Opinion

Greg DeMarco: Box Office Brock Lesnar And The New WWE

Published

4 years ago

May 20, 2019

After a hard-hitting WWE Money In The Bank, Greg DeMarco offers perspective on Brock Lesnar winning the Money In The Bank briefcase and the obvious shift in the WWE product & presentation.

I know you read that headline and wondered what in the hell I was smoking. Brock Lesnar leaves Hartford with the Money In The Bank briefcase, and I’m calling it a new WWE? I have to be insane, right? Well, that perspective is 100% wrong. (I mean…I may be insane–but not for that reason!) WWE Money In The Bank was shock and awe from start to finish, and you have every reason to be excited. The reactions I am seeing prove that the online community doesn’t want to enjoy WWE. Hopefully, for me, some mainstream fans will read this article too!

Box Office Brock Lesnar

I know what you’re thinking…same ol’ sh*t, right? I can’t say I agree. On the technicality side, Brock Lesnar has never held the Money In The Bank briefcase, so it’s wrong there. But I get it, you’re tired of seeing Brock on top. The truth of it is, he’s Box Office. And WWE needs box office.

What is “Box Office,” exactly? It’s the ability to get fans to spend money, which is how WWE makes money. Brock Lesnar sells the WWE product–to fans, to viewers, to advertisers, and to networks. Wrestling Twitter is a vocal minority, and appeasing them got WWE nowhere with WrestleMania 35, or as I was calling it for the months leading up to it, “HappyMania.” Brock is back, and I think it’s fantastic.

Disagree with me? Great, but the sold out crowd in Hartford blew the roof off the joint when his music hit, so they obviously agree. Brock will likely cash-in in advance, proclaiming his championship opportunity for WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia on June 7. Then we get to give the briefcases a rest, as we continue to shuffle the rosters up and use fun words like Wild Card (bitches…yeehaw!).

One prevailing thought I have seen is that the other seven guys in the match busted their asses for no payoff. I can’t agree with that either–their payoff is a paycheck. They’re businessmen. Those who complain about how they are booked don’t get the business. And as All Elite Wrestling is proving, they don’t take too kindly to people complaining about booking, either.

A New WWE?

I know a lot of people don’t see it, because they’re too worried about booking. But the WWE product shifted tonight. And as dangerous as it is, I hope it sticks.

The product got way more physical at WWE Money In The Bank–way more physical. It started with the Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match, which in reality doesn’t need a gender specific distinction. Money In The Bank describes both ladder matches tonight, as both delivered in both brutality and story. Everyone put their bodies through hell during those matches, and they deserve to be praised.

But it didn’t end there:

Rey Mysterio vs. Samoa Joe…brutality.
Shane McMahon vs. The Miz…brutality.
Tony Nese vs. Ariya Daivari…brutality.
The entire segment with the Women’s Championships…brutality.
Roman Reigns vs. Elias…brutality.
Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles…brutality.
Lars Sullivan and The Lucha House Party…brutality.
Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens…say it with me…brutality.

Sense a theme, here? WWE provided a more physical product, and did things that make sense. Yes, there were botches that everyone wants to blame on the refs. In each instance, it appeared to me that the talent messed up, and the commentators covered by blaming the officiating. And that makes sense to me. You didn’t think they were going to blame the wrestlers, did you?

It’s really funny that this comes after AEW reveals that they’ll present a more realistic, athletic oriented product after the onset of their TV deal. It’s probably the single bad move they’ve made (okay, maybe second to the whole PAC/Page ordeal), announcing their plans to the world and giving WWE a heads up on what’s coming so they can beat AEW to it.

Seriously, it’s like they went “Here’s our formula!” without even realizing WWE had a high profile PPV to air 6-days before Double Or Nothing. C’mon guys… #UseYourHead.

