8 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (June 16)
Guns, POLARising puns and multiple logo shuns.
It seemed as if the events of NJPW Dominion - one of the greatest wrestling shows of all time - lit a fire underneath WWE and their apparent love of competition.
The opening segment of this week's RAW was tremendous. "Brock Lesnar has a problem," Paul Heyman warned gravely. "That problem is with Samoa Joe, and that problem is going to get solved by the greatest problem solver in WWE history: Brock Lesnar!"
This brought out Joe, who stood face to face with Lesnar. Joe didn't mess about. He stuck the nut on the Universal Champion, who then flung him into the corner. Lesnar manhandled Joe as if he was Zach Gowen. Joe responded by leathering the Beast across the back. A panicked Kurt Angle dispatched security to ringside to break up the melee. It didn't work; Joe and Lesnar flattened them, prompting an overspill of the entire RAW roster. Joe broke free and kicked Lesnar square and stiff in the face. It didn't matter that it wasn't original. It was powerful, believable stuff.
WWE promoted their unique, daring and much-anticipated all-heel programme with aplomb. The tone for the evening had been set. So, too, had a benchmark of quality.
WWE then tried to maintain that with wrestling teddy bears, nagging women who struggle with technology, and awkward hugs.
For Christ's sake.
8. Russo > Everybody, Bro!
Michael 'PS' Hayes - the PS stands for "piece of sh*t," given that Hayes is a documented racist and alcoholic enabler - somewhat redeemed himself recently when he buried Vince Russo for once proposing to retire The Undertaker years before top babyface Roman Reigns was afforded the heel rub.
Russo was aghast. The retirement angle was never going to stick. It was, of course, going to be a swerve.
Russo claimed in an appearance on The Wrestling Inc. podcast that he didn't remember proposing this, which is odd because a) he confirmed that it was just an angle and b) he recalled in photographic detail three days spent with Vince McMahon ahead of a mooted return to the company in 2002, in which he claimed that he meticulously laid out a long term plan for every member of the roster from A-Z. These plans were so damn awesome that McMahon hired him on the spot. The only thing left to do was to spell those plans out to the rest of the writing staff.
Russo also claimed that when he did so, he could see "jaws drop". You see, a realisation crept in among the haunted faces. They had been made redundant in minutes. Russo's ideas were just so much better than anything even Paul Heyman could come up with. The same Paul Heyman who turned SmackDown into the best show on TV weeks later.
Ultimately, Russo's absence left WWE in the dust. He soon joined with TNA, and the rest, as they say, is history. Those Last Rites, Electrified Cage and Reverse Battle Royal matches became an indelible part of the wrestling tapestry, allowing TNA to become the recognised global leader in sports entertainment.