Welcome to Manopera – A Wrestling Symposium. Join hosts Chris “Mr. Bonesaw” Butera and “Spaceman” Frank Hickey (aka Frank Lucci) as they discuss professional wrestling with brutal honesty.
In this premiere episode, the boys lay the SmackDown on WWE’s epic SummerSlam weekend in Brooklyn, NY. Witness Butera’s first-hand accounts of NXT Takeover and last week’s Monday Night Raw as well as Lucci’s commentarial thrills, spills and chills.
In the words of WWE Hall-of-Famer Pat Patterson, Chris and Frank “go banana” on WWE Battleground and the current state of affairs regarding Hulk Hogan and the untimely death of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (for whom this episode is dedicated to). The boys are also joined briefly by former college roommate Marques “Box” Younger for his thoughts on the subjects in this no-holds-barred podcast.
Episode 6 goes off with a bang as Chris Butera is joined by Frank Lucci once again to talk smack about the ‘wrasslin. Listen in as the boys go off on their favorite (and least favorite) Wrestlemania 31 and post-‘Mania Raw moments. New Jersey thrashers Condition Critical are featured.
Help Chris and friends out with their Thrash Metal Barbecue: www.kickstarter.com/projects/206782…ash-bash-bbq-iv
Like Condition Critical here: www.facebook.com/ConditionCriticalNJ
Sunday we saw a plethora of a Wrestlemania moments including Triple H defeating Sting, The Undertaker’s redemption, and Seth Rollins make history by being the first Money in the Bank winner to not only cash in his contract at the show of shows, but during the championship match as well.
Long story short, pretty much all of the right people won with the exception of Sting. While the match itself was alright for two legendary competitors, there were too many theatrics involved with the finish (and the entrances to boot) and this tainted Sting vs. Triple H instead of it being the clinic it could have been. With all this buildup, Sting should have received the victory but it was not to be by way of the sledgehammer.
The Undertaker’s victory over Bray Wyatt was one of his better ‘Mania matches due to the innate psychology that the match was built around. The exorcist/sit up spot was something fans must have been dreaming about for some time as there were definitely chills up the spines of those watching.
Daniel Bryan is going to boost the prestige of the Intercontinental Championship and deserved the win. The headbutt war with Dolph Ziggler was questionable and probably looked better on paper, but overall it was a very good ladder match. All competitors did a great job especially Luke Harper and Dean Ambrose who put their bodies on the line.
Paige and AJ winning without any issues between the two was good but it was interesting that there was no animosity involved in the match.
Like Bryan with the Intercontinental Championship, John Cena is going to boost the United States Championship like never before. Cena’s “Rocky Balboa” got the story book ending against Rusev’s “Ivan Drago” which was much needed and doesn’t taint the Bulgarian Brute at all. We’ll just have to see how his character is handled from here on to see where he goes but the man can work. His omega-Russian entrance was one of the highlights of the night.
The Rock and Triple H’s segment started off well but dragged for far too long. After awhile it became obvious that they were waiting for Santa Clara to get darker for The Undertaker’s arrival. If you’re watching on the network it’s best to just skip to the end where Ronda Rousey gets involved. This should have been saved for Raw with a match or two being inserted in its place.
Who chooses Wrestlemania’s musical guests and why do they have them perform at all? It’s clear that WWE’s demographic does not care when there is minimal participation in the act and maximum participation at the concession stands and/or restrooms.
Big Show wining the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal was surprising from a storyline standpoint but not from a logical one. Show is after all, a giant and it would have been a shame if he didn’t win one of these. Miz vs. Mizdow is still happening and that’s all anybody wanted out of this match anyway.
Randy Orton’s victory over Seth Rollins moves the feud nicely especially with the events that unfolded later on. WWE is striking this feud while the iron is still hot with greater stakes and kudos to them. Check the height on that RKO again, Rollin’s must be at least eight feet in the air before he hits the mat for the three count.
