LaBar: Wrestling questions, inside and outside WWE, answered
The past week has been one of the busiest in professional wrestling. Coming off WrestleMania 32 week, with all of the activity, a lot of questions and topics came my way asking for input. So, with no attribution to one person because they are repeat questions I get from social media or fans I've met in person, here are some answers:
Q: Why did Zack Ryder only get a 24-hour Intercontinental title reign? Doesn't he deserve more?
A: This situation is an easy promo for needing to read my Monday and Friday columns for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. In my WrestleMania reaction column, I said I wouldn't be surprised if Ryder's title reigns was only a day long. This turned out to be true. The reason being is Ryder winning the title provides a hot start to WrestleMania and surprise. Everybody likes him and they should. He works hard in and out of the ring. He's a veteran in WWE who has been loyal even when he could have left and made good money on the independent scene, where he could call the shots for his career and keep all of his merchandise money.
Ryder winning provided a surprising start but also presented a great opportunity for a heel to spoil the title reign quickly and gain a lot of heat. The Miz is someone WWE wanted to get momentum back with after a decline in focus in his storylines in 2015. Also, The Miz's wife, Maryse, has returned to WWE and will be joining the “Total Divas” reality show. All those thing considered, The Miz beating Zack Ryder a day after his WrestleMania moment gets The Miz's momentum back on track, and Ryder gets television time.
Q: Why do you like Sheamus so much? He's terrible.
A: This is the paraphrasing of several versions of the same question. It took me a while to realize the people asking are serious. First, I don't like Sheamus, but I appreciate him. I'm not supposed to like Sheamus the character. He's a heel, and that's what those who have overanalyzed things to an unfortunate point forget. You're not supposed to like Sheamus. You're supposed to boo him. If you're doing that, then he's doing his job and playing along.
Don't give me this nonsense that you want him to go away and that's why you boo him, but not because he's a good heel. That's so ridiculous. When you hear boos, you don't hear motivation but just the boos. If you really want him to go away, then go to the bathroom and make an empty arena when he wrestles. When he wrestles, there isn't an empty arena, the seats are filled with people disliking him. Job done. The “smartest” fans analyzing the most are usually the easiest to work and the most sensitive in denial that they are being worked because they feel they are above that. Talk about no fun. So, I love to not like Sheamus the character because that's the idea. I do, however, appreciate his physical style and character attributes that are so easy to dislike.
Q: Why wasn't Carmella with Enzo and Big Cass for their debut on RAW?
A: The females on RAW and SmackDown are a cluttered bunch. It's exciting times with the elimination of the labeling of “diva” for the performers and division. There's a lot of talent — quality talent — right now. As fun as it would be to have Carmella playing her part in the entertaining segments that is Enzo and Big Cass on the big stage, WWE would want to make the most of her television time by not only having her with the guys she manages but featured with the women's division. Right now, there's no place in the women's division that's worth bringing her up for. If she remains in NXT, then it provides a lot more minutes in the ring in front an audience to continue to develop what's already an appealing character and promising career.
Q: Who's a wrestler not signed to a major company on television that I should know about?
A: I'm able to see a variety of talents in my time spent working as an on-air manager and behind-the-scenes producer on the independent wrestling scene, which is a privilege. In all of the men and women I see, I have to go with RJ City. Yes, I manage RJ City, but even if I didn't, he would be my answer. He's someone who is impossible to ignore when talking about entertaining and garnering emotion out of you.
Even better than entertaining and emotion is how he does it. He doesn't need to pull you in to a 30-minute “five star match” with “this is awesome” chants. By the time he's come from curtain to the ring and then the opening bell — he has your attention. He does it whether he sings himself to the ring as the vintage lounge singer he can be or the gift of mind-teasing gab like Andy Kaufman. Once the matches start, RJ City knows how to wrestle, is a gifted mind with match psychology, but he does it all in the name of entertainment without doing anything unnecessary.
The Vaudevillians in NXT who just made their SmackDown debut have a unique presentation for a WWE team. I wish them the best, but as a viewer I don't give them points for originality because I've watched RJ City doing that style and snapping his fingers for his promos to turn from color to black and white long before The Vaudevillians were created.
As a fan, you will be entertained by RJ City. Not to kill his aggravating persona he perfects, but for those wanting the behind-the-scenes information, I'll give you this little bit of insight: RJ City thinks outside the box while being a team player. Just this past weekend, we shared a locker room with veterans such as Scott Hall, Booker T, Jeff Jarrett, Scotty Too Hotty, Tatanka and many more. All of these wrestlers are accomplished names in the business with some dealings and rapport with City. All of these names had nothing but positive things to say about the man behind the brash gimmick, who is based in Toronto.
If you approach RJ City at a show, he'll entertain you via conversation, autograph or picture taking. In it all, though, he'll still be “Mr. Entertainment” and leave you wondering what was a “shoot” and what was the “gimmick.” Like with Sheamus, I appreciate RJ City, but I also really like him. For a wrestling analyst who gets an in-the-business education like I do, I couldn't ask for a better teacher. Go look him up and thank me later.
Justin LaBar is a Tribune-Review staff writer. He can be reached at jlabar@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JustinLaBar.
