Accentuate the Positives

It's really, really easy to focus on the negatives in wrestling, especially in World Wrestling Entertainment. I've done it, you've done it, we've all done it. Sometimes for genuine reasons (sexism, racism), sometimes for nit picking (Oh my God, what is Eve wearing? Cena wins again, argh!). Trust me, it's VERY easy to look at the downside. Just this once though I'm going to focus on what WWE is doing right. This is purely my opinion, naturally, so what I see as a positive, you might see as a negative. That's fair enough. A wise man once said that you can't please all of the people all of the time. That should go double for wrestling. Anyways, here we go.


*Layla's return. Before her injury and Michelle McCool's retirement, Layla was paired up with McCool and together the two were, really, flawless. McCool undoubtedly helped Layla with her in-ring training and in return the dark haired beauty brought personality and a much-needed spark to her blonde partner in crime. Sure, there were cries of nepotism and favoritism, but would Layla have gotten a chance to show what she could do if not paired up with Michelle? She might've been lost in the shuffle and ultimately released. For one, I'm glad that didn't happen. Upon her return at Extreme Rules, Lay won the Divas title for the first time, beating Nikki Bella in a short but crisp match. She then went on to have a really good (albeit short) match against Natalya last week on Smackdown. I see a ton of potential in her. She didn't rush back, she took her time to get rid of the ring rust (there is still a little but not a lot), and she is genuinely refreshing to watch. I can over look the "happy smiley" personality she's showing, as I think it's really her reaction to being back, but I do hope she gets some mic time soon and a story line.

Also, for the love of Pete, change her music. It will always be associated with McCool, a crowd killer, and it's more of a heel tune than a face tune. After all, a woman talking about how a man isn't enough of her isn't going to get a positive reaction...


*Claudio Castagnoli's Smackdown! debut. Yes, I know, he's now Antonio Cesaro - I still call Daniel Bryan, Bryan Danielson. Sue me. He's only had one match, a short but sweet affair with Tyson Kidd, but he's had two backstage segments and just the fact that he's back on my television is fantastic. FCW really does have some cream of the crop going on - Tyler Black (Seth Rollins), Chris Hero (Kassius Ono), Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose), Britani Knight (Paige), Ivelisse (Sofia Cortez) and that's just a sampling. These are stars and seeing how well Punk and Danielson have done in WWE so far gives me hope that the rest of these lads and ladies will give crowds great matches in the future.


*CM Punk v Bryan Danielson. Yes, I know, they've wrestled each other before in Ring of Honor. And they've wrestled each other on tv in WWE before. So why is this different? I don't know...it just feels different, you know? It will, presumably, be the main event on the next PPV (although I have my doubts, given that Cena/Brock was the main event at ER, and Cena/Rock was the main at WM) and be for the WWE title instead of the Heavyweight title. It feels like Vince is finally putting faith in "indy talent" as they've been referred to in the past. Yeah, they're not the biggest or the strongest or the most bulked up but both have worked their way up from the bottom to become champions in the most famous mainstream wrestling company.

That's admirable and it gives others who have the same goal hope. They both persevered and ultimately gained what critics said was out of reach. Hard work pays off. Do they get to wrestle the length of time they used to in previous companies? Maybe not. Do they get to showcase everything they know? Possibly not. However, you know damn well that however much time they are given they will put to the best possible use they can. They are two of the best in the world and together they have made magic before. I believe they will do it again.


These are the three main things that I'm enjoying right now in WWE, three people rather that I'm enjoying. What about you, what/who are you enjoying? What are the positives you see in the company right now?