On the latest episode of The Work of Wrestling I go into detail about why Charlotte is one of my favorite wrestlers. Inspired by her stellar heel promo from the May 25, 2016 episode of RAW where she renounced her father Ric Flair, I go into detail about why she's such a great heel Champion, why The Four Horsewomen are the best performers in the entire WWE organization, and I also break down that promo line by line.
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“Was RAW good?” my wife asked when she noticed RAW fade to black on my laptop. I could hear the hope in her voice, the earnest desire of any good spouse to know their partner is happy.
“I don’t know,” I sighed. She laughed in reply, accustomed to the sometimes indescribable angst any episode of Monday Night Raw inspires in me.
Last week I found an enjoyable solution to the problem of writing about RAW; ignore everything that was terrible about the episode and focus entirely on the excellence (Bexcellence) of Becky Lynch.
I could employ the same tactic this week. Charlotte & Becky were certainly the best part of the show, and not just because the rest of the episode was so grating. Even on a great episode, Charlotte & Becky’s exchange would have stood out. Becky’s promo was biting & sincere. It’s not easy to throw insults at Ric Flair (even a blatantly heel Ric Flair) and not have the crowd turn on you. Becky managed to walk that tightrope with poise and conviction, continuing to flesh out her character as a fearless competitor quick to speak the truth.
Read MorePut your four fingers away.
On Friday, 2K Games swept the rug out from under the very consumers who've continuously thrown hard-earned cash at them over the years in an announcement regarding the state of female wrestlers in their upcoming WWE 2K16 title. In that statement it was confirmed in no uncertain terms that Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and Bayley will absolutely not be included in the latest entry into the wrestling franchise.
Read MoreThere is a parade in The City.
All make and manner of colorful float with costumed accompaniment nearby. Massive, bloated balloon animals coasting above the crowd, occasionally careening to the left and to the right, threatening to knock over a lamp or shatter a window before safely gliding back into place. Batons twirl and the air is covered with confetti, as if happiness itself has exploded in the center of The City. The marshall of the parade is a woman with dark hair and a self-satisfied smile. She raises her scepter in time with the punchy band-beat, and leads this mass of carnival joy from river to river.
Read MoreFirstly, I apologize to my regular readers for being a couple days late with The NXT Report. I’ve started work at a new 9-5 job in the real-world, and have yet to figure out the best schedule for writing an adequate review of the WWE’s best show.
The Raw Review will arrive as usual on Tuesday, but I'm still deciding exactly when The NXT Report will be written and posted.
For now, I’m happy I had a few days to process what took place at NXT Take Over: Rival.
Read MoreNXT, the WWE's farm-league show, is the right length of time combined with the right cast of characters combined with a focus on the most fundamental truth of the pro-wrestling fiction (that pro-wrestling is a legitimate sport, not a form of entertainment). This makes for a show that would entertain almost anyone - from the most jaded smark to the most inexperienced wrestling viewer.
Read MoreNXT is the best product the WWE offers, and more than enough reason to become a Network Subscriber.
And I am by no means a WWE shill. I'm hesitant to even write the phrase "WWE Network" because it's become associated with such negativity in our collective fan-mind (something that needs to be corrected in the future as it is actually quite a positive). I write that NXT makes it worth it because I am a subscriber, and every Thursday (soon to be Wednesday) when I see what is essentially a one-hour, genuine professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the WWE, I feel as though my investment is worthwhile and as though there is hope for the future of the company.
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