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TJR Q&A #23: Owens Feud With Jericho, Survivor Series Rewards, Cena Return & More (50+ Questions!)

TJR Wrestling

It’s time for another question and answer session here on TJRWrestling. As usual, I ask for questions on my Facebook page and it’s up to them to come up with questions for me to think about to give the best answer possible.

The topics range from current things in wrestling to things from the past and of course predictions from the future. Can I do a Q&A without being asked who is going to win the Royal Rumble? My only real Royal Rumble prediction is that something will happen that will cause the majority of people to complain. That’s what always happens! I’m just kidding…maybe. Let’s get to it.

1. Mike Anderson
When did people start hating Cena? I was watching raw from ’06 when he gave the F-U to Kevin federline… people loved him. So what changed?

They hated him when he won nearly every match, didn’t put people over (that’s how he was booked) and his matches were sometimes poor. Same thing happened with Reigns. Watch Survivor Series 2013, Rumble 2014 he was loved. Then he starts winning all the time and it changes.

A reader named Shad Amin Q remembered more specifics than me: “Summer of ’05. He won the title at Mania 21 and people loved him. Once he didn’t drop the title to Christian or Jericho or Angle that summer, everyone began to turn on him. The KFed cheers was just due to the hate for KFed.”

2. Will Russell
Do you think there will ever be a viable international company that has its roots in the U.K.?

I know a lot of companies are doing well over there, so it’s a great time for wrestling in the UK. Whether they get really huge in the US/Canada I have my doubts about that.

3. Nishant Bansal
What is your prediction for Royal Rumble winner???

Probably Cena, Reigns or maybe Lesnar wins. I don’t know to be honest. I don’t see some midcarder like Zayn or Cesaro rising up to win. It’s probably somebody that has already been a main eventer or major champion already.

4. Robert Mccormick III
What do you think will come of LESNAR/GOLDBERG II?

Lesnar wins, Goldberg soaks up the cheers post match and walks away. Even if Goldberg does wrestle again, I doubt he’s going to get the win. I’m interested in thee match quality and crowd reactions too. Goldberg probably is HOF next year unless they want to put Daniel Bryan as the main guy.

5. Jake Pumfleet
Who will be the next ‘over’ superstar who wasn’t supposed to get over?

I don’t know who that will be. Maybe Rusev as a face, but Vince sucks at booking foreign faces because he turns them into jokes.

6. Nate Kinney
Will the Cruiserweight Division be better used on SD? Assuming Kalisto wins of course.

No. I like SD a lot, but there’s no time. This week’s show had two matches over 10+ minutes and three matches were under three minutes with all of them being rushed. I don’t think it would be a good move to put more talent on SD when they don’t have time to have matches.

7. John Czech
If Shawn Michaels were to return, would you be excited, disappointed in how it would diminish his retirement, or possibly a combo of both?

Very excited because he’s my favorite wrestler ever and even in his 50s I think he’d perform at a high level. Styles vs. Michaels is a dream match for sure.

I don’t think he’ll wrestle again, but if he does then I’d be very excited about it.

8. Daniel Mount
If Drew McIntyre came back, would you have him instantly go after Slater? I could see him blaming Heath for everything.

I would book him as a near main eventer in one of his first matches back. Avoid the Slater crap. Book him as a strong heel right away or as a face that is back better than ever. He’s better than he’s ever been now that he’s in his early 30s, so just let him show what he can do.

9. Francis Tasse
Why are the Cruiserweights not working on Raw (that is how I feel about it), and would a move on Smackdown help? What is your though on them having their own show on the Network?

They don’t get enough time on Raw most weeks and moving to Smackdown won’t help since it is a shorter show.

The Network show will be good, but I’m a bit burned out from WWE to be honest. It’s hard to ask fans to watch as much content as WWE wants us to watch.

10. Matt Tome
Which WWE PPV is your all time favorite, that was not WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam or Survivor Series?

Money in the Bank 2011 comes to mind right away. Awesome show.

