First off, out of the gate, I want thank Rusev for cleaning up nice, wearing a sweet vest (because Shane sure as s*** doesn't anymore), and giving me a swell evergreen "I approve" .gif.
Also, though his current feud with Randy Orton isn't exactly popping, that Bulgarian celebration segment on SmackDown was pretty fun. I hope "Rusev Day" takes off and becomes something even grander and more ridiculous, but I get that it's just one day. One day a year. A very special day that's already come and gone.
♪"IT'S RUSEV DAAAYYYYYY..."
Secondly now, thank you to everyone who tweeted kind words to me last week regarding what I wrote about Bobby Heenan's passing.
I'd also like to thank the dude who brought the "Kneelift!" sign to the Ontario RAW. Or, as they just kept saying on the show - "We're in Southern California!" Because I guess that's still something to brag about? That you're in the bottom half of Cali? Either way, this was magnificent.
It's been a while (Staind) since there's been a Wrap Up sign at a TV event. The heyday for that was, like, 2010 to 2013. Or 2014. That's when all the "GDYC" was a'poppin.
I suppose since I haven't been bashing Cole over the past few years that brandishing those letters didn't exactly hold the same significance that it once did, but it's not like I told y'all to stop bringing signs. You just did. And that's fine. Things end. But the "Kneelift!" sign was amazing. Feel free to display that one all the time since it's my other catchphrase. I guess. Right? Bonus Matt-points go to those those of you who remember why I actually started using "Kneelift" way back when. Speaking of which...October 1st marks the 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY of me writing about wrestling on IGN (when the Wrap Up briefly began as The Spotfest). So that would make either this Wrap or the next Wrap the 10-year Wrap. I'll let you guys decide. The power is yours.
Finally, before I hum a few bars about Roman Reigns, you can read my No Mercy recap here and my follow-up regarding John Cena, and his new role in WWE, here.
Honestly, after I wrote that little Cena piece I wondered what would be the centerpiece for the Wrap Up. Because Cena passing the torch, or Roman taking the torch, or whatever the transition was involving the torch, seemed like the week's biggest topic. But then RAW wound up giving us something interesting. A likable(ish, sliding scale) Roman!
Don't get me wrong. You guys more than anyone know how I stand on Roman. But the Roman on RAW this week was not entirely loathsome. Granted, there were several factors at play here. The most prominent was that he's being pitted against The Miz and Miz is wonderful and can draw heat like nobody's beeswax. Miz is there to get booed. He knows his role and he relishes his role. Still, even within that, Miz will drop a few truth nuggets along the way. He brought up Roman losing at SummerSlam and the projected feeling that Roman himself feels like he's always next in line for the Universal Championship even though he's never been Universal Champion.
I've never resented Roman for being "shoved down my throat." That's how wrestling works. Why would I not know that? I mostly took umbrage with the idea that he went from The Shield to the world title scene with no stops in the middle. Yeah, he became U.S. Champ after he held the world title (and Cena remarked that Roman felt it was beneath him), but initially he never even stopped to slurp a cup of Nescafe on the mid-card.
All that being said, Roman felt pretty relaxed on RAW. He was looser, freer, and came the closest he's ever come, in all this time, to feeling like a babyface someone would want to root for for reasons other than his gear is slick and "his Superman Punch looks cool." When he said "That would be terrible for you. Are you kidding me? I don't want that" after Miz fantasy booked The Shield vs. The Miztourage, it felt like Roman had tapped into a casualness that suited him well. And not a disinterested casualness that's dangerously close to being boring - a livelier breeziness.
Anyhow, the case of Roman Reigns vs. Everyone Always Booing Him Forever has definitely not been solved, but this Shield thing (which is coming, even though it didn't happen this week) could be his ticket back into many fans' good graces. Miz and his cronies are good foils and the beatdown they gave Roman this week helped give them a rougher edge. I know some feel like they're too low on the totem to warrant a Shield reunion (and felt this a few months back too, before SummerSlam, when this all seemed to start with Seth and Dean), but I like it. Miz can sell the s*** out of this and then lose.
A full Shield reunion felt unlikely back when Seth and Dean were feuding with the Miztourage because Roman felt unreachable. At that point, there was a good chance he was walking out of SummerSlam as the champ so he'd have no reason to play fiddlesticks with Miz and everyone else. Bringing Roman down a few notches though, by having him get pined by Brock and delaying his title match (which we all assume is coming at WrestleMania) - it creates a window for Roman to, possibly, start getting a few legit cheers.
Continue on for more from RAW and SmackDown Live...
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