Instant Feedback: The Imitation Game

Pictured, four men making the best out of having to cosplay as someone else
Photo Credit: WWE.com

The only man on the show who knew he was a parody of someone else had been running that game for well over a year now. Damien Sandow, or Macho Mandow as he was known tonight, acted as a foil to Curtis Axel's long-running rib on Hulk Hogan. The Meta Powers, as dubbed by someone more clever than I on Twitter, came together after clashing when they were assaulted by an amalgam of every aggro-buff old school tag team known as The Ascension. The act was a cooldown segment in the middle of a show with all kinds of peaks and valleys, and one could argue that at least three of the four participants, if not all four, deserved something better.

Then again, when you're planted square in the middle of one of WWE's deepest rosters ever, any spot is a good spot, even one where you're on camera pretending to be someone you're not. The only thing you can do when given a segment on television is put your entire heart into it. No question Axel has put everything he's had into running wild. Ever since he was never eliminated from the Royal Rumble, he's done some major work in getting people to forget that he ever uttered a single word from the "Genesis of McGillicutty" spiel that tanked him at the end of NXT season 2. The Ascension could very well be a defeated entity right now, but they seem to be throwing themselves into the delusion. And Sandow has never backed away from an imitation. He wasn't starting tonight, either. The four got together and they made me chuckle, which for a segment of its nature is the goal. It's not something I would want to see for a long period of time, but for right now, it fits the bill.

Of course, the biggest criticism of that match and run-in that isn't "Why aren't these guys being utilized correctly by WWE?" is that irony has been apprehended by WWE and deployed to annoyingly massive levels. The New Day is already ruling the roost pretending they don't hear the boos, and they won the titles from a team that got popular not just on its own merits (let's be real, Tyson Kidd and Cesaro are all-world performers over here), but because they built characters upon real life criticisms from the boss. John Cena is out every week acknowledging his haters in increasingly cute ways. It's as if WWE switched homes in New York City and took on the personality of what BuzzFeed told its writers that Brooklyn had.

But real is real, and Macho Mandow, Axelmania, and the the Demolition/Road Warrior tribute act known as the Ascension provided some smiles for at least one night. They took their segment and they did the best with it, and in any professional wrestling company, that's all one can ask for, whether it's a highlighted showcase or if it's the comedy filler between big points on the show.