WWE Roadblock 2016
With Wrestlemania looming can Triple H hold onto to his barely defended championship, or will the certifiable Dean Ambrose crash the party?
Overall rating: ***
The Goods
out of *****
WWE Tag Team Champions:New Day vs. Sheamus & Wade Barrett **½
Chris Jericho vs. Jack Swagger **½
NXT Tag Team Champions: The Revival vs. Enzo and Big Cass ****
WWE Divas Champion: Charlotte vs. Natalya ***½
Sami Zayn vs. Stardust **½
WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Triple H vs. Dean Ambrose ****
Match of the Event
Triple H vs. Dean Ambrose
Disappointment of the Event
Enzo and Cass losing yet again to The Revival
Sleeper of the Event
Enzo and Cass vs. The Revival
I agreed with HHH when he called "Roadblock" a bad title for the event which took place in Toronto, Canada. It kind of dealt the event a serious blow. Or it at least undermined its potential for a solid event right before Wrestlemania. That said, it had two strong matches which lent it some credibility. None of the matches I would consider a total groan or unworthy of our time. I do question sticking Cody Rhodes in a meaningless match against Zayn. As Stardust, I think he enjoys the persona, but his career has been in the shitter since his tag team with brother, Goldust, went belly-up. He wears the disguise valiantly and plays up the lunatic in silver face paint, demon contact lenses, and "starry" apparel. He shows that he still has what it takes to give flashy newcomers a run for their money. I personally loved a former "Phantom of the opera" gimmick Rhodes had when his "handsome face" was damaged, resulting in a psychological shift in personality that turned him dark. Here lately he's just ignored. I wish he could rescue himself from the doldrums, but he'll need a feud or story worth caring about. When critics question why Zayn was "too dominated" by his opponent, and that opponent is a former Intercontinental and Tag champ, it is disheartening...
I think the critical obstacle Roadblock is unable to escape is the unlikelihood of Ambrose winning the belt from HHH. Wrestlemania was set when HHH won The Royal Rumble. He was wrestling Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania regardless of who HHH might tune up against before the big event of April. It doesn't halt Ambrose's efforts to tell a story of possible victory in the ring, and the match does recognize that he would have won if he hadn't have mistakenly put his foot under the ropes when covering HHH after hitting his "dirty deeds" ddt.
I think the whole point of the event was to build HHH up before losing the belt to his rival, Reigns. To beat both Ambrose at Roadblock then having to contend with Dolph Ziggler who challenges him the next night on Monday Night Raw, it allowed HHH to accomplish a couple of title defenses to excuse his even having the title considering his age and part time status as a wrestling performer. Ambrose, the Shield member who has a loyal following and at least gets positive reaction from the audiences where he wrestles, is the unfortunate star sandwiched in the era of Reigns and [Seth] Rollins. He just doesn't have the backing or rub in the company his fellow former members do. What he does have is the outstanding work ethic and the innate chameleon-like adaptability to conform to any opponent's style. HHH needed the credible (and too obvious) win over a talent like Ambrose, and he was certainly sucking wind. HHH isn't a spring chicken, so he was exhausted. Then he is tasked to go with the exuberant Ziggler the next night (I think he could have done this at the Smacktown taping and got one night more rest before going twenty with Ziggs) on Raw. Capitalizing on Ambrose's lone mistake (not really a mistake as he was just sliding back in the ring, but I digress...) of taking his eyes off HHH while trying to avoid a ten countout, the champ looked like a smart veteran utilizing his only advantage available. Pedigree, and that's all she wrote.
I liked the match, and I think it should have been considered special by those in attendance. I never felt the energy of a big fight atmosphere with this crowd in Toronto. They just seemed to half-heartedly offer vocal praise for the content before them. Perhaps it was the disbelief that Ambrose would win. I think that might just be the case. Ambrose has years (I hope) to finally hoist the title up as a winner (I am afraid he will be the Becky Lynch on the male side of the wrestling ring) while HHH just doesn't have much time left. He's in impeccable shape, and his physique was incredible for a man his age...however, I think you can see that enduring a long period of time in the ring with the young studs of the current WWE is taxing to him now. Kudos, just the same, for applying the crossface on Ambrose, introducing a popular submission hold into his move set. HHH did a lot of bobbing and weaving in that ring to avoid defeat...that is the point.
Lesnar once again is highlighted in a match that was supposed to be meaningful...a revenge against Bray Wyatt for his Royal Rumble exit thanks to the combined efforts of the Wyatt Family. Instead, Luke Harper is served up as fodder for the Beast to obliterate. Still, Luke gets early offense in on Lesnar, using power moves like a boot to the face and rough-house tactics that eventually fail to slow down the Beast from his "suplex city" onslaught. I just have little feeling for seeing Lesnar no-sell good performers like Luke Harper, who would have meant so much more in the early 90s when big ugly bruisers were the norm (before the media age, including multiple house shows and television events), acting as if the offense put upon him was little more than a scratch he immediately shakes off. That Erick Rowan couldn't have been dumped in this match to take the loss instead of the superior Harper irks me. Bray looking like a scared bitch just further infuriates me because his once intimidating character has been diminished to such a low degree. The recent potential babyface turn when his family attacked the League of Nations might just be the shot in the arm these white trash characters need.
