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TJR Q&A #40: Favorite Finishing Moves, Big Cass as a Heel, WCW PPV Names WWE Should Use & More (40 Questions!)

TJR Wrestling

It’s been about one month since the last edition of the Q&A here on TJRWrestling. I apologize for that because my goal is to do them every two weeks like I have done them for most of this year. As always, the questions come from my Facebook account. There will be two parts to this because I got about 100 questions on there. Here are 40 reader questions with my answers.

1. Matt Wyatt
Kenny Omega 2018. Rumble or not? Personally I say not.

I don’t think he’s a free agent until February 2018, so I would say not in WWE next year. I think he’ll stay in Japan at least another year. So maybe 2019 or 2020 in WWE for him.

2. Alan Spindlow
What are your thoughts on “the beef” between Conrad Thompson, Bruce Prichard and Vince Russo?

I think Russo is a weird dude that is living off past success way too much and I find that he repeats himself so often. I enjoy Bruce’s podcast a lot. Learn a lot of cool things from it. I think Russo bullshits or embellishes things too much while Prichard is a more honest guy.

3. Rob Brown
Do you think that they’d be wise to hold a spot open in the Mae Young Classic for a surprise entry? Trish? Lita? Victoria?

I don’t think so. They’re older and don’t wrestle regularly. I wouldn’t do something like that. Utilizing a former woman like Serena Deeb is a great idea because she didn’t accomplish as much in WWE, so there’s motivation for her to improve.

4. Eric Stuve
Where do you think the Corey Graves / Kurt Angle “personal situation” is heading?

I think it will probably lead to Stephanie McMahon coming back because she doesn’t want Kurt to be there. That could lead to a Kurt match against Triple H with his job on the line or something like that. I don’t know if it’s really in the plans for SummerSlam. That’s just a rumor at this point.

5. Mark Tallentire
Your top 5 finishing moves of all time and why?

1. Stone Cold Stunner – I think it’s the coolest looking move and some guys like Rock and Shane sold it so well.
2. RKO/Diamond Cutter – Similar to the SCS, but it’s still so over after 20+ years on television.
3. Sharpshooter – Best submission finisher ever.
4. Pedigree – Not a huge HHH fan really, but it’s a great finish.
5. Macho Man Elbow Drop – I’m old school like that.

6. Aneil Komal
With so much talent on the RAW roster, why does that show seem to lack so much. It’s amazing how Finn Balor, who’s suppose to be the new face of the brand is being relegated to a storyline with the Drifter? Do you think it is because Ed Koskey is a terrible writer?

It’s poor writing while Smackdown has better stories. I don’t know how else to say it. They don’t seem to know how to make faces as likable as they should be and the heels don’t get heat enough. Vince is head writer and always has been. People name these writers off as if they know them. I had a beer with Koskey once and I’ve met others. Most of them have a good ideas, but it’s not their call. Smackdown is good but not great. Not like it’s as good as it was in 2002 or 2003.

7. Damian McGrath
What were your thoughts on the Waylon Mercy character?

It had potential in theory, but I don’t think the execution was very good. People just weren’t ready for something like that in the 1990s. Plus, he wasn’t really pushed that well or consistently. I remember the gimmick, but I don’t recall any particular feuds or storylines. You can’t just stick a guy out there hoping he will be a great success. There needs to be plan for it.

8. Jimmy-Lee Ifrene
Who comes to mind as some of the most durable wrestlers in WWE history? Jericho, Kane, and Ambrose are certainly in that group.

I think Chris Jericho and Kane are the two that come to mind right away. Jericho’s probably at the top of the list because he’s wrestled for 25 years and only had a broken arm injury early in his run. Ambrose has been the most durable in the last five years for sure.

Natalya is also very durable from the women’s side. Most matches for a female in WWE history.

9. Chris Rowlands
With Enzo & Cass having the biggest spit since Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, who do you see replacing them on the face side of the tag team roster? A Gallows and Anderson face turn perhaps?

I think that’s an issue that WWE needs to address. There aren’t enough face teams on there. Maybe Rhyno & Slater will be used more as the second face team behind the Hardys. American Alpha would fit in well there since they aren’t being used on SD.

