Booing Roman Reigns is No Longer the Cool Thing To Do

This past Sunday at Clash of Champions Roman Reigns competed in a very physical match against Rusev and walked away with the United States Championship. Roman Reigns came into the WWE with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as The Shield. The Shield ran hard in 2013 and into the early months of 2014. When The Shield broke up all three men went their own ways. Seth Rollins was backed by The Authority while Ambrose and Reigns chased after him. I want to take you back to the Royal Rumble in 2014. The final two men were Batista and Roman Reigns. The crowd desperately wanted Reigns to beat Batista but it didn't happen. Over the next year Roman Reigns was being pushed heavily as the guy to replace John Cena but fans didn't take to it very well.

At Wrestlemania 31, Reigns took a massive beating from Brock Lesnar and proved just how tough he was. He proved he belong in the Main Event and proved he's the only one who could take such a beating. Even then the fans still did not respect him. He spent most of 2015 chasing Rollins but once Rollins got injured he feuded with Sheamus and Triple H. From Survivor Series 2015 to Wrestlemania 32 Reigns captured the WWE Title 3 times, Even though he was the anti-establishment guy he was still being boo'd, Many people have stated that "Roman Reigns is being shoved down our throats." Even I didn't care for how much was being used. WWE in it's history has had a habit of only making one mega star for an era. They did it with Hogan, Cena and were trying to do it with Reigns. The fans caught on and made WWE take a different approach.

Back in June Roman Reigns violated the WWE's Wellness Policy and I'll be the first to admit that I was extremely disappointed but I also realize people make mistakes and learn from them. The previous months leading up to this suspension Reigns had two phenomenal matches with AJ Styles. It was in these matches that I realized it was no longer cool to boo or hate on Roman Reigns. Some might say guys like Styles, Rollins and Balor carried Reigns in those matches but the last I checked it takes two to have a great match. So what's everyone going to say about his matches with Rusev? No disrespect to Rusev but he's nowhere near the performer of an AJ Styles or Finn Balor. Reigns can have great matches with anyone on the roster because he himself has become an elite performer. I personally think that one of the reasons he's become an elite performer is because he teamed with Seth Rollins in The Shield. I think he learned a lot from Rollins and has carried on what he's learned from his time in The Shield.

Right now Reigns is in a a good place right now. He's the United States Champion who will make that title who will make that title mean something again. People got their wish and Reigns is not main eventing but he is putting on main event type performances. I think this is the right path for Reigns to get back into the main event spotlight and WWE Universal Championship picture. At this point if you're hating on Reigns and booing him then you're obviously a fan that will never be happy with anything. Fans should just be happy going to a show and enjoying the product that's put in front of them. I think Reigns is still a big part of the future for WWE and his abilities, talent and passion should be appreciated. I choose not to boo or hate Roman Reigns because at this point there is no reason to. I hope someday he will get the respect he deserves and people will appreciate his efforts night in night out. 

Results, Review, Recap of WWE Clash of Champions 2016

For the last month I kept telling myself Night of Champions is coming up but this year they renamed it Clash of Champions. Clash of the Champions use to be an old WCW show that was aired every few months almost like a free pay-per-view. The question is could WWE live up the legendary hype that WCW set for these events. Before I can begin those thoughts here are the results of Clash of Champions

-Preshow: Nia Jax defeated Alicia Fox

-The New Day defeated Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship

-TJ Perkins defeated Brian Kendrick to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Champion

-Cesaro and Sheamus ended in a No Contest

-Chris Jericho defeated Sami Zayn

-Charlotte defeated Sasha Banks and Bayley to retain the WWE Women's Championship

-Roman Reigns defeated Rusev to win the WWE United States Championship

-Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins to retain the WWE Universal Championship

The opening match of the Clash was for the WWE Tag Team Championships. The New Day went in to tonight as champions for 399 days. It looks like they are going to keep those titles for at least 400 days. I really do hope The Club eventually get those titles because if they do they would only be the third team in history to hold the WWE and IWGP Tag Team Titles. The other two are The Dudley Boys and The Steiner Brothers. That is very impressive company to be in once they get there.Speaking of getting in the history books, it's great to see the WWE Cruiserweight Championship back. This has been a long time coming but the one thing I didn't care for is how they changed the ring ropes and turnbuckles for one match. They need to be looked at as equals among the rest of the roster. Now for all the people complaining about the Cruiserweights just don't get it. Even though it was a solid match they do not need to ever do the purple ropes again. Those ropes were very slippery and it could have ended up badly for both competitors.