At the end, it looks WWE is going back to what works for them: giving the fans what they need, and not what they want. Imagine going to the doctor and misdiagnosing yourself. Would you rather the doctor provides you with what you want and now what you need? You’d sue that doctor for malpractice! It’s getting to be that same way with WWE. Prescribe to us what we need, Vince. Even if we don’t like the taste when it goes down, it’s for the best in the end.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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Opinion

King’s WrestleMania Rewind: Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka from WrestleMania 34

Chris king is back with one of the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history–Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka!

Published

2 months ago

April 2, 2023

Chris King

WWE WrestleMania 34 Charlotte Flair Asuka

Chris king is back with one of the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history–Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka!

We look back at Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka at WWE WrestleMania 34. ‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ put her unprecedented and historic undefeated streak of 914 days on the line against ‘The Queen’s’ SmackDown Women’s Championship.

For years, this was considered a dream match while Asuka dominated the roster in NXT, while Flair won numerous championships on the main roster on both Raw and SmackDown. The Empress made her long-awaited debut on the September 11th episode of Raw and began to tear through the competition.

Asuka outlasted all twenty-nine other women in the historic first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match to challenge for the title of her choosing. At Fastlane, she made her choice.

The WWE Universe was so excited for this match myself included. Both superstars delivered a fantastic performance on the Grandest Stage of Them All executing counter after counter. Asuka showed off some nasty-looking kicks to her opponent, and Flair hit a thunderous Spanish Fly off the top rope. Flair was seconds away from defeat at the hands of The Empress but she locked in Figure Eight and Asuka was forced to tap out.

I can’t even begin to explain how shocked I was at this outcome, as nearly everyone expected The Empress to continue her undefeated streak and walk away with the women’s title. This controversial decision was the downfall of Asuka’s momentum. She would ultimately win the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the 2018 TLC pay-per-view in the triple-threat ladder match.

Fast forward to this year when Asuka has recently returned with her Japanese-inspired persona Kana. Kana is dangerous and ruthless and is heading into a championship with Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 39. The Empress has regained all her momentum and is highly favored to walk away with the Raw Women’s Championship. Let’s hope that Asuka and Belair can tear the house down and deliver an A+ grade match both women are fully capable of.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

King: Dominik Mysterio Needs To Do This At WrestleMania

Chris King is here with what WWE should do with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania in his long-awaited match against his father Rey Mysterio Jr.

Published

2 months ago

April 1, 2023

Chris King

Chris King is here with what WWE should do with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania in his long-awaited match against his father Rey Mysterio Jr.

On this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Rey Mysterio finally snapped and beat some sense into his disrespectful punk-ass kid Dominik. The member of the Judgement Day came out to push his father again for a match on the Grandest Stage of Them All, this time with his mother and sister at ringside. The ungrateful punk told his mom to “Shut Up,” as a father even I wanted to jump through the screen and whoop his ass.

Back in October of last year, Mysterio made the emotional decision to possibly quit the company but, instead, Triple H persuaded the Lucha libre superstar to move over to SmackDown to avoid his son. This came after Dominik shockingly turned on his father at Clash at the Castle. Mysterio did everything he could to refuse his despicable son’s challenge for Mania but, a man can only be pushed so far. Mysterio will be inducted into the 2023 WWE Hall of Fame and I expect Dominik to embarrass his father during his speech to further this personal feud.

Yes, the WWE Universe hates Dominik and wants to see him get the ever-loving crap kicked out of him but, this feud is missing a special ingredient to capitalize on the biggest heat possible. Throughout this feud, Dominik has made mention of the legendary Eddie Guerrero on several occasions going back to the “iconic” 2005 feud.

I know WWE might not want to go this route but, Dominik MUST come out to Eddie Guerrero’s theme at Mania. The disrespectful punk needs to come out in a lowrider to garner nuclear heat. It doesn’t matter if The Judgement Day comes out and causes interference for Dominik to get the win, all that matters is that both superstars get the biggest payoff of this nearly year-long feud. Just imagine the Roman Reigns heat after he defeated The Undertaker and multiply that by ten. Dominik portrays the perfect heel and he truly is the missing ingredient that The Judgement Day needed to grow and evolve into a top faction.