Roman Reigns Vs. Bray Wyatt At Hell In A Cell 2015

The feud between Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt continues. It is not going the way I expected it to go. It is going the way I hoped it would have gone months ago. I felt the WWE should have kept the feud personal. They added in a bunch of other players and you had a 6-man tag situation coming up. Given The Wyatts had taken out Randy Orton and he just returned, the expected development was to have Randy Orton, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. The Wyatts. Instead, the WWE is going back to the personal feud between Reigns and Bray. They will meet inside Hell in a Cell in a few weeks.

Even though I felt they should have kept it personal or even gone back to it being personal after Summerslam, I do not completely like them finally making it personal again now. They had done so much in developing a multi-performer feud. They debuted Braun Strowman. They had The Wyatts attack Randy Orton, who would obviously want revenge. The singles feud between Reigns and Bray has lost some of that personal heat it had. Does the WWE think they can just fall back to it and it will be as great as it could have been before adding in all these other wrestlers? They started building towards a new direction and I think they should have stuck with it. Will this hurt the focus on Strowman? Will this hurt Orton right now? Or is he next in line to feud with Bray Wyatt?

Why not have 3 vs. 3 inside Hell in a Cell? I like them deciding to use Hell in a Cell for this feud. It is not unheard of to have 6 men in this match. Not only do I think it would be a good match, it would continue along the line of where things seemed to be heading before the WWE booked this singles match for Hell in a Cell. The WWE could have used this match to end Bray Wyatt's feud with Roman Reigns and transition towards that feud with Orton.

The WWE needs to make up their mind on what they want to do with The Wyatts. When they first debuted, it was obvious Bray Wyatt was being pushed and the other two were his henchmen. This wasn't like The Shield. They felt like three guys that could be used to feud with other teams. They felt like a unit. It wasn't about one guy being pushed with two sidekicks. The only time The Wyatts felt like a unit was when they were feuding against The Shield. The Wyatts were starting to feel that way again. Next thing you know, focus is back on Bray Wyatt's singles feud. The WWE can go in either direction, but it would be nice if they stuck in an overall direction. Either get the most out of Bray Wyatt or spread the attention and get the most out of the stable. Inconsistency will not help you.

Brock Lesnar's Tour Stops By Big Show

Before facing The Undertaker at Hell in a Cell, Brock Lesnar gets Big Show in New York City. And the WWE has been doing an okay job developing this. That's the kind of thing they need to do for these network exclusives.

The WWE could have stuck Lesnar with any jobber and just have him crush him. Instead, the WWE puts him against Big Show, the man that did beat him to put an end to his first title reign. But will the overall outcome still be any different? Lesnar should be getting the win here.

Could the WWE pull any swerve? Specifically, how about Heyman siding with Big Show during the match? That is how Big Show beat Lesnar that first time. I do not expect any shenanigans like that. I doubt the ring will get killed, either. I am expecting just a typical match between these two, with Lesnar getting the win.

Last thing to consider, does this match ruin the personal feel in the Undertaker/Lesnar feud? That feud seemed like it was getting really good a few months ago. The WWE has done an okay job developing some heat for the match between Lesnar and Big Show, but it still gets dwarfed by Undertaker/Lesnar. Even after this match, there will still be plenty of time to go back to hyping Undertaker/Lesnar, so I do not see this match coming up in New York as any kind of distraction. The worst thing the WWE can do is actually have some kind of swerve to make this match between Big Show and Lesnar more than it needs to be. That is how the development of Undertaker/Lesnar can get ruined. After everything those two have been through since last year, it is time to get to the conclusion of the feud. Just give it the proper focus it deserves.

The Dudleys Continue Their Feud Against New Day

New Day managed to walk out of Night of Champions with the tag titles. But The Dudleys are still in line for a title shot and will be getting a rematch in a few days in New York.

It was never really a question of whether or not they would regain the titles. It was just a matter of when they would. Should Bubba and Devon win the titles in New York City at the WWE Network special? I think it would be a great time. It would be a great place to do it. Besides that, the WWE should have some exciting things happen on these specials. The NXT Championship changed hands a few months ago at one of these events in Japan. I would not be surprised to see a title change here, and it just might be the tag titles.

Can you imagine The Dudleys getting booed? It probably won't happen in New York City. They are feuding against entertaining heels. As faces, New Day sucked. As heels, New Day rocks. I don't care too much for them, but I see fans liking them. It is not unusual for entertaining heels to get cheered. In some cases, the faces they are going against might get booed. To be fair, The Dudleys have not exactly been bland since returning. They are bringing the tables. They are bringing some attitude. You might get some dueling chants. But might the day come when they get booed? Might be sad to see.

