The status of the company after last night's War Games was more sobering than seeing flashing lights in your car at 3 a.m. Six times a year, the company has a champion that puts on great matches. There are no tag teams to wrestle, so they have tag champ who have no teams to wrestle. They put the title of Raw on Austin Fuck Theory. New York might be as barren as the most barren stretch under Vince McMahon if it weren't for two people.
It would have been a clue to what her coworkers and fans think of her ability that the company's greatest talent on the women's side chose to quit rather than work with her. There was more proof last night.
It's hard to know what the company wants out of her other than using her name recognition, and that's it. Since she returned to the ring at the Royal Rumble in January of last year, she has slept through every match. People have heard the name, so it's likely to be used to make money.
The problem is that he can't really do anything. She should be having a lot of squash matches to build her strength. She isn't imposing enough to make that work. It isn't doing it for anyone. You have to have something else going for you if you want to squash everyone in 3 minutes. If you want to be charismatic, you need to be like Jade Cargill. Even if we don't include being a wretched human being, Ronda still has the charisma of a saltine. She has been matched with Shayna Baszler, who is better than her in every category, in order to give her any sizzle at all. When Jade hits a pump kick or her finishing move, it looks really devastating. She always seems to be finishing the steps. Different types of Black Swan makeup isn't enough.
What other stories can you tell with Ronda? There's nowhere to go if she's not willing to take a high spot from an opponent. Shotzi is not a top-level ring general but she is a very good wrestler who knows how to put on a couple different styles of matches. The match last night was a complete mess because of the level of interest that was shown in Shotzi.
It was the clear winner in the category, even though this was not the only bad moment. They wanted to tell a story of Shtozi having to throw everything possible at Ronda in order to get the win. Shotzi couldn't put something together fast enough. That doesn't mean when Rousey is barely half-selling a throw into the ring-steps or avoiding taking any sort of bumps and is only focused on trash talking to the live crowd who had mostly left their seats to get a beer Shotzi's offense doesn't make her look good, it definitely doesn't make her look good, and what does anyone get out of this?
If she doesn't have the personality to just be a squash machine, or the skill or inclination to actually craft a match that tells a different story, what does she do here?
A big time match is likely at the Rumble. Maybe it will be Charlotte or a returning Banks. The only way she will get to a good match is if all three of those women drag her into one. They might be the only three who can. Belair may be a little inexperienced to have to drag a less-talented opponent to greatness.
Wrestlers aren't for Rousey. Most of the people in the arena don't like her. She is for people watching at home who remember her MMA career but forget it went to shit as soon as it became challenging for her. It will always be a part of the calculations of the company.
It's the least they could do. She could be helping other women with their appearance. Shotzi might have looked like a threat in the future if she had won last night. Liv Morgan was put next to her in the feud to make up for the damage done by being put next to her. Everyone looks the same after working with Rousey.
The rest of the show was excellent. The men's match at the War Games was used to vault the company's hottest story, which was the relationship between the Bloodline and Sami Zayn. If they weren't so focused on getting The Rock back into the ring for Mania, the main event in LA is a must see. The women's War Games gave all 10 women a chance to shine at various points and was a good platform for Lynch's return. With no higher title for him to chase with Roman's road so clearly set for the next six months, he orchestrated an excellent triple threat along with Bobby.
There was a chapter in the large book called, "Wait, has there ever been a really good Finn Balor match?"
It is disappointing that on the same show you can have an example of how putting time into talented guys who genuinely care like Zayn, hardly an artist's rendering of the company's biggest star, can produce some of the best stories the company has seen in a long time. Someone putting in no effort, getting by on people pointing at a screen, to produce a dry heave.
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