Last but not least Brock Lesnar looked as dominant as ever and Roman Reigns looked decent as well. This was the most believable match WWE could have had with the outcome being the only realistic scenario to get the title off the champion. Reign’s comeback was a nice touch and Lesnar’s bloodshed is proof that WWE needs more of it (but not too much) in there product. Save the non-PG stuff for the Pay-Per-Views and it’ll be all right. Rollins is already going to be one of the best heel champions ala Ric Flair’s weasel tactics.
We can’t wait for next year.
Sunday night, the WWE Universe saw Roman Reigns defeat Daniel Bryan in a clinic, Bray Wyatt call out The Undertaker, Stng and Triple H confirming a Wrestlemania match and Rusev dominating John Cena. Here are our thoughts on Fastlane overall.
The event for the most part was solid although some of the finishes were awkward (Goldust vs. Stardust, Dean Ambrose vs. Wade Barrett) due to some clumsy officiating.
Randy Orton’s return was much needed as it gave Fastlane the much needed jump start to pump the crowd for the rest of the evening. Orton RKOing everyone in sight was a great touch that people sorely missed. Ziggler and Rollins told a great story in the ring with all the big men playing their babyface and hell personas well, ending with a clever heel finish no one saw coming.
Cesaro and Tyson Kidd taking the Tag Team titles from The Usos was a pleasant surprise as the story was built to look like The Usos would come out on top as they usually do. Hopefully a promising run will follow for the new team as they delivered some solid in-ring action with the flying Samoans. With the way things went on Raw, this angle is definitely not over.
Nikki Bella succeeded in defending her Divas Championship against Paige which was the right way to go. Paige needs to pull off the big win at Wrestlemania for the true payoff.
Goldust and Stardust put on a solid encounter relying heavily on psychology. The match had an old look to it as it was slow paced with short bursts of action thrown in. The finish however, was very awkward as the referee not only hesitated the final count but may not have actually hit the three before he called the match. If Fastlane was the warm-up, Wrestlemania had better contain round two for the Dust brothers.
Dean Ambrose and Wade Barrett also had a decent showdown built around psychology, but it too suffered an odd finish due to officiating. While the disqualification rule was accurate, no five count was given by the referee which may have had many scratching their heads. Ambrose stealing the Intercontinental title was a nice touch and a slick reference to Stone Cold and The Rock’s 1997/1998 feud over the coveted championship. The Fatal Four Way (teased on Raw) would be a great addition to the title hunt scenario.
Rusev asserted dominance and brute force in his victory over John Cena in his United States Championship defense. Cena sold well for Rusev and made him look like a million bucks. The two told a great story though it was slightly soured with the low blow. It looked like there would be more to Lana’s involvement but the right man went over in this case. Cena defeating Rusev at Wrestlemania would not damage the Bulgarian Brute because its purpose would be to give the crowd one of the many “feel good moments” Wrestlemania is known for.
Before we get to Bryan and Reigns, there were two excellent segments between Bray Wyatt, Sting and Triple H.
Wyatt mimicking The Undertaker’s classic entrance was perfect and completely unexpected. Having The Eater of Worlds deliver the best promo of his career in the casket was one of the smartest things WWE could have done to build this angle. Wyatt is on the road to a bright future with WWE if they continue to push him as a supernatural monster. Having said that, Wyatt should not defeat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Leave the one in 21-1 alone.
Triple H cut a scathing promo on Sting, shooting on how WCW did because of people like him. This needed to be a worked shoot and it definitely was as H dug his proverbial claws into the soul of Sting, who watched with fire in his eyes. Just as it looked that the Cerebral Assassin would annihilate Sting with his trusty sledgehammer, The Vigilante had him dead to rights with the baseball bat. Utilizing his master’s degree in (in-ring) psychology, Sting issued his challenge without words in what was surely one of the finest moments in WWE history.
Finally, the main event.
Reigns and Bryan delivered a stunning performance that had the WWE Universe on the edge of their seats for the entire ride. The finish was unpredictable as the tide could have turned either way on the contenders. Bryan looks more and more like Shawn Michaels every time he laces up those boots. Reigns was pushed to the limit and looked great in what was easily the best match of his career so far. The right man won the battle with a good, clean win. Reigns will challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 31, and we can’t wait.
The Bonesaw 