Adzop – ’13 So Far

Hi everyone.. Apologies for my lengthy absence. With WrestleMania 29 on the horizon, and some of the things that have been going on in WWE, I thought it was time to chime in with some of my thoughts.

The Royal Rumble feels like a long time ago. John Cena winning the Rumble match pretty much told us that The Rock would win the WWE Championship in the main event against CM Punk. I expected to see Cena come out and give The Rock a slow clap after the match – this would have confirmed what was already obvious – that Cena would be facing ‘The People’s Champion’ at WrestleMania. This angle would have saved us from Cena’s rambling promo on Raw when he pretended that it was a difficult decision as to which Championship to go for. It would have provided some early intensity for the rejuvenated feud. Instead, we’ve had minimal exchanges between the two stars that will main event the biggest show of the year. It’s almost like WWE knew what match they would be making a long time ago, but didn’t bother to plan a glide path for the storyline. Maybe they did – but as Mr T would say – ‘If that was the plan, it was a bad plan’. Two weeks to go. Let’s see some excitement now.

Jack Swagger is back. And he is one of the things I am really enjoying about WWE at the moment. His new look, his new attitude, and the fact the he appears to have put on a few pounds of muscle in his absence. All of these things make him far more believable as a bad ass heel that can really beat people up. There was never any denying Swagger’s in ring talent, but he was lacking a certain something. Now, with this new direction – and the addition of Zeb Colter – he is well on his way to being a major player. He’s built up a lot of experience and created quite a story in WWE already, which is really going to help him connect on a higher level now. The greatest main eventers have needed that experience behind them – and Swagger has it. Anyone who has read my columns before knows how important theme music is to me as part of my WWE experience. When done correctly, it really adds something to the character. I really like Swagger’s new theme. I like where big Jack is heading right now.

CM Punk will challenge The Undertaker at WrestleMania. Whilst I think it will be a good match, I really don’t like how they put it together and I haven’t been invested in the build-up so far. This is coming from a huge fan of both wrestlers. It honestly baffles me that they couldn’t come up with anything better for this feud. Again, we have 2 Raws ’til WrestleMania. Let’s just hope they’ve got something big in store for us.

Another guy that has been a highlight for me over the past month has been Fandango. Formerly Johnny Curtis of NXT, this guy has provided some much needed refreshment on WWE TV lately. His debut has been constructed in a similar way to that of Damien Sandow – refusing to fight, week after week. As long as it doesn’t go on for too long, that’s fine. He is slowly displaying more and more of himself which saves it from going totally stale. It’s working, and it’s heading in the right direction. He entered the ring on Smackdown this week to get physical for the first time when he pounded Y2J Chris Jericho. Hopefully this leads to a match between the two at WrestleMania. It may be an over the top gimmick, but Curtis delivers his presentation with a mature conviction and sincerity, which is not the case for all wrestlers. Fandango will be fine.

Somebody should tell Ryback that ‘eating’ other men can have more connotations than the one he is intending. He really should stop comparing everything – and everyone – to food. ‘Feed Me More’ is fine, but let’s not get carried away..

What do you think? Do Jack Swagger and Fandango entertain you? Or can’t you stand them? Does it feel like WWE are confident enough that their WrestleMania show will sell itself, so they don’t need to try so hard with the build-up?

Should Ryback keep salivating for – and feasting on – his fellow WWE Superstars?

Comments are always welcome – give me ideas for some points to discuss. You can reach me on Twitter @adzop and at adamchyk@hotmail.co.uk – Thanks for reading