Something that hasn't been bad has been the Best of 7 Series between Cesaro and Sheamus. Sheamus won the first 3 matches, and Cesaro won the next 3 matches. This match was very physical and brutal. This match was really good but Cesaro took a very unnecessary risk. Both men took some risks but that's what happens when you're overlooked and underutilized. Since the match ended in a No Contest what do you end up doing? I think they both deserve a title shot or put together as a tag team possibly. When it comes to get deserved attention there are no two guys right now who are more deserving then Sami Zayn and Chris Jericho. Jericho has been awesome in terms of character and telling a story and being extremely entertaining as of late. Zayn always delivers in his matches and hopefully they don't hold him back like they have others before him. The match was very solid except for a few questionable spots but I don't agree with Jericho winning. It doesn't do anything for his career whereas it would have helped Zayn's.

In a match where I didn't care who won was the WWE Women's Championship match. All three women are worthy of that title. All three women have put on incredible matches in the past. This was an incredible match for all three competitors. All three women should be applauded for their efforts no matter who won. Charlotte has now won 12 pay-per-view matches since her arrival and it her momentum is continuing to grow as each day progresses. When you talk momentum you have to talk about Roman Reigns and Rusev. These two have been built very heavily but and I was hoping that something would give tonight. Rusev and Reigns had an awesome match, I think this is a redemption road for Roman Reigns. I am hoping that this United States title win will bring more prestige for the title and this will get Reigns back to where he needs to be. I don't know what people have against Reigns but it's ridiculous. Congratulation to Reigns for winning the U.S. Title.

The Main Event of the evening was between Kevin Owens defending Universal Championship against Seth Rollins. I love how Foley and Steph were kissing up to both competitors. That's the problem with Raw is that they are still making it about the people in charge instead of the people in the ring. Both Owens and Rollins are a product of Ring of Honor and if you would have asked me 5 years ago if they would be main eventing a WWE show I would have thought otherwise. WWE has become a little bit more open minded with who is being put in the spotlight.  People can say what they want about ratings and who is champion but it wouldn't matter if it was Rollins or Owen as champion. During NFL season the ratings suck all around but that doesn't mean they shouldn't put in the effort. I feel like these two put in a good effort but no one will care because everyone cares too much about the viewership of Raw. Owens kept the gold but they sure made an interesting story out of Jericho's interference. Clash of Champions was a solid pay-per-view and I will give it 7 out of 10. I think Styles vs. Ambrose was better then Owens vs. Rollins. Next up for Raw is Hell in a Cell on October 30th. They have a lot to build on but also a lot to improve on. Tonight was about the champion but in 5 weeks it will be about hell inside Hell in a Cell!

WWE Cruiserweight Classic: Episode 10 (Final Episode)

Tonight was the finals of the Cruiserweight Classic and what a great two months this has been. I have seen so many great matches from so many amazing competitors but only one of thirty can win. Tonight it was down to the final four and those men were TJ Perkins, Gran Metalik, Zack Sabre Jr, and Kota Ibushi. Each man had their own path to go through in order to get here and it wasn't easy. TJ Perkins had to go through Da Mack, Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann to secure a spot in the semifinals. Gran Metalik had some tough challengers in Alejandro Saez, Tajiri, and Akira Tozawa. Zack Sabre Jr, conquered Tyson Dux, Drew Gulak and Noam Dar to make his way into the semifinals. Lastly, Kota Ibushi had great matches against Sean Maluta, Cedric Alexander and Brian Kendrick to be where he's at in the tournament. With all of these great matches and competitors I was excited to see what exactly what was going to go down tonight. 

The first match of the evening was between Gran Metalik and Zack Sabre Jr. This match got off to a very fast start with the clash of styles. I could not believe the action I saw in this match. Metalik brought the fight to Sabre Jr. and he earned every be bit of that victory. I really thought that Sabre was going to submit Metalik on multiple occasions. I have to consider this a huge upset because Sabre has had so much momentum all over the world against some of the biggest names in the industry. How do you follow that? Well TJ Perkins and Kota Ibushi had to follow that and they had a classic encounter. They had a mixture of aerial tactics, technical mastery and even some strong style. I was shocked as I could be to see TJ Perkins tap out Kota Ibushi. I know some fans are probably upset that Ibushi and Sabre didn't advance to the finals but at the end of the day it's somewhat of a political move. Ibushi and Sabre did not sign with WWE. Perkins and Metalik did sign with WWE and got rewarded with being put in the spotlight.

When it comes to the spotlight no two guys have been more deserving as of late then Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa. DIY tagged up tonight to take on Noam Dar and Cedric Alexander. I am so glad Alexander got a chance in the spotlight as well as Noam Dar. They put up one hell of a fight against DIY. I am so excited for this Cruiserweight Division to start on Raw. With how drawn out Raw is these days it will be a breath of fresh air to have the Cruiserweights on the show. Before we can get to Raw we have to talk about the finals. Gran Metalik and TJ Perkins had two incredible matches to get to the finals. How would their endurance be? What would their game plans be? Before we could find all this out Triple H came out and announced that this finals match would be for the new WWE Cruiserweight Champion This announcement fueled Perkins and Metalik even more. Perkins technical prowess and Metalik's high flying moves made for a great match. At the end of the night we saw TJ Perkins  become the new WWE Cruiserweight Champion along with winning the Cruiserweight Classic Tournament Trophy. This was the best two hours of wrestling that I have seen in a long time. I am sad to see this tournament end but I look forward to future CWC Tournaments.