Reigns And Ambrose Still Need Help

If you ever want to lose really, really badly, get Chris Jericho on your team. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose recruited him for Night of Champions. They ended up losing. The feud against The Wyatts continues.

Seeing Chris Jericho make returns these days is lackluster. There was a time when I would get excited. I am not even a fan of the guy that much, but there was usually that hope that something big would happen. It is hard to get excited for a part-time jobber. He might win some matches here and there, but it is usually to build him up to feed to someone else. And the WWE always seems to fumble with whomever he puts over, which makes his appearances even more pointless.

Randy Orton is back from vacation for revenge against the guys that took him out. Why do I get the feeling that The Wyatts will still win? Even if the faces win, Luke Harper will probably take the pin. They will keep Braun Strowman strong.

And will Reigns and Ambrose need to find another partner after that? Or will another trio need to face The Wyatts? That is a real possibility as to how the WWE can handle The Wyatts. And I don't like it. This is the kind of booking they did with The Shield. They would put together teams of three guys and have them feud against The Shield. When Randy Orton came back to be the new partner for Reigns and Ambrose against The Wyatts, I realized the WWE could go back to that booking they did a few years ago. It might lead to great matches, but the booking isn't great.

Why don't I like this kind of booking? First, it is lazy. If you have nothing to do for a few guys you want to feature, just toss them together and put them against The Wyatts. It is one thing when you have two guys with nothing to do and make a tag team out of them for a while, but the WWE might get comfortable doing this with trios now. Second, it can ruin the personal feel of some feuds. Bray Wyatt had a personal feud going with Roman Reigns. That has gotten watered down. There was a time I was expecting Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton to have a personal feud. It looks like the feud they have now will involve a few other players. Last reason I do not like this booking, it can hinder the individual development of some wrestlers. Can they push Roman Reigns right as a singles competitor? Dean Ambrose sometimes felt like he had no real direction since breaking away from The Shield. He sometimes looked like he was just a jobber to the stars. Bray Wyatt could have had a great solo career, but they put him back in a stable just a year after ending his first stable run.

It's not just The Wyatts. New Day is a trio. Stardust has teamed up with The Ascension to form a group. The Wyatts are obviously above these other group, but you see all these three-man stables, which might often lead to six-man tag matches. I won't even bring the diva division up here. You can imagine that some of these groups might fade in the coming months, but will others rise up to take their place?

I have said before that it is not efficient for the WWE to hire all these people, including bringing back legends, and not release people on a consistent basis like they used to. You just get more people than you can properly handle. And here you see one of the things the WWE is doing. They aren't doing a brand split. They aren't creating another main show. They aren't creating more feuds and storylines. They are adding people to the feuds and storylines already there. Things are still getting crowded. Less is sometimes better.

Paige Drops A Pipe Bomb And Turns Heel

Paige did a stinging promo on Raw during Charlotte's celebration segment after winning the Diva's Championship at Night of Champions. She has broken away from her team and has turned heel. Pipe bomb? Similar to what you had with AJ Lee a few years ago? Let's compare them.

First, in terms of the overall message of the promo, I think Paige's promo was more of a pipe bomb than what AJ Lee did. There is no definitive definition for what a "pipe bomb" is, but I think it is a promo that lays down cold, hard truth. AJ's promo against Total Divas was more about putting herself over and slamming women that had never been pushed as well as her at that time. The Bellas have gone on to be pushed better, but that is another story. Paige's promo was more about knocking the actual diva division. She talked about Charlotte being a placeholder, which is likely, given what the WWE has a history of doing. Becky Lynch is pretty much the least relevant of the group. Natalya has been lost in the shuffle. Would Charlotte even be in the company if she wasn't Ric Flair's daughter? Paige wasn't just putting herself over and burying other women. Of course, should Paige get the credit for this? Or the writers?

Next thing to look at is the actual execution. I think Paige did a good job. She was no CM Punk out there. AJ was arrogant out there, which is what you are supposed to be during these promos, but I think Paige showed a little better wit with how she handled the promo. Did her accent make it hard for some to understand her? I saw some fans bring that up. I understood her.

