Daniel Bryan Vs. Miz Vs. John Morrison

With no time left, the WWE did a rushed job to create a triple-threat feud on Raw this week, which then sets up the U.S. Championship match for Hell in a Cell. Daniel Bryan will defend against both Miz, the former Champion, and John Morrison, the face on the rise on Raw.

Why is John Morrison in this match again? I understand that Morrison and