11. Andy Mullen
My apologies if this has been asked, but can you see WWE having two royal rumble matches, one for each brand?

I doubt they do it. They kinda did it in 2004 although it was both rosters in the Rumble and then a Smackdown Rumble took place. It’s not a bad idea to do that again.

12. Derek Brooks
Besides promotion for the 2k game, what do you suspect is WWE’s major payback for allowing lesnar to compete at UFC 200. You know there must be some type of WM33 involvement with someone…

Yeah I think somebody like Rousey or McGregor will be a part of WrestleMania 33. I don’t know who. Not a match, but advertised as being an enforcer or something.

13. Rick Bulow
Which current NFL players do you see would work in WWE? For instance, I think Richard Sherman and Terrell Suggs have the attitude to be WWE Superstars.

Rob Gronkowski comes to mind. Richard Sherman for sure. Maybe Odell Beckham. Cam Newton could do well.

14. Ed Luis Valentin
How would you fix Bray Wyatt? He’s been booked poorly for a while. Would you add more people to his family while fixing him?

Win more matches. It’s easy to fix anybody. I always point to Mark Henry being booked like a loser for 15 years, then all of a sudden he wins matches and is a star. Anybody can be fixed.

15. Erin Somers
Why the hell aren’t the WWE movies available on the network???

Probably some distribution rights things with other companies. They probably should be there, though. Everybody wants to watch The Chaperone.

16. Joe Sondag
Do you think after The New Day loses the tag titles that any team will have a long reign that comes close to there’s in the future?

Probably not. I’m kinda getting sick of the really long title reigns in the last few years.

17. Will Cothren
I never understood why Undertaker’s first WWF Championship run was so short? Not even a week, why give it back to Hogan?

They really wanted that This Tuesday in Texas show to be a hit, so they promoted the shit out of it and needed a controversial finish there too. Plus, I think they wanted to do a “Royal Rumble winner wins the WWE Title” match in 1992 and that turned out awesome.

18. James Ferriman

Your thoughts on The Brian Kendrick? Personally, I just can’t get into him. There’s just so many cruiserweights out there who I find more entertaining and better than him in terms of ring work. He doesn’t seem to be able to draw a reaction recently either. When he cut a promo on TJP during the raw after his title win the entire arena was dead silent and only reacted when TJP did something. Perhaps I’d feel differently about Kendrick if I’d watched him in his prime.

He’s a solid performer. I like his heel persona and the way he knows what his character is supposed to be. Might work really well as the small guy in a tag team with a bigger guy too. That’s something they tried with him in his first run, but it never went too far.

19. Andrew Harlall
Who are your early picks for the Hall of Fame 2017?

Goldberg, Daniel Bryan maybe, DDP, Christian, Victoria or Sable if Sable wants to do it, King Kong Bundy should probably be in, Vader should be in. It’s hard to guess what WWE might do considering some questionable names that make it in.

20. Howie Mandella
Will Cena come back before the Rumble?

Probably the first Smackdown of the year, hype him in the Rumble and he may win it.

21. Kev Fee
Will the Royal Rumble ever have mystery again? Seems like every year we know who will win.

I don’t think they know how to really book surprise winners or do things to shock us in the Rumble match. The only thing will be stuff like surprise entrants. Maybe Joe or Nakamura or both. I don’t know if they can pull stuff off to surprise people anymore.

Nearly every Rumble winner is predictable. Last year’s winner made me groan and swear.

22. Roman Blair
If Kenny Omega came in to WWE or NXT next year, who would you have him feud with?

It won’t be next year because I’m pretty sure he has a New Japan deal for the next year at least and will probably main event a lot next year. After 2017 maybe he’ll be WWE bound. I think he likes it a lot in Japan, though.

Purely fantasy realm then there’s really no wrong answer. He’s at the elite level with AJ Styles in my eyes. Put him with AJ, KO, Rollins, Zayn, Cesaro, Nakamura and so on. He’d be so great in WWE.

23. Nate Kuhl
Assuming Samoa Joe loses to Nakamura at the next NXT Takeover, could we see Joe on the main roster before the end of year or might they wait until Royal Rumble?

