That night, there I was in in the Squared Circle in Chicago, grappling with myself about why I didn’t like John Cena when I should. No, not the Squared Circle you’re thinking, my friend. This is a bar restaurant on 2418 North Ashland Avenue in Chicago, near the long stretch of Kennedy Expressway and its run of traffic that seems to go into eternity. Place for fans and wrestlers alike, with framed championship belts and…
Tag: Bray Wyatt
So if the “I Quit” match was as nonsensical as I think it was, the Rusev character has committed to its free-fall. This once determined and hard-working immigrant who treated his beautiful valet (girlfriend?) with dignity and respect is now a ranting, illogical, abusive asshole collapsing beneath his wild-eyed hubris. And why? It seems to me Rusev is being tanked because so many of us refused to boo him as a heel. Many of us…
How quickly Bray Wyatt swings from incoherence back to literary! This week’s promo on RAW was a reminder of how Wyatt can, when the stars align in his favor, cut to the core of our cultural angst and inflate it into a giant interplay of existential archetypes that represent the state of our nation, perhaps even the broader human condition. I was skeptical about Ryback as a suitable target for Wyatt’s attention, but it turns…
Is anybody doing analytics on the number of cell phone lighter apps people are putting up for Bray Wyatt? Some nights it’s stunning. Doesn’t this count for something? Bray Wyatt is amazing. Can we set him up on some kind of sensible narrative trajectory? Couldn’t he aim toward a Jake the Snake-style babyface run? I remember the Jake the Snake of my junior high years was the same exact crazy dark madman as babyface or…
It strikes me as a bizarre turn of events that people are rioting on Twitter over a Roman Reigns victory at Royal Rumble and making mean gifs at the expense of our old world knight of justice. Look, I am totally over Roman Reigns, even when I was swooning over him a year ago. But you know what? I’m also over Bray Wyatt. And Dean Ambrose. Oh come on, admit it, those guys have really…
I contend that we may be witnessing an era of missed opportunity. In these post-Authority times, there is a chance for the WWE to turn a corner – start a new chapter, head down a new storyline. The Authority’s departure is an opportunity for the WWE to experience a true period of lawlessness. Oh, we’re told things are lawless right now by Seth Rollins because he for one has been a marked man. But they’re…
Look, I like Erick Rowan just fine. His face turn was alright by me. But the overwrought story forced on him undermines the character he naturally seems to be. The Wyatt Family had a certain authenticity about it, and within that world he was a mute weirdo. I could buy him as a sort of autistic genius specializing in chess, Rubik’s Cubes, bomb building, that sort of thing. But really, it took him a little…
Wow! One retweet from Big Show and this blog is blowing up! Before my post on Show’s poignant heel turn, Notes on the Spectacle of Excess had something like 320 all-time hits. After he shared my post I’m well over 800 in just a couple days. My thanks to the big man, and welcome new readers! I have taken to tweeting my thoughts on RAW, and then compiling and revising them for my weekly Notes…
Sometimes I find it enlightening to simply transcribe a Bray Wyatt promo, one that ascends to the level of theatrical monologue. When he feuded with John Cena he sounded very Shakespearean (further reading here and here), a sort of deep south Iago, but now that he’s going after Dean Ambrose his style is much more Tennessee Williams. I’m reminded of the reverend losing his faith and his shit in Night of the Iguana. Check it…