By Matthew Klink (@klinkmatt)

5/25/2018

The WWE is in the spotlight in the media and entertainment industry. They are in the middle of different transactions, led by the FOX network, that would allow FOX to place WWE’s second tier show, SmackDown Live, on prime time, major broadcast television. Something we spent a good time dissecting earlier in the week and hope to see positive reverberations going forward, but definitely industry shattering news.

On that same day, the WWE tried, with all of their might, to destroy that transaction and scare FOX and every other major network away, forever.

To set the set stage, lets introduce you to this feud. The feud is between Sami Zayn and Bobby Lashley. One superstar, the fans love and adore (regardless of his face or heel standing), but can’t quite seem to catch a break. The other superstar, a complete bore when making his first rounds on the WWE roster and didn’t do much better elsewhere. He comes in a main event contender, because…we recognize his name and he’s huge…I guess. But he doesn’t have much else going for him.

Sami Zayn, being the heel in this feud and Bobby Lashley being the ‘forced down our throats’ face.

I mention the boring character of Bobby Lashley because we all know he’s getting a lot of TV time, so far, and none of it has been very good. Bobby is probably a really nice guy and he definitely comes with the look, but there isn’t a genuinely charismatic bone in his body. What I mean by that is, sure…he’ll come out smiling and do all of the big power moves that his build and physique suggests he should be able to perform. But get in him a room with Renee Young to begin the build of a feud with Sami Zayn…and every word out of his mouth sounds like a ‘less-than-amateur-actor’s’ first rehearsal.

Speaking of that encounter with Renee Young…woo doggies was that bad. So bad, it was discussed ad nauseam on the podcast a couple of weeks ago, then again a week later, and even now I can’t get over how fake and unrelentingly bad Bobby Lashley’s delivery truly was. Lashley was to sell us on what a good family man he is. His upbringing with his sisters is what shaped Lashley into the man he is today. Without them, he wouldn’t be a sweetheart OR a total badass (both of those I think we just have to take his word on). Somehow he did none of that and yet...simultaneously, so much more. All of the doubts I had about his return seemed to be coming to fruition. Even in the most 'silvery of linings' I could walk away from that segment thinking “okay…he’s gonna be a plain, vanilla, no nonsense character.” Not a character I’m a fan of, but I’m sure he could fill out a pre-show match every now and then. Still, not a glowing review.

Then Sami Zayn, for some reason, came out to Monday Night Raw for the rebuttal. A rebuttal that was still a week in making, but one he got me excited for by completely agreeing with me on how lame that Bobby Lashley promo was.

So, this is where it gets tricky and why I’m attempting to dissect the whole situation before assessing. This is like a true crime, Netflix documentary, and if you don’t know the whole story, how could you truly judge it? Anywho. Zayn’s critique of Bobby Lashley left me feeling excited and curious. I was excited, as I mentioned, because Sami felt the same way I did and now I would have a talking head on TV to agree with me. I was curious to know if this was the plan all along however.

The WWE does their fair share of ignoring the fans (see: Roman Reigns), but every now and then their ears perk up to make some much needed adjustments. Albeit rushed adjustments, but adjustments nonetheless. Had Bobby Lashley’s promo form the week before been so bad that they immediately made a pivot to something completely different? Did Bobby not only ruin his reputation with me, but spoke to literally no one in his promo? Was the twitter verse as lethal as I was on my podcast?

The only proof I have is Sami Zayn and his warning of promos to come. Why wouldn’t a true rebuttal promo be ready a whole week later? How hard would it be to come out and say “Bobby…you’re full of shit. Tell us the real story about your upbringing” (I’m not saying there is a real story, but that was a lot better than what the WWE came up with). I could make the argument that the second piece of evidence would be the segment that Lashley and Zayn put on this past week on Raw. One being dubbed, across the social media world as the “Worst Segment in WWE History”.

It could only take a rushed, panic of a fix to come up with an idea that is this bad. If you haven’t seen it…hopefully soon, it will be impossible. Sami Zayn came out to the ring, preparing us for his big, journalistic, breakthrough, that would blow Bobby Lashley and his claims of family upbringing, right out of the water! Without waiting long enough (like…a three-hour wait would’ve been great so Raw would be over and the rest of this segment wasn’t on my TV), Sami introduced Bobby Lashley’s sisters: three cross-dressing, current or former pro wrestlers.

The rest of the segment ensued with the ‘sisters’ claiming a not so bright and shiny childhood, and blamed the sour feelings on Bobby. To make this quick and less cringe-worthy...Bobby came out to laugh at Sami’s antics. Forgot all of his lines. Beat up his sisters. Then Sami got away. We can be mad at Bobby Lashley for DEFINITELY forgetting his lines for the segment, but we have bigger fish to fry. Like…WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?! What year is it? Who was that for? Do people still think that a cross-dresser is an easy joke to land on? Obviously the answers to these questions are: 1978, Vince McMahon, and Yes.

And it’s not that the segment only outright offended me by their choices. It offended me by the complete lack of creativity as well. I was watching the show with other people (not wrestling fans) and had to spend the segment explaining what we were watching. Why we were watching it. And how long it was going to take my face to change from a deep, red color, back to its usual pale, white look. We are in an age of the WWE and pro wrestling, where this should be a problem of the past. If I turned on random programming on the WWE network, I should expect to have to explain things and be completely mortified by the choices of WWE creative in the past. Not this week. Not on the week…no…the very day that the WWE makes a $1 Billion deal. 

There’s speculation as to why the WWE chose to cross-dress three dudes, the main ‘scoop’ being that they didn’t want Lashley to hit women. I really shouldn’t be giving this claim the light of day, because that should never be an issue in the writing room. I doubt the WWE writers were trying to figure out a way Bobby Lashley could respectably hit women. You’ve got to be kidding me with that one.

The real answer is that there is no more room for crappy segments like this anymore. It should be forgotten. As quickly as the WWE forgets pro wrestlers who did bad things. We shouldn’t see a reminder of this segment next week. Only a reminder that Sami and Bobby are feuding and then just go in a completely different direction. One of the goals of this blog and podcast has always been to make the wrestling audience look better and modernize the expectations of an outsider. That can’t happen with these types of segments. My hard work…down the drain faster than my jaw hitting the floor this past Monday.

I brought up the fact that this could have been put together at a moment’s notice to at least argue that the writers were under a time crunch. That time crunch coming from how bad the Lashley promo was, now almost three weeks ago. That’s probably a stretch and now looking back, this may have been the plan all along. Whatever it was, this show has to be better. They have to get promos like this right. If not for the sake of their image, then for the sake of quality programming. Be better. Make it easier for FOX to sell advertising spots on your program. The biggest positive to come out of this FOX deal is a chance to legitimize your show and your sport. More decisions like this leaves the show in the stone age. Be better.

Let me know what you thought about the segment and if Lashley and Zayn should end as soon as possible.

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