If you read last week’s Spotlight (which you should have) you saw I covered a number of points including the “debut” of Curtis Axel, among other things. People are still showing mixed reaction to him, although the majority is positive, but I like how they handled him so far. Axel’s detractors have said it doesn’t help him by getting count out wins over HHH and John Cena, and I need to mention we need to get over it. In all honesty, we’ve been waiting for someone to get a clean win over John Cena, from Punk to Ryback to Wade Barrett and so on, but it’s not going to happen like we wanted.
Sure, Axel would have gotten more of a rub from pinning the champ, but just being in the main event with him, and being in the main event two weeks in a row does help. He has a new focus and direction, he’s getting the appropriate time on TV, and he’s endorsed by Paul Heyman. (Not to mention his entrance music is great. You might even say it’s perfect. Pun intended.) I think he’ll be just fine in the long run.
Since we are talking about debuts, how about that awesome promo featuring the Wyatt family? For those that knew about their work in NXT, it got them more excited, and it made unfamiliar fans a little curious. Wyatt has been praised for his work in NXT, and his cohorts have been just as good and add a new dynamic to his character. He’s a little bit Max Cady from Cape Fear, and a little bit of Waylon Mercy of 90’s WWE infamy, but the former Husky Harris has taken his new role and made it his own. It’s been good, fun, twisted and creepy, and you can almost say his injury while he was aligned with NXT was a blessing in disguise.
Speaking of another guy who is blessed, recent television events and backstage rumors are implying Big E Langston may be getting a face push, and it’s one that may have been meant for Mark Henry. I don’t want to read too much into things, but if this is the case, then I hope they run with it. Dolph Ziggler’s (and Henry’s) unfortunate injuries are giving way to Langston’s potential rise to more than being muscle. Several great talents in sports have made their name because of someone else’s misfortune. I may not like him much, but New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady may not be the “Tom Brady” you know today if it wasn’t for Drew Bledsoe’s injury. The same applies to Big E, we saw the tension teased between him and AJ Lee this week, and it may be the break he needs. Like Bray Wyatt, Langston is another guy who was (and still is) very over on NXT and deserves the opportunity to prove his worth on the big stage.
I said it last week, and I’ll say it again: I like where WWE and TNA are headed, and I haven’t been excited like this for a while. I like the direction of the new talents, and I like seeing new faces on television. WWE needs to build new stars and now is the time to do it. You may argue that it’s overdue, and it is to an extent, but at least we are getting some payoff now. In addition to the new talents, Daniel Bryan is becoming more of an edgy character, The Shield continues to excel, Dolph Ziggler is the world champion, and we were teased with the return of CM Punk at Payback next month. Things are looking up, and I’m looking forward to see where they go from here. We can’t always get what we want as fans, but I would argue that the summer is looking as good as it has in awhile.
