MessiMania!!! 8/4/15 edition

[logpmess]

So Garrett and I with the help of Tray are talking about doing a podcast of all sorts of different topics from baseball to basketball to wrestling. We are just starting out so we are brainstorming getting our ideas out for topics and then we are gonna work on the dialogue between each other. So for this first one, I sent out some questions a little over a week ago. We are going to be having guests on the podcasts as well when we go through it. We are gonna post it here and ask for some feedback, either to our points or to our styles. Thanks!

Welcome back to this edition of Play Messi: sports talk just less dirty. This week is....

Messi Mania: the abdominal strain of sports talk. Lets get right into it.

1. What do you think of the apparent direction of Cena vs. Rollins? How would you change the approach?

Garrett: I may be in the minority here, but I think Cena vs. Rollins is the correct decision for WWE. They meet at Summerslam for ONE MATCH ONLY! I think this match is basically just a placeholder, so the champ has someone to fight at WWE's second biggest PPV. Rollins will win that match, but it will set up a cash in by the current money in the bank holder, Sheamus.

Rollins other potential opponents would not make any sense to me at the moment. Dean Ambrose has already feuded with Rollins this year.
Brock is involved with Undertaker.
Randy Orton has Sheamus.
Ziggler is currently "injured" waiting for his return to have a go at Rusev.
Cesaro and KO will be going at it.
CENA is the only guy with a big enough name to headline Summerslam with Rollins.

Logan: I personally don’t mind the Cena/Rollins rivalry. Summerslam is a top card PPV. We are taking the top heel versus the top face. Everything that makes Rollins great is exactly opposite of Cena’s character. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect no matter what the outcome versus win at any cost. Its similar to the great Cena/Orton feuds from a few years ago. As far as direction, I want it to be for the WWE title. By making it for both titles, it takes away from the midcard. They could have Cena decide if he wants to defend the US title at Summerslam or vacate it and face Rollins for the WWE title. If they go with this approach, have a tournament on Smackdown to see who actually faces each other for the vacated title at the PPV. Ultimately, have Cesaro versus Owens for it, but I wouldn’t mind throwing in Neville. If they do fight for both belts, Rollins must win. He can continue to do the weekly US title open challenge on Raw, but only defend the WWE title on PPVs.

2. The divas division has been having a push recently with the NXT divas being added to the roster. Is this the right move to bring three up at once? What direction would you go with this storyline?

Garrett: I LOVE THE NXT GIRLS! It was absolutely the right move to bring them all up at once. I was surprised when they brought up Lynch without Bailey. The simple fact is Lynch is better than Bailey. By bringing up 3 divas at once, it stops what they did with Paige. In NXT, Paige was ridiculous. Very physical and willing to get "hardcore". They took that away from her when she moved up to the main roster. By bringing in Lynch, Charlotte, and Banks, WWE has decided to make it a full blown WOMEN'S WRESTLING spot as opposed to "here's another diva." These women aren't divas they are wrestlers.

At first, I didn't love the team storyline, but if they are planning on using it for survivor series in a match somehow then I approve. I would not have personally formed these "teams" though. I think after they have a team storyline, the teams need to break off and have a tournament for the number one contender. I'm afraid that if they stay with the team concept that it will hurt the women's division.

Logan: I am finally really excited for the divas division. Paige’s call up was the last great thing to happen to these performers. Unfortunately, for her, she had no one with wrestling ability to compete with (AJ Lee was injured). She was noticeably superior to everyone else. I don’t find the Bellas exciting at all. Twin Magic sucks. So when these new divas appears on Raw a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help but be excited. Paige would finally get someone who could compete with her. Now looking at it, I have some concern. The Divas title picture is non-existent. So many people to compete for a single title. I wouldn’t mind if they would bring in an undercard belt like a female Intercontinental title. I would have preferred to see Charlotte get called up to help Paige. Paige wins the title just to cross Charlotte later on and have them feud for a few months. Closer to Wrestlemania, Banks and Lynch could be called up and As far as the current outlook, someone needs to take the title off of Nikki. At that point, I could see both Paige and Naomi not letting the new girls fight for the belt causing a discourse. Then the NXT women would split from their respective groups and start fighting independently.

3. Is the NXT product being lessened by having characters in two different storylines: NXT & Main Roster? What recent call up are you most excited about?

Garrett: NXT is doing exactly what it should be doing, elevating talent until they are ready for the main roster. Sometimes, main roster talent will go back to NXT to try to elevate the individual show. Guys like KO need to be in both at the moment just so he can get his "rematch" for the belt. I think the ones that are being hurt with their call up are the Lucha Dragons. The tag division in NXT is very entertaining, but the main roster sometimes has a tag division and sometimes doesn't. By that I mean they don't give enough focus to the titles and don't build storylines for it. The NXT product, which I have been a huge fan of since Logan got the network, still has a lot of great storylines and wrestlers though. They have that ability because they only have to produce a one hour show each week, and I hope WWE keeps it that way.

I'm most excited for KO. He is ridiculous for a guy his size, but I'm afraid of what might come of him soon. Many people think that creative "buried" him after losing twice to Cena, but I disagree. The burial topic is something I could go on for a long time about, but I'm not going to do it at this point. KO will be wildly entertaining for the next couple of years.

Logan: I think the character is lessened in multiple storylines, especially as a champion. NO one believes that an NXT champ will actually win any WWE Title at that time. Also, when the champ is defending the NXT title, everyone is expecting a title change. It takes away from potential for a debut like Paige had. I am most excited about Neville. He his a unique talent the likes of a Rey Mysterio mixed with a Jeff Hardy. A lot of these new performers have a unique skill set, but no one has the flight skills like Neville. Plus the Red Arrow is sick.


4. How do you feel about part timers coming in for the big PPVs?

Garrett: I don't like it. Once every now and then is fine, but I feel they are giving too much attention to part timers at big PPV events.

Logan: I like the part timers for the big PPVs. It brings a marquee that these younger guys just don’t have YET. The issue I have is that these are taking the top spots away. I liked how Fandango beating Jericho was the opening match at Wrestlemania a few years ago. I don’t want part timers in smaller PPVs. These are used to showcase new talent to determine who deserves a spot at the bigger PPVs. I think the top slot at any PPV should be the WWE title. I like the idea of setting the stage by opening with a legend match. Just to clarify though, I don’t consider Lesnar a part timer for this Summer slam.

5. Layla retired this week from the ring. What is your favorite memory of the diva?

Garrett: Laycool is about the only thing she did worthwhile during her tenure to me. She will be a diva forgotten in no time.

Logan: Layla was a work horse for the divas division. She did everything that was asked of her. I correlate her with Christian. Layla thrived inside of the team of LayCool. Those characters were the lone bright spot in a dark time for female wrestling. She is a second tier talent whose singles career never worked out. Definitely no Hall of Fame entrant but still a character to be appreciated.

[NOLa.]

+1 enjoyed this a lot

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