I would also say that who is doing the promo matters. If John Cena went out there and dropped a pipe bomb slamming other guys on the roster and putting himself over, it wouldn't be the same as Cesaro doing that same kind of promo. John Cena is the top guy. If he puts himself over and puts down those pushed worse than him, that would just sound heelish. Cesaro is a guy with a lot of potential that is not pushed to that potential. When AJ Lee gave that promo, she was holding the Diva's Championship and no one on the roster at that time had been pushed as well as she had. And she slams women that are making the most of what the WWE is letting them do. I am not a fan of Total Divas, but I will acknowledge that it brought some depth in the division for a while. While AJ was feuding with Kaitlyn, the women on Total Divas had their own thing going. Jump to Paige. She is not holding the title. She has not been pushed at the highest level. She has been losing to Sasha Banks a lot. She wasn't simply overrating herself in that promo. She took shots at those women that appeared to be ahead of her and questioned why they were ahead of her. She brought up women being pushed worse than her. It wasn't as great as what CM Punk did, but Paige was in a similar position as someone not being pushed as the top star that might deserve the push.

Last thing to consider, what will come of this? Nothing came of AJ Lee's pipe bomb. No real change came from CM Punk's pipe bomb. And no real change will probably come of this storyline. Paige looks like she will have a feud with Natalya, while Nikki gets her rematch. I can imagine Paige winning that feud, Charlotte retaining the title against Nikki, and then Charlotte feuding with Paige. Charlotte would retain there, then Nikki, or some other eye-candy diva, gets it back.

How about Paige turning heel? When I first heard Paige had turned heel, my initial reaction wasn't that they were grooming her to be the new AJ Lee. I thought about what happened to Melina when she turned heel to feud against Natalya. That feud got buried under Michelle McCool, who was still the centerpiece. Eve Torres ended up winning the title. She got buried under McCool. The whole diva division back then was bad. Melina was just used to put over a woman they weren't pushing to be a top star. That is the initial reaction I got here. Paige will be used to put over Charlotte, who is just another credible jobber, as well. The Bellas will be pushed better in the long run. Of course, it would be wise if the WWE did build Paige to be a star. AJ Lee isn't around. Those fans complaining on the Internet might be drawn to Paige.

What about Sasha Banks? She had beaten Paige a few times already. Shouldn't she be getting a push? I remember some fans saying the fact she made Nikki tap weeks ago should  have led to her getting a push. What do those fans think when they see a woman that lost a lot to Sasha recently getting featured better now? Sasha and her group have no clear direction. Sasha is still winning matches, but having direction means more. I remember when Mickie James would be winning meaningless filler matches. I knew they were not pushing her as someone they wanted over, but part of me did content myself with those meaningless wins. When they did get around to pushing her, it was filler and jobber pushes. And everyone knows how Mickie's career in the WWE ended. All I'm saying is, don't settle for Sasha Banks getting a win streak with no real creative direction.

Seth Rollins Retains Against Sting, Then Meets His Next Challenger

Night of Champions for Seth Rollins went pretty much how I thought the WWE would handle it. He dropped the United States Championship back to Cena. He retained against Sting. Sheamus cashing in was teased, but that did not go anywhere. Masked Kane returned to break it up, making Seth Rollins his main target. The return of Kane was the only thing I did not bring up.

If they had just brought Kane back and had him act like nothing happened after Seth attacked him, I probably would have given up right there. That is not what they are doing, but what they are doing is interesting. It is better than just a regular title/revenge feud. They are showing some creative interest here. Rollins will likely retain, since Kane hardly ever wins World titles, but it is still an interesting storyline.

I have seen fans complain about Kane. They say no one cares about him, whether he has the mask on or not. But he has a gimmick that allows for some interesting storylines and feuds, and also segments. It does cause a stir, whether some fans realize it or not. I am not saying it will draw, but it will get fans already watching interested more. There was a time when a lot of people came to this blog because they were searching for Kane. This was around the time he came back with that metal mask. And I think the storyline they are running now once again has potential to get fans talking.

What about Sting? It was not a good night for him at Night of Champions. I am sure many fans would still love to see him face The Undertaker. I do not think Sting is done. Even after Lesnar, The Undertaker will not be done just yet. But what will the feud look like when Sting has not won one feud in his first year in the WWE? In that span, The Undertaker has at least beaten Bray Wyatt and Brock Lesnar. There are some individuals that do not need to win a lot to be over and have credibility, but Sting should look better than this before facing The Undertaker. And the longer they wait, the less likely the match will be great. I know Sting won that tag match on Raw recently, but I am thinking he should win a major match, and not by some DQ finish. Hopefully what they do with him next helps him a lot more than his first two feuds.

Brock Lesnar Vs. The Undertaker At Hell in a Cell 2015

It has been announced that Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker will go at it inside Hell in a Cell in a few weeks. With the way their last encounter ended, another match is not shocking. It is also good to do it now. Some fans were thinking this might lead to another Wrestlemania match between the two.

