Miz Takes A Shot At Daniel Bryan, Gets Dolph Ziggler

Last week on Talking Smack, the little talk show segment that follows Smackdown, The Miz and Daniel Bryan had a heated exchange that got many fans excited. I didn't get to talk about it last week. There were a lot of other things to talk about. Since the WWE followed up with it to some degree this week, I might as well bring it up.

Honestly, I did not see the big deal. Daniel Bryan was talking some smack to Miz. Some people might say it was just kayfabe and Miz took it too far. Well, Daniel Bryan was starting to shoot on the "safe" WWE style and criticized Miz as someone that was afraid to get hit. Daniel Bryan pretty much left himself wide open to get owned. And he said it to someone like Miz, who is great on the mic. Put those two things together. What did people think might happen? Why wouldn't Miz remind Daniel Bryan of the fact that he banged himself up to the point that the WWE didn't want to let him wrestle anymore? Why should Miz let himself lose a war of words to Daniel Bryan over something that Miz can definitely hit back on and hit back in a hard way? Miz's great mic skills are pretty much one of the reasons this segment was so newsworthy.

Another reason it was so newsworthy was the guy being verbally stomped was Daniel Bryan. Everyone remembers when the WWE tried to treat this guy as a B+ player a few years ago. It backfired to an unbelievable level. Daniel Bryan has become a legend in pro wrestling. Miz berating him like he did was going to get a response.

Last reason this was going to get people talking, it's a pipebomb. Those things usually succeed in getting people talking. Someone is going to go out there and give a self-righteous promo. A few people have given these kind of promos in the last few years since CM Punk sat on that stage on Raw and complained. Miz's is probably at least second best to the initial one Punk did. Part of me enjoyed it more than any of CM Punk's pipebombs. I liked the intensity more than the trademark arrogance of CM Punk found in his pipebombs. I also liked that his argument was pretty much spot on. Criticize him for wrestling a "safe" style, but at least he is still wrestling, adding to his title resume, and contributing to the show in multiple ways.

Why did I not see it as a big deal? Take away the smoke & mirrors. Get to the core. Forget how popular Daniel Bryan is. Forget how good on the mic Miz is. Forget how these self-righteous promos do tend to grab attention. What was really the point? What could this possibly have led to that I should see it as a big deal? Unless the WWE has given Daniel Bryan the green light to come back for one more match or one more run, what is there to get excited about? Do people want Miz to get a better push? Problem is, AJ Styles is already the heel challenging Dean Ambrose for the WWE Championship. Do fans want to see Styles get screwed out of his spot so Miz can get it? Moreover, Miz kind of already is getting pushed. He is Intercontinental Champion. CM Punk's pipebomb felt like it shook the status quo, because it was aimed at the status quo. Miz's pipebomb was only aimed at Daniel Bryan. That's probably why I just didn't feel the same way about it as some fans.

Some fans expect that this will help Smackdown ratings. CM Punk's pipebomb didn't really help Raw back in the day. I would not expect Miz's promo last week to help the show this week get the most viewers of 2016. Ratings aren't out yet, so we will have to see.

Should the WWE try to turn Miz into the new CM Punk? He obviously lacks the wrestling skills. It is interesting how the WWE might lose a certain great worker and try to make another one later on. What usually makes a worker great is that he has more than one great attribute. That is why it is difficult to replace him when he isn't there. If greatness was so easy to replace, would it still be great? Look at those two guys I have been talking about, Daniel Bryan and Miz. One has the great wrestling ability that CM Punk also possessed. The other has the great mic skills that CM Punk was also known for. Individually, neither of these two can replace CM Punk. But if you take the best qualities of both, then you might just have another CM Punk. But as far as the WWE trying to make a new CM Punk with Miz, they probably shouldn't bother. It would screw up certain other guys on Smackdown. Besides that, Miz's pipebomb didn't exactly make him as beloved as CM Punk's pipebomb.

Some people are talking about whether Miz's promo last week was a work or a shoot. Judging by the mediocre way they followed up with it this week, they probably didn't expect anything big to come of it and just tried to make something of the hype. If they had planned to make a big angle out of it all along, I would have expected better. If it was a work designed to create buzz, why not follow through with it better? What they were going to talk about might have been scripted, but Miz's intense promo might have created more interest with smarks than the WWE expected. In any case, out comes Dolph Ziggler to kill the buzz.

Miz defends the Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler in two weeks at Backlash. Needless to say, this is a match just thrown together. There wasn't much time between Summerslam and Smackdown's first PPV of the new era. Ziggler was still partially involved in the WWE title scene up to last week. Miz could have continued his feud against Applo Crews. But this is the direction the WWE has taken.

Let me talk about Ziggler. He was involved in a face vs. face feud for the WWE Championship for Summerslam. It got a little heated at times. It looked like Dolph might turn heel. It looked like this was a storyline that should go beyond just Summerslam. People praise Smackdown for handling its show better than Raw, but I would say this is one of the first few mistakes Smackdown has made. That is all there is to the feud? Was there an actual payoff to the storyline? Even AJ Styles mocked Ziggler last week, who then only proceeded to lose to Styles in the main event. And now Ziggler is on to something else? If the WWE did not have any long-term intentions for Ambrose vs. Ziggler, why bother going with this feud? You had Bray Wyatt sitting in his rocking chair in the back for Summerslam with no match, he could have been the heel being used to put over Ambrose at Summerslam. It just seems like the Smackdown writers might have expected fans to react differently to Ziggler/Ambrose. When they didn't, they just did a poor job following through with the story. Some say that the Nikki/Carmella double-turn happened because Nikki got cheered when she returned. Some say the main reason was Carmella failing as a face. I just hope those writers aren't becoming too reactionary. Yeah, listen to the fans, but don't just kill the direction you are going when it doesn't work out the way you want it for a few weeks. Has Ziggler lost the storyline it looked like he was getting? Will Miz now get that storyline? In any case, there does appear to be some shaking up with the storylines on Smackdown.

New WWE Universal Champion: Kevin Owens

Around this time last year, many people seemed to be writing the career eulogy of Kevin Owens. He lost a feud to John Cena and some people acted like he was buried. He went on to win a feud against Cesaro and get a few midcard title runs. He has been featured consistently. He lost his feud against Sami Zayn, but has ended up being featured better than Zayn since then. And to top it all off, he won the Universal Championship on Raw last night.

He did have a lot of help. Not from Chris Jericho, his partner. Nor from Rusev, who had issues with Roman Reigns recently. Enzo Amore didn't do anything. Triple H made his return and screwed Roman Reigns. It then came down to Seth Rollins and Owens. Triple H teased helping Rollins, then screwed him, handing the title to Kevin Owens.

It is probably for the best that Finn Balor got injured, as for as creating excitement goes. The WWE created an exciting moment last night and now have people wondering why Triple H did what he did and what will happen to the various people involved in this drama, including Reigns, Rollins, and even Jericho. The "Demon King" gimmick had potential, but the WWE didn't handle it well. They didn't treat it dominantly enough. If Finn was around now, they probably would have had a very mediocre angle going for him.

Some might say that the reason they cannot book Demon Balor as something dominant is because they will book themselves into a corner. Why wouldn't Finn just use it all the time? Just have him explain in an interview that it takes a lot out of him or that he's afraid of what he might do when he goes into that zone. By doing something like that, the WWE provides a reason for Balor not going into his dominant side more often and makes that side look more intriguing. It's not like the WWE is afraid of dominant characters. Look at Brock Lesnar.

Back to Kevin Owens. I would say giving him the title is a good choice, beyond just creating drama. He can wrestle. He is charismatic. He has credibility. His only real negative is his look. They say Vince McMahon likes big men. They don't mean guys like Kevin Owens. It's not like Vince McMahon has never allowed a top title to go to a fat guy. Mick Foley held it a few times. But one hasn't held it in a while. Of course, this is a new era. Vince McMahon is more open to giving big pushes to men that would usually only get it if the fans complained heavily on their behalf or there was a whole bunch of backstage complaining.

Is he the centerpiece? Holding the top title does not always automatically make you the top star of a company, brand, or division. Let's face it, Finn Balor was supposed to be holding the title right now. If that was the case, I would be asking if he was the centerpiece. Is Kevin Owens the centerpiece? Is he interim centerpiece? Is it Seth Rollins, who will likely be turning face? Is it still meant to be Roman Reigns, who was dominating last night when Triple H came out and screwed him? Despite his title win, I would say there are too many other top guys ahead of Owens to say right away that he is the centerpiece. Nevertheless, he is going to be the longest-reigning Universal Champion so far. He is going to get some credibility. His son is going to have a new title belt to play with.

What about Seth Rollins? This will be his first face run since going solo. More importantly, he now officially gets separated from The Authority. That will be good for his development. Making him look like a weasel for so long just hurt his character. More importantly, he can finally drop the Pedigree as his finisher. A guy that talented should be able to come up with his own finisher, and hopefully one that isn't too dangerous.

And Roman Reigns? As I said, he was starting to look dominant in that match before Triple H cut him off. And it wasn't Rusev that screwed Reigns? A lot of fans were expecting that. What happens to that feud? Both Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have a reason to want some of Triple H. Both have an argument that they were screwed out of the title. There are a couple possibilities for Roman Reigns. You can say the WWE has overbooked things, but that's what they chose to do off Finn Balor's injury. A lot of angles they had planned will have to get changed.