10. Octavio Fierros
John, what type of 30/30 documentary in wrestling would you like to see in the future?

I’m not sure. Doing one about Vince McMahon would be awesome just because his life is pretty interesting. The Undertaker would be a cool subject as well from a behind the scenes perspective. I’m looking forward to the 30 for 30 on Flair.

I would say the Attitude Era, but WWE has produced so many DVDs and TV shows on WWE Network about it that it’s been done to death. That Monday Night War series had like 20 episodes.

11. Nick Grinik
Is the WWE ever going to fix their creative issues?

That’s impossible because there’s always going to be something to complain about. No way of ever being perfect. Even their best year ever in 2000 I can remember people bitching about things all the time. There’s no way to permanently fix it. I don’t think WWE product is that bad today anyway. It’s better than it was in 2009 and 2010 for example. Those were really bad years.

12. Ron Venturino
With a women’s MitB that just happened, do you think we’ll ever see a women’s Elimination Chamber?

It’s certainly possible. They should have done this stuff years ago. I hope there’s a women’s Royal Rumble next year too.

13. Jake Pumfleet
Do you think fans reading dirt sheets saying Roman will main event Mania again against Brock puts them off watching the programming?

It probably does. I certainly don’t mind it. I loved Brock vs. Roman at WM31 and Roman has improved since then too, so they would have an even better match if they did it again.

This era features more complaining about everything in our society. It’s like people think because they can jump on the internet they should just complain about everything in their life more. It’s annoying.

14. James Tascar Mayhew
How should the WWE use Jim Ross, since he’s under contract again?

Using him for UK specials and the women’s tourney is fine. He’s in his mid to late 60s and doesn’t want to travel weekly, so using him as a part timer is smart.

15. Dale Schofield
If you could scrap 3 PPV’s and replace with classic old WCW one’s, what would they be?

I would use Great American Bash in June or July (better than GBOF), Halloween Havoc in October and Starrcade in December.

16. Jeff Goodridge
Best mid card angle from the ‘Golden Era’? (83-92)

Savage vs. Steamboat with the ring bell leading to the throat injury and Steamer getting the payback at WM3.

17. Andy Papaleo
Best wrestling podcast in your opinion? Prichard? Austin? Jericho? Bischoff? Ross? Other?

I probably listen to Prichard’s the most just for the knowledge of things from the past and then Austin, but it’s obvious Steve doesn’t watch the TV shows regularly. Jericho and Ross sometimes. Bischoff I don’t listen to because I don’t find him to be that interesting. Jim Cornette is another one I listen to once in a while. .

18. Brigid Martinez
What’s your most and least favorite storyline?

Favorite is Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin in 1996/97. The only thing is it didn’t complete because Bret left before he could put Austin clean in the middle of the ring. Probably the most important feud ever in terms of turning business around too.

Least favorite is Triple H and Kane in the Katie Vick feud in September 2002. The fact that Vince McMahon thought that was a good idea is pretty fucking disgusting and insulting to the viewer.

19. James Tascar Mayhew
Should the King of the Ring be a PPV again?

Yes, but they don’t know how to book King of the Ring right, so it’s fine that it’s gone. I would do it in October and winner gets a title shot at Survivor Series. Simple and it works.

20. Roderick Walker
Do you find it funny and interesting that you gave both Jinder vs Randy matches better reviews than any match Randy had with Bray?

They were better matches. I didn’t expect that going in, but that’s what happened. The Orton/Wyatt feud was a failure and is the worst feud of the year (then Bliss/Bayley).

21. Jamie Fritts
In professional wrestling, who do you feel has achieved the most with the least talent/ ability, and who has achieved the least with the most talent/ability?

Kevin Nash is the all time leader at achieving the most with the least amount of talent and ability. To his credit he knew how to maximize his strengths and played the political game well in WCW.

I always thought Billy Gunn should have been a much bigger singles star and they tried to push him a lot, but he was never able to turn it on.

22. Logan Carson
Any new news on Shelton Benjamin, or Adam Cole? Just keep hearing about negotiating but still nothing. Any storyline you’d like to see from either one, like the varsity wrestling theme with Shelton and Dolph that was rumored or stuff with Bullet Club with Cole like pair him with Anderson and Gallows.

Benjamin is in talks to come back according to ProWrestlingSheet. With that said, he’s in his early 40s so I don’t expect a big push.

