Opinion

Chairshot CLASH! Faces, Heels, and Throwing Shades of Gray

Published

7 years ago

September 6, 2018

Faces, Heels, and Throwing Shades of Gray

Two weeks ago the inaugural edition of the CLASH! went down, and it will appear in the history books as what may be the only time Greg and I actually agree on something. Well, maybe not the only time, but the topic of the rematch clause (which was ALL OVER the place on WWE television the week after the column ran, including one match that was indeed a cash in of the clause) isn’t really very polarizing. Some like it, some don’t, but nobody is really all that passionate about it. It exists and, while it’s used a lot, I think we’ve all come to live with it. In the grand scheme of things, is it really that important?

To put that to rest, that means that the first ever Chairshot CLASH! had a verdict of agreement. Greg and I walked off into the sunset arm-in-arm and reminisced about the good old days when good guys were good guys, and bad guys were bad guys, and there was never anything in between.

Chairshot CLASH! Verdict Count
Week 1, Rematch Clause: AGREE (1)

Oh… wait — what are you telling me? Shades of gray aren’t a new thing in wrestling? There’s surely something different going on that has caused people to end friendships, file for divorce and, now this is only a rumor, resort to defenestration in relation to this heated topic for conversation. Indeed, when wrestling was arguably at its most popular in the late 1990s and the very early 2000s, good guys weren’t always squeaky clean and bad guys weren’t always the devil himself. In fact, one guy, a squeaky clean former Olympian who advocated abstinence outside of wedlock and was a literal example of someone saying their prayers and drinking milk to keep a healthy body — was one of the top bad guys in WWE!

Indeed, things are different now. The idea of babyfaces and heels is a bit confused these days, especially in WWE. It’s pretty clear when it comes down to it, who is on which side of the coin (just look at any lumberjack match, for example) but there are some outside factors (the vocal majority of the live audience, for one) that muddy up the subject. I think that sets it up enough. Greg and I have a lot to talk about, so let’s just jump right in.

It’s week two of the Chairshot CLASH! Will we both use our heads?

NICK:
Here’s what I’m thinking about. We’ll start as fresh as possible. Becky Lynch. She’s been a fan favorite since she debuted on the main roster just over three years ago. And throughout the entire ride, all of the ups and all of the downs, the crowd has been very vocally behind her without fail. Live audiences, social media, you name it — the people loved Becky Lynch. WWE actually created a poll asking fans if they have been rooting for Becky all along, or “only until Charlotte Flair got involved”. The wording makes no sense. What, exactly, are they asking? Did I always support Becky Lynch, or did I support her until a few weeks ago when Charlotte weaseled her way into the title match at SummerSlam? So are they asking if I stopped supporting her when Charlotte returned and instead jumped on the Flair train?

Very confusing language. Either way, as of late Tuesday night, the poll was 94% to 6%, with the vast majority voting that they have been rooting for Becky from the beginning. They did a similar thing on social media, posting a graphic asking us to “Be honest” — were we supporting Becky the entire time she was chasing after the title? Good lord, does it get much more desperate than that? Oh, and that didn’t go very well either. Pretty much everyone said that yes, they have and will continue to cheer Becky on.

The crowds in Brooklyn (twice) and Toronto are clearly on Becky’s side, believing that she is the victim of nepotism. Becky worked her ass off to get her opportunity to reclaim the top spot in the SmackDown women’s division. Charlotte came back from an injury after losing the title and losing in her (contractually obligated) rematch to (at the time) current champion Carmella — and all she had to do was ask Paige for an opportunity, and she got it? It’s ridiculous. Why would anybody cheer for that?

For Becky, my argument isn’t that the booking is bad (although it is) and it isn’t that the fans are hijacking the show by cheering the bad guys and booing the good guys (that’s not what’s happening here). I’m going with coherent logic. My argument is that Becky is completely right to be upset about what happened and she’s getting payback on a woman who stabbed her in the back once before. Charlotte has proven to be a liar, cheater, and manipulator. Becky has earned everything she’s gotten and after having a rough patch, finally earned her way back to the top only to be kicked off the mountain by someone who didn’t earn a chance to climb up with her (despite what nonsense Road Dogg might tell you on Twitter).