I am not going to leave out Big Cass. I noticed he was getting a pretty good reaction. Should the WWE accelerate his push? Should he be a WWE/Universal Champion by this time next year? No. Slow down. I remember when John Cena was getting a pretty good reaction as a midcarder and the WWE eventually gave him a big push. The fans turned on him. The WWE turned him into something that the fans hated. I can picture that happening to Cass. He is not really that great on the mic. His wrestling ability is not that amazing. Take away his gimmick, he is pretty much exposed. Start by giving Enzo & Cass the tag titles. If it wasn't for Owens winning the Universal Championship, I would say New Day should retain the tag titles against The Club, drop them to Jericho and Owens, and have them eventually drop them to Enzo & Cass. I am sure they will be holding titles one day. The wait will make the moment mean more. But as far as Cass getting a big solo push, not yet.

Nikki Bella Returns To Smackdown

Last year, Nikki Bella ended up holding the old butterfly title longer than any other woman. But it came with a bit of a price. She had some serious injury issues that took her out. As the WWE usually does when a star drops out, they used the time to build a new star and to even change the overall philosophy of their women's division. If Nikki had not been seriously injured, you have to wonder how much would have changed. There was even a good chance she would never wrestle again. She is back, however, returning at Summerslam recently to take Eva Marie's spot in the Smackdown women's tag match. She got a good reaction that night. Even though she returned in a heel spot, they have since turned her back to being a face.

Even though the diva era is dead, Smackdown does seem like the diva era's last stronghold. And if Nikki Bella is coming back, where better to push her as the top star? She was the last centerpiece of the diva era. Is it wise to keep the diva element alive in this way? I think so. There are two reasons I say that.

First, the NXT women haven't exactly been flawless. The new era represented in Raw's women's division scares me more than the dying days of the diva era. Yes, you would get some sloppiness and matches you couldn't respect during those days before #GiveDivasAChance, but you never got this theme of dangerous sloppiness that you have seen with Sasha Banks and Charlotte, two of the Four Horsewomen. Smackdown's women's division is obviously a little tamer, and I do not have a problem with that. Just in terms of overness, these NXT women have not won over everyone. I have said before that this feminist atmosphere isn't for everyone. And you shouldn't have to risk breaking your neck to get a pop from these fans not liking the atmosphere on Raw. There definitely still are "divas" that can get a positive reaction without needing to be great wrestlers.

Second, keeping the diva philosophy alive on Smackdown just helps to make the show different from Raw. I have said before that Smackdown should not just be a 2-hour version of Raw with a different roster. So far, they have done a good job with Smackdown. They are more efficient with their roster. I remember seeing fans complain about how Smackdown got the short end of the stick during the draft, but a lot of these same fans are enjoying Smackdown more than Raw. One problem I will bring up, forcing two women's matches in one night is just something they can't do, even if they do weasel out of having the matches by having someone get attacked or Eva Marie do her gimmick. They are going to run through their possible combinations for matches very quickly. Then what? Change up who is face and heel and repeat the same matches? It is still the same people facing each other. Smackdown needs to do a better job showcasing these women beyond wrestling matches.

How about the decision to make Nikki Bella centerpiece of the diva era's last stronghold? They could do worse. I think it is a good decision. It has nothing to do with Nikki dating John Cena or whatever reality show she is on that I won't be watching anyway. She is a good representative for a division that will lean more to the diva side of things than Raw's women's division, which is leaning more towards respectable women's wrestling. She has the look. She knows how to wrestle. The WWE already invested a ton into her, including that long run with the Diva's Championship last year. The WWE isn't the kind of company to want to invest so much into someone and just toss them aside for no good reason. They didn't hand Nikki that record only to be petty to AJ Lee. Lastly, she's over enough. It is mind boggling in this era of treating female wrestling with more respect that someone like Nikki Bella, a true diva, can still get a positive reaction. Smarks might shred her at Backlash, but the world doesn't revolve around those fans. I have said before that I did not think The Bellas were as bad as some people made them out to be. They had some supporters. They have gotten cheered at times you would not expect them to get cheered, like when heel Nikki did that promo against face AJ Lee a few years ago. The positive reaction Nikki got recently just falls in that same area. It would be wrong not to feature her well.

The Dudley Boys Leave The WWE

The Dudleys returned to the WWE last year. They had multiple title shots to take the tag titles from New Day, but the WWE never pulled the trigger. They soon entered a feud against The Wyatts, once again being used to put over another team. They were then treated very poorly for a while. They turned heel. It did not take long for them to be treated poorly again. It looked like they would stick around at least for another year, but they wanted out recently and the WWE granted their wish.

These two were underutilized. It is terrible how they were used. Some people say that these kind of workers should only be used to put over younger talent. There were points where The Dudleys were just jobbing to teams that were obviously not going anywhere on Superstars and Main Event. That was just dumb. Who really benefits from that? If you are going to bring back a legendary tag team like The Dudley Boys, you don't waste them like this. It reminds me of how the WWE brought RVD back a few years ago and failed to use him properly. At least he wasn't jobbing on Superstars to guys not likely going anywhere. The treatment with The Dudleys was even worse.

I can understand bringing back a veteran and using him as a jobber. Legends are more than just veterans. They are more than just guys that were around for a long time. They are guys that have stood out at a high level in a positive way for a long time. The Dudleys are a legendary tag team.

Let me just bring up a few names. Ignoring age and other such factors, just paying attention to the impact the workers have had, consider how the WWE would push these people if they returned. Would you expect the WWE to bring back Trish Stratus and just job her out to Summer Rae on Superstars? No. How about Jillian Hall returning and getting the jobber treatment? That is more believable. If Shawn Michaels came back for one more run, would you expect it to be for him to put over midcarders and lower-midcarders on Main Event? The WWE would not do that. How about Finlay coming back for one more run and being treated like that? Finlay is respected by wrestling fans, but he is more likely to be the guy being used to put over younger talent like that. Would it be hard to imagine The Bashams coming back and jobbing to jobbers in dark matches? I could imagine that. But The Dudleys? They are one of the most decorated tag teams ever. They have won titles all over the world, in various major promotions. They have had some degree of singles success, including Bubba winning the TNA Championship. They are popular. Jillian Hall, Finlay, and The Bashams can all be considered veterans at this point. Trish Stratus, Shawn Michaels, and The Dudleys have all had legendary careers. And yet, The Dudleys have not been treated as you would expect legends to be treated.

There were expectations that the WWE was heading towards Bubba turning on Devon and "Bully Ray" getting a run in the WWE. We'll never know how that might have worked out. But just going by how they have been pushed so far and other acts going on right now, the WWE probably would have had Bully Ray look good against Devon, then eventually fizzle out on him and leave him still jobbing on Superstars and Main Event to guys not likely going anywhere. He might get used as a jobber to the stars before sliding down the jobber hierarchy, but it would still not be what he deserved and what fans would enjoy, except those fans that enjoy chuckling at wrestlers being treated poorly that deserve better.

In the retirement segment on Raw, the WWE had The Club attack The Dudleys. It might be meant to give them some heat, but I am a believer that an over or credible worker giving another worker a rub will fail if the person getting the rub cannot help themselves. Not to get religious, but "God helps those that help themselves" is a saying some people believe in. How many times has John Cena gotten rubs from other people more popular and even more legendary than him? What has finally helped him in recent years to win over some of his critics is wrestling better matches, particularly last year during his runs with the United States Championship. Roman Reigns has gone over guys more popular than him and more credible than him in the ring, but it is not enough to fix his issues connecting with the crowd. The Club just does not look interesting when it is just Anderson and Gallows. They do not look like Nexus or The Shield. They don't look that dominant. They just look like two bald guys that lack genuine charisma. If The Bullet Club wasn't so popular with wrestling fans prior to the WWE version being formed, these two guys would probably have even less supporters than they have. Since The Dudleys are not really retired, I am not going to say the WWE ruined their moment. But they might as well have had The Shining Stars be the ones to attack them. They at least have a gimmick that goes beyond referencing what they have done in other countries and other promotions. Depending on how the segment was done, they also might have gotten better heat.

And then there are those reports of The Dudleys getting an ovation backstage from workers and officials. Nice gesture, but it doesn't let you off the hook for how poorly you treated them. Being respectful to workers backstage does not take the place of giving workers fair opportunities and using them right. That backstage respect does not mean you are necessarily paying these wrestlers what they earn or giving them an opportunity to earn that better career that will get them more money. I have heard these kind of stories a lot over the years, and not just for guys like Edge and Daniel Bryan. I have heard of women getting pushed as credible jobbers getting that backstage praise. Meanwhile, I'm watching them get pushed in a way in which I know they are not treated as stars where it matters, in front of the fans, and are not getting the opportunity to get that for themselves. Seeing as how The Dudleys are not really done in the business, that makes the backstage respect they got this week even more questionable. Thanking them for allowing the company to misuse them? Again, nice gesture, but how the company utilizes their workers in front of the audience matters more than how the company makes them feel backstage. 

I want to do an aside. There were a few things concerning Sasha Banks that I did not get a chance to say. Specifically, there were two points I wanted to bring up even before she lost the title and took time off. Even though the ship might have sailed, I will still bring it up.

