2 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE 205 Live (Jan 10)
Ups...
2. An Unseemly Means To A Fine End
In the 2001 science fiction time travel mystery Donnie Darko, Drew Barrymore’s Karen Pomeroy teacher character told her students of the “cellar door” phonaesthetic principle. Those two words, in combination, are the oft-cited example of the most aurally beautiful in the English language. Or at least, they were - for there is nothing as wonderful-sounding as the manner in which Noam Dar pronounces Alicia Furxxxx.
As horrendous a moral lesson WWE have imparted with what is a particularly poor taste storyline, given the wider cultural landscape, the match itself did benefit from the meaning, no matter how dubious, behind it.
It is a credit to both Dar and Alexander that they have chosen to run with something so abysmal; on the night, they transcended the soap opera limitations of the storyline they too must find hackneyed. Infusing their strikes, in particular, with considerable oomph, it was an immersive and believable match which adhered to - and almost excused - the source material.
The finish was a dreadful near-reset of the Women’s Revolution - but that was one aspect of it beyond their control.