Speaking of League of Nations, Barrett once again does the job honors, taking another loss for the heel foursome. His most recent dismissal from the League (the "weak link" according to Sheamus, although all of them are dropping losses here lately) might just do him a bit of good before he supposedly leaves the WWE in June. Sheamus is at a curious place in his career...his personality is dead. People could care less about him. When the Wyatts recently attacked him after a passionate speech about how mistreated his talented men are (Alberto Del Rio and Rusev), the crowd thanked them for it! Sheamus was at one point towards the top, as a smiling face with a punch-you-in-the-face style that was embraced. It was a load of personality with a brand of goofy humor that appealed...for a while. Now he's with Barrett, in this match, not far removed from being the WWE World Champion. It wasn't that long ago yet here we are, and Sheamus is barely noticeable in a tag match while the New Day offer demoralizing jabs at them in raucous adulation from the audience. Kofi really hit the high spots his move set allows for him to pop the wow in the audience while Big E's rising star continues to escalate. Barrett absorbs another loss while Sheamus anguishes helplessly.
The booking of Enzo and Cass is of the gutsy and fun face duo that electrifies the crowd but just can't overcome the old fashioned Arn and Ole Anderson style tag team, The Revival. They outsmart and out-think Enzo and Cass who throw everything at them but are simply not as cerebral or cunning to get the pinfall needed to take the belts off The Revival. What this tag match does is allow Michael Cole, JBL, and Saxton to call them as a trio, and their reaction to both teams is seemingly genuine. It focused on how one team has all the catchy phrases that gather support from the crowd and are blessed with a fast and furious move set that has emerged during this generation of cruiserweight-influenced while the other team have adopted an old school "cut off the ring and keep the pace in their favor as much as possible" (the old "ground and pound", where high risk maneuvers are held at a minimum as much as can be while the smaller of the opposing team is beaten down throughout the match) approach that isn't as snazzy or audience-pleasing but effective.
I look at the tag team division, and New Day is starting to run out of teams that could cause them fits. If they are to be the face Freebird trio, New Day need an opposing heel team that would threaten their currently lengthy reign. They have the chance to go a Demolition-style distance with the belts, but there has to be some team that could be the monkey wrench to ruin such a lofty opportunity. Maybe The Revival is that team now that they dropped the straps at the recent NXT Takeover: Dallas? Enzo and Big Cass sure hit a homerun with their recent Raw debut...
Charlotte and Papa Ric have formed a formidable pair during her heel run as Women's Champion. Unlike Nicki, who never looked like a realistic Women's Champion (although many would say otherwise), Charlotte has taken the "dirtiest player in the game" mantle from her daddy and ran with it. It took chicanery to hold onto the strap at Roadblock. Natalya gets certain chances, from time to time but not always, to prove her worth as a quality performer who can carry any kind of female opponent for a designated time frame. I think her best opponent in years is Charlotte. Charlotte's first championship, winning the NXT title with Ric outside the ring as Bret represented Natalya in her corner, was a grueling test of adapting to women's wrestling, moving away from just being a gym rat/weight lifter. Natalya is the ideal opponent for an up-and-coming women wrestling star needing to learn how to either work a heel offense or overcome a flurry (which includes a mat arsenal and assertive physicality Natty exercises impressively). I am just not sure the newest campaign between the two will be accepted by the audience clamoring for Bailey to emerge on the main roster as the new fresh face from the NXT roster.
Jericho is absolutely rejuvenated by his most recent heel run. He just eviscerates his home country, claiming to be the greatest wrestler from Canada, and saying that leaving was the best decision he ever made! In fact he says Canada stinks and that Toronto, specifically, was the anus! Swagger was so wrong a choice as an opponent in Canada to face Jericho. It is so tragic that Tyson Kidd has perhaps been forever put on the injury list never to return because I could easily see him in the role as a plucky hometown hero just coming up short in a bid to shut Jericho's mouth and give him lots of concern in the ring. Swagger, as the Real American, is all wrong...the crowd was having a hard time with "We, the People!" Jericho lost a previous World championship to Swagger which is really the only reason the match was set in motion. Jericho had also beaten the devalued Fandango (Johnny Curtis, a talented wrestler undermined by a lousy gimmick that flamed out after a bit of a minor push), resulting from a previous loss at Wrestlemania, Y2J was given a chance to white-out its significance. The match is a Raw mid-card bit of time killer where Swagger proves he has plenty of skill but lacks the appropriate booking, needing a feud and opponent to dig him out of the career-cemetery he finds himself. Jericho makes anyone look like a million bucks, although the four minutes Curtis had to work on Raw didn't help erase the Fandango gimmick's standing as a washout. Jericho has been pushed as a developing legend who picks up wins against talent written as subpar and bottom-rung.
I guess I just wish the event held one important takeaway that worked as a pleasant surprise. The booking of the entire event is safe and through-the-motions. HHH and Charlotte were taken to the limit, but that is where it stood. Ambrose once again told us what we already knew...he belongs right there with the top of the heap in the WWE. Natty can always serve as a buffer opponent for a Women's division stalwart. Cass and Enzo have all the upside in the world, but winning tag titles just may never be part of the success...sadly, they may be that team that had the love and adulation of the fans but not where it matters most, and that is with the booking writers who place them in the right position to stand atop as the best in the world at what they do (to coin Jericho). The Toronto crowd just didn't seem to have the same enthusiasm as the Tokyo audience in Beast in the East, a recent watch that featured about the same amount of matches and time for the WWE Network subscribers. It does seem to indicate a bright future for the WWE.
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