First, I noticed that the WWE was not really putting the work into Sasha Banks to develop her to be a star. Of course, it was something to just watch out for as her reign would continue. Her wanting to take a break and losing the title obviously changes that. Not only did her brief title run not feature her pushed in a big way to build her into a star, but the build up to her title win was not that grand. I have seen people saying for months that the fact that she was undefeated meant that the WWE was high on her. I have seen some people say before Wrestlemania that it was obvious Sasha was going to win. The only thing that is obvious is that Charlotte won, not Sasha. Sasha then became an afterthought for a while, eventually suffering a concussion at a house show. The push she got after returning from that injury eventually led to the title win, but her overall career on the main roster does not look like someone being groomed to be a star. Why is that? I would say there are three explanations.

First, she's a credible jobber. They don't want her over. Charlotte is the centerpiece of the Raw women's division. Sasha was just being pushed as a jobber to the centerpiece. The WWE does have a history of using women with wrestling credibility to put over the stars in title feuds.

Second, the WWE doesn't want to build stars anymore and are just going to rotate talented women's wrestlers. That is, at least on Raw. Smackdown's women's division looks like the diva era's last stronghold. There is all this hype over women's wrestling with some fans. Do you really need a centerpiece in this environment? Just rotate Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley, maybe Paige, Becky Lynch, when she eventually ends up on Raw again, and other such women. The WWE does not need to do too much work in this kind of system with any one woman.

Third explanation, the WWE does want a centerpiece and they do want to give Sasha Banks a fair opportunity to earn it, but she has failed to earn that career for herself. That is why they have not done more with her. How can Sasha Banks have failed? Well, she has had those dangerous spots over the last year. If the WWE does not think she can stay healthy why would they want to make a long-term investment in her? The fact that she had another dangerous spot at Summerslam and is taking a few weeks off might further make the WWE think twice about Sasha Banks being a long-term star.

So which is it? Is Sasha a credible jobber? Is she just in a system that is no longer about building stars? Or has she gotten a legitimate chance and failed to impress? The WWE doesn't have a history of giving female wrestlers fair opportunities during the diva era, but you would hope they are fairer in the new era. It is just too soon to tell why the WWE has not treated Sasha better. There are various reasons, which will also provide insight for what other women like her might be in for in this new system. But there is just not enough there to say.

The second thing I wanted to bring up is that it would be interesting to see how the WWE treated the person that didn't walk away with the title after the Sasha/Charlotte feud ended. Obviously, Sasha Banks wanting to take time off created a special situation. If she did not take time off, how would the WWE have handled things?

Why is that even important? Stars aren't just relevant during title feuds. They will be treated as stars even outside of that. Look at Brock Lesnar. He has held the WWE Championship and feuded for it, but he has also had big matches that did not even involve a title. He just main-evented Summerslam against Randy Orton in a non-title match, ahead of even a match to crown the inaugural Universal Champion. Credible jobbers, jobbers to the stars, or whatever you want to call them, will likely only be relevant in title matters. Outside of that, especially for the women, they are treated very mediocre.

Stop and look at the previous Champions in the women's division in recent years and you will notice something interesting. Charlotte obviously just won it back. Sasha is out with an injury. Charlotte had won the title last year from Nikki Bella, who was out for months with an injury and only just officially returned to Smackdown. Nikki won it from AJ Lee, who retired. AJ traded the Diva's Championship with Paige, who is injured/suspended. AJ originally won it for the first time from Kaitlyn, who left. She won it from Eve, who left. Eve won it from Layla, who retired last year. And Layla won it from Nikki Bella back when she won it for the first time prior to The Bellas leaving the WWE. If I had actually brought this up when I would have liked, I would be saying that NONE of the former Champions in the women's division to win it in the last four years or so are still around, outside of Charlotte, who was still in the midst of her title feud with Sasha, obviously.

If the WWE wanted to come up with an excuse to hold back any of these recent Champions, these women are making life very easy for them. Some women that get title pushes will obviously eventually be depushed. The WWE cannot push everyone. But it would be interesting to see how the WWE treats former Champions in the new era. Would they try to treat them better? Or will they get depushed like Paige has been? When someone gets pushed well for a while and then gets depushed like that, fans are usually left thinking she did something to screw herself. That is what has happened to Paige. I would have liked to have seen if that would happen to Charlotte. Or would she get an angle in the periphery? Or a secondary women's feud? I now have to wonder that for Sasha. You don't have to wonder with Nikki Bella. She looks like she's filling the centerpiece spot on Smackdown.

Again, this is important because it can give you an idea of what other women are in for in this era and what the status quo really is. But all these injuries and women not sticking around make it hard to get a sense of what the WWE would like to do. Instead, you are seeing what they are doing in response to injury issues and poor depth. Will women winning the title in this era still be treated well after they lose the title? Or will they take a break to recover from their aching backs?  

Sasha Banks Loses Title, Takes Time Off

Sasha Banks lost the Women's Championship back to Charlotte at Summerslam. It seems it was a planned title change to give Sasha some time to have her honeymoon and recover from some injury issues. Charlotte has now moved on to a title feud with the debuting Bayley.

Did I mention that the match at Summerslam once again featured a scary spot where Sasha Banks could have been seriously injured? This has just become a theme. From the summer of 2015 to the summer of 2016, it seems almost every big match for Sasha Banks involves some scary spot. I am not even counting general sloppiness or botches in unimportant matches or house show matches. Just looking at big matches and scary spots where she could have been seriously injured, too many times has Sasha Banks been involved in these kind of situations. The blame might not always go on her, but there is a real issue here.

These women from NXT need to calm down. The top-tier female talent (Paige, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch) have debuted on the main roster with so much hype. None of them have lived up to that hype. Time will tell what happens with Bayley. It might sound rude of me to say this, but I am being honest. Whether you want to blame how the WWE has utilized them, the people they are working with, or whatever, the matches have not been as consistently great as they should be, these women are killing themselves, and their potential is not being developed beyond just being wrestlers. This injury issue is just the biggest deal of them all. Because there is all this hype around women's wrestling and these women are getting so much praise, they might sometimes feel they need to do these crazy spots to keep fans interested. When it works, you look great. When it doesn't work, you risk breaking your neck. There are just several reasons why they need to settle down.

First, the injury issue hurts the depth of the division. I was saying before that the Raw women's division was in a bit of an emergency situation. If Sasha Banks went down, what would the WWE do? Well, Sasha Banks went down. She's taking time off. Luckily, Bayley was ready to debut. Nevertheless, what does the WWE do if Bayley gets injured? Have Charlotte feud with Dana Brooke? Yeah, there might be a great story there, but the match they have will likely not be too spectacular. And even without Bayley getting injured, the depth isn't there to create fresh matches with her for long. Sasha Banks will likely be back in a month, but that's still a month the WWE has to manage with a roster with poor depth.

Second, the injury issue hurts them. Obviously! These women need to care about their own health. Sasha Banks is only 24. She has already had to take time off a few times due to injury issues since debuting on the main roster last year. At the rate she is going, she won't be wrestling anymore when she turns 30. She might even be paralyzed by then, if she is not careful. Who wants that? I don't want to see anyone get that kind of serious injury.

Third, these scary spots and injuries just hurt the WWE's image. This is an era where the WWE cares very much how the media portrays them. If there is anything that could derail, and arguably should derail, the women's revolution, it isn't simply declining ratings or failure to get some of these women more over. It is the injury issue. How can the WWE stand by and let these women do all these cringe-worthy spots? How can they allow them to pretty much injure themselves and profit off of it? I can definitely imagine some people calling them out on this. If the WWE holds back some of the men from doing certain moves, why shouldn't they hold the women back if it looks like an issue is coming up? I sometimes come across videos of fans doing wrestling moves on Youtube. I even see little girls imitating women's moves. There is all this hype over Sasha Banks. If little girls try to imitate what she does, they will get seriously hurt. And negative press will come to the WWE's doorstep.

I could say another reason these women should calm down is to protect their own overness. If they botch too much, that could hurt their overness. Fans would become disillusioned with them. Sadly, I don't think that is a big issue. Yes, Sasha Banks has people pointing out that she botches more than someone hyped as highly as she is should and people anticipating that she's going to land on her head during a big matches, but for the most part, she isn't going to lose her fans. If anything, these risky spots reinforce her support with these fans. The fact that these women have proven themselves in NXT seems to give them a free pass when it comes to making mistakes. I am not going to jump down anyone's throat for making a mistake here and there, but these are dangerous mistakes that are becoming a theme when it comes to Sasha Banks.

You might notice I used the word "Sadly" back there. Why do I say it is sad that the risky botching issue might not hurt the women's popularity too much? Because it feels like they are condoning it. In some cases, it feels like these might be bloodthirsty fans egging these women on. I remember that match on Raw where Sasha won the title. The crowd wasn't really that respectful towards the action from start to finish. But they did come alive when the women did their high-risk spots, particularly Charlotte's moonsault out of the ring and Sasha Banks nearly injuring herself with the dive out of the ring. These fans do realize it comes with a price, right? Maybe they play too many video games. I haven't played a wrestling game in a while, but I don't think there is a feature where you can lose the ability to play with a certain character ever again because he becomes too injured or cannot use them for a couple months because they need to take time off to nurse a serious injury. That's not a game. That's life. If some fans cannot respect what these women are doing without them potentially hurting themselves, then screw those fans.

