Daniel Bryan was stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in undoubtedly the biggest news story of the week. Will Bryan be able to return to title competition when his body is ready, or is this the beginning of the end of the Yes Movement?
Speaking of the beginning of the end, how much longer to Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns have left as a unit now Seth Rollins has left The Shield?
TNA will announce the next inductee into its Hall of Fame at the Slammiversary pay-per-view this coming Monday. Who should be given the nod and join Sting and Kurt Angle as a Hall of Famer?
Plus, with the Hughes Academy’s second annual tournament on this weekend in Auckland, the Gimme Five team reflect on their favourite wrestling tournaments.
***
1. Daniel Bryan is unable to compete at Money in the Bank and has been stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Will Bryan be able to bounce back from this injury, or could this be the end for him as a main event player?
David:
I hope Bryan’s become too big to fail, but Dolph Ziggler’s 2013 World Heavyweight Championship run being cut short by a concussion is still fresh in my mind; Ziggler has fallen a long way from the top of the card in just over a year. Bryan did main event the biggest WrestleMania in history though, and I hope, as long as fans keep supporting him, he should be able to take the title back when he returns.
Luke:
I hope this isn’t the end for Bryan. It is such a tragic way for his main event run to go and in some ways mimics the success Benoit had post-WM20. I think he could bounce back on return but it will take a huge push and a captivating heel to get the fans back on his side firmly. Cue Lesnar!
Stevie:
It’s all fairly depressing, isn’t it? I really hope he gets to bounce back and maybe try to take down a Lesnar title run instead of trying to survive Brock coming for the title, as was probably the main plan.
Dion:
So long as the body is able, I believe he will. Bryan is on the verge of super-stardom. Certainly beyond that which Dolph Ziggler was verging on all of those months ago. I think the D-Bry phenomenon will transcend the length of his recovery.
Craig:
It could be if his injury is legitimately serious. The rumours are he’s lost feeling in his right arm. You can’t take chances when it comes to this kind of stuff and WWE won’t. Just ask Adam Copland.
2. Now that Seth Rollins has left The Shield, how much life do Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns have left in them as a unit?
David:
I think this is the beginning of the end for Ambrose and Reigns. Once they deal with Rollins (or get dealt to by Rollins) they’ll amicably go their separate ways.
Luke:
I think there is a lot left in the tank for The Shield. This angle brought a fresh new dynamic to the storyline and will help elevate all three men to higher ground.
Stevie:
Not too much. They should have another couple months left, to get the current feuds sorted, but after that I feel we’ll see Ambrose turn on Reigns. When they finish fighting each other, Reigns will be set for WrestleMania.
Dion:
It would appear to be the beginning of the end – which is odd. They had plenty of fuel in the tank with the three of them, but as a twosome, I don’t they’ll last. It’ll be interesting to see how each of them progress from here.
Craig:
Yes till SummerSlam. If Creative knows what’s best for business then put your house on Seth Rollins winning the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the ladder match at Money in the Bank. Then all sorts of possibilities throw themselves up and it freshens everything up for a surprise Daniel Bryan pay-per-view return when he’s 100 per cent good and ready.
3. Four men have been added to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship ladder match at Money in the Bank. Who else do you expect to see qualify and compete for the vacant title?
David:
Assuming there will still be a Money in the Bank ladder match to put the lower card guys in, I could see either Big Show or John Cena being added to the title picture.
Luke:
I’m part of the Cesaro Section! Honestly though, I hope Lesnar wipes them all out! #TeamBrock
Stevie:
Cena, obviously. But hopefully we’ll have Brock come in to steal the title. I reckon Heyman could get great heat from having a champion that won’t show up on Raw.
Dion:
I think we’ll see Cena join the fold and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Brock Lesnar or Batista worked in somehow, too.
Craig:
Currently there’s Del Rio, Orton, Sheamus, and Cesaro.
Kane surely has to be in it because he was going to challenge Bryan (so he’s number one contender, right?) Throw in Rollins plus Cena and Wyatt and you have your eight.
4. Kurt Angle will announce the newest TNA Hall of Fame inductee at Slammiversary. Who would you like to see join Sting and Angle in the Hall of Fame?
David:
AJ Styles and Jeff Jarrett are absolute must-haves for the TNA Hall of Fame. Neither man works for TNA any more, so neither man will be inducted, but whoever does get chosen must consider themselves very lucky to have made it in ahead of those two.
Luke:
Jeff Jarrett is the most deserving guy that should already be in their joke of a Hall of Fame. If not Jarrett, get AJ Styles in there. That guy was the heart and soul of that company.
Stevie:
There’s nobody except Styles and Jarrett who should go in. So… who knows. Shark Boy’s probably not up to much.
Dion:
Jeff Jarrett and AJ Styles are the obvious choices, but neither will get the nod with the current political climate in mind. Whether TNA start inducting legends who had more to do with the NWA than TNA will be interesting. I do fear that it may be the likes of Bobby Roode.
Craig:
I couldn’t care less.
5. The Hughes Academy holds its second annual tournament in Auckland this Saturday night. What is your favourite style of pro-wrestling tournament?
David:
I’ve become a big fan of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s round robin, pool-style tournaments lately, which play out in the same way you’d see a FIFA or Rugby World Cup unfold. They can be very time consuming to watch though, and extra hard to get your hands on outside of Japan. As such, I’ll always have an affinity for the one night, single elimination tournaments like King of the Ring.
Luke:
The King of the Ring was always my favourite, I’m still sour they canned that as an annual event in 2002. PWG have a great tournament too known as Battle of Los Angeles which is a two show tournament for those who don’t know and features many of the best stars on the indies today. In Japan, they have the Best of the Super Juniors… tournaments are great!
Stevie:
I love all tournaments equally. I like wacky rules, single elimination, round robin – all of them. They’re such an easy storytelling fix to use up TV time, and they get character/motivation/movesets over. It is a real shame that WWE ignores the King of the Ring tournament, as it helped so many Superstars. I mean, not Billy Gunn, obviously. It’s not a miracle drug.
Dion:
I’ve always loved single elimination tournaments. I re-watched WrestleMania IV recently – that was a great one. Survivor Series 1998 was also a fun night.
Craig:
My favourite tournament has always been WrestleMania VI because it was the first WrestleMania I watched as a kid. Nothing has ever got close since.
