Team ECW Just Cannot Beat The Wyatts

The Wyatts beat Team ECW at TLC. That was not too shocking. That was followed by another brutal match the next night on Raw. This was an Extreme Rules match. The Wyatts once again won.

Should the WWE have let the ECW guys win that match in Philadelphia on Monday? That is ECW country. The Dudleys, Tommy Dreamer, and Rhyno are all over 40. It's not like they need the rub. But it might have been a nice gesture. It might have been a nice moment. As I have said before, these ECW guys are not as legendary in the WWE as someone like The Undertaker, who has gone over Bray Wyatt twice this year already, but Raw might have had another nice moment if the ECW guys had won.

Then again, maybe it is for the best that The Wyatts look strong again. The story of Bray's career on the main roster has been looking strong against people at his level and below him, then being used to put someone over. Sprinkle in some periods where it seems creative has nothing for him and those times he has lost feuds and moved on to another like nothing happened. These old ECW guys were definitely below him. Perfect group to put him and the rest of his guys over.

Where will The Wyatts move on to? Whenever Bray Wyatt is looking good, you have to wonder whom the WWE will feed him to. Roman Reigns in an eventual title feud? There really aren't many top stars around. To make matters worse, Bray Wyatt has already feuded with a lot of the top stars on the roster. Randy Orton is injured. Are there another four guys for The Wyatts to feud with as a group? I doubt the WWE goes with The Wyatts vs. Roman Reigns and his pals. If the WWE has no long-term plan, those ECW guys might end up putting over a stable with nowhere to go after.

New WWE Champion: Roman Reigns

The WWE could probably smell the blood in the water at TLC. They went in for the kill on Raw last night. At TLC, despite not winning the title from Sheamus, Roman Reigns seemed to win the crowd over with his assault on Triple H. The WWE didn't take too much time after that to give Roman Reigns a rematch on Raw, where he finally captured the WWE Championship. It looks like this reign will last longer than 5 minutes.

I like that they had a title change happen on Raw. That does not happen often. They should do exciting things like that to help ratings.

The WWE didn't simply give Roman Reigns the title. It is how they did it that deserves to be mentioned. At TLC, the WWE saw that having Roman Reigns attack Triple H helped him win the rowdy fans over. They gave a little more of that on Raw. This time, it was Vince McMahon himself out to screw Roman Reigns. And if Reigns lost, he would be fired. The League of Nations would also once again get involved. The odds were just stacked against Roman Reigns. And he overcame it all himself. He even knocked out Vince. If attacking Triple H got fans to cheer him, knocking out Vince shouldn't hurt too much. The WWE has certainly put work into creating Roman Reigns.

Where does this leave Sheamus and his group? Sheamus was obviously a stepping stone. He will get his rematch. But how will the WWE continue The League of Nations? The group has only been official for a few weeks. I am getting the feeling it might already be starting to fall to pieces. I definitely do not see it remaining a main-event stable for long. If it does survive any meaningful length of time, it will be an upper-midcard/midcard angle. I have said before that I dislike when the WWE invests in a group when it is obvious they might not last long. They come up with a stable name, a group theme, and whatever else. And then the group just falls apart. I would really hate for that to happen here, especially so soon. This group had potential, despite some issues. I was going to talk about the WWE's handling of Lana in relation to the group, but I now have to wonder if the group will be around long enough to even bother bringing that up.

Back to Roman Reigns. This might be the true start of his centerpiece run. Yes, John Cena was not around the last few months, but this has not been a filler run. A few years ago, John Cena had to take time off due to injury and Daniel Bryan got pushed as filler in his place. Cena came back, won a World title, was in a match to unify the titles, and then you had Batista. While that went on, Daniel Bryan was getting phased out. That is how you know his push was just meant to be filler. Circumstances and fan backlash led to him getting back in the title picture. Roman Reigns is someone they actually want to be a top star.

The storyline with Roman Reigns is similar to the storyline with Daniel Bryan back then. Authority figures don't want a certain face to win the title and screw him. But what happened with Daniel Bryan wasn't just a storyline. The WWE legitimately did not want to push him at the level he deserved. Running the storyline they did was the dumbest thing they could have done. It just riled fans up even more. Danial Bryan was already connecting with the fans very well prior to that whole thing getting blown up further. The WWE should not have messed with that. This is not the kind of storyline you should do with someone you do not intend to eventually get a proper run at the top, especially when that someone is as hot as Daniel Bryan was.