I have seen one fan say that the reason these NXT women are not wrestling big matches as smoothly on the main roster as they did in NXT is because they had more time to plan in NXT. I could almost buy that, but there is one major problem. Why is it that the majority of top NXT guys that come to the main roster can wrestle smoothly? A guy like Kevin Owens can wrestle just as well with guys he worked with in NXT as he can guys he never worked with down there, like John Cena. A guy like AJ Styles never went through NXT at all and has put on some pretty good matches with a variety of men in the WWE this year. Botches will happen, but you don't have the same issue you have with the women. There were also some big botches from the women down in NXT, although it is really starting to stand out now that they come to the main roster.

There is more I feel like saying, but I'll just end it here. These women from NXT debut with so much hype and are rated so highly. There are these higher expectations for them, and if that is the way it going to be, there is only so much sloppiness you should allow them to get away with. I can't say what your limit should be, but I've seen just about enough. Sasha Banks loses her title a few weeks after winning it to take time off to heal up, and then has another spot in that very match where she could have been seriously injured. That's unbelievable. I would rather watch Eva Marie botch around the ring for 60 minutes than watch a match between Charlotte and Sasha Banks that only lasts 5 minutes because Sasha broke her neck and the ref ended the match.

Finn Balor Wins Title, Gets Injured, Vacates Title

Finn Balor was successful in winning the Universal Championship at Summerslam. However, he suffered an injury during the match and was forced to vacate the title less than 24 hours after winning it. The WWE already has the match set to crown a new Champion. Next week on Raw, it will be Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens vs. Big Cass.

That Universal Championship is just starting out as a joke for a number of reasons. First, you had the stupid name. A lot of people have mocked it. Then, they debuted the ugly-looking title belt at Summerslam, which got buried by the live audience. To top it all off, the inaugural Universal Champion gets injured and has to surrender it less than a day after winning it. It is all pretty pathetic and sad. I wouldn't be surprised if the WWE changes things sooner or later. If nothing else, someone will probably toss the current title in the trash and debut a title belt that looks better.

Balor got injured when Seth Rollins powerbombed him into the barricade. Less than a year ago, Sting suffered a serious injury in a match with Rollins with a similar spot. Fans are debating whether Rollins should be blamed for the injuries and be labeled as unsafe to work with. Just looking at this spot, you can't put the blame on him too much. The other person just bumped the move wrong. Nevertheless, if this is a move that becomes too dangerous for guys to take, maybe Rollins should take it out of his arsenal. He has two strikes so far. If this kind of spot, whether into the turnbuckle, barricade, announce table, or whatever, leads to another serious injury, the WWE should take it away from him.

I don't think it should have even came to that spot at Summerslam. The WWE told the wrong story. Finn used the "Demon King" gimmick. Why is he having a competitive match with Seth Rollins with that gimmick? Some fans have said that Vince McMahon would want to push Finn well because he can sell all that merchandise. Okay, so why would you not want to sell his most marketable gimmick as something amazing? Treat it as something unstoppable. Don't just treat this gimmick as Finn Balor with a different look and different entrance. Save the competitive matches for when he is his regular self. He already beat Roman Reigns clean without having to go all "Demon" on him. What's the point of going into this other zone if he is the same performer?

I have felt that the WWE could build this guy to be a true attraction, like The Undertaker. Of course, he wouldn't last decades like The Undertaker did. And he gets injured just a few weeks after coming to the main roster. This will take at least a few months off his career. I don't think the injury will completely screw over his spot in the WWE, but it will take a little off his potential. The WWE hasn't handled his alter ego in the best way. He suffers a serious injury just when he's getting the biggest moment of his career. It's not a great start to his career on the main roster.

Onto the match to crown a new Universal Champion. Let's cross out Cass and Owens. I don't think the feud between Jericho & Owens and Enzo & Cass is really over yet. Both Cass and Owens being in this match can help prolong the feud between the two teams. That leaves Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns never had his match against Rusev at Summerslam. Will the WWE just waive off that feud? Or will Rusev cost Reigns the match to prolong that feud? That leaves just Seth Rollins as the clear option. If the WWE wanted to put the title on him, they would have done it at Summerslam. But because of circumstances, they might have to put the title on him now. Problem is, who does he feud with? Sami Zayn? There are a lot of guys that just do not have the credibility to deserve the push. It might be more likely that they put the title on either Rollins or Reigns and have them feud against each other, again. Leave Rusev to feud against Sami Zayn. That is more of a midcard feud. I will say Seth Rollins wins.

This is one of the reasons I did not think the WWE should do a long-term brand split. Having one that only lasted a few months to a year to sell a feud between Shane and Stephanie McMahon would have been fine. Beyond that, however, injury issues, suspensions, and other problems can ruin the depth on either show. I'll talk about the issues in the women's division soon. The WWE just lost someone they wanted to push as a top star. There aren't too many credible guys around. Even if they really did want to keep Roman Reigns down a little, whether to punish him or do more work on him to help him win over his haters, he's back chasing after the top title. Is flooding Raw with cruiserweights going to help fill out three hours? Hope so.

Dark Days Have Fallen On TNA's KO Division

I am going to be spoiling a a few things that will be happening in TNA in the coming weeks. They tape a lot of episodes at a time, so things can change very fast. That is the situation you had in their previous set of tapings.

First, Sienna, the KO Champion, lost the title in a multi-woman match. Allie got the title. After that, Allie lost the title to Maria Kanellis. To top it all off, Gail Kim became #1 contender, so the title feud you have his Maria vs. Gail Kim.

Giving the title to Maria is the worst decision TNA has made for their women's division in a long time. She is not credible. This is not a respectable decision. And for TNA to do this at this time is also dumb. The WWE is hyping their women's division and treating it with more respect. While that is going on, TNA is collapsing almost to the level of a diva division. There was a time when TNA's women's division was a lot more respectable than the WWE's women's division. And TNA ran with that. It was one of their strengths. Giving the title to Maria isn't as terrible as the WWE giving Debra the Women's Championship back in the first dark age of the diva era, but it is not an answer to Sasha Banks and Charlotte trading the title. Maria has some wrestling training, but she is just not credible. She was liked in the WWE, but did not have the wrestling ability to deserve to be pushed as the centerpiece. She is not as beloved as she used to be and her wrestling ability has not improved that much.

TNA has given their title to eye-candy performers they took from the WWE before, but those women had better wrestling credibility than Maria. I am talking about Brooke Tessmacher and Taryn Terrell. Both had the look, showed charisma, and gained some real wrestling credibility. Either of them would have been great choices to build a diva-like women's division around. Maria does not fall in that category.

Of course, this is all for the sake of the feud between Maria and Gail Kim. TNA has sacrificed respectability for the sake of a storyline. As I have said before, they could have ran this feud without the title being involved. Maria puts her control of the division on the line and Gail Kim would retire if she lost to Maria. Of course, Gail Kim would win. Leave the title for other women to fight over. Maria should not be getting a title reign.

As for Gail Kim, she is being inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. She deserves it. She helped to make TNA's women's division respectable. She is going to be 40 next year, but she still wrestles better than some female wrestlers younger than her. You can even argue she's the best in-ring worker in the KO division right now.

All that being said, TNA needs to move on from pushing her so hard in the title scene. If this is going to be her last title run, that is fine. She deserves it before retiring or taking on a different kind of role. But everything revolves around Gail Kim. TNA didn't always used to be like this. If Gail Kim was more popular than she is, then you might let it go. If those other women want her spot, they have to reach her level. But she's not that popular. That is why TNA should be opening up the playing field and trying to give these other women a chance to be made into stars.

You might bring up the counterargument that four women have held the KO title since Gail lost it earlier this year. And I would say none of those women have been pushed right to build them into stars. While they have held the title, it has still been Gail Kim's show. The main focus has still been on her. Even if TNA has not protected Gail Kim that much and has had her get pinned a number of times in the last few months, sometimes needlessly, the creative focus is still on her. And as long as the focus is on her and these other women are not getting featured nearly as well, no new stars are being built. TNA still has a bit of a periphery. Rosemary is doing her thing. But there are lot of women not being given a fair shot, even if they are getting title reigns. Gail Kim should take on a periphery role.

I don't follow wrestling in the indies that much, but I do know who Cherry Bomb (Allie) is. I have seen some clips and matches of her. The way TNA has used her is crappy. She has just been used as a cowardly sidekick. That is a waste of her skills. Someone like Maria would fit that role better. Obviously, the gimmick won't last. But how much faith do you have in TNA to properly keep the ball rolling on her? I think she has potential to be a star. But she needs to be featured a lot better.

TNA just has a lot of issues right now in their women's division. They have declining respectability, have not been featuring their KO Champions properly in the last few months, put the title on an eye-candy performer with no real credibility, are relying too much on a woman that is not that popular and nearing 40, and are not properly creating new stars for the future. I am not against shaking things up now and then. At any other time, someone like Maria winning the title and being pushed as she has been would be okay. But the WWE is making TNA look bad. TNA doesn't need any help to look bad. You would think TNA would try to lean on the respectability of their women's division at this time, not let a storyline trump respectability. And all their other mistakes might be overlooked if they had better star power in place. But they don't. They need to move on from Gail Kim and build new stars.

Previewing The Summerslam 2016 Main Event Matches

Dean Ambrose defends the WWE Championship against Dolph Ziggler. This is face vs. face, but with some heelish tension involved. Who wins the title? Will anyone turn heel?