Yeah. I think Joe should be on Raw or SD right after Survivor Series. No need to wait anymore. As for Nakamura, if he’s not there by Royal Rumble I’d be surprised.

24. Roderick Walker
Who is the more successful performer: Triple H or Shawn Michaels?

I think Shawn Michaels is better. In terms of success, it depends on what you want to count. Triple H probably won more titles and had more main events, but most wrestlers idolized HBK and wanted to be like him not Triple H.

25. Jonathan Carmona
How would you book Naomi as a Tittle contender and then if she becomes champion?

I would look at Naomi, say let’s put the title on her in six months and then work backwards so you have the story to get her over. Just get her wins, let her talk more about developing into a wrestler after starting as a dancer. She’s very likable and talented. She just needs a shot to show it.

26. Andy Rif Sheriff
What was your initial reaction when Hogan and Savage joined WCW?

I was happy that Hogan was out of WWE because I was never a huge fan of him. By the end of his run, he clearly wasn’t going to put people over clean either, so it was good he was gone so they could build others like Bret and Shawn.

With Savage, I really was surprised by it and didn’t see it coming. It’s easy to see why he left because he wanted to wrestle while WWE put him on commentary, so getting away was probably best for him.

27. Shay Smithers
Do you think WWE would do an AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe feud on the main roster? If so how much of their past from TNA would you expect them to touch on, if it all?

Sure. It would be incredible. They have a lot of history and great chemistry going back over a decade. Joe and Nakamura need to be main event players on the main roster right away, so it makes sense to me.

28. Ed Eastin Jr
As per your current series of articles, which Survivor Series match was worse; The 4 Doinks vs. Bam Bam/Booger/Headshrinkers or Doink and his midgets vs. Lawler and his midgets?

Haha both are such shit. I think the midget match was worse, but I really suffered getting through both lol.

29. Brian Coats
What would you do with Rusev now?

Win more matches. I know it’s something I say about a lot of people in terms of how to fix characters, but that’s really the easiest way to do it. If they gave him Paul Heyman as a manager that might help too.

30. Roderick Walker
What was your favorite WWF year of the 90’s and why?

Probably 1997 and 1998. The character development was great, a lot of awesome performers on the roster and it was just a fun time to be a fan.

31. Chris Young
Tye Dillinger main roster at some point or not? If so, would there be a better debut for him than Royal Rumble entering at #10?

That idea was awesome, Chris. I love it. Would be hilarious to see him as #10 in the Rumble. I hope he’s on the main roster because he’s an experienced worker that can bring a lot to the table. Maybe finding a tag team partner would help him because I’m not sure if he’ll find that much success in singles.

32. Scott Mengedoht
Do you think that Mary Dobson will join the Wyatts as Sister Abagail?

It’s possible because she’s got a crazy look. She fits more than most women they have had.

33. Van Wilhoite
Where would you rank the Jeff Hardy/CM Punk feud among Punk’s WWE ones?

I think that’s his best feud or the Cena feud. I’d probably put the Hardy feud first because it really elevated both guys. Punk/Hardy was more of a true rivalry that raised the status of both guys in the company.

34. Bryan Christensen
I think it’s safe to say the Royal Rumble match has become boring and predictable. What do you think needs to be done to bring it back to the most anticipated/exciting match it once was?

A surprise winner. Pick a midcarder like Zayn or Cesaro, say he’s the guy and go with that. Maybe you debut a Joe or Nakamura in that match and have one of them. I’m also a fan of surprise eliminations like Maven/Undertaker 2002 so if you had a lower card guy eliminate Reigns that would be awesome. The less predictable the better.

35. Gary Lund
Do you think the Elimination Chamber ppv will return anytime soon?

Nope. I think they should do it as a match when the situation warrants, but don’t do a PPV with that title again.

36. Dangelino Ochoa

Do you think the play by play announcer needs to be a former wrestler? I used to like when Gorilla Monsoon wouldn’t be afraid of anyone. Telling Bobby Heenan he would knock him out.