The WWE has obviously pulled the trigger with Reigns, but what if they didn't? What if they had him win, then had Vince somehow strip him of the title right after? What if they actually had him lose and get "fired"? Would fans threaten to riot or start a petition to get him rehired? What if they screwed him out of the title and just moved on, like they tried to do with Daniel Bryan a few years ago? Would there be that same backlash? Roman Reigns may have gotten a great reaction at TLC, but you never make too much out of one thing. I would not yet say he is as hot as Daniel Bryan was back then. If the WWE decided to play with this situation and dragged it out, it probably would have not worked. They wasted no time in pulling that trigger. Probably a very smart move.

Roman Reigns Attacks Triple H

Roman Reigns did not win the WWE Championship back at TLC last night, but it is what he did after the match that matters more. He assaulted Triple H. And he got a pretty good reaction for doing it.

Many people have said ever since Roman Reigns was having issues with his big push that he should just turn heel. I never agreed with that idea. A heel turn is not always the answer. The WWE just had to find a proper face character for Roman Reigns. The guy can get a good reaction from some fans, but it is those smarks he needed to win over. As you usually get at a PPV, the crowd was filled with smarks last night. And the WWE found a way to get Roman Reigns to win them over.

He did it by simply going out there and destroying a heel authority figure. A lot of fans love seeing violence and destruction. You do not need to have a comedy gimmick to get over. One of the reasons The Shield worked out is because they were going out there and taking people out. Nexus did the same thing and that angle worked. Kharma went out there and destroyed eye-candy divas. That worked in creating interest in the diva division. It is not surprising that an intense, destructive Roman Reigns would get a positive reaction. I have said before that this guy should play a badass face. Do not push him as a face character he cannot handle. It is still questionable whether he deserves to be the new centerpiece, but they can at least start doing a good job winning his haters over.

What the WWE did last night is a good example of what they are about. They do not just dump a title on someone. They want to get that someone connecting with the audience. They put work into getting someone they want to be a top star over. It is something TNA does not do. They just rotate titles around. In their women's division, they just seem to always give the title to Gail Kim. But they do not really put the work in to get her more over. Building a centerpiece is about overness even more than it is about title reigns. Those title reigns do not mean much if the person winning them isn't connecting with the audience the way the company wants them to. If Roman Reigns didn't have issues, he would probably be a 2-time or 3-time WWE Champion by now. But the WWE is still in the process of building him.

Let me switch to Roman's buddy, Dean Ambrose. He won the Intercontinental Championship. I felt that there would be a title change at TLC. I just felt it would be Roman's other associates, The Usos, winning some gold. Dean Ambrose didn't really look like he needed a title right now. Kevin Owens only really had that one successful title feud against Ryback, the guy he won it from. I saw one fan say Owens can now move up to a better feud. With whom? What top face will he start feuding with? Let's see what happens to him. Even if Ambrose didn't win the title, I wouldn't have been too worried about him getting lost in the shuffle.

Roman Reigns Vs. Sheamus At TLC 2015: Final Preview

Whether some fans like it or not, Sheamus is currently the top heel and Roman Reigns is the top face. And there are a lot of fans that do not like that. They view these two as benefactors of backstage politics, nepotism, or continuing the same old status quo they hate. Their favorites, like Cesaro and Daniel Bryan, are not around. The current situation in the WWE is like a nightmare for some fans. Regardless, Sheamus and Reigns will have a TLC match this Sunday for the WWE Championship.

Raw ended with a promo and brawl between Reigns and Sheamus. Let me start with what I like about that. Raw ended the way it should, promoting the main event of TLC. The WWE was having a tournament to crown a new WWE Champion last month and I said the WWE should have featured these matches better. Let them go on last. So what if it's football season? So what if the third hour does poorly? You have to give top focus to something as big as a TLC WWE Championship match. This segment definitely deserved to end Raw.

Let me say what I don't like about the segment they had on Raw. I can understand getting a little physical to promote Tables, Ladders & Chairs, but I would be careful about how brutal things get. The WWE has a lot of top stars not around. Neither Sheamus nor Roman Reigns can be considered huge stars, but they are the two being pushed right now. Do you want to risk injury less than a week before their title match? I would have toned it down a little. It has nothing to do with PG. It is about avoiding injury. I think more fans would be unhappy with a safe, lame TLC match this Sunday than a brawl on Raw to promote the match being a little less brutal. Both Sheamus and Roman Reigns have had to take time off due to injuries in recent years. If an injury does end up happening at TLC, well, at least they made it to the match. Better than getting injured on Raw and the WWE having to scramble to work through it on short notice. Thankfully, no injuries to hinder the match.

