10 Best WWE Segments Of 2017 (So Far)
Weirdly, Stephanie McMahon castrating Mick Foley for fifteen minutes didn't make the cut.
There are few, if any, honourable mentions. WWE segments are usually long-winded affairs scripted within an inch of their life. They somehow look worse on paper than they are to endure in reality.
The very worst example in recent memory was Dolph Ziggler's first dressing down of Shinsuke Nakamura ahead of their match at Backlash.
"Enquiring minds wanna know: Who are your influences, who are you wearing, who are some of the big superstars you've looked up to?" Ziggler said. He then turned around to face the hard camera with a massive sh*t-eating grin plastered on his smug face, as if he'd just shot the funniest zinger you've ever heard.
Ziggler then proceeded to pull a bait and switch long con by comparing Nakamura to Michael Jackson. Get it? Because of his red jacket? Ziggler does stand-up comedy as a hobby. At least, let's hope it is for his sake, and not some intended secondary career. His diatribe - all "huh champ?" and feigned insincerity - was as derivative as it gets. Divas Division circa 2010 bad.
WWE's creative muscle is atrophied, but there is enough flex in it to deliver a knockout segment, when the occasion demands it.
10. Samoa Joe's Debut
Samoa Joe's January 30, 2017 debut began inauspiciously.
Triple H cut a promo in the ring in which he claimed that he was "trying so hard not to be that guy that ends careers and crushes dreams" - even though he would wrestle through a quad tear just to get his mandated 'Mania match. It was difficult to stomach, much less believe in. Still, what followed next was blinding. Trips warned Rollins that, even though he was now the "Creator" of WWE's future, the "Destroyer" within him lay dormant.
"I'm done trying."
This brought out Seth Rollins. In a fantastic and unpredictable bait and switch, that Destroyer was revealed as Samoa Joe. Joe blindsided Rollins as he reached the end of the entrance ramp, knocking him flying with a stiff elbow to the head. Joe looked like such a monster out there that even Michael Cole mustered up some sincerity and emotion.
It was a smash success from all sides. The close angle from which Triple's ascent up the entrance ramp was filmed portrayed him as both cowardly and callous. The plight of Rollins, taking a pasting in the background, was literally the furthest thing from his mind.
While it didn't lead anywhere initially - Fastlane plans were scuppered when Rollins re-injured his knee falling into the Coquina Clutch - fans were conditioned, immediately, to take Joe very seriously.