Absolutely not. I like play by play announcer calling moves and getting excited like Ranallo or JR. Gorilla was fine in the role, but there aren’t a lot of former wrestlers that would be good at that job. I think the color commentator should be a former wrestler or former manger.

37. Carlos Inda
What is a proper way to end Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho friendship?

I think Owens will get past Reigns at Roadblock and then they’ll split leading to a Royal Rumble title match and the Feb PPV. You can probably do it where Owens sacrificed Jericho to an attack from Reigns and maybe it injures Jericho for a match. Then Jericho comes back, KO things all is well, Jericho says you just made the list, crowd goes wild and that’s it.

38. Sana Nazm
What do you think about a Japanese stable with Shinsuke, Hideo, and Asuka on the main roster? Would it be smart to make a heel/face team out of them?

I’d be all for it. They also have Tazawa he’s starting with the cruiserweights next week or soon after. I think some fans may not like it when WWE puts a stable of black guys together or a stable of anti-Americans. With the right booking it would work. Most of them are better as faces, so it would probably make more sense that way.

39. Darrius Gaddy
Watching starcade 1993. Where do you rank Vader among your favorite heels? He was bad ass back then.

Yeah Vader losing the title to Flair, who put his career on the line as the face challenger in North Carolina. Damn good match although I don’t remember anything else about it except Missy Hyatt having a really nice outfit!

Vader was an exceptional heel. One of my favorite WCW guys ever at a time when I started watching them in the early 1990s.

40. Jacob Nicodemus
How would you structure the amount of pay per views next year?

One per month, Big four is both rosters. Other four are brand exclusive. You can build to special shows on television throughout the year.

41. Neil Sikka
Would WWE take Lashley back and where on the card would he be positioned?

He’s pretty old now, so I doubt it. He seems happy in TNA and being able to do Bellator as well. I think if he did come back he’d be upper midcard.

42. Anthony Michael Dorgan
Apart from the Red Rooster, what’s the worst gimmick a very talented territorial wrestler was given in the WWF?

Good question. I think Owen Hart as the Blue Blazer was pretty bad and then going back to it in 1999 was a terrible idea. Another one that comes to mind is Dusty Rhodes as the polka dot man. He should have been more serious.

43. Jacob Dillard
Who’s the top 3 most popular women’s wrestler in the WWE?

For popular right now probably Banks, Bayley, Lynch.

All-time is probably Trish, Sable, Lita.

44. Cody Nathaniel Linder
What are your thoughts on HBK working in NXT?

I think it’s great. He has such a smart mind for wrestling and he has been gone for six years, so he probably misses it. I’m not sure if he is there every day or every week, but if he goes to work with talent on trying to get the next level I think that will help them a lot.

45. Josh Warner
The way the story is developing…are we going to see Finn vs Owens or Jericho vs Owens at Wrestlemania?

I think Jericho vs. Owens is more of a Jan & Feb PPV instead of WM. I think Balor vs. KO is very possible.

46. Geoff Landtbom
Is Hacksaw Jim Duggan the most underrated wrestler in WWE history? If not who is?

I don’t think Hacksaw is underrated. He was good in terms of being popular, but his matches stunk and his in-ring style was pretty boring. Most underrated Dynamite Kid he was amazing.

47. Chris Goad
Do you think the art of being a “true” heel is being lost?

Absolutely it is lost. Fans are too “smart” so they cheer the heels for being cool, the company doesn’t book heels to be too aggressive and they aren’t booked strong enough. It’s one of the reasons why WWE is so stale right now. The lack of strength on the heel side is a problem.

48. Ryan Mullins
Wouldn’t the Cruiserweight division benefit if they’d add Sami Zayn & Neville?? That’s two guys the crowd knows and gets a reaction. They’re not doing much elsewhere.

Neville in the CW division yes I would do that. Zayn I would not because I think he’s a main eventer waiting to happen and shouldn’t be in the CW division.

