6 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (Nov 17)
In which WWE survives a critical onslaught.
The magic of the Braun Strowman character is that, against all accepted logic in the post-kayfabe age, you can legitimately buy him as a monster.
He lives up to the grand lineage of the freak show wrestling monstrosity - and is well on his way to changing what that actually means. The man is absurdly, impossibly athletic; anybody of his size who follows cannot do the slow, lumbering, stalking predator routine because it will pale in comparison to Strowman's warp speed wrecking machine.
He turns ambulances upside down. He survives violent attempts on his life. He throws undercard acts down ramps like they are sacks of sh*t. He throws jobbers onto other jobbers from terrifying heights. He explodes wrestling rings by throwing guys into the turnbuckles. He smashes Conquerors through announce tables with running power slams. He collapses rings under his monstrous weight. He survives trash compactors. He...
...wears ugly Christmas jumpers in WWE.com photoshoots. Nobody expects him to ride on a bus full of heels or break the legs of a trainee or anything. But let us suspend our disbelief, for Christ's sake.
You already listened to us once this week...
6. Fair Play, WWE. Fair Play.
WWE is often accused of rank self-indulgence; Vince McMahon, because he can, tends to please himself. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, McMahon's heroes are bodybuilders and rapscallions.
The build for Survivor Series was as weak as a Shane McMahon worked punch, initially. The #UnderSiege business was a Twitter gimmick masquerading as a storyline. And, despite standing divided throughout the other 11 months of the year (and every subsequent episode of SmackDown), Shane McMahon somehow convinced his roster to invade RAW. A contrived Bragging Rights update with a bizarre all-heel undercard, Survivor Series was going to suck.
But WWE listened to the audience. AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship, lucking into a dream match in the process. A hasty RAW Tag Team Title win for the Bar created scope for a faction vs. faction dream match between The Shield and The New Day. Charlotte saved us from an immediate double count-out between Alexa Bliss and Natalya. And then, Triple H put the gloss on a megastar-powered main event by Pedigreeing Jason Jordan who, not the first time this year, fell flat on his face.
Babyfaces as champions; McMahon pet projects sent back to whence they came; pure fantasy booking made reality - WWE have played a blinder, and our caps are doffed.