I think Cole will start at the NXT Takeover in Brooklyn in August where he’s sitting in the crowd, but I don’t know for sure. I think WWE wanted to wait until they could legally talk to him, then do the medical work and it takes a few months from there. I don’t know for sure. That’s just my guess.

23. Oscar Omar Fernandez
Should we at all be surprised at how MITB women’s match ended? Doesn’t that smell of a Vince McMahon-esque ending?

Yes we should be surprised because they put over how important it was for history and they did a shitty finish to piss off the fans. Now it’s being done to pop a rating on Tuesday. It hurt the quality of MITB for sure.

24. Kent Dwyer
Who’s one wrestler you thought would make it big in WWE and didn’t quite grab “the brass ring” when they got there?

MVP and Ken Kennedy both come to mind. I was so impressed by them as all around talents that could do it all. They both should have been long term main eventers. MVP just didn’t get the big push and apparently got heat due to making a smart ass comment to a guy that observed him doing a piss test. As for Kennedy, injuries sidetracked him as well as a suspension and getting on the bad side of the Golden boys Cena and Orton.

25. Kyle Nester
What is your stance on the women’s MITB match? Do you think it was the right call to basically have a “do over”?

I figured it would happen after the finish on Sunday, but I wouldn’t done it if I was in charge. I think it pissed off the fans legitimately because they expected more of a clean finish in a history making match and instead WWE decided to string us along.

It should lead to a great match on Tuesday, so can’t complain about that part of it.

26. Matt Quinn
Both tag divisions seem unbalanced right now; Smackdown has too many good face teams, Raw has too many good heel teams. How might you solve that issue?

Some turns would help and adding a team like Sanity to the main roster would be good. I don’t think it’s a major concern because WWE rarely has more than two regular tag matches on SD anyway. It would be nice if American Alpha were on Raw at the moment to help them and Raw’s lack of face teams.

27. Steve Juon
Can WWE figure out a way to not make Shinsuke Nakamura feel like a midcard afterthought when he clearly is a top tier talent?

I think the tough thing about it is that they probably want to push him to the top (hopefully against AJ Styles) early next year with a possible Royal Rumble win and a big match at WrestleMania. For example, I thought they should have debuted him on the main roster at this year’s Royal Rumble and had him beat AJ Styles in a singles match at WM in what would have been one of the biggest matches. It would have given him credibility too. Instead, they waited until after WM and now they are going to put him in upper midcard feuds without putting him in title feuds because they want to wait out.

Waiting too long to debut him hurt him, but I think early next year he’ll get more of a main event push.

28. Ruffin Harris
Would you consider Miz a future Hall of Famer?

Oh yeah he’s in for sure even if he never wrestled again. Why not? Way better career than Koko B Ware or The Godfather with many title wins especially the IC Title, plus WWE Champion and headlined a WrestleMania even though it was a bad show.

29. Daniel Mount
Are they going to do something with Gallows and Anderson? What would you do with them?

Put them with Balor. I was against Balor as a heel as an idea, but now it would work since he’s not getting used well enough as a face. Bring on the Balor (not Bullet) Club soon.

30. Kenny Brophy
Do you think with big matches WWE has the two wrestlers be too physical with each other before the match sometimes? An example I guess would be the 2001 No Way Out 3 Stages Of Hell match between Austin/HHH since they weren’t allowed to kick each other’s ass before the match we anticipated it even more when the match happened.

Yeah man I’m a huge fan of that storyline. One of my favorite matches ever too. I think putting people in tag matches too often leading up to a match definitely hurts the anticipation of the PPV match. You can’t do it for every feud, but there are times when I want guys to be kept apart for sure.

31. Chris Young
Vince seems to be pretty high on Big Cass. Do you see him being a dominant heel at main event level? Or do you think he’s ready for that big of a push? Seems Vince is giving him the green light.

He will be given every chance to be a big star because of his height. Whether he is good enough in ring and as a character we don’t know yet, but they will do their best to get him there. I hope it works out because he’s a good guy.

32. Leo Carter
Since The Rock is my favorite wrestler & Shawn Michaels was yours, but they never had a match…how would you have built a feud? In a fantasy, we can pretend HBK wasn’t injured in 98, or in 2002 when HBK returned, we pretend Rock wasn’t on his way to Hollywood.