It is a little sad to see Dolph Ziggler like this. This guy used to be pretty popular at one time. I wouldn't say A+ overness. It wouldn't go away that easily if he was that over. But it does feel like some fans have just gotten tired of him. Moreover, this feud doesn't feel as great as it could have. The WWE might have overestimated Ziggler's appeal right now. Yes, the guy used to be hot, but treating him with such mediocrity over the last year or two has hurt his appeal. The WWE might have expected this feud to be something more. I have seen some fans compare it to Orton/Christian. Fans were really into Christian and people were upset when he was treated so poorly on Smackdown in that title feud. In this title feud, Ziggler is somewhat in the role of Christian. Solid worker that has never gotten a proper main-event push. Feuding against a popular face that has the title. But I don't see as many fans being as into it in the same way they were Orton/Christian. Nevertheless, that is the comparison I saw brought up elsewhere that I wanted to bring up.

Will anyone turn heel? If anyone turns, it will likely be Ziggler. If he does turn heel, like Christian did in that example I brought up, the WWE might also make this an extended feud, much like they did Christian/Orton. I don't think most wrestling fans would be excited for that. You have heel AJ Styles right there on Smackdown. I am sure fans would love to see him move on to a feud with Dean Ambrose for the WWE Championship. But the WWE might not end Cena vs. Styles at Summerslam. Bray Wyatt might feud with Orton. Alberto Del Rio won't be seen for a while. I doubt Kane gets a title shot. When you run through the likely possibilities, it just seems like the WWE will continue the feud between Ziggler and Ambrose. And if that happens, someone will pretty much eventually be turning heel. And that would be Ziggler.

Who wins at Summerslam? Dean Ambrose's title reign is still young. The fact that he is still holding it surprises me. I doubt he loses it to Ziggler here, unless they have Ziggler cheat to win to sell the heel turn and Ambrose eventually gets it back. More than likely, Ambrose wins and Ziggler snaps and turns heel. I will say Ambrose retains.

Raw created their own title, the Universal Championship, and Seth Rollins and Finn Balor will be fighting for it. To make things more interesting here, the WWE introduced the "Demon King" gimmick for Balor this week.

This gimmick for Balor is supposed to be nearly unstoppable. It has a creepy vibe to it. Can this be an attempt by the WWE to create another Undertaker? That was supposedly going to be Bray Wyatt, but he is just a jobber to the stars. He is looking like Mick Foley, not like The Undertaker. The only problem with Balor is that he is not a young guy. He might not last decades in the WWE like The Undertaker did. To me, that only means you have to get going with pushing him well now. Build him up to be an attraction.

The worst thing they could do for Balor is go through the motions with him like I have seen them do other workers recently. They shouldn't feature Demon Balor for just a few months, then move on to a "Bullet Club" angle for another few months. The WWE should think about what has the most worth and get the most out of that. And I would say the "Demon King" gimmick has the most worth.

The outcome of this match will come down to which Balor shows up. If mild-mannered Clark Kent shows up, Seth Rollins will likely win. If he changes to his alter ego, which has been treated as tough as Superman, Balor will win the Universal Championship. Why would they debut this new gimmick and just have it job right away? Moreover, why would they debut it on the Raw before Summerslam and not use it for Summerslam? I will say Demon Balor wins the title at Summerslam. That might go against the momentum rule, but it just seems like the best decision and the most logical decision. Take advantage of the potential of this gimmick.

The success of the WWE Network for this period is going to rest on Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton. All the other feuds don't have mass appeal. Ziggler/Ambrose definitely isn't going to draw. Cena/Styles will appeal more to smarks, who are likely already subscribing for other things, like NXT. Finn Balor has potential to be something big, but he just debuted on the main roster a few weeks ago and his "Demon King" gimmick just debuted on the main roster this week. The WWE has built the most hype around Lesnar vs. Orton. Aside from that, the only thing that can help the WWE meet their high subscriber estimates is Mick Foley's hot daughter.

Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar was a feud I would have loved to see a few years ago. Right now? Not so much. They just push Brock to be too dominant. And the story of this match has just been so obvious for weeks now. It has been all about the RKO. They are talking like all Orton has to do is hit the RKO. Many people have kicked out of the RKO over years. Lesnar is definitely one of those guys capable of doing it. And then there will be a whole bunch of shock when he does kick out, Orton won't believe it, eventually get F5ed, and the match will be over. People are also anticipating Lesnar going for the F5 and it getting countered into the RKO. Outside of these big spots and a bunch of suplexes, this match is not interesting.

Throw in a wild card? The WWE teased that Orton and Bray Wyatt might be feuding next. Does that mean Bray interferes here? He also has a history with Lesnar that never got put to rest, so he could attack either guy in this match. I would rather he attacked nobody. This match already looks like it will be pretty predictable, but throwing in Bray Wyatt will just kill the feel of this match just being between Orton and Lesnar. Save starting the feud between Orton and Wyatt for Smackdown next week.

As for the winner of this match, Lesnar.

Previewing The Sumerslam 2016 Undercard Matches

Cesaro and Sheamus are going to have a "Best of Seven" series, the first match happening at Summerslam. These two have already faced each other multiple times. This is a boring feud that did not need to be extended this long. I would have expected this feud to end at Summerslam and both men to move on to other things. This was not even a feud that felt heated enough to need a gimmick to it, like I have said about certain other feuds, like Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn. There is a feud where a "Best of Seven" might have been more appealing. In any case, who wins this Sunday? Doesn't matter. I will say Sheamus. Let Cesaro have to come from behind. This is flavored filler for a few weeks, I'll give the WWE that.

Enzo & Cass take on Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. I am not going to call the heels by their team name. These kind of teams never last long and there is no point getting hooked. Enzo & Cass are a hot act and I will say they win here. The heels have the momentum heading into Sunday. I will also say that the feud continues past Summerslam. There is more potential for good promos here than with Cesaro vs.Sheamus, one of the things that makes extended feuds more bearable and even enjoyable.

New Day defend the tag titles against The Club. No Big E in this match. New Day already has the record, so the WWE might as well take the titles off them. I just don't think Anderson & Gallows look that great right now. I have talked about it before. Are they destructive badasses, which helped groups like The Shield be successful? Or are they a new kind of DX? I see some fans a little unhappy with how they are now being featured. Other fans like the humor. Either way, most wrestling fans would probably like them getting the titles, and they probably will.

Miz defends the Intercontinental Championship against Apollo Crews. I just don't feel like Crews has really broken out yet. He probably will win the Intercontinental Championship one day, which won't help him break out, but I will say Miz retains here. Make it a journey for Apollo Crews. Maybe that will help fans buy into him more.

Outside of the title feud between Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler, Smackdown's big feud is AJ Styles vs. John Cena. And it has been pretty routine. It feels like a weaker version of Cena vs. CM Punk. Styles is following in the path of workers like Punk and Daniel Bryan. But those two workers just had pushes that helped them to break out, whether the WWE wanted it or not. AJ Styles just feels like a guy that has gone with the flow of wherever the WWE had taken him this year. Although they have treated him pretty well, Styles does not look like an A+ player. As for who wins this match, AJ seems likely to win. Cena destroyed him on Smackdown this week. Besides that, Cena will eventually take time off again. Will Styles be the one to write him off eventually? If that is the case, maybe they will let Cena win at Summerslam and let AJ Styles look even more impressive down the line against Cena when they do give him time off. For now, I will stick with AJ Styles winning at Summerslam.

Raw's big match, outside of Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor, is Roman Reigns vs. Rusev for the United States Championship. It has even gotten the main-event slot the last two weeks. Is that because the WWE still wants Roman Reigns as the centerpiece? Or do they just realize the third hour is doing poorly most of the time and will stick their #2 feud there? Whatever the case, Roman Reigns is still being pushed better than some fans might have expected.

He might even be getting pushed better than some fans actually want. I see some fans talking about how it would send a terrible message if they let him win the United States Championship. What do some fans want? Reigns fired? He served his time for what he did. He did not win back the WWE Championship. He is not in the main event of Summerslam. William Regal screwed up when he got suspended in 2008, but they still gave him a run with the Intercontinental Championship a few months later. Some fans are just not being fair. Yes, a lot of fans hate Roman Reigns, but that doesn't mean the WWE needs to punish him even more than they have.

Back to the feud with Rusev, the WWE had them go at it on Raw this week. That match will probably be better than PPV match this Sunday. And they had Reigns win on Raw. Does that mean he loses at Summerslam? It might. Prior to this week, it just seemed like giving him a midcard title run might be likely. Cena gained some points with smarks last year when he was depushed and defending the United States Champion. A depush has eased the hatred towards Reigns in the past. It just made sense that a depush and a solid run with the U.S. title would do him some good.

The other story the WWE might want to tell is that Roman Reigns is having the worst year of his life. Remember when Cena lost to The Rock at Wrestlemania and the year he had that followed? The WWE sold it like Cena needed to redeem himself, and he obviously did it when he beat The Rock one year later for the WWE Championship. Roman Reigns lost the WWE Championship. He got suspended, something the WWE acknowledged even in kayfabe, and has been moving downwards ever since. Failing to win the title this Sunday would just further drive that point. Will they keep holding him down for a whole year? Or just until Wrestlemania next year where he might regain the the top title, likely the Universal Championship, and be the top guy again? The WWE might hope fans are sympathetic towards Reigns and it helps him get over better. Tricky plan, but the WWE might try something like that.

Which way will the WWE go? Solid midcard push? Or the redemption story? Going by how they let Reigns win the non-title match on Monday, I will say he loses to Rusev and they go with some kind of redemption story. Whether it lasts a year, a couple months, or a few weeks, the WWE might want to try the sympathy route. Let fans believe he is being punished and try to make him earn his spot back. Might not work, but they still might try it.