If you did not watch the Cruiserweight Classic you need to sit down and watch it from start to finish. I have to applaud Triple H, William Regal and the rest of people behind this tournament. This was a genius move by Triple H and the WWE. This has been an incredible 10 weeks of great professional wrestling action. I cannot wait for the future of the Cruiserweight Division and I for one hope they continue to do this tournament.

Results, Review, Recap of WWE Backlash 2016

Tonight was the first Smackdown pay-per-view since the two shows split . I went into this pay per view worrying because of the lack of depth. I am glad they brought back a classic name for a show in Backlash. Could this Backlash live up to the of previous Backlash shows? Before I talk about the night here are the results:

-PreShow: Baron Corbin defeated Apollo Crews

-Becky Lynch wins the 6 Pack Challenge to become the First WWE Smackdown Women's Championship

-The Uso's defeated The Hype Bros.

-The Miz defeated Dolph Ziggler to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

-Kane defeated Bray Wyatt in a No Holds Barred

-Heath Slater/Rhyno defeated The Uso's to win the WWE Tag Team Championships

-AJ Styles defeated Dean Ambrose to win the WWE Championship

The opening match was the 6-Pack Elimination for the Smackdown Women's Championship. All 6 women put on one hell of an effort. It's great to see Becky Lynch finally get her due. I think this women's championship really showcased the talent of these women. They have a lot talent but they also have room to improve. Another thing that needs improvement is the booking of the tag team division. It makes no sense to reward a tag team for injuring another tag team, I understand the heel vs. face concept but I would have been content with a face vs. face match with The Uso's interfering in the finals. 

When it comes to right booking and great matches I love The Miz vs, Dolph Ziggler any time they have a match against each other. They are really good friends which means they always have great chemistry.  I love the heat that The Miz getting these days. People are actually somewhat talking about him again. They had another great match for the most prestigious belt in the WWE. I think The Miz's reign and momentum is far from over. I think they need him to hold the title for awhile longer to really bring some legitimacy back to the title. We go from a good championship match a rather boring No Holds Barred Match! Randy Orton is still suffering from his match against Brock Lesnar and Kane ended up being his replacement. Orton ultimately came out and cost Wyatt the match to continue the feud that is suppose to happen.

As I mentioned before The Uso's advanced to take on Heath Slater and Rhyno for the WWE Tag Titles. I still don't like The Uso's on TV and still don't like them in real life. I really don't like how it was booked but I am so happy that Heath Slater and Rhyno got put into the spotlight. I really hope Heath Slater starts being used properly. He's been in the company for so long and now he's getting a good spot in the company. When it comes to great spots in the company AJ Styles has earned his top spot in the company with all these incredible matches he's had since his arrival. He definitely deserves the WWE Championship to his list of accolades. 

The pay-per-view was very drawn out and I was about to give it a very bad review until the last two matches. The last two matches put this pay per view in a great place. I am excited for AJ Styles as WWE Champion. Smackdown just a good boost but now they need to add some depth. I will give the show a 7.5 out of 10. The ending of Backlash was simply phenomenal! 

WWE Cruiserweight Classic: Episode 9

Tonight was the final night of the quarterfinals. The other two competitors in the semifinals are Kota Ibushi and Gran Metalik. They both had an incredible matches and victories during this tournament. Tonight we found out who will be joining these two in next week's two hour live special that will determine the winner of the Cruiserweight Classic. I for one am not disappointed in who has made it so far. 

The first match of the evening between "The Technical Wizard" Zack Sabre Jr. and Noam Dar. I love the aggressive the technical wrestling by these two. I am excited for Noam Dar to be on Monday Night Raw's Cruiserweight Division. I love the different styles in these matches. Some are absolute technical masterpieces and others are wild and crazy high flying spectacles. Regardless of your preference this tournament has tested each man with their style and it has made for some instant classics. Sabre's victory over Dar was definitely an instant classic. We go from technical mastery to a charismatic high flying battle from TJ Perkins and Rich Swann.  I love the comedy, the entertainment and the athleticism in the match. These two took some chances but in the end that chances caught up with Rich Swann. TJ Perkins worked on the knee that Rich Swann injured to move on to the Semi-Finals next week. We have not heard the last from Rich Swann or a lot of the other competitors in the tournament.

Next week you will see Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Gran Metalik and Kota Ibush vs. TJ Perkins. The winners of these two matches will face each other later in the night to crown the Cruiserweight Classic Tournament winner. We also learned that Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano will be involved in a tag team match. Tune next week to see who Ciampa and Gargano's opponents are and who will become the winner of the Cruiserweight Classic.