49. John C Hoddy
How would you debut Nakamura on the main roster?

Royal Rumble seems like the perfect spot. His entrance would be incredible and I would even think about booking him to win. Why not? He is so good.

50. Anthony James
What stipulations would you add to the Raw vs Smackdown scheduled Survivor Series matches to make them more meaningful than just bragging rights for the winning brand?

Some ideas:

– The winning side gets to have their guys as the last five in the Royal Rumble or four if guys are in title defenses.

– Winning side that wins 2 of the 3 elimination matches gets to pick one person from the other person’s roster to join their roster. It can’t be a man or woman in the 5 on 5 matches, though.

– Winning side gets to have the last match at WrestleMania.

– Losing side has first 15 people in Royal Rumble, winning side has last 15 people.

That’s four ideas off the top of my head.

51. Ryan Petrynka
If James Ellsworth was sent to the Performance Centre, could he succeed as an actual wrestler instead of a comedy jobber?

I don’t think so. The guy has wrestled for 14 years and doesn’t have the body type they would want. He’s fine as a comedy guy for now.

52. Toby Tobias
Of all the mishandled guys, Vader is the one that blows my mind. Obviously, the heat with Shawn killed it, and punching the Korean guy…but I remember losing my mind when Vader showed up in WWF. Did you think he’d be given the ball at the time?

Yeah man. I mean as I go through these Survivor Series it’s so amazing how JR as the GM brought in the likes of Vader, Austin, Mankind, Rock, Triple H (year earlier) and so on. He was a can’t miss guy to me because I loved him in WCW. A big guy that could work and be the easy heel for people to hate. It’s a shame it didn’t work out better. I wish he had a better run in WWE.

53. Eric Hay
How different would the invasion angle have been had triple h never gotten hurt? With his mind for the business and influence do you think he could have helped make it into a decent storyline?

He was a key guy. I think he would have went face in the story to be a leader for WWE against Austin, which was always a great rivalry. That angle was definitely hurt by him not being around.

54. Chris Rowlands
With all the crap that’s gone down between them (walking out, being fired on his wedding day, mocking his UFC fight) do you think Punk is having the last laugh with how much his interview with Cabana contributed to the WWE Universe’s continued rejection of Roman Reigns?

I think WWE booking Reigns as a face when fans want him to be heel is what caused that rejection and those problems. I don’t think Punk is the type to laugh about WWE having problems. Plus, the company makes like $50 million profit per year so it’s not like they are hurting.

I doubt CM Punk is having laughing at WWE from afar. If he is, more power to him. He made his money and got out.

55. Phil Jenkins
Your choice of a 5 on 5 Survivor Series match using anyone from the 80s up to current day?

Faces: Steve Austin 1997, The Rock 2000, Randy Savage 1989, Shawn Michaels 2008, Eddie Guerrero 2004

Heels: Bret Hart 1997, Triple H 2000, Chris Jericho 2008, Brock Lesnar 2014, Kurt Angle 2004

56. Oscar Omar Fernandez
With the what I would call a pretty good momentum Lex Luger had in the summer of 93, why couldn’t he get the title at SummerSlam then lose it back to Yoko at Survivor Series if Vince felt he wasn’t as over as he wanted to be? A short title run wouldn’t have killed anything.

I think he should have. I’m not sure why they were scared to do it because Luger celebrating the countout win at SummerSlam 1993 is one of the silliest celebrations I’ve ever seen. Luger wasn’t connecting like Vince wanted, but they should have put the title on him there.

57. Mark Tallentire
After KO saying he would make Brock Lesnar “his bitch” (comments I saw today) What would be the best way to book that feud?

You can have Lesnar win the Rumble and there’s your WrestleMania Title match on Raw. You could also take the title off Owens and have them shoot an angle in the Rumble. There are a lot of ways to do it.

58. Drew Jefferson
What’s your favorite return in wrestling history? Mine is Triple H return in 2002.

Bret Hart 2010. Wish he could still wrestle. It just felt right for him to be “home” in WWE again.

That’s all for now. We’ll do it again soon.