There is no longer a need to ask if Roman Reigns is ready. He is being pushed as the top face. Granted, it is coming at a time when other top faces are not around. Because of that, you would think some people might be more willing to let him get his push. Daniel Bryan was pushed in a filler role as top face a few years ago when Cena took time off due to an injury. The WWE ended up eventually trying to phase Daniel Bryan out. That did not work well. I do not think the same thing will happen to Roman Reigns when Cena returns again. If it does, will fans riot to get Roman Reigns back in the title picture? I doubt it.

Who wins at TLC? Sheamus is not the one being groomed to be centerpiece of the company. That is Roman Reigns. But that does not mean the WWE will rush the title back on him. They might make it more of a journey. Besides, Sheamus just created a stable a few weeks ago. How would it look if he lost the title so soon? The League of Nations should find some way to get involved. I doubt Roman Reigns loses cleanly. But I do think he will lose here.

Previewing The TLC 2015 Undercard Title Matches

All the titles will be on the line at TLC this Sunday. I will talk about the WWE Championship match next time. Right now, I will look at the matches for the Intercontinental, United States, Tag Team, and Diva's Championships.

A common theme in the matches I am about to talk about will be multiple angles going on for some of these wrestlers possibly holding back the potential of the title feuds. I talked about that recently. The League of Nations was just formed, with some of those guys already having something going on prior to the stable becoming official. Then The Usos and Dean Ambrose came out to help Roman Reigns, bringing up the possibility of a stable there. The diva division is a mess, as usual.

Let me start with the Intercontinental Championship match. Dean Ambrose goes against Kevin Owens. I said that this was a feud that did not really need a fancy storyline to it. I did not imagine when I said that that things would work out like they have. Owens was not able to get involved as best as he could for a while. Dean Ambrose got involved with Roman Reigns against The League of Nations. The feud just became an afterthought. They will have a contract signing on Smackdown this week. My initial reaction was that this feud does not really need that, but it is probably a good way to give this match some hype prior to TLC. I still feel Owens retains. Given how things have worked out, extending the feud a few more weeks after TLC would not be too horrible.

Jack Swagger goes after the United States Championship held by Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio retains, but it is really a shame what has happened to this feud. This was the midcard title feud that had potential for a good story. But putting Del Rio into The League of Nations has ruined the storyline they could have had here. It will be a chairs match, but the feud could have been better.

The tag titles will be decided in a triple-threat ladder match. Considering the men involved, it should be a great match and give the main event some competition for match of the night. The New Day defend against The Usos and Lucha Dragons. The Lucha Dragons are probably just there to make the match more exciting. It is unlikely they win. But it is a shame that they have not been featured better in the feud. Winning a match here and there isn't enough. It is all about how you are actually featured. The New Day have been associating with Sheamus and his group. The Usos have obviously sided with Roman Reigns. If Sin Cara & Kalisto were not involved in this title match, there would be no problem. As it stands, it feels like they are getting the short end of the stick. It seems like a lot of these title feuds have gotten the short end of the stick for a while for the benefit of furthering Reigns vs. Sheamus. Do The Usos win the titles here? It is only a matter of time before they do. I will say they do win them.

The diva division is a mess. The feud between Charlotte and Paige has been horrible. I have said that they probably should have ended it already. Move on to something else. They have continued it and only seem to make it worse. Already teasing friction between Charlotte and Becky Lynch before the feud between Paige and Charlotte is done just takes away from the feud. If Paige was the one forcing the wedge, that would be one thing. She's not. Even Team Bella has stirred the pot.

And the WWE brings back Ric Flair to get involved even more regularly. I do not think that is fair. How many wrestlers have a legendary father at the level of Ric Flair to give them a rub? It wouldn't be right for The Rock to carry a certain family member of his that has issues connecting with the fans, so I do not think the WWE should do too much with Ric Flair for Charlotte's benefit. She needs to do it on her own. If they wanted to bring Ric Flair in to work with Charlotte in a certain storyline that really deserved it, that would be great. That is not what they are doing here. This is just trying to give Charlotte a rub. I am still not convinced they really want to make her a star or are just pushing filler right now and creating the impression they really want her over. Either way, Charlotte has still not proven that she should be pushed as a top star.