Previewing Sasha Banks Vs. Charlotte At Summerslam 2016

How did the WWE further the women's feud on Raw this week? They dug up Alicia Fox from wherever they buried her and had Charlotte go over her. I have been saying that the WWE has a little bit of an emergency situation with their depth in the women's division right now. Using Alicia Fox again is a step in the right direction, but not much. It's like having a bunch of poor quarterbacks behind your starter. Having all those bodies there means nothing if they aren't helping you win games when the starter goes down. The Dallas Cowboys learned that last season. Depth isn't just about quantity. It is also about quality. Alicia Fox isn't terrible, but she has no credibility, despite having held the butterfly title once, and most fans don't care too much about her. Can you imagine Sasha Banks getting injured and the WWE pushing Alicia Fox as the top face? I can't see them doing it. They would probably immediately go to Bayley or bring back someone like Melina. But just in terms of the match they booked, the WWE at least put two people together that haven't gone at it in a while.

What happened after the match is what really matters. Sasha Banks, who was on commentary during the match, made her way down to the ring to confront Charlotte. Dana Brooke went after Sasha. Charlotte got the upper hand and locked Sasha in her submission for a good while. That is a better way to build some heat in the feud prior to Summerslam beyond just having Charlotte go over a jobber.

Who wins this Sunday? Going by the momentum rule, Sasha Banks will win. The odds are against her. Or did they have Charlotte weaken her on Raw just to give Sasha a bit of an excuse for losing?

It pretty much comes down to what they have planned after Summerslam. Is Nia Jax going to be moved in as the top contender? Then it makes sense for Sasha to retain to face her. Is Bayley popping up? Then the WWE might want to give the title back to Charlotte and let the feud between Sasha and Charlotte continue a little longer to have their rematch, then move on to heel Charlotte vs. face Bayley. I will say Sasha retains and moves on to Nia Jax. Nia can't continue just beating local jobbers forever. The WWE should start going in some direction with her. Probably help sell more of those generic-looking shirts they made for her.

Even more important than who ends up with the title, who is the centerpiece? Is the WWE even going to have one true centerpiece in their women's division anymore? Last year at this time, Nikki Bella, an eye-candy diva, was Diva's Champion and looking like the centerpiece. What is the status quo of this new era in the women's era? I would say it is way too early to tell. Charlotte just lost the title a few weeks ago. Sasha Banks just won it. Which of these two women is the centerpiece, if any of the two? What happens when Nikki Bella returns? What is going on with Smackdown's women? How will the WWE react to injury issues piling up? Injury issues were a factor in the decline of the previous era in the women's division. How long of a leash does this era have? Giving these female wrestlers an opportunity does not mean you let them do whatever they want and outcomes don't matter. I know wrestling fans want to hand every respectable female wrestler to come out of NXT a gold medal, but I wouldn't be so quick to say everything is so marvelous. Some of these women need to clean up their in-ring work a little. Some of them can work on developing their characters more. There is still more work for both the WWE and these workers to do. And all it may take is a few big injuries to ruin this era.

Nia Jax

Nia Jax was one of the NXT women to debut for the brand split. I'm not a fan of her. I don't find her look appealing. I don't find her character that interesting. And her in-ring work doesn't draw me in. Overall, the WWE really needs to stop hiring The Rock's relatives. If they wanted a dominant woman in their division again, why not bring back Kharma? Because she got fired twice from TNA for assaulting people? Good point. Nevertheless, there are a lot of other workers that can use the chance to earn a spot in the WWE.

Recently, the WWE has been just having Nia squash local jobbers. When is that going to come to an end? It should be soon. Just a few weeks into the brand split, it feels like they already have an emergency situation on their hands. Raw's women's division's depth is pretty terrible. It hurts even more when you don't utilize the entire roster properly. You can't just suddenly start pushing someone like Summer Rae and think everyone will care and buy her as credible. At least Nia Jax has some credibility and is fresh.

I am all for creative depth, having multiple angles going on at the same time, but now is pretty much a time when they should have brought Nia into the title feud. I am not a fan of her, but the title feud has just gotten stale with the same players involved. The mixed-tag match was a breath of fresh air. Luckily, Summerslam is this Sunday. But if the WWE does decide to continue Sasha vs. Charlotte, they need to add someone else to freshen up these matches. Why not Nia Jax? She's not going anywhere just squashing local jobbers.

The thing that really stands out to me about Nia Jax is that she has her own shirt. That's it up there. Why does that matter? Why would the WWE even bring out a shirt for her? I understand NXT has become a brand now, complete with them touring and selling merchandise for talent down there, but Nia Jax wasn't really a hot act from NXT. Moreover, she hasn't really made a major splash since coming to the main roster. The WWE isn't pushing her in a great way. And she gets a shirt?

It is a sign of times changing. The WWE is trying to make money wherever they can. I believe Naomi was upset not too long ago about lack of merchandise for her. She now has a shirt out. Shinsuke Nakamura just debuted a few months ago in NXT. The WWE already has at least four shirt designs out for him, plus other merchandise. I can understand that. He is a hot NXT act. Nia Jax, however, is something else.

Aside from paying attention to how a worker is being pushed, another way of sometimes telling if the WWE is serious about them being a star used to be looking at how much merchandise the WWE makes for them. The WWE doesn't just create stars so they can get cheered, but also so that the company can market them to make money and promote them to draw for them.

Look at Mickie James during her time in the WWE. She never complained on Twitter about a lack of merchandise for her. She probably should have. She was more over than Naomi. I can understand the WWE not making more merchandise for Candice Michelle or Maryse. The WWE attempted to develop these women to be centerpieces, but they never worked out. Why bother making shirts for workers that aren't working out well? But what's the excuse for Mickie James never getting a shirt? If the company wants her to be a star, why aren't they putting more effort into making merchandise for her to make money off her? She is over. I am sure the WWE can design a better shirt for her than TNA did. Some people say the WWE was upset with Mickie James because they couldn't make money off her music career. Okay, and what was their excuse for not doing more to make money off her prior to her interest in a music career? Did they need a wake-up call? To me, that was just another sign that they did not want her as a star. They never pushed her as one and they never tried to market her as one. When they released her, they did not lose a star and they did not lose a source of money. They just lost a credible jobber that was more over than the women meant to be stars.

But this is a different era. The WWE is making merchandise for everyone. And I'm not just talking action figures. It is what they need to do. The WWE Network hasn't exactly been the greatest investment ever. Talk about record revenue all you want, but costs are also increasing. Making money wherever you can get it doesn't hurt. They just have to be sure they are making smart investments. Market what the fans actually want, not what you want them to want and certainly don't market what definitely they do not want. Waste of time and money.

Back to Nia Jax, I talked about what the WWE should do with her in the short-term. As far as long-term potential goes, what can you say about her? I doubt she will still be squashing jobbers four years from now, if she is still around by then. Where can they put her where she will really be useful? The best thing for her might be as a bodyguard. Let her be Charlotte's sidekick. Or create a stable with Dana Brooke also involved. A woman like Nia Jax might not last long, unless pushed in the periphery. That's where Chyna was pushed. That is where Kharma would have ended up. Beth Phoenix is the only dominant woman from the diva era I can think of that didn't get pushed big in the periphery, but she didn't exactly stay that dominant forever. She became beatable. I just don't think Nia will work as the next Beth Phoenix. The periphery is also not very strong these days. If she won't be a periphery diva and may not be a great credible jobber, what is left for her? If yearly mass releases become a regular thing again, I would not be surprised to see her gone one day.

Eva Marie Loses Her Top

Eva Marie once again found a way to back out of a match on Smackdown against Becky Lynch. This time, she had a wardrobe malfunction. This week, however, the WWE actually went through with two women's matches. Becky Lynch took on Alexa Bliss. Bliss won, thanks to Eva Marie. They also had Natalya vs. Carmella. Carmella won. But I am just going to talk about Eva Marie today.

As a fan, I am enjoying what Eva Marie is doing. It's the best thing in the women's division right now. It's different. You have a continuation of a title feud on Raw that has been going on for months. Nia Jax squashing people isn't too creative. Natalya attacking other women is also getting a little old. The storyline between Eva Marie and Becky Lynch actually has more creative investment to it. And it is easily making me like Eva Marie more. She is probably my favorite woman on Smackdown.

As a critic, however, I am not going to make the mistake of grading Eva Marie too highly. I have seen a few other fans enjoying what the WWE is doing with Eva Marie. And the smartest ones are the ones that point out that it isn't Eva Marie they are really enjoying, aside from her looks, but the way the WWE is using her. Anyone, even Jinder Mahal, can be treated like Eva Marie is now and get talked about and get a few smarks loving it. Give him an elaborate entrance. Have him chicken out of matches in different ways. It is the storyline/gimmick that really holds the power, not the performer. All you have to do is not completely mess it up and you will draw interest.

Just ignoring the role and looking at the person playing the role, how is Eva Marie doing? She's not really knocking it out of the park. The guy that does her entrance is carrying her more than she is carrying herself. But I wouldn't say she is as stupid as some fans sometimes make her out to be. All she has to do is pose and be sexy. Her acting ability is not amazing, but I wouldn't say she has ruined the few segments she has had so far. I would say she is doing a C+ job.