Either guy in either role would have been amazing. I would have done it for WrestleMania 20 when both were a part of it. Whether it was face vs. face or Rock as a heel it would have been magic in MSG.

33. Bob Stephen
Now that Drew McIntyre is back in WWE (proud Scotsman right here) what do you think they should do with him or what do you think they will do with him?

Give him the push they have given Baron Corbin because he’s a better performer and is about the same size as him too. I’m a huge fan of Drew and I met him a couple of times. He’s a great dude that absolutely loves the business as much as anybody. I’m glad he is “home” in WWE and hope the reboot works for him.

I like Drew more as a heel than a face. It’s more natural for him, but he’s good enough to succeed in either role.

34. Anand Jeyaram
In your opinion, what was John Cena’s best promo?

Most of the ones against The Rock in 2011 and 2012 were pretty awesome. Also some of the ones against Miz this year were amazing.

35. Charlie PĂ©rez
Who delivers the best promos from both shows male and female?

For Raw, Paul Heyman is the best although he’s not on all the time. I think Miz for the active wrestlers and Alexa Bliss for the girls. Miz hasn’t had enough good material on that show, though. He had better promos when he was on Smackdown.

Kevin Owens is probably the best talker on Smackdown right now. John Cena on Smackdown when he’s doing serious promos like earlier this year. None of the SD girls stand out that much in promos, but I guess I’d go Becky because I enjoy her character a lot.

36. Jeremy Bennett
What percent chance do you give it that we get a women’s Royal Rumble in 2018 considering they will have enough bodies to do a 20 or 30 woman?

I think it’s very likely. I hope they do it although it likely wouldn’t be over the top to the floor because that’s a big bump for people that are 120 pounds. So that’s why WWE may be reluctant. I think 20 woman is fine, but if they want to go for 30 women that’s fine too.

37. Giles Hart
How do you rate Bray Wyatt as a wrestler. I ask because I admit I’m starting to go off him a bit and probably understand why WWE don’t push him further than he is.
Whenever he’s been in above average matches, he’s been with the Wyatt Family or against guys like Jericho, DBry and The Shield. When he has big singles matches like with Cena and Orton, he seems to under deliver. I admit I’ve probably forgotten some gems but on his own, I don’t remember him delivering a standout match. Nowadays, promo finesse alone can only help a wrestler for so long I feel. Regular quality matches(as well as wins) are needed to help back it up.

With Wyatt it depends on the booking a lot of the time. If you watch Elimination Chamber and the three way with Cena & Styles on the SD that followed he did so well. Then there are times with the feud with Orton where he stunk.

Bray is okay as a wrestler but not great. If I had to put a letter grade I’d say maybe like a C+ on his in-ring work. He’s still got time to improve and is young enough that he should get better.

38. Paul Carreau
What is the best match you have ever seen in person?

I think The Undertaker vs. Triple H HIAC match at WM28 is the best in terms of star ratings and such. My favorite was probably WM30 main event with Daniel Bryan winning the WWE Title. Such a fun moment.

39. Alex Jackson
I’m a massive fan of Mike Bennett from his ROH days. Do you think wwe sees a massive upside in him or just a midcarder, considering the gimmick thay have given him. Who do you see him feuding with first?

I don’t think they see a massive upside in him or they would have got him a few years ago before he went to TNA. I think the gimmick is going to be more about how his wife Maria is more controlling and he’s whipped since he took her last name for example. I hope it works out well, but I don’t see him standing out above others in WWE.

I’d like to see him feud with Tye Dillinger. It would work great for both guys.

40. Dan Schoenig
Any ideas on how Seth Rollins can stand out more as a face and forge more of a unique identity? I’m a huge fan, but feel like something is missing.

I agree something is missing. I thought he would be doing better as a face in terms of crowd reaction and matches. Just hasn’t hit his groove yet. Part of the problem is the face turn wasn’t done well last year. Triple H attacked and went away for six months. Didn’t help anybody.

I want Rollins to get a better theme song, maybe some pyro for his entrance (like Edge had) and work on a catchphrase or better nicknames because Kingslayer and Architect are poor. He has all the tools to be amazing as a face. I just think they need to fix some things.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back in a day or two with more questions and answers covering this wacky world of wrestling.