As for Paige, I have brought up before that this push she has been getting may not necessarily be to make her into the new AJ Lee. It could be more similar to what happened to Melina when she turned heel for the last time to feud with Natalya over the title. The feud got treated poorly. Melina was not built up well, she lost to Natalya, and the WWE just moved on. I read Paige loses to Becky Lynch on Smackdown this week. The last show before the PPV and she loses. It has happened before that credible jobbers lose like that and go on to lose when they get their title shot soon after.

I would expect Paige to lose at TLC. The WWE has already started to tease Becky vs. Charlotte. Unless Becky is the one that costs Charlotte the title, the title will still be involved for the storyline between Becky and Charlotte. Why put the title on Paige? She is a heel. Sasha Banks is a heel. Nikki Bella, whenever she returns, will likely be a heel. Are there any faces that Paige can genuinely feud with? I doubt the WWE would dig Natalya back up to go against Paige. No, I say the title stays on Charlotte as she goes against Becky Lynch.

Understanding All That Crowd Noise

I remember watching a football game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys a few seasons ago. It was a home game for the Giants. And yet, the Cowboys actually got cheered, especially at the end of the game when they won it. It was very noticeable. Even the commentators heard it. One of them said it was because the Giants were doing poorly that year and many Giants fans sold their tickets to Cowboys fans. I am not sure how serious he was being, but that's what he said.

This kind of thing happens all the time in sports. A visiting team might sometimes appear to have more support than the home team. It usually happens when the home team is not very good. If they do not give their fans something to cheer about, they will be quiet and fans of the other team will be vocal. If that poor home team cannot get it together during the game, that will just send a lot of their fans heading for the exits before the game even ends. And if that team is consistently lousy, their fans might not even bother coming to the games in the first place, leaving lots of seats for any fans of the road teams to show up.

The reason I bring this up now, because it was something I have wanted to bring up for a while, is because I just read a report that a lot of fans left before the end of Raw last night. I didn't watch all of Raw, so I cannot tell how accurate the report is. I then saw some fans try to spin it to make it sound like fans walked out rather than see Roman Reigns or that the positive reaction he got should be taken with a grain of salt.

The overness of Roman Reigns is definitely something to talk about. He is not as popular as The Rock or Austin were in their prime, but it would be wrong to think that all he gets is nuclear heat, like he got earlier this year. Smarks dislike him. Many dislike him with a passion. Crowd reactions are still one of the best ways to tell how over someone is, but you have to understand the crowd. Roman Reigns has gotten terrible reactions from crowds packed with smarks. And there are still pockets of smarks that will give him a negative reaction here and there in more balanced crowds. But there are also a lot of fans that do cheer him. In the end, I still do not think he has A+ overness.

Take Sasha Banks. She is the opposite of Roman Reigns. Wrestling fans love her. You sometimes get chants for her. But I refuse to believe she is really extremely over. She once had a match on Raw that got a negative reaction because fans were more interested in Brock Lesnar. She went on to have an amazing match at NXT. Ever since then, she has pretty much solidified her legendary status. That is, with wrestling fans. Those NXT fans travel well. Those kind of fans aren't just found in Florida. They are found all over the world. And they do get very vocal. And their opinion, moreover, might sometimes be quite different from what the WWE wants. Sasha Banks has not done anything on the main roster to get over with the general audience. The WWE is mostly to blame for that. They have not pushed her well. I once read on a message board that Sasha Banks got an amazing reaction on a Smackdown. When I went to take a look, I did not see it and I did not hear it. Again, I am not convinced she is really that over.

Why do I say Daniel Bryan really did have A+ overness? Because the reaction he was getting was clearly amazing on a consistent basis. Not only could you hear it, you could see it. You could see fans waving their hands along with Daniel Bryan. This guy was over with wrestling fans before he signed with the WWE, but energizing the rest of the fans like he did is what makes him A+. No one else was doing that, including John Cena, the centerpiece for about a decade, and including Roman Reigns, whose overness should be scrutinized. It is just obvious how over this guy was.

Why do I say Mickie James was the most over diva on the roster? Because she consistently got cheered. It wasn't just in front of smark-filled PPV audiences and her hometown crowd. She got great reactions wherever the WWE went. She would come out on top in a lot of polls I have seen. Aside from fan reactions, polls and contests/tournaments that fans sometimes have on the Internet are also an indicator of how much a wrestler is liked. And when she got released, there was a backlash that no other diva that has been released has gotten. When you compare her connection with the fans to that of the other divas that were around her, no one else was connecting with both wrestling fans and the general crowd as well as her.