This kind of reminds me of Michelle McCool. McCool was a solid in-ring worker, but not amazing enough to get over through that alone. She was attractive, but not hot enough to get over through that alone. As far as charisma goes, that was her greatest weakness. How did the WWE remedy that? They gave her a charismatic sidekick. They gave her a huge gimmick. They pushed her act like it was the only show in town for a span. You had to be dead to ignore her. Although what she was doing was talked about, she really wasn't getting over. I have seen a few fans say she was an awesome heel. No, she was booked as an awesome heel. Push any other woman like that, and as long as she does not completely mess it up, she will get talked about and some people will believe she is an awesome heel. That is how you hand a Hall of Fame career to someone that really isn't great enough to deserve it.

I believe Ric Flair once said that the title doesn't make the man; the man makes the title. Nice sentiment, but wrestling promotions, especially the WWE, use titles to build stars. Nevertheless, going by that same idea, the gimmick shouldn't make the performer; the performer should make the gimmick. The performer should add his own abilities and attributes to own the role and make it his own, hopefully in a positive way. Of course, the WWE even uses gimmicks to make stars, not just to entertain. Despite that, if you have a performer that is good enough to add value to a gimmick, that performer should also be able to add value to most other reasonable gimmicks. Greatest challenge of all, that person might even be able to handle being pushed in a generic way and still keep fans interested. Just let those abilities and attributes that made you great with the gimmick still shine through. Michelle McCool isn't that kind of performer. Neither is Eva Marie. They need gimmicks to enhance them.

Analyzing the situation, I still see issues. Eva Marie is an eye-candy periphery diva. The atmosphere in the WWE right now is one of treating wrestling with more respect. They are going to make a Women's Championship for Smackdown. I don't think they should. And if they didn't, what they are doing with Eva Marie would be perfect. If they are going for that respectable women's division, how they are pushing Eva Marie just takes away from that. Alexa Bliss and Carmella are also eye-candy divas, but they at least are wrestling since coming to Smackdown. I wouldn't say they are amazing, but at least the storylines with them are not as annoying as the one Eva Marie is getting can be for true wrestling fans.

This is similar to why I would say Roman Reigns should not be the centerpiece of the company. Given the era they seem to be heading in and how Reigns connects with the fans this era will most appeal to, he is just not a good fit. Given all the hype over a women's revolution, Eva Marie is just not used best in getting women's feuds and this storyline she is getting seems more diva-like than something that will excite women's wrestling fans.

Let me bring up a crazy idea. Is the WWE grooming Eva Marie to be the centerpiece of Smackdown's women's division? I brought up Michelle McCool, who got a lot of creative interest put into her to try to get her more over. Eva Marie has better creative focus on her now than any other woman on Smackdown. Or is she only getting it to eventually put over Becky Lynch, and will then be depushed, while Becky continues to be featured well? I know wrestling fans would love for that to happen. Let's see where the WWE goes with it.

For the past year, the WWE has been able to come up with little tricks to help Roman Reigns win over his haters, even if just for a minute. He got cheered when he beat up Triple H last year. He got cheered when he speared Stephanie McMahon this year at Wrestlemania. Some fans seem to have lightened up on him again with his feud against Rusev. It isn't that shocking that the WWE would come up with little tricks to help Eva Marie seem more appealing. But true overness isn't based on the reaction you get after doing something likely to get you a certain reaction. It is about how much fans care even when you are not doing it. The WWE still has work to do for both Reigns and Eva Marie.

How Has Smackdown Been For Bray Wyatt So Far?

Bray Wyatt, the guy that seemed like the likely heel to feud against Dean Ambrose for the WWE Championship prior to Dolph Ziggler, is still involved in the title picture on Smackdown. With Ambrose and Ziggler, two faces, going at it, it makes sense that they would need some heel supporting players to work with. That would be Wyatt and Rowan.

Bray Wyatt won his feud against New Day last month, giving him some momentum, but now it looks like wasted momentum. The WWE has failed to follow up with him. That seems to be a theme for Bray throughout his career. And he does deserve better than that.

Because he is tied into the feud between Ziggler and Ambrose, he has not been able to develop his own feud for Summerslam. Does that mean he's left off the card? Will he still be pushed into the title match? I don't see that happening. If they wanted to do it, next week is pretty much their last shot to put him in. Just seems too late to do it now. They will likely keep the match and main story between Ambrose and Ziggler. Does Wyatt just interfere in the match at Summerslam? Seems like the only thing left for him, but I want to see where the story between Ziggler and Ambrose is going. Having Wyatt interfere will only prolong things, and possibly lead it to an obvious triple-threat match. And if they wanted to do that kind of match so badly, why not have it for Summerslam in the first place?

If he isn't tied into that match in some way at Summerslam, what is left for him? A throwaway match with Kane? Can't forget that he's still around. It is a shame to see certain individuals that are being underutilized after the brand split. Kane is one of those individuals. If nothing else, the least they could do is a filler match between Kane and Wyatt. Gives Wyatt another PPV win.

The WWE 2016 Preseason

One thing I have said about TNA in the past is that they were stuck in the preseason. The preseason is that time you evaluate your roster, deciding whom you are going to cut and which players get put where in your depth chart, as well as shake off some rust for those players that are already cemented into their spots for the start of the season. TNA just never did a good job sticking with people. They just shuffled talent around too much and it hurt their potential. It is one of the reasons TNA was never able to grow. You don't just ruin the momentum of someone that was working out for you so you can go through the same motions with someone else. Some workers may not like being treated like that and look for an opportunity to leave. And as far as the pay issue, another reason workers leave TNA, if TNA did a better job creating stars and grew as a company, that issue would no longer be a problem.

This is a new era for the WWE. They may not want to admit it, but this is a rebuilding period for them. They have made a number of decisions in previous years that angered their vocal fanbase. They are now being a little more softer in their stance towards what these fans want. I would say it borders pandering in some instances. But you can consider this their preseason. It is not exactly the same as what TNA has been doing, but this is an opportunity for the WWE to evaluate talent and give fair consideration to whom they want their true focal points to be. Let me talk about a few different areas.

First, Raw's main-event scene. Seth Rollins and Finn Balor are feuding for the new Universal Championship. I can understand Brock Lesnar taking the main-event slot last week. Brock Lesnar is Brock Lesnar, even if he does take drugs. But this week? Ending with Rusev vs. Cesaro for the United States Championship? Being a little more realistic, that was really a segment for Roman Reigns, who came out at the end to spear Rusev. Remember when Roman Reigns was in the doghouse? And now he gets multiple segments on Raw and was there at the end of the show. The WWE needs to not overexpose the guy. There have been times when it looked like they were developing the right game plan for the guy. But they messed up by trying to push him too hard. They better not turn this into another one of those instances. For now, just forget about this guy as the centerpiece.

What about Finn Balor? It would be outrageous to think that a guy that just debuted a few weeks ago could be legitimately pushed as the centerpiece of Raw. He probably won't, but he has a better chance of at least winning the Universal Championship. Whether the WWE is serious about pushing him that far or not, they should be doing a better job building him up to Summerslam. He had a nice promo, but then he doesn't get any involvement in the main-event scene. Showcase him as a big deal better. Hype is about more than just the commentators putting you over and being given mic time to put yourself over. Placement on the card is also part of it. And if the WWE is not going to feature him better to help build this feud, they might as well have went with Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns for Summerslam. Leave Balor to face Rusev.

Smackdown's main-event scene is occupied by Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler. Their feud has actually gotten top focus, so far. They have also teased some heel tension. Some fans have said Ambrose sounded like a heel last week. You also had Ziggler beating Bray Wyatt in a shady way. This is the kind of thing they needed to do to make this feud more interesting. A simple face vs. face feud would have been boring.

Moving on to the tag division, let me go back to Anderson & Gallows. I talked about them yesterday and pointed out how these guys just didn't look that interesting now. The WWE had them do a comedy segment to mock Big E's injury. It was the kind of crass humor many people might say Vince McMahon loves. At least the WWE realizes they need to do more to help these guys look interesting. I just don't know if it will really work for them. And the WWE really needs to decide if they want to use that kind of humor. Maybe I would have chuckled at it 15 years ago, but it seems pretty dumb now. Or maybe it was just bad execution by Anderson and Gallows.

Moving on to the women's division, there are issues. Depth is one of the themes when you talk about the preseason in other sports, and depth is a serious theme when you talk about the women's roster. Sasha Banks vs. Dana Brooke again last night. How many times have these two gone at it in the last few months? They made things a little more interesting by adding a stipulation, but the WWE is lacking fresh matches. Depth is terrible. Paige supposedly has injury issues. Sasha Banks seems to have a desire to break her neck diving out of the ring. Kidding aside, what happens if Sasha does get injured, gets in serious trouble for something, suddenly decides to leave the WWE, or something else terrible happens? Who gets pushed as the top face? The WWE really has nobody. They have some other low-tier women on Raw, but they will likely not get pushed seriously. I have said before that the WWE can generate hype just off of their NXT women. If they can't bring them up fast enough, however, they might as well bring back credible jobbers from the diva era. It is not about using them to create hype. It is about creating some fresh matches and providing some cushion should something terrible happen to someone the WWE would rather push.

Smackdown's women's division is not much better. I have said before that there should not be a second women's title for Smackdown. Look at what is happening over at Raw and imagine the same kind of thing happening on Smackdown. Fans would not be happy with Eva Marie being treated as a serious contender. They would also roll their eyes at Nikki Bella being the queen bee of that division. Natalya vs. Becky Lynch is already a match people are sick of. If they just ran Smackdown differently and let it rely more on periphery angles, there would not be as much of a problem. A periphery diva getting injured is usually not going to be the end of the world and as crippling as a Champion or her top challenger getting injured. To put it simply, the WWE needs to add depth to their women's divisions and rethink the systems they are running on either show.

