Previewing The Backlash 2017 Undercard

Let me continue previewing this lackluster PPV with Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin. Both of these guys should be doing better. Which one of them can afford to lose this feud? I can see this one lasting another few weeks. I will say Baron Corbin wins this encounter.

Luke Harper faces Erick Rowan. I remember some fans groaning when Rowan beat Harper a little while ago. Some fans defended it by saying Rowan needs momentum. Why? There are ways to build a feud without having the two sides involved actually pin each other. Harper is likely to win here.

The tag titles will be defended. The Usos defend against Breezango. I am all for new tag teams getting the spotlight. Breezango's current gimmick is just stupid. It is hard to take them seriously. The Usos have not done much since winning the tag titles a few months ago. I will say they retain against the comic relief and eventually defend them against New Day.

Kevin Owens defends the United States Championship against AJ Styles. This feud is still too young to feel as major as it should. You also had Owens having to finish his feud against Jericho. Those two juggled the title between themselves. I won't say it hurt Owens vs. Styles too much, but it was there as a distraction. AJ Styles should not win the title here. I would say he should not win it at all. He doesn't need it. Give the midcard titles back to the midcarders. AJ Styles does not need this to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, which is an excuse some of his fans might make for why he should get it. Sting got inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Sting never won a title in the WWE. Sting never even won a PPV match in the WWE. AJ Styles is already doing better in the WWE than him. I will say Owens retains here. It might be by DQ or by getting counted out.

2015 Ends Poorly For One Couple

I did not have much faith in how the WWE would handle Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae, but even I did not expect it to end as mediocre as it has. Tyler Breeze got a win against Goldust on Smackdown this week. That was followed by Summer Rae and Tyler Breeze just announcing that they were done. That's it. That's all.

I will say that it is a little refreshing to have some kind of breakup that doesn't end with hostilities. You rarely see that. Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow were a team. They broke up amicably. They then got back together soon after and their second breakup led to a feud. Will that kind of thing happen with Summer Rae and Tyler Breeze? Time will tell. As of right now, it feels somewhat refreshing.

Of course, it also feels like the WWE dropped the ball. It feels pointless. Summer Rae and Tyler Breeze never got to really do much together. This whole thing feels like it could have been handled much better. Is that segment they had on Smackdown meant to lead to another storyline? Or was it just meant to kill the angle?

Assuming the worst, what does this mean for Tyler Breeze? It was obvious this guy would not go too far. His gimmick does not necessarily require a diva, but how likely is it that he continues his fall now? I will not even run through the roster to suggest another diva to pair with him. Not a lot of options that would fit. I do not think this is a big loss, however. There are plenty of men on the roster. More guys will be debuting from NXT this year. Did Tyler Breeze get a real shot to succeed? Not really. But the men's division is full with guys that deserve to be pushed well and that number will only increase when guys return from injuries and new workers debut.

Not surprisingly, I think this is a bigger loss for Summer Rae. I have said for a while that she has never been pushed properly. They have just moved her from one periphery angle to another. There are less women in the company than men. Moreover, there are fewer women really connecting well with fans as you have men connecting with fans. One of the reasons for that is inconsistency. How many divas right now have been pushed consistently well? Nikki Bella is out with an injury. Lana came back from one a few weeks ago. The WWE has been inconsistent with Paige. I can run through the entire division, but the issue is not being able to be consistent with how any of these women are being pushed. Fans just cannot connect with any of these women. All of the blame cannot go to the WWE. They do not injure their divas. But they have to do better with those divas that are regularly there. I still do not believe Summer Rae is as great a periphery diva as Lana, but if they just stuck with Summer Rae with a meaningful angle, she might actually get a proper connection with the fans and get over. The diva division can benefit from someone getting really over.

Tyler Breeze Going Nowhere

Most wrestlers will get some kind of undefeated streak when they just debut or get repackaged with a new gimmick. Even if they are just running through opponents and there is no real development for them, which would suggest they will soon be lost in the shuffle, they at least get that. Tyler Breeze has not gotten even that. I felt this guy would end up like Fandango, but he has hit mediocrity even faster than I expected.

Breeze has beaten a few jobbers. He got a win against Dolph Ziggler. But he has pretty much lost that feud and has lost to a few guys you would not expect someone that just debuted to lose to. He now finds himself in a feud against Goldust. This just feels like a lower-midcard feud. Goldust spent most of the year out with an injury. He came back a few weeks ago. But he's really not someone that needs to win feuds at this stage of his career. This is a feud for Tyler Breeze to win. This feud feels like what you had between R-Truth and King Barrett. You have a veteran face with a goofy gimmick that does not get pushed often feuding against a heel to put him over in the end. Neither guy is going anywhere far, but it has some entertainment value.

I do not feel as bad for Tyler Breeze as much as I do for Summer Rae. She has just bounced from one periphery angle to another her entire career on the main roster. Her angle with Rusev was her first real shot at something good. That got ruined. It transitioned to another angle, but that angle is just really weak right now. Eye-candy divas do serve a purpose. She is still being utilized as part of a storyline and getting to work with someone with a gimmick, which helps, but this situation could be better.

Goldust has a history of interesting angles with women. How interesting should this feud get? It could simply lead to Tyler Breeze going over Goldust and nothing more. Or should the WWE have Summer Rae end up with Goldust? No need for that. As I said before, Goldust doesn't need to win feuds at this stage of his career. His career won't go much further. But the WWE might still manage more interesting encounters between Goldust and Summer Rae, not to mention Breeze.

Summer Rae Finds A New Guy

From the time she debuted, Summer Rae has been involved in a lot of periphery angles. Some featured her mostly dancing. Some did not last long. There has also been the issue of her just being lost in the shuffle in between some of these angles. Her recent angle with Rusev was the best she had ever gotten. That got spoiled. But how would the WWE handle her now?

She has transitioned rather well to another periphery angle. She is now with Tyler Breeze, a new debut from NXT. He is getting a feud against Dolph Ziggler, who was also involved in the storyline with Rusev and Summer Rae recently, as well as Lana. This is a pretty good way to handle things.

The problem you have to consider is how far Tyler Breeze will go. When you are a periphery diva paired with a guy, you will only go as far as that guy goes. Lita benefited from being paired with guys that were being pushed well for most of her career. Summer Rae was once stuck with Fandango, a guy that wasn't really going anywhere at that time and is in an even worse place now. Feuding with Dolph Ziggler is pretty good, but how will they follow up with Breeze? I can see him becoming another Fandango. You have a crowded roster that is only getting bigger. Neville debuted a while ago and already appears to be losing steam in terms of how he is pushed. How long will it be before that happens to Tyler Breeze? Will Summer Rae be along for the ride if he gets demoted? Will she get lost in the shuffle on her own? Will she transition to another angle as Breeze sinks? I just cannot imagine Tyler Breeze becoming a main-eventer and Summer Rae being able to benefit from that kind of rub.

I would say Summer Rae does deserve to be featured well. As far as eye-candy periphery divas in this era go, she is no Lana, but she has shown some potential. The WWE needs more diva angles going on outside of the "diva revolution" mess. A better periphery can help keep some of these women relevant, and possibly get them over, while cleaning up the messy situation in the main angle. As I have said before, periphery divas are like the toppings you add to your ice cream. They make it look more appealing and add some flavor. I think Summer Rae can help with that.