I am interested in seeing how they develop this feud. They have a whole month to go. I don't like how they made The Undertaker look with the Summerslam match. Some say they are turning him heel. It isn't about heel or face. They just made him look really bad. I am not saying they are trying to make Taker look bad. Vince McMahon loves the guy. This is just bad feud development. And now they have a lot more time to develop things. It could get ugly.

Match quality is also something you have to think about. Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker have gone at it inside Hell in a Cell before. But that was over a decade ago. Lesnar is still a beast, but Taker is past his prime now. Match quality can be very bad here. Of course, just having two legends inside the intimidating structure is a draw. Moreover, this is not an era where people expect amazing Hell in a Cell matches anymore. In terms of actual quality, this will probably not be an amazing match. Just hope The Undertaker doesn't get injured in this match.

Seth Rollins Vs. The World At Night of Champions 2015

Seth Rollins will be having a busy night this Sunday. First, he must defend the United States Championship against John Cena. After that, he has Sting with the WWE Championship on the line. If he is still holding the title after that, Sheamus might just cash in on him.

First, the U.S. title match. If John Cena had won at Summerslam, I could picture the WWE having him relinquish the U.S. title. He would give some nice speech about giving the younger guys a shot to do what he did with U.S. title. Seth Rollins won at Summerslam. Not surprisingly, a heel is not giving up any of his titles. He can't go long with holding both titles. I wouldn't be surprised to see him lose it quickly. But back to Cena? I know he put on some great matches during his run. I also think a midcarder beating him for the title would have meant more. But I still do not like the idea of giving it back to Cena. Nevertheless, it just wouldn't be good to have Seth Rollins hold on to both titles for long, so I will say Cena regains the title. Reports are already speculating that Cena regains it, anyway.

Should Sting win the WWE Championship? I think it would be a nice gesture. I have to give him and the WWE credit for actually having him be around on Raw every week to help further the feud. Some part-timers don't do that. Judging by how Sting is willing to show up every week, a short reign would not be bad. Should be better than giving it to Lesnar last year. On paper, that looked like a great decision. But the WWE did not handle it properly and ratings were poor. Not only against football, but even in the weeks heading into Wrestlemania. All the blame does not go on the decision to make Lesnar WWE Champion,  but it was still part of it. As long as the WWE does not handle Sting's title reign like they did Lesnar's, it should be fine.

Even if Seth retains the WWE Championship, he would have gone through what would likely be two grueling matches. He would be in a perfect state for Sheamus to want to cash in the briefcase. I think that is something you are likely to see, should things play out like this. How about Rollins acting like a weasel and trying to get out of his first match in a cheap way, even if that means letting Cena win? Cena would not want to win it like that. No, I think they will play on the story of Seth being pushed to the limit by the end of the night. Sheamus doesn't have anything else to do for Night of Champions.

How about Sting winning the title and Sheamus cashing in right after? Or the next night? I would be fine with that. Sting at least gets his name added to the list of men to be WWE Champion. Seeing as how putting the title on part-timers for long reigns is not a guaranteed draw, there is no need for Sting to hold it until Wrestlemania.

There are a few different ways the WWE title picture can go. I personally would go with Sting winning the title and Sheamus winning it after. What do I think is likely to happen? I do not think the WWE will sell this as the worst night in Seth's life by having him lose both titles. I feel it is more likely he drops the United States Championship than the WWE Championship. I say he retains against Sting. Does that mean Sheamus should fail when he tries to cash in? I still have trouble buying Sheamus as a main-eventer. But he will probably keep the briefcase. No need to have Seth Rollins beat Sheamus in this situation. But Sheamus cashing in will be teased. Can Super Rollins overcome the odds?

Cesaro With Nothing To Do For Night Of Champions?

One thing that seems common these days in the WWE is guys you would expect to be featured well not have anything to do for PPVs. Does Cesaro fit in that category? Is he a guy you would expect to be featured well? He was just being pushed against Kevin Owens. I have seen some people say he was the hottest guy in the company not too long ago. And yet, it seems he has nothing to do for Night of Champions.

This just feels like what you had between Jack Swagger and Rusev. Jack Swagger turned face to feud with Rusev. Fans actually connected well with him. The feud was pretty good. Just one little problem. Swagger lost a lot and the WWE just deflated him after that. It was obvious the WWE was using him to put over Rusev, but it would have been nice if the WWE still followed up with him better after, since he was connecting well with the fans.