GREG:
This is a really hard topic for so many to discuss. Mainly because nearly every single one of us grew up on faces and heels. I know I did. I can remember the first time I actually favored a heel: the show where “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff turned on Hulk Hogan. I felt like Orndorff was right about Hogan hogging the spotlight and not caring about his friend. And that’s the thing! Heels usually tell the truth, but we hate them for it.

When I first discovered the NWA, Ric Flair was already the man. And he was OVER as hell as both a face and a heel. Didn’t confuse me one bit. He had fans in the Techwood Drive studios, they all wore black suits and would throw up four fingers when Flair was out. One was actually a manager at the local Virginia independent I regularly attended, named Keven Kelly. Great old school heel manager, carried a golf club with him.

Fast forward to SummerSlam and beyond, and Becky Lynch has “turned heel.” She’s mad at Charlotte for stealing swooping in and stealing her spot, and she’s 100% right about it. Suddenly the fans that loved and supported her are supposed to boo? I don’t know about that, bro.

NICK:
With Becky and Charlotte, I have seen a lot of talk online about how we could be on the way toward a double turn similar to Bret and Austin in 1997. I honestly believe that they might actually go that direction. I mean, I’ve honestly believed a lot of things would happen that didn’t really have a snowflake’s chance in hell, so this might be another addition to that list, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t just go in that direction. Turning Becky into an angry, fired-up anti-hero instead of the happy-go-lucky babyface could be a big, big deal for the women’s division as a whole. It’s not a situation like Roman Reigns, where there are legitimate business reasons to keep him where he is.

And of course, that brings us to a very contentious topic. The current Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. I don’t think we should spend a ton of time talking about this since pretty much everybody’s opinion has been put out there and nobody is budging, but we’re reasonable guys. I’ll try to be as brief as I can, but I don’t know how well that will turn out.

Roman is an extremely good professional wrestler. He’s top tier. He deserves, based on performing in high-pressure situations over and over again, the spot that he’s in. Anybody who disputes that doesn’t deserve to be part of an adult conversation. WWE is an extremely profitable company, and with good numbers on the stock market and a freakin’ BILLION dollar deal with Fox, they are obviously doing something right. There’s no disputing that, period. But let’s take money out of it because I want this to be a discussion about the wrestling that we’re watching on TV, not all of the shit that we shouldn’t be worrying ourselves about. We aren’t making money from WWE, so I don’t believe it to be a legitimate part of a conversation regarding the entertainment factor. The goal is to entertain as many people as possible, right? You can. But you have to do it the right way.

Now I could be totally wrong, and maybe I am. Based on the history of WWE, I believe I am right, but we’ll never know.

If they turned Roman heel at the beginning of 2016 instead of force-feeding him to us, he could be a legitimate babyface by now and the story they told with him and Brock this year would have actually been amazing instead of one of the biggest, wettest farts in history. No guarantees, obviously, but it fits into the narrative you brought up, Greg.

Roman was wronged: Seth Rollins turned on him to kill The Shield. Seth stole his moment by cashing in MITB at WrestleMania. Sheamus did the same at Survivor Series, and then Triple H did it AGAIN at the Royal Rumble. And all the while, the crowd was actually turning on him. It was the perfect storm. But they decided against it because they already made up their mind. If the crowd didn’t feel sympathy for the guy after being fucked over FOUR TIMES, it just wasn’t going to happen.

Instead of having Triple H win the Rumble and the title, Ambrose wins it. Roman feigns happiness for his Shield brother’s accomplishment, but then out of anger, jealousy, and frustration, he absolutely mauls him. The crowd boos Roman like they want to, Dean gets even more over, and then you get the crowd to hate Roman even more by having him defeat Ambrose clean in the middle at WrestleMania. I got into a bit of fantasy booking there, but the short of it is that Roman had a perfectly good reason to turn heel and they had a perfect babyface foil for him. At some point, there would be an organic reason for the two of them to join forces again (the way Dean reluctantly did with Seth last year) and then Roman gets cheered by everyone. The haters were given the outlet to get the boos out of their system, and everybody wins.

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

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

Related Topics:Babyface Chairshot CLASH!Featured Featured Big Heel John Cena Roman Reigns Wrestling Opinion WWE

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY – Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

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THURSDAY – POD is WAR (Los Tres Friends)

FRIDAY – DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY – The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY – Keeping the news ridiculous… The Oddity / The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

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About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

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

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1