Two weeks ago, the Ascension — consisting of Konnor and Viktor — made the jump from the development stage of NXT to the flagship show, Monday Night Raw. In a winning effort, Ascension defeated the team of the Miz and Damien Mizdow, who had lost the Tag Team Championships to the Usos, earlier that night. Though the Ascension looked dominant, and even had a vignette, which aired before the match, the reaction was overwhelmingly negative. Reports surfaced that some agents were down on the tag team, citing they were out of shape. This was an odd observation to make, considering that both Konnor and Viktor were in the same shape for several months prior to their debut on Raw.
Then came their second appearance, the following week on Raw. This time, the Ascension were given some time on the microphone and, unfortunately for them, a script that was unbearably bad. The two cut a promo, something that is not one of their strongest aspects, and referenced old school tag teams in Demolition and Legion of Doom, even going out of their way to mock LOD and call them “a joke.” Following the regrettable promo, the Ascension beat down two local jobbers, who dawned hilariously awkward blue attire, in a matter of seconds. Again, the focus was not on the match itself, but what transpired before.
Lance Storm, among others, was the most vocal wrestling figure to rip apart the Ascension’s speech, claiming it was disrespectful to his good friend, Hawk, who passed away 12 years ago.
Nothing like making fun of a guy who has passed away. #BadTaste #RAW
— Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) January 6, 2015
Continuing his rant on Twitter, Storm brought the word “disrespect” to his argument:
#RAW has seriously pissed me off #Respect #RIPHawk
— Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) January 6, 2015
After the promo came to a conclusion, Storm blew up in an emotional fashion, claiming he was putting an end to his night of watching the wrestling product:
May not mean much to others but I’m turning #RAW #RAWCorpusChristi off! #Respect #RIP #Hawk
— Lance Storm (@LanceStorm) January 6, 2015
While the few tweets were received by some as Lance being a prima donna (which Storm responded to by blocking those who were verbally intolerant of his outburst), some took to his defence, agreeing that the Ascension’s claim of Hawk and Animal being “jokes” was a pathetic way to get heat from the audience. If that wasn’t enough, then perhaps Road Warrior Animal’s post on social media may just be what convinces the masses. On his Facebook wall, Joe Laurinaitis wrote:
“The idiots in charge make the call everyone knows how stupid it is to copy icons yet they still do it. Do it in a mocking fashion to get heat I understand do it in a disrespectful way well that’s another issue that’s low and has no place in the business.
Where does it end and I usually are just are playing when I comment but this one is a shoot I believe they should have had Me Animal find a team. For some undetected odd reason they don’t do it. They missed the boat with Ascension and they missed it when my brother John was in the ring both great times to bring me in and they missed it.
They need to go to their merchandise numbers today and see we rank up with the main roster on selling merchandise for a reason.
Oh what a rush.”
With the outcry from wrestling fans on social media, Lance Storm, and now one half of the Legion of Doom, has the WWE set up the Ascension to fail on the big stage?
Taking a look back at their days in NXT, the Ascension were two large wrestlers with size and strength that did a lot of damage to their opponents. They were a throwback to the old school style of big, powerhouse tag teams — which is where fans compared them to such teams as Demolition and LOD. They used clotheslines, clubbing blows, body slams and wind up punches to continuously knock down those who stood in their way. There was nothing fancy about their technique, what stood out the most was their imposing stature and intimidating demeanour.
Their entrance was also unique. To the sound of a heavy guitar riff, light work and the all-seeing eye up on their titantron, the moment the Ascension stepped out and made their way to the ring, you knew they were business. Yet, watching back to their NXT entrance, there was nothing out-of-this-world that blew your mind. It was simple, yet effective. It reflected their in-ring domination to a tee.
Then, the inevitable jump to the main roster happened. After a year of destroying competition in NXT and holding the NXT Tag Team Championships, the Ascension bowed out, leaving the stage to up-and-coming tag teams, and to the promising futures of both Hideo Itami and Finn Balor. It was the moment that viewers had been waiting for. The Ascension’s throwback glow would be a breath of fresh air on the main roster, and could revitalize a tag team division that didn’t have much luster.
But the WWE made their first mistake before Konnor and Viktor debuted.
During a vignette that aired a week before their official debut, the Ascension discussed their plans once they made their way to Monday Night Raw. At first glance, it was entertaining to see two big men cutting an outside of the norm promo, standing close to and over the camera, showcasing their size and aggression. Their look, however, had been tweaked. The Eye of Isis liner was a nice addition, and I would have liked the change had they left it at that, but their makeup (unfortunately) extended to a big red triangle on their foreheads, and they were outfitted with big, black and red shoulder attire. The new look as a whole drew immediate, obvious comparisons to the Road Warriors look.
What was once a subtle wink-and-nod has now become a blatant, indy-style rip-off. That aside, the Ascension were also torn apart by JBL, which, considering his position as the token heel announcer, would have made sense if the Ascension were supposed to be face. The move is believed to be the brainchild of Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn, who are both allegedly negative on the Ascension.
As a debuting tag team, it’s fun to see the Ascension tearing through jobber tag teams in order to demonstrate their force. It wouldn’t make much sense if they came out and beat up a reputable tag team in a squash. Why give them the top of the mountain before they even start climbing? The only problem is, a terrible script, and questionable changes to their look, have turned an optimistic approach to a new beginning into one large, sour note, and all it took was two weeks.
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