Wrestling holiday wish list
It is that time of the year where we look at the holiday wish lists that wrestlers, promotions, and fans send Santa Claus.
Considering that I have Santa’s number in my cell, or at least my niece and nephew’s think that I do, I have been able to get some inside scoop on what others have wanted.
Here is my list for some in the wrestling business!
n For Cesaro, the hope is that he is finally elevated to a main event role that he has deserved for several years now.
n For Becky Lynch, the chance to prove her talent on Smackdown while the other “Four Horsewomen (Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Bayley) are doing their thing on Raw.
n For TNA, a way to remove itself from any connection to Dixie Carter. No explanation is needed if you are a wrestling fan!
n For Ring of Honor, a great showing for its February 11thevent at Stage AE on the North Shore in Pittsburgh.
n For the several local readers who are attending their first WrestleMania this coming April like Brandon Petrie of Baldwin and Chris Minerd of Gibsonia, I hope they have a great experience of seeing the event live.
It truly is a magnificent experience and hopefully the show lives up to their respective expectations.
While in Orlando for the event, I recommend hitting up Giordano’s Pizza for some classic Chicago-style deep dish pizza.
You can thank me after your meal!
n For Vince McMahon or whoever is in on the decision to keep shoving Roman Reigns down everyone’s throats as a good guy, give it up already.
Turn him into a bad guy and let the fans dictate when he would once again become a good guy.
n For underused talents like The Club, Apollo Crews, Jack Swagger, Neville, and others, the chance to show what they can do in the ring and to help the WWE build roster depth on Raw and Smackdown.
Lastly, the hope is that The Undertaker can go out on his terms whether it is this coming Mania against John Cena or however many years down the road.
The most respected person in wrestling history, Taker is near the end of his legendary career and those in attendance for his last match will be in for something that they will never forget.
Happy Holidays!
I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone the happiest of holiday seasons!
I appreciate you reading this column, and I also value the feedback that I constantly receive via email and social media.
This week’s questions
We have a slight change in the layout of this week’s question as Nick Nypaver of Uniontown sent several good ones.
Since Nick is a loyal reader, I decided to answer many of them!
What do you think of NXT?
I think NXT has done a lot better than anyone could have imagined, including Triple H.
NXT is his puppy and it has really taken off as a brand of its own instead of just being a minor league system for the WWE.
I don’t watch it weekly as I just don’t have the time, but I am in the loop and am kept up to date on things form friends.
I do catch some of the shows when possible and on the WWE Network after they air, and have seen all of the Takeover events.
Sometimes I wish the creative teams for Raw and Smackdown would take note of how the NXT creative team puts talent in a position to flourish.
Do you think the Sasha and Charlotte feud has changed women’s wrestling?
I do in the sense that 2016 was the best year for women’s wrestling in WWE history.
Sasha and Charlotte have been one of the top feuds, if not the top feud, in the WWE in 2016.
They main evented a PPV, did a Hell in a Cell match, an Ironman match, and have done other “firsts” for women.
Women’s wrestling will continue to grow as long as the creative teams for the respective brands allow them to.
How do you think the return of Finn Balor will impact Raw, and will WWE use Sami Zayn better after his Roadblock performance?
Considering that Raw’s creative team made Balor the first-ever Universal champion, my guess is that he will be in the thick of things from the moment he returns.
Zayn can really go in the ring, and hopefully he is given a bigger opportunity to shine in the ring in 2017.
Smackdown was clearly the winner this week on TV. Is Smackdown better than Raw when it comes to matches or do they have the better roster?
In my eyes, Smackdown has the better in-ring product while Raw has the more-developed characters.
Email questions/comments to Bill at powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to me @BillHughes_III.