Silence can be drowned out very easily. And when that happens, you might be fooled into believing something that isn't true. If a sports team does not give their fans something to cheer about, the road team might end up looking more popular than they really are. If smarks just give up and leave, Roman Reigns might end up looking a lot more popular than he really is. If casual fans have no reason to cheer for Sasha Banks, a lot of wrestling fans still will and create the idea that she is more popular than she really is. Before you crown someone as over or not over, you should stop and think about that reaction they are getting.

The Wyatts Vs. The Dudleys & Friends

Outside of title feuds, the most interesting thing going on in the WWE right now is the feud between The Wyatts and The Dudleys. Bray Wyatt once again shows that wins and losses do not matter, having lost a feud to The Brothers of Destruction and just transitioning to another feud easily. As for The Dudleys, how can you have a TLC PPV and not include one of the teams that helped to make Tables, Ladders & Chairs famous?

What makes this feud even more intriguing is the fact that The Dudleys were outnumbered. There are four men in The Wyatts stable. The Dudleys recently recruited Tommy Dreamer to help them. Tommy Dreamer retired from the WWE years ago, but he has not been out of wrestling at all. He is likely to pop up in any wrestling promotion for a brief stint.

These former ECW guys are still outnumbered. Who will that fourth guy be to side with the faces against The Wyatts for TLC? Rhyno is down there in NXT. The WWE can bump him up for a week. There is RVD. Those seem like the two likely guys, since it is likely to be an ECW guy. If not, there is Kane. He was just feuding with The Wyatts recently. Anybody but Jericho.

One of the main criticisms I have had for the WWE for a while now is always bringing back all these people and signing more people, while not using the roster properly. Tommy Dreamer is certainly not a big draw. I doubt the fourth guy will be a big draw. Since this seems to be just for a short feud and the roster is so ravaged by injuries, I will not condemn the WWE for what they are doing here.

Who should win this feud? Bray Wyatt is obviously someone that has been treated as a jobber to the stars. He will beat people below him or at his level, but it usually is to build him up to feed to whom the WWE wants to put over. He just put over the legendary Undertaker for the second time this year. Will the WWE use The Wyatts to put over some ECW legends? I do not think the WWE is as high on ECW as they are on The Undertaker. The Wyatts should win this feud. The faces can get the momentum leading up to TLC, then The Wyatts win at the PPV.

Roman Reigns & The Family

The League of Nations was officially formed this week. I already talked about them. Four heels obviously creates a situation where you can have four faces to take them on. The four faces that have been going against these heels this week are Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and The Usos. Roman Reigns is related to The Usos. Dean Ambrose is like a brother to him. The Family is formed.

I just got done saying I dislike affiliations you just have a feeling will not last long being given team names and whatever else over-development. Why get worked up over something that might end very easily and quickly? The Family is not a group that should even be allowed to last long. Sheamus needs a group to help his credibility. A group will not do the same for Roman Reigns and his issues with smarks.

This group just seems like a loose affiliation that came together to stand against The League of Nations. Roman Reigns needed some backup. That just seems like something short-term. Why even bother treating it like it will be an official stable? Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose have been teaming now and then ever since The Shield broke up. Did the WWE come up with a fancy team name for them? No. No reason to add in The Usos and start treating this as a stable.

Another issue I have with recent developments is that The Usos and Dean Ambrose have their own separate title feuds going. And those title feuds are not with any of the four members in The League of Nations. It is possible to have one wrestler or team have two angles at one time. It can be done well. It should not be done often. One angle might get the short end of the stick. You might not get the most out of either angle. That is one of the issues with the diva division right now. While Charlotte is still having issues with Paige, the WWE is already teasing friction between Charlotte and Becky Lynch. With recent issues, you can understand Dean Ambrose not being able to properly further his feud with Kevin Owens. And The New Day have been feuding with The Usos and have been aligned with The League of Nations. Right now, everything seems fine. But if the WWE does continue this stable, it better not become a Roman Reigns support group. I can picture the personal feuds The Usos and Dean Ambrose get down the line getting the short end of the stick for the benefit of pushing Roman Reigns. Not only might that hold back The Usos and Ambrose, it might hold back whomever they are feuding with and hurt feud and storyline development in those angles.

The Continued Demise Of PCB

I sometimes wonder why people even bother getting too invested in certain teams or stables that obviously will not last long. They come up with all these fancy team names. They come up with fanfiction that ends up better than anything the WWE will likely do. They sometimes just expect too much. I sometimes don't even bother using gimmick names for certain wrestlers or teams. I just feel awkward at times when I do. Whatever the angle is will likely not last.

PCB is another example of that. There were three teams in the diva division just a few months ago. PCB was the first to collapse. Paige turned on her group. The WWE dragged it out. They had her rejoin the group. Then they had her break away again. If the WWE wanted to do a good job keeping the stable stuff going, they could have plugged Natalya in with Charlotte and Becky Lynch officially. They didn't. You are left with Charlotte and her sidekick.

And even that looks like it might be coming to an end. The WWE has started to tease tension between Becky Lynch and Charlotte. Charlotte's issues with Paige aren't entirely finished, but it seems the WWE is also starting this up.

I would say the whole thing is stupid. There are a few reasons why I say that. First, it reminds me of one of the issues with Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt this year. They had developed this personal feud between these two guys, then they just started throwing in extra bodies and the feud lost that heat. And then they just discard the extra bodies and go back to Reigns vs. Wyatt to finish the feud inside Hell in a Cell. Charlotte and Paige were developing a personal feud, even though that certain segment they had a few weeks ago was just unnecessary and in bad taste. How about keeping it personal until the finish? I wouldn't have minded them ending it at Survivor Series, or the night after. That is not what they are doing. They are continuing it, while also bringing in the angle of issues between Charlotte and Becky Lynch. It hurts the feud you had between Charlotte and Paige.

Another issue, this really isn't fair to either Paige or Becky Lynch. Focus is on Charlotte. She is holding the title. She has issues with Paige and has something brewing with Becky. But what about Paige and Becky? This direction the WWE is taking is taking some of the momentum away from Paige. And that momentum isn't all on Becky. Neither of these two divas is getting proper development. Needless to say, neither is getting a real opportunity to succeed.

I am all for Becky Lynch getting a push, but do it right. The WWE is horrible at secondary feuds in their diva division. TNA does a better job in that respect, even though they are not perfect at it. Why not have Becky Lynch feud with Sasha Banks? I am talking about a real feud, not just having Becky job one Raw to Sasha and moving on. I was expecting the WWE to do a better job with Natalya against Sasha Banks. Didn't work out. Okay, but they could have done it between Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. A title does not need to be present to develop a proper diva feud. And this is something the WWE is going to need to do in this era of the diva division, especially after debuting too many women at one time. Filler matches are not good enough.

On a night when many fans might have been getting all excited over a ladder match being announced for the divas at TLC, the WWE begins the separation of Becky Lynch and Charlotte. And that is not something good. Not right now. Proper focus isn't on either Paige or Becky Lynch. The feud that was there between Paige and Charlotte will lose momentum. I didn't even mention how a heel turn might mess up the face-heel ratio right now. Too many heels, not enough faces. The WWE just cannot push quantity over quality. They are not going to get the most out of anybody. They are not going to make stars.

The League Of Nations

Sheamus has had an affiliation with Barrett and Rusev for a few weeks now. It was nothing too official. The WWE made it official on Raw this week, and tossed in Alberto Del Rio. The League of Nations is formed.

Sheamus needed this. I have been saying for a while now that Sheamus just did not look credible. I did not believe he deserved to successfully cash in because he had looked so poor. How would fans buy into him? And with Seth Rollins out and no great top heels around, fans would need to buy into him. Having him get a rub from Triple H would not be enough. The Authority is hardly a stable anymore. Giving someone some lackeys is probably one of the oldest tricks in the book. They did it with Michelle McCool during her centerpiece run. It can help someone seem more interesting or make them look more important. And this stable can help Sheamus look more important. He has some thugs to help him.

But what about the other three men in this stable? Sheamus will likely be the chief benefactor of this new stable, but what does this mean for each of the other three heels?

Alberto Del Rio is still the United States Champion. He had this gimmick going on with Zeb Colter that I talked about recently. There was potential for the WWE to do something with him in that position. On the one hand, it is a shame that gimmick didn't get played out better. On the other hand, this is a better position for him. He is a part of a top stable now.

Rusev just got back his Lana on Raw. Again, there was creative potential there. At one point, I would have said it would be a shame if the WWE just went backwards and put Lana and Rusev back together. Given everything that has happened, it now seemed like the best decision to make. What does Rusev now joining this stable do to his angle with Lana? I feel there might be more wasted potential here than with Del Rio joining the group.

There is not debate when it comes to Barrett joining this group. It is good for him. It gives him something meaningful to do. He had no real direction. This is a step up for him.