Overall, the WWE is doing a good job in investing more in a lot of people. Even jobbers being fed to Braun Strowman get interview time. But the WWE cannot make the same mistake TNA has made and juggle people around. Use this time to assess who is really doing the best job and who has that long-term potential. The only people who should have their spots relatively safe are guys that have been pushed at the top for over a decade. John Cena won't be ditched easily. Randy Orton won't be ditched easily. Darren Young might. Jinder Mahal might. I would say even guys like Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose should not have their spots locked up. It's way too soon to say that Dean Ambrose should be the long-term centerpiece of Smackdown, and other guys like AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, and Bray Wyatt may deserve a shot at the top spot. Same thing with Rollins. He has been pushed harder for a longer time, but if someone like Finn Balor steps up and does better, give him the top spot. As for the women, if the WWE brings back credible jobbers and one of them does a better job than Sasha Banks and Charlotte, push that woman as the centerpiece. It wouldn't be unfair to those other women. That is what competition is about. Those other women will just have to step up their game and earn the spot back for themselves.

One problem, however, is that a lot of what the WWE is doing costs money. Bringing back all this talent costs money. A lot of people are hyped over the WWE reaching record revenue recently, but they are overlooking costs and expenses. When you take that into account, the WWE isn't really reaching record numbers with the money they are making. This past quarter that featured Wrestlemania, the WWE only netted less than a million dollars after you take into account costs and expenses. The last time the WWE got called out for wasting money, they had a mass release of main roster talent for the first time in a few years. That was in 2014, which ended up still being a down year for the WWE. I would not be surprised if this happens to the WWE, again. And just like in 2014, Jinder Mahal will probably be one of the first to go, again.

In the end, I do not think what the WWE is doing now will last. Most fans like the changes and the freshness of the current product, but things will likely change. What will cause it? The WWE losing money? Ratings plummeting? Serious injuries to key players? Someone the WWE did not intend to get over putting the WWE on the spot, much like Daniel Bryan did? Or will things just naturally fizzle out after a while? The WWE should take this opportunity to build around what works. Yearly releases will probably have to become the norm again, unless they are just signing certain guys likely to go nowhere to short contracts. Because the WWE will need to keep bringing in fresh bodies to help keep things fresh, and they won't be able to afford everyone. If that is the case, this should be a period of assessment.

Is The End Near For New Day?

The New Day's current reign with the tag titles has lasted longer than any other reign with the titles in WWE history. But The Club is back on their trail. Big E has been neutralized. It does appear the title reign will come to an end.

There have been a lot of teams with potential or momentum in the span New Day have held the titles that could have used them. It could have brought some freshness to them and whatever feuds they were involved with. The Dudleys could have won them. The League of Nations could have used them. The Club could have won them a few months ago, then continued feuding with Enzo and Cass, another hot face team, for the titles. None of that happened.

Do Anderson and Gallows really deserve them now? When they were with AJ Styles, they looked more like a stable and had potential. That is when they really deserved the titles. On their own, they just don't look that interesting. They are just two bald guys. One is Festus. The other has a hot Asian wife. I can give him a few points for that, but still not enough to make me believe they really deserve the titles now. The commentators are hyping them up. Wrestling fans are high on The Bullet Club. With all due respect, these two are overrated. They just are not doing anything too impressive.

Nexus was great. They just went out there and destroyed people. There was this air of mystery there for a while. Why were they doing it? What were their goals? And the WWE sold it like they were trying to take over. John Cena was forced to join them. It was just an impressive angle. The future incarnations were lackluster. They were weaker.

The Shield was great. They had various styles that just mixed together so well. Reigns was the powerhouse. Seth Rollins was the flyer of the group and showcased his agility. Ambrose was more the brawler, and had the mic skills. They were just cool. They have all lost some of their edge since breaking up, but it was still great.

Kharma was great. She was a one-woman Nexus. Wrestling fans loved seeing her destroy eye-candy divas. Some fans probably made the mistake of thinking the diva division was coming to an end back then. It wasn't. Moreover, Kharma got pregnant and never got back her spot. Nevertheless, they pushed her as something unique and let her destroy people.

What do Anderson and Gallows have going for them? All they have going for them is what they were doing prior to signing with the WWE. That is what the WWE is hyping and that is why a lot of fans are hyped for them. But there is no mystery with them. The WWE did a poor job with their storyline with AJ Styles. Their matches aren't that amazing. They are not consistently destroying people smarks hate. Yeah, #BeatUpJohnCena, but what have they really been doing around that? They aren't undefeated. Moreover, Nexus beat up John Cena. The Shield beat up John Cena. If Kharma was still around, she probably would have beaten up John Cena at least once. You can't sell someone on this idea that he wants to beat up John Cena. It's overdone. Moreover, these guys just look like watered-down versions of other stables the WWE has featured this decade.

I am not going to go into the topic of how the WWE used to be good with handing the tag titles off to teams that had momentum and how they have stopped doing that in recent years. But I will say giving the titles to The Club will fall in the category of failing to strike when the time was right. They should have done it when there was an actual stable there. How long until Finn Balor embraces these guys? The way the WWE is just running through angles like water, it will happen soon. If not, how impressive will these two look holding the titles?

AJ Styles Vs. John Cena For Summerslam 2016

AJ Styles and John Cena have already traded some wins. That was before The Club was separated from AJ a few weeks ago. Not surprisingly, these two will go at it again at Summerslam this month.

How has the feud been going? It just seems like the typical feud you would expect between John Cena and a smark favorite. AJ Styles is attacking Cena's character. Cena is countering with talk about how much he loves being in the WWE. Nothing too fresh here.

If AJ was even more edgy and real, he would look like CM Punk. He's following in the line of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. You can say he went through his "Daniel Bryan" phase earlier in the year when he was a face. The WWE just looked like they were trying too hard to sell this guy as popular. They put him on some list of loudest fan reactions for his Royal Rumble debut. Part of his feud with Chris Jericho turned into Jericho being upset fans were chanting for AJ. Was the WWE aiming to start some movement? And then he turned heel and got two sidekicks. Typical storyline with John Cena now going on. This is his "CM Punk" phase.

The WWE has really not done a good job pushing AJ Styles in his first year. Look at his first two completed storylines. He starts with a feud with Chris Jericho. It started at the end of January and went to the start of April. That is a little more than two months. In that span, they had a face vs. face rivalry, started to team together, got a shot at the tag titles, failed to win, broke up, Jericho turned heel, and then had their final singles match to end the feud. All that in two months. This is the kind of story that should have been given more time than that to mature. If this was a basic feud about AJ Styles earning Chris Jericho's respect, yeah, no need to drag it on. But the WWE added more to it and could have really done more with the story.

AJ's next storyline involved The Club. He spent weeks not wanting to embrace the heel side. I saw fans eating it up, but the climax of the story was garbage. He sends them away one week, then just fully turns heel and brings them back to his side to start the feud with Cena. There was potential there, but the WWE has not taken advantage of it. And now The Club is taken away from AJ. The only thing they ever did during this time, their whole reason for existence, was just to beat up John Cena. The whole things just lasted another few months. Given the hype this group has, the WWE could have done so much more than what they did. They did not get enough out of the stable.

AJ Styles has been in the WWE for less than a year and he already seems to have been given several things to do that could have lasted so much longer than they have. The WWE is just going through the motions with him. They need to do a better job building his identity. Don't try to make him the next CM Punk or Daniel Bryan. Bryan did it organically and Punk is better on the mic. Moreover, stop relying on stuff he did outside the WWE. The WWE is just botching it, anyway. And that is what I would say this is, a botch. They are not screwing the guy. Wrestling fans may be eating up a lot of what the WWE is doing with him, but I don't see a guy that has broken out at the level of CM Punk or Daniel Bryan. I do see a guy they are trying to break out at that level.

What about John Cena? He's doing his usual act. I remember fans saying that Smackdown got the short end of the stick in the draft two weeks ago. Smackdown got John Cena. I have seen even fans that dislike John Cena talk about him like he's a draw. When John Cena returned a few months ago, I remember the ratings report from one of the wrestling news sites crediting Cena's return as one of the reasons for respectable numbers that night for Raw. People think Cena is a draw. Well, here's his chance to prove it. Help Smackdown.

It's not like he has to carry Smackdown. It's live now and away from a night that features football. It will see better numbers than it previously did. Randy Orton, the #2 guy for so long, is also on this show. This is his chance to prove his worth. I have seen some fans talk about how much of a star AJ Styles is. I mentioned the WWE hyping his popularity. Okay, he gets to help Smackdown. All three of these guys are involved in top feuds, without even mentioning Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Championship. I don't see how Smackdown got the short end of the stick. It is a two-hour show, after all. How crowded do you want the roster to be with top guys?

How has Smackdown been doing in the ratings? Since getting more viewers than Raw that first week it went live two weeks ago, it has not won the ratings war. But it has been averaging over 2.7 million viewers these past two episodes. That is a big improvement from previous weeks before going live and an improvement from this time last year. The WWE just has to keep having big stuff happen on Smackdown. I wouldn't be surprised to see it get more viewers than Raw again, especially during football season.