Haha, that’s right. Russo.
Anyway, I just wanted to post some new stuff that’s really impressed me in WWE lately:
Naomi has been doing a stellar job in and outside of the ring. She’s been one of my favourites since the Funcadactyls days. She’s the most active of the multi-era-spanning women’s wrestlers, and she’s been a bit of a trendsetter - doing her own thing, having it work. Much of her style is replicated by other women in the company.
Randy Orton is someone I’ve really changed my mind on in the past couple of years. He has great presence in the ring that I didn’t find he had in his younger career, despite all the pushes he got. He is the epitome of showing how a little can go a long way.
Stephanie Vaquer is fantastic, originally I had her pegged behind Roxanne Perez and Giulia, but I think she’s exceeded both of them in the last little bit - granted, Giulia has been working through injuries for months now, and all she’s got is her in-ring work since she only speaks Japanese and very limited English. Stephanie Vaquer is in a similar position - I really dig her Psycloche inspired look - not a superhero fan, but the X-Men universe is the exception, so I love the reference.
Drew McIntyre and Damien Priest are two that really impressed me through 2024.
Penta, Jacob Fatu, Bron Breaker, and Je’Von Evans have all lived up to (and perhaps exceeded) their hype… And a bit of a tangent: I think it’s kind of funny how WWE pronounces Bron and Braun the exact same way despite being two different words (Braun should be much closer to Brown, and this includes the American pronunciation, Braun = Brown; just look up a documentary on Werner von Braun). Just kind of a nitpick, it’s like if WWE pronounced John as Joan. 😀
Anyway. Another topic: CM Punk.
My hypothesis about Punk’s actual condition, which is still hidden, is that if he wins Night 1, he joins the main event of night 2 via connection between Heyman and The Rock. The Rock also saying he’s friends with Punk recently - although, that could be nothing, and just a non-Kayfabe statement, but who knows?
This to me, right now, is the most exciting storyline.
I also hope Drew isn’t actually injured, because Drew vs Priest in a Wrestlemania caliber match would be stellar. These are two of my favourite wrestlers right now.
Women’s division (NXT aside) kinda crashed outside of the Naomi Cargill feud. Nothing has really developed since the PPVs. Rhea Ripley went from being a near the top of WWE (probably top 5) to falling out of the top 20. The Rock has also been out of the picture too much, but the anticipation for him to jump back in during the next three weeks is still there. This season is really stacked, though; they basically have four high caliber men’s events (The two title matches, the triple threat, and Priest vs McIntyre) that seem to be taking priority… Jey vs Walter seems to be pushed to the back of the pack, unfortunately, because that will probably be the best match of the four. The IC title matches is also climbing up as well, with Fatu, Braun, and Knight, and potential interference from Tama and Solo.
I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.
