KB’s Review: In Other More News

This is a weird time in wrestling as we’re waiting on the Brand Split and have to sit through a bunch of nothing matches until “Money in the Bank 2016” gets here on Sunday while also waiting on more of the big names to come back from injuries to help pick up a lot of the slack. Therefore today we’re going to look at a few minor WWE stories and see what else is going on away from the top stories.

These are in no particular order.

You know what my favorite thing in wrestling is at the moment? Those Darren Young/Bob Backlund segments. An old school odd couple pairing is something that is almost always going to work and these two play off each other perfectly. Whether it’s Backlund telling Young to do exercises instead of using his phone or having him walk to the next town (with absolutely no running) or only having one set of clothing, these two are one of the better pairings I’ve seen in quite a while.

Now that being said, I don’t buy for a second that this is anything more than a Donald Trump inspired story or the idea that this is actually going to go anywhere because at the end of the day, this is designed to push Young. Backlund is just off enough to make them entertaining but they’re not going to make Young a star or a better wrestler, though the idea of him trying to wrestle like Backlund could be entertaining.

Something else that has been oddly working for me is the Golden Truth vs. Breezango story and feud. The idea of Golden Truth was another oddball pairing that didn’t do much for me at first but they’ve managed to build this thing up for months now and kept the thing moving the whole way.

While waiting on Goldust and R-Truth, I was really dreading the idea of them finally getting together and then being just another midcard team who never did anything. That’s where WWE actually threw a curve ball for a change as the team is actually really bad together. You knew they were in trouble when a single clothesline pinned Goldust a few weeks back on “Smackdown”. However there was something else to this story that has made it even more valuable.

In addition to the Golden Truth not being very good, the story has seen the formation of a decent team in Breezango. I can’t imagine the two of them are going to be challenging New Day anytime soon but it’s given Breeze something to do after months of floundering. Breeze is someone who could have some value on the roster and this is the first thing he’s actually been able to do. If the Golden Truth never goes anywhere (which is something people have said for months but they keep moving), at least it might give Breeze a chance to break away from his jobber status.

On the other end of the spectrum we have a story that confuses me more than anything else as the Miz is in Hollywood with the Intercontinental Title. After that white hot four way title match at “Payback 2016” and a good match against Cesaro a few weeks back on “Smackdown”, Miz has been away filming the latest film in the Marine series and sending in updates from set, in character of course.

Now while I like the idea that we get to hear something from the champ while he’s gone and it’s not another case of “Where’s Miz this week?” In theory the idea is that they have all of the contenders fighting over the more prestigious Money in the Bank briefcase but they really can’t have someone fresh fight for the title? As in, I don’t know, have Miz drop the title for a little bit?

It’s been made clear over the years that Miz is someone who can bounce back from any amount of losses and could have either midcard title put on him at a moment’s notice, so I really don’t think we need to have him sit around eating up time as champion. You can have him drop the title and then get it back as soon as the movie is done but instead we’re just getting the videos. It’s certainly not the worst thing in the world but it’s kind of a confusing decision.

In another case of WWE screwing up something that should have been a layup, we have the collapse of Kalisto. Actually that’s kind of misleading as it’s not like Kalisto had been doing anything of note in recent months. Sure he was the United States Champion, but he hasn’t actually won a singles match on “Monday Night Raw” or “Smackdown” since before “Wrestlemania XXXII”.

I know Kalisto is just another name on the long list of midcard champions to come crashing back down to Earth and be buried in the crater he created but it’s still really hard to accept this. There’s really no logical reason to treat Kalisto like this, especially if the solution is just to put the title back on Rusev (nothing wrong with that). You can do that without dropping Kalisto so hard, especially when Kalisto was someone who had potential to go somewhere and make the company some money, especially with the mask merchandise.

But no, instead it’s just another name added to the long list of names that have been destroyed for the simple reason of “we’re bored with them”. It’s also another name on the list of future jobbers who is now a two time champion, despite those reigns mostly meaning nothing. It’s nothing that’s going to change soon but for the life of me I will never understand this logic.

Finally, I know it’s not much and it’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but I’m a bit excited for Sheamus vs. Apollo Crews. Neither guy has had anything to do lately so throwing Crews out there on a pay per view (even if it’s just the pre-show) with a bit of a story is fine. Crews has more than mastered the athleticism but he needs to learn the storyline stuff. Something with a basic story can help him so maybe this is a starting point for him.

Despite the top stories still being a little ways off, there’s some interesting stuff going on in the WWE midcard and undercard. The main event stuff may not be your taste but the rest of the show still has enough material to keep you entertained. Maybe it’s an old veteran mentoring someone who has spent most of his career as a nothing guy like Young or maybe it’s Sheamus vs. the personality dumping ground that is Crews but there’s something out there for everyone at the moment. A lot of it is intriguing stuff and might hold you over until the Brand Split wipes all this out anyway.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews, check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWZZ2UA

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6