Gorilla Position #49 – State of WWE (Dec. 9, 2015)

Gorilla Position – Episode 49
Hosts: James Delow and Rob Leigh
Release Date: December 9, 2015

Main Topics: Raw Recap, TLC Preview, NXT U.K. Tour

DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD

Recap By Tania Leong

Top News Items

– Raw Recap: James and Rob were quite critical of some of the storylines on Raw as well as the constant confusion of who are the heels and babyfaces. They liked the factions being formed but felt that should be solid reasons for each member of the factions to be together.

– TLC Preview: Both don’t expect any titles to change hands and for the Wyatt Family to win as well. James thinks that in order for the audience to be invested in Reigns vs. Sheamus moving forward, Sheamus needs a strong win to establish himself as the Champion.

– NXT U.K. Tour: They are excited for the upcoming tour and are interested in the attendance numbers at the house shows and at Takeover in Wembley Arena. They also expected no titles to change hands.

Topics Discussed (with time stamps)

Introduction by James Delow – 00.00

James is very excited about the upcoming NXT U.K. Tour especially for the NXT: Takeover London at Wembley Arena, which is sold out. He and Rob may be recording a double episode next Wednesday at Wembley. A live episode will take place in 2016, so stay tuned on his social media accounts for more information.

Raw Recap – 06.38

James and Rob like the new factions being created, but Rob noted the need for a reason for these factions to come together, at the moment ‘they are just lumped together… with no reason.’ This is evident with the League of Nations. Both thought that Rob Van Dam would be a better option to join Team Extreme than Rhyno. James though the 16-man tag team match would have better suited for Survivor Series. Rob criticised the commentary on Raw.

James used the DDT on Kevin Owens but still continuing with the match as an example the roster feeling the need to push themselves too much. James liked the lack of physicality between Owens and Dean Ambrose.

Neither understood what is happening with Neville and The Miz, but think that this may help Neville to bring out his personality more.

James questioned whether ‘Creative can come up with something more clever’ than a distraction roll up finish.

Both criticised the Miz TV segment as it was very unclear, confusing and ‘at times painful to watch.’ Rob said that without trying, Ric Flair overshadows everyone else even Charlotte. They discussed the confusing heels and babyfaces in week-to-week programming, ‘people need a person to cheer for’, with the storylines with Charlotte and Paige, and Zeb Coulter, Jack Swagger, and Alberto Del Rio being prime examples of the confusion.

Rob thinks that Bray Wyatt’s promo at the beginning of the show was very much a babyface one. James thinks that this is the future for the Wyatt Family because ‘the nonsense with Undertaker and Kane’ has damaged the fear factor with the Wyatt Family.

TLC Preview – 53.52

Both predicted that the Wyatt Family to win over Team Extreme, with Rob predicting a clean sweep for the Wyatts.

Both predicted an Ambrose win by DQ and Owens to retain the IC Championship.

They are really looking forward to the Tag Team titles ladder match and expect the New Day to retain.

They expect Del Rio, Charlotte, and Sheamus to retain their respective championships. James thinks for the audience to be invested in the Roman Reigns and Sheamus feud going forward, Sheamus needs a strong win.

NXT U.K. Tour – 65.20

James and Rob are interested to see the attendance number at the shows.

Sami Zayn is expected to make his return at one of the earlier shows on the tour.

Rob noted that Tommaso Ciampa is getting more popular in the UK and speculated whether he would be officially signed to NXT.

The cards at each house shows are not the same and the Takeover card is also different. Although the Takeover London is not as exciting as the Takeover Brooklyn card, they are looking forward to the show.

They predicted Finn Balor and The Mechanics to retain their Championships. They expect Asuka to win. James is disappointed that Bayley is not facing an opponent at the caliber of Sasha Banks.

Wrestling chatter – 76.10

James reviewed this week’s episode of Breaking Ground. The NXT crew had a road trip to Nashville and it was strange to see them performing in a marché. He liked seeing that WWE has a lot of confidence in Bayley as she was teaching the younger talent and overseeing a match. James asked listeners to tweet him their opinions about the show.

Competition – 82.12

This week’s competition is to win WWE merchandise bundle worth over £130. To win, retweet the merchandise picture on James’s Twitter account. Entrants must be over 18 years old and live in the U.K. Closing date is midnight on Tuesday, 15th December (GMT).

Score & Review

8 out 10: The show is more enjoyable when James and Rob talk purely about wrestling. Although the interviews can be interesting, it is good to hear them offer their perspectives on Raw, upcoming PPVs, and the state of the WWE.

I agree that factions are good for the underused wrestlers on the roster but there needs to be a reason for each member of the faction to be part of it. The League of Nations is an example of four underused wrestlers being randomly put together for the reason to Reigns look strong. So I don’t expect this faction to last a long time like The Shield.

I agree that the Charlotte and Paige storyline is very muddled and Charlotte’s heel turn was not well thought out. Charlotte is a better served as a heel but WWE Creative is not writing her heel turn in the right manner.

The Wyatt Family has great potential as a babyface faction and their promo at the beginning of Raw had positive feedback from the live crowd. The Undertaker and Kane storyline did a great disservice to the Wyatt Family as heels.

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