Raw on Monday showed why a loss can sometimes be a good thing in pro wrestling.
Before we get into Raw, I want to remind you readers of how a young man by the name of John Cena debuted in the WWE. Kurt Angle, who at this time was riding a high after forcing Hulk Hogan to tap out, issued an open challenge to anyone in the back. A complete unknown wrestler, John Cena, made his way out from the back.
However, instead of just a squash match, which you would expect in the situation, Cena actually held his own. He almost scored a pin against Angle several times, and then Angle was able to steal a win with a rollup. Despite a loss, Cena rode the credibility he received in that match for months.
Which brings us to this week's Raw. After needling Kane a little bit too much, WWE champion Seth Rollins was put into a match against an unknown opponent. Rollins waited in the ring, and then Neville (still don't think dropping Adrian is going to work here) made his way down to the ring. As the Internet buzzed, the two put on a great match. It even started like the Cena debut match, with Rollins patronizing Neville, and Neville quickly attacking him. And yes, Neville looked very strong in the match.
Rollins, of course, did get the win, and won cleanly. However, Neville looked every bit as strong as Rollins in the loss.
The typical path for a debuting wrestler has typically involved spending a couple months destroying random jobbers in an attempt to make them look strong. However, is it possible that a better way to establish credibility is to put them in the ring with a main eventer, no matter if they win or lose?
There are certain wrestlers where a win/loss record clearly matters. Someone like Rusev, who rode a wave because of his "undefeated" streak, needed to destroy lesser competition early on. However, if they know a wrestler isn't going to have that undefeated streak, then why not put him in a match with someone high up?
Of course, this is slightly different because Neville did have the exposure in NXT before, and it wasn't his main roster debut, but he still potentially gained a lot on Monday.
Cena's original run may not have gone perfectly, but one thing that can't be denied is that for at least a period, his debut gave him a big boost. We'll see if Neville gets that boost as well.
The Rest of Raw:
** Randy Orton officially became the No. 1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight title. He beat Roman Reigns and Ryback, by pinning Ryback, to earn this shot. The whole night involving the title picture was a little awkward, as all three wrestlers faced a heel before their triple-threat match.
However, Orton is a logical first major defense for Rollins. Orton is red-hot right now, and there's question on how long his face run can last at this level. So pulling the trigger makes all the sense in the world.
** Despite those matches, the most that happened around Seth Rollins and the title involved Kane. Rollins opened the show with a typical heel promo, he praised himself, he praised Big Show for winning at WrestleMania, and he needled Kane for not doing much.
That caused Kane to make the aforementioned triple-threat match, with Rollins upset over the choices, and he also made the match with Rollins against Neville. While it seems like this is going to be similar to the other wrestlers that were eventually jettisoned from The Authority, I can't see a full face turn really working for Kane, so it'll be interesting to see exactly where this is going.
** Once again Cena put the US title on the line in an open challenge. Stardust answered the challenge this time, and the two put on another solid match.
I'm enjoying what Cena is doing here. Just like the situation with the debuting superstars, allowing midcarders like Ambrose (and yes, you could make the case he should be higher) and Stardust to get a rub from putting on a good match with Cena is great for them.
If these good matches continue, that can only be good for the US title too.
** The tag-team division became intriguing on Monday. The New Day reacted to the boos last week, cutting a promo about why they still clap. It seems like they're going to use the boos as a trigger to actually turn heel, which should be great. They lost to the Lucha Dragons, as the "New Day sucks" chants kept up.
Cesaro and Tyson Kidd were shown looking on backstage. Meanwhile, the Prime Time Players cut promos on both The New Day and The Ascension. In one night, they did more to further the tag division than they have in months, as it seems like all five of those teams are connected.
** In a really confusing move, Miz beat Mizdow on Raw. This seemed like an obvious pay-per-view match, and even though it probably will be, to have the first match be on Raw was a really weird choice. Miz did have to cheat to win, but it was a decisive win anyways. This feud was well-built, decently booked, and to blow that first match on a random Raw is confusing at best, nonsensical at worst. Hopefully it doesn't derail the feud.
** Naomi and Paige beat the Bellas in a tag match when Naomi pinned Nikki for the second week in a row. Despite it seeming obvious that Naomi will face Nikki at Extreme Rules, it seems she'll have to officially earn it.
Later on in the night, the heel divas went up to Kane, and asked for a chance to prove themselves, by having a divas battle royale for the title shot next week. It seems obvious that Naomi will win, so I'm not quite sure why they're going that direction, but at least it's a match involving the divas that is getting a week of build.
** Sheamus came out with new entrance music from his promo packages. I have to say that while I don't like everything about Sheamus' return (that beard), the fact that he's changed everything to reflect his turn is great.
So many people do very little to change themselves when they make a turn. Sheamus changed his look, his music, and even his speaking style. He still says fella, but it's in a mocking way. He cut a promo targeting the smaller guys in the company, and said he had to, because there was nobody his size, which brought out Mark Henry.
Sheamus ended up beating Henry. While it seems like Sheamus will go after the Intercontinental title, it was also announced that Daniel Bryan would defend against Bad News Barrett at Extreme Rules. Likely, Sheamus will face Ziggler in the meantime.
Thoughts? Questions? Leave them in the comment section, email me, or find me on Twitter: @TheAOster. You can also find me on my new podcast "Jobbing Out" which you can find at GlennClarkRadio.com