That is the same vibe I am getting with Cesaro now. They just used him to put over Kevin Owens and he has been without a proper direction since. And people were actually ready to say Kevin Owens was ruined after feuding with Cena? He wins his first feud after Cena and has another feud immediately after that. Cesaro is the one that looks to be in a worse place. Just like Swagger, Cesaro was connecting well with fans. And yet, he is lost in the shuffle.

There is still a chance for him to be relevant on Night of Champions. One option is putting him in a filler match. The card does seem like it has space on it. Long matches? Sheamus cashing in? A lot of backstage segments? How about a filler match? You might get something like Cesaro vs. Bo Dallas, with Cesaro winning. Probably not.

How about having Cesaro be the mystery partner for Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose against The Wyatts? Not likely. It will likely be someone that will cause some buzz. It will probably be a debut or a return. If the WWE uses someone that is a regular on the roster already, it might be disappointing, even if it is Cesaro.

Not too many options. In the end, I do not think Cesaro will have anything meaningful to do for the PPV. It is a shame, but nothing too personal. The WWE seems to not know what to do with Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose at times. I also do not think there would be loud fan support for Cesaro right now to get him pushed better. You had that for Zack Ryder and Daniel Bryan. The WWE will probably have as easy a time shuffling Cesaro around as they did Jack Swagger. Maybe those two should team up again?

Nikki Bella Breaks The Record

Nikki Bella tied the record for longest-reigning Diva's Champion on Monday. She needed one more day to break it. The WWE made things a little interesting by having her defend the title against Charlotte on Raw. It appeared Charlotte had won the title, but there were shenanigans. Without getting into the mess, Nikki retained the title. She has broken AJ Lee's record. Charlotte gets a rematch at Night of Champions.

I have already said that I would have made the same decision to have her break it. It isn't about honoring Nikki or being petty towards AJ. It is about sending a message that workers cannot get away with the kind of things AJ Lee did during her WWE run. The WWE was more loyal to her than they should have been. They deserve part of the blame for being foolish enough to think she would be as loyal to them. I see nothing wrong with sending the message that loyal workers that bring great results will be pushed the best. Nikki Bella is not the greatest example of that, but I would have still done it to send the message to keep the workers in line. You want to create an environment that gives your workers fair opportunities to succeed and earn better, but you cannot let some of them get too pushy and possibly ruin that environment.

I also have to give the WWE credit for how they handled the situation. They hyped that Nikki was near to breaking the record. They created a situation on Raw where Nikki might have failed to accomplish her goal. There were some shenanigans, which you would expect from a heel. And Nikki ends up still making history. That is how you build up to something. It might not be productive. That is to say, it might still fail to draw against a good NFL game on Monday. I believe the title match came on right against the closing minutes of that game. It might also fail to help Nikki get more over. A lot of fans are still bitter about the situation. They hyped a celebration on Smackdown. Again, another good thing to do, since they need to do more interesting things on Smackdown, but we will have to see how it plays out and how well it draws. TNA should take note of what the WWE did. You do not just hand someone a record. You use it to add to a feud or storyline. You use it to build to elaborate segments. You use it to develop stars, especially those that deserve it. How the WWE has handled Nikki Bella breaking a record is better than how TNA handled Taryn Terrell breaking a record.

As I said, some fans are unhappy about what happened. It isn't because a heel just accomplished something. It is because many say Nikki is sleeping her way to the top and Charlotte was screwed. This issue has been talked about a lot in the last few weeks. The wrestling journalists have stirred the pot.

When you analyze, you should never make too much out of one moment. That is probably good advice for a lot of things. I think some fans are making too much out of a moment. Nikki Bella retaining the title on Raw and breaking the record does not mean Charlotte will never win the title. She is the daughter of a legend that is on great terms with the WWE. Some fans also read reports that Charlotte would have won the title when she debuted, she and the other NXT divas would dominate the diva division, and whatever else. Given what the WWE has a history of doing in the diva division, and seeing as how the status quo is still alive, it would not have turned out as well as some fans think. The WWE putting the title on Charlotte does not mean she will be pushed as the new centerpiece of the division.

Is Night of Champions the night for Charlotte? I think so. Nikki Bella has her record. A few more days will be added to it until this Sunday. Why not give it to Charlotte now? The only way I can see her losing is Paige turning on her. Paige has not had a good time the last few weeks. If having her tap to Sasha does not lead to a heel turn, it was pretty much just filler matches. Sasha maintains momentum, but where is she going? If Nikki does lose the title, it will be interesting to see how the WWE pushes The Bellas moving forward.