Views From The Turnbuckle: 10 Hot Takes For 2016

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1. I watching the classic Starrcade match between Vader and Ric Flair the other day, where Flair put his career on the line for a shot at Vader's WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Flair was so over with the audience that they really felt like it would be a tragedy if Flair's career came to an end.

The more I think about, the more having a match at WrestleMania were The Undertaker puts his career on the line makes sense. Like Flair in 1993, The Undertaker is at the stage in his career were it is believable that he would retire, and like Flair most fans really do not want to see him go. During a time when the main event plans for WrestleMania seem up in the air, an Undertaker match where The Deadman puts his career on the line would certainly be a big match. I don't know exactly who would be a good opponent for The Undertaker in that situation, but I think it could really work. The Undertaker could in theory, win the Royal Rumble, and become the world champion, and add that caveat to the match as well. WWE doesn't have a ton of options at this point, and I think this is a plan that could satisfy most fans.

2. The switching of the United States Championship from Alberto Del Rio to Kalisto back to Del Rio really bugs me. I was excited when Kalisto was able to win the title on Monday, and I was happy that he was getting a real chance to get over with the audience as a singles star. Then WWE stupidly has him drop the title the very next night at the SmackDown tapings. Rapid title changes make the championship seem meaningless, and WWE is basically telling their fans that they were dumb for getting excited about Kalisto winning the championship, because Del Rio was just going to take it back the next night. If the goal is to eventually have Kalisto end up with the championship, why not have Del Rio win by disqualification and then have a rematch at The Royal Rumble where Kalisto retains? By doing the quick title changes they are devaluing both the championship and the supposed babyface they are trying to get over.

3. The main reason I think TNA fails to grow as a business is that they refuse to make actual changes to their product. They make plenty of aesthetic changes, they change the name of the show, the time and the day of the week it is on, their network, the name of their titles, the concepts of matches and their announce team, but they never actually change the real reasons why they haven't caught on yet. Their product in the ring and through storylines are the issue. Matt Hardy should not be your world champion under any circumstances. TNA has tried to build their product around past-their-prime former WWE stars pretty much since the beginning of their existence, and where exactly has it gotten them? The solution to all of their booking issues over the last couple years have seem to either involve The Hardy's or The Beautiful People. Even the most hardcore TNA fans, ones who have defended the product for years, are getting sick of this over-reliance on the same old stars and storylines.

4. The rumors of Daniel Bryan being released from his WWE contract have been refuted by WWE, but where there is smoke there is fire. There is obviously some tension between WWE's unwillingness to clear Bryan and Bryan's willingness to get back into the ring. If Bryan wants to wrestle, he is going to do just that and when his contract expires he is going to find some place that is going to clear him. That would be tremendous moment, Bryan when he was healthy was the biggest star in wrestling and his presence in another promotion would be an incredible boost to that promotion. TNA would be the obvious candidate, but considering their financial state and their inability to retain their own stars, I think the most likely situation is a dual contract with ROH and NJPW, similar to what AJ Styles was doing. If Ring of Honor is able to bring back Bryan Danielson and have him at full health, they could really climb closer to being "real" competition for WWE.

Of course this could all be part of a massive work and Bryan could end up being a surprise entrant for the Royal Rumble and win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

5. Currently sitting at home and not up to much is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world. Austin Aries, who left TNA late in 2015 hasn't been doing much since he departed from the company. He made one appearance for Ring of Honor and has wrestled a couple shows for House of Hardcore and some indie promotions in Europe, but other than that he hasn't been very active. Maybe he is just enjoying a break but it is a shame to see a wrestler of his caliber in their prime not work for a major promotion. With AJ Styles gone from The Bullet Club, wouldn't Aries be a great addition?

6. Speaking of The Bullet Club, I'm glad they are sticking around despite the loss of AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows. Kenny Omega is a really talented worker, and while he isn't the star that Styles is, he does have a reputation in Japan and speaks the language. He is over with the audience and a really good heel, and matches between Omega and Okada, Tanahashi, Ishii, Shibata, etc. is new and refreshing for the company. The Bullet Club might not reach the heights that they did under the leadership of Styles, but they will still be relevant.

7. WWE seems to be really running low on Hall of Fame candidates. I like Sting as a headliner, but beyond that how many guys are really left? WWE seems forced to induct 6-8 candidates every year, but the fact is that there are not that many justifiable candidates left. Outside of Sting they have The Freebirds, Stan Hansen, Vader, maybe Psycho Sid? They end up having too many inductees each year, which is why you have dubious inductees like Rikishi and Koko B. Ware. In three or four years how thin is the field going to be? The Hall of Fame is kind of meaningless in the long run and only exists for publicity, but it is going to get really embarrassing unless they change the format.

8. One of the hidden gems on the WWE Network is the old Legends of Wrestling shows that they have uploaded. It used to be a feature on WWE Classics On Demand and it is a roundtable discussion show hosted by Gene Okerlund and features guys like Pat Patterson, Jim Ross, Bill Watts, Michael Hayes, Bret Hart, Mick Foley, Nick Bockwinkel and others. They pull back the curtain and talk about all sorts of topics, from Giants to Tag Teams to WrestleMania to Canadian wrestling. The show is well-edited and the guys are allowed to tell really good stories mixed in with video footage. They stopped making them around 2012 but it would be really cool if they brought it back.

9. All-Japan Pro Wrestling has been really spiraling downwards since Mitsuharu Misawa left and formed Pro Wrestling NOAH, but they are really down currently. Over the last several months they lost Akebono, who while nearly immobile in the ring, was a multiple time Triple Crown Champion and one of their top draws. Their top young star, Go Shiozaki who was on pace to be a real ace for them left to go back to NOAH. In addition, their top gaijin Joe Doering injured his knee and is not working in Japan for an indefinite amount of time. Their most over wrestler, Jun Akiyama, has decided to work a lighter schedule and step away from the world title picture as his career winds down. The big brawler, Suwama, is really the only legit main event star they have left standing, and they are really going to have to push some new talent soon to stay afloat.

10. The next few weeks are really going to make or break Roman Reigns for WrestleMania. I don't think it is a lock that he will be the champion heading into WrestleMania, or that he will be contending for the championship at WrestleMania. The reaction he got on Monday from the live audience in the main event was embarrassing. WWE might have thought he had been made when Philadelphia cheered him when he took out Vince McMahon, but over the last few weeks it has been made clear that was kind of a fluke. The fans don't really care about McMahon vs Reigns that much, so it will be interesting to see if they do Reigns vs Triple H at WrestleMania or sooner. I bet Triple H is going to be involved at the Royal Rumble, but if that match happens at WrestleMania or sooner remains to be seen. Triple H is the only guy on the roster that is both a relevant enough star (so not Sheamus) to work with Reigns and is a wrestler who fans won't necessarily cheer for over Reigns (so not Brock Lesnar). WWE seems hellbent on pushing Reigns as the champion regardless of crowd reaction, but they through him into the deep end without a real heel to work with, and it is killing his reactions.