in irrelevance, only to change hands for no particular reason, with no particular build up. Maybe they'll make something of it beyond the Main Event match, but it's still a bit of a disappointment. Doesn't do a whole lot for Kofi - eternally lacking a key ingredient that'll make him more than a smiley, bouncy favourite of the kids.

In a world where the titles are useful for something, I'm still pretty hooked on the thought that Cesaro and the US belt could've been a good way to get Ryback back on track with a solid run. Beats Kofi on the road to nowhere.

American wrestler Crazy Mary Dobson had match on ICW:fierce females (UK females wrestling show), what can I say?

Fucking hell that was best match of the night. It's like watching Mick Foley but with tits. Some of the bumps she toke were crazy. Can't wait for ICW today because she got another match with Jack Jester and Jimmy Havoc. THat should be good match. We need catch her at one shows if you get chance.

Not much more to add cept I feel bad for Cesaro. Another friend on another board says he needs a character overhaul cause he's not over at all

I don't agree at all. I think his no nonsense, classic wrestler style is refreshing and he carries it off well. The problem is his surroundings. For that style to work you need to plug it into interesting match-ups, rivalries and storylines. The US title was an initial strong endorsement, but it went nowhere. Somewhere after holding the belt for a while he should've found himself an arch-rival, been involved in a decent feud or two, and had a good reason to drop the title.

Even if the situation had been something like Ryback destroying him for the belt - it would've connected him to something of significance. He would've been a passive participant in it, but a loss with a purpose rubs off well. It could've been parlayed into a new push for Cesaro as a pure competitor, fighting his way back to the title (making the title significant, building his character, filling a few months with easy matches, building to another big title bout).

Maybe they'll build something out of the Kofi situation, but personally, I'm not feeling it. Dropping the belt to a guy who's been off the radar that long just further diminishes Cesaro - particularly after relegating him off PPV and even out of pre-show matches. He needs someone to grapple with and a situation of significance. His surprising strength is great, his no nonsense catch as catch can is a really refreshing change of pace. He just needs equal competitors to build a legacy. Situations that mean something - to Cesaro, or others.

How they managed to not make an american vs. evil foreigner feud over that belt is beyond me.

I know, right? I kept waiting for it to happen but it never did. Could've been used to put make a new star out of someone.. instead, they wasted it by putting the title on Kofi, which really does nothing for anyone.

I think it would've been a cheap misstep to push the 'evil foreigner' angle with Cesaro. Especially when they're doing Us and Them PG tensions (albeit, in reverse) with Del Rio/Swagger. I'd also argue that at the same level, Wade Barrett is a better 'evil foreigner' with the IC belt, even if he taps into that energy in a less literal way, without flags.

[Mind you, if anybody had any sense, I think Barrett should actually throw a punch and push the bareknuckle thing beyond a vague reference. Bareknuckle brawler would go down a treat and actually give him something to do in his matches, but I digress.]

I think you tap into Cesaro's energies best by using him as a throwback grappler - especially if he could lock up with a mat equal. The snag is that there probably aren't a lot of options to go toe-to-toe with him (nobody who leaps to mind, at least). If they had someone to work on transitions and have a competitive mid-card rivalry, they'd be getting back something I'm not sure they've had consistently since the days of Benoit, Guerrero, Angle & Lesnar. (A period I personally miss).

If you can't find someone to match him, you could also make use of Cesaro's style by pitting him against opposites. You could even transition out of the current situation!

Pair Kofi up with someone else for a month or so; force Cesaro back down the ranks. Then have him earn his contention by going out each week to destroy the likes of Zack Ryder, Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd. The old 'my strong style is superior to your highflying nonsense' that eventually builds back up to a US title rematch. If he beat Kofi, you could also use it to give other 'cruiserweights' something to do. Build them up to be challengers and give the US title a real hook (and Cesaro something interesting to do). Sin Cara comes to mind as a potential post-Kofi challenger, if he were able to pull it off.

Teddy Wilson would actually be a good guy to pair up with Cesaro, with a similar catch as catch can style, rather than a high flying opposite.

As much as i like mick's last post, it just kind of reminds me of how weak the mid-card is right now(or at least how badly its booked).

Maybe. A lot of baggage to overcome, though.

To really get anything out of it I think they'd have to dedicate a few solid months to rebuilding Kidd as a more physical grappler. Even then, I'm not sure he has the presence to really carry off a major competitive saga. I think in a situation like that he runs the risk of just looking like enhancement (which they probably already have a tendency to treat him as, anyway).


Continuing the theme: I think the same general issue of booking is why Swagger didn't take off beyond those first few weeks. It was a good, classic gimmick, but he's got no real legacy behind him. He isn't naturally convincing enough to get up to that level without the worth of better feuds.

I don't know if it's the best match-up, but Swagger/Cesaro strikes me as having potential for that hard, sports-lite feud. It would be nice if Swagger could up his workrate, but even without that, he's a guy who at least has enough ability to lock up with Cesaro, and enough juice to give them both a boost from a strong feud.

Swagger's anti-foreigner policy is also another prime example of a current way to get to that point, too. If they wanted to use Cesaro's 'US is great, shame about the people' schtick, it gels the two together from both sides. I like(d) the idea of more of a sports build, but making use of the fertile ground both characters offer wouldn't be bad. You can still push the competitive side of things, especially if their ringwork warranted a few months of back and forth. Not sure if Cesaro is a natural babyface, but that sports approach would make it a strong mid-card clash.

So far the conversation has been on the side of Cesaro, but getting the US title back on Swagger wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, either.

WWE Continues to get weaker and weaker.

And I shit you not, even hector thinks so...

Haha. In all honesty, it needs to ditch the three hour format. Its just too much show. Maybe if they used the time wisely and actually used it for quality matches, or, I don't know, building talent, it wouldn't be so bad.

Instead we get recaps. Recaps of smackdown, recaps of the last ppv, recaps of last weeks raw, recaps of this weeks raw. Remember when the stage caught on fire? Recap that shit too!

And let us not forget about the social media. This is trending, now that's trending. Wanna see some fans make an ass out of themselves? Me too! Tout that shit! Whenever they deem it necessary for Cole to teach the world how to download, install, and use the wwe app, I just want to shoot myself in the face.

All time that time to build viable stars...

Haha rant over.

B'lee in the shee.

It doesn't make it better, but I at least understand why Kofi won the US now.

Just read the results for extreme rules(is it bad that I completely forgot about this ppv?). Really happy to see The Shield go over tonight. As much as I enjoyed Team Hell No's reign, it should've probably ended a few months ago.

Crappy ending for the title match, but I can't say I expected more. Cena isn't losing the belt anytime soon, but another Ryback loss would've derailed any heel momentum he's gathered.

WWE is teasing a new Paul Heyman guy this RAW. I hope the rumors are true, I wonder who it will be.

RVD?

I'm hoping it's a current guy. We need to build on the stars we have, not keep bringing back vets.

Despite that statement, I am hoping it's Scott Steiner.

EDIT: Curtis. Axel.

I'm gonna need some convincing to buy Curtis Axel as anything.

Somebody should've tried to convince them of a name other than Curtis Axel.

I get it...it's just horrible. Sounds like a street thug in a Police Academy movie.

It's bizarre how the guy can't catch a god damn break with his name, even though his real name is just fine - Joe Hennig. Why make shit up?

I've yet to see what the fuss is all about, too. From Rock to Triple H, everyone seems to see talent in the kid. I wanted to like him on NXT and I simply could not. He's a decent athlete in the ring, not on par with someone like Cesaro or Evan Bourne. Yet he doesn't make up for it in the promo department; certainly not on the level of a Dean Ambrose or even Dolph Ziggler. Lastly, his look is just blah. Short hair with beard, not particularly interesting. And his physique? He's supposed to be in the prime of his youth yet he looks like Edge when he retired.

I hope I'm dead wrong and he turns out to be something special, but as it stands I got nothin'.

If he was just Joe Hennig from the beginning, they really could've saved themselves a bunch of bullshit. It's so ridiculous. It's way too soon to repackage a guy who was that prominent and he never should've been saddled with the stupid name to begin with. If he was Joe Hennig from the start, then they would've just had an interesting guy in Nexus, with a ticket to do something else later.

Ditto on the mystery of his appeal, though.

Apparently Bret Hart said he's the guy who should break Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak. Second hand reference - I don't know if he was joking, or not. It's a mystery to me, if he's serious. Boring guy with a schmucky face. It'd be great to bill him as a guy out to win the top strap for his dad, but I don't know that he's got the talent to back it up.

Mind you, I still don't see Ambrose as much to talk about, either.
Carried by the gimmick, but I think his promo style is unintentionally funny and he hasn't got much else going on. High stats in head tilting, pouting and letting his fringe flop. Not much else.

Ho hum Raw this week. I am shocked about Y2J vs CM Punk. Everyone was saying Summerslam was the earliest Punk would return. Guess we'll see what happens.

The Bray Wyatt promo was an absolute blast! Husky Harris Redeemed. Can't wait to see more.

I will go ahead and third the whole not seeing anything in Joe Henning. There is just not a lot to say about the kid. Not all 3rd Generation guys are the Rock. I absolutely hope he breaks out and proves us all wrong...but I can't see where he's gonna go with all that no charisma he has.

Couldn't agree more on all fronts my friend