Ziggler! Del Rio! Swagger! AJ! Big E! Repeat For Emphasis! Repeat For Emphasis! World Heavyweight Championship!
With four weeks to go until Extreme Rules (May 19), the trio of World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler, former World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio, and Rob Van Dam's future supplier Jack Swagger seem content to play some screwed up version of Rock, Paper, Scissors.
There are only so many times paper can cover rock before we want to stab ourselves with a pair of scissors.
Since Ziggler won the strap on the April 8 episode of Monday Night Raw, the trio have traded wins and losses. Ziggler has the Money in the Bank cash in over Del Rio but ate a loss to Swagger. "The Mexican Aristocrat" picked up a revenge "W" against "The American American," and the two are going at it again tonight in a No Disqualification Match.
Ziggler also has a pair of wins over Chris Jericho, but who doesn't these days?
There is nothing in and of itself bad about the three contenders of a Triple Threat match pairing off to face one another. In fact, if done correctly, it can be extremely smart booking. Del Rio has the advantage over Swagger, while Swagger has Ziggler's number. You save Ziggler vs. Del Rio until the go home if this is the end of the feud, or until Payback (June 16) if you're looking to stretch the feud for another pay-per-view (PPV).
I'm not necessarily in love with the idea of Ziggler and Del Rio butting heads longer than they have to, but WWE's options are significantly limited at the moment.
That being said, we're still a full month away from Extreme Rules. We can only go around the damn merry-go-round so many times before begging the conductor to stop. Del Rio and Swagger have failed to capitalize on the potential their feud had. What could have been a socio-political angle that dealt with real life issues quickly devolved into a caca slinging contest.
Which, in and of itself could be used as a metaphor on the current political environment in America and around the globe; but it's still boring as hell to watch.
So the trio will continue to go back and forth for the next few weeks. I'm not too excited by the idea of more Swagger nonsense or Del Rio morphing into the stereotypical WWE face.
But then I remember that Dolph freaking Ziggler is World Heavyweight Champion, and that seems to make things so much better.
Undertaker! Ambrose! This! Is! Actually! Happening!
Holy hell this is actually going down.
The Undertaker, the living legend himself, will be going one-on-one with Dean Ambrose, the future star of WWE, in a match that is almost guaranteed to be worth the price of admission.
"The Deadman" only has a handful of battles left, and he is using one on Ambrose. If this isn't the greatest sign of respect, I don't know what is.
It's not just Ambrose getting the rub. The Shield's fellow members, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, are raised by being a part of this angle. Old fans tuning in to see 'Taker will witness the invading group, wonder who these men are...
And once they step foot into the ring, the fans will be hooked.
Not only does The Shield benefit, but Daniel Bryan is being built up by The Undertaker's return. The presence of a legend, especially one whose career has spanned multiple eras, is truly a magical thing. To see the Brothers of Destruction stand tall with little ol' Bryan in the middle was something truly beautiful.
I've said it before, but it's moments like that which will live on in the memories of fans forever.
I have always been of the mindset that pro wrestling is fundamentally simple. Booking is only as complicated as you make it, and often too much ruins everything. Likewise, it is an aging star's job to build up the younger talent. The Undertaker, The Rock and Triple H, have a duty to build up the future for WWE, as they will not be around forever. Hell, they may not even be around in a year or two. WWE has ruined far too many pushes over the past decade.
I pray this time is different.
Whatever happens tonight, win, lose, or draw, this will be an amazing moment. This will be a passing of the torch. This is what fans want to see.
And, for once, WWE seems to be delivering.
Hopefully, this has prepared you for the night's festivities. Leave a comment below about what you are looking forward to, and please join the entire CSS Friday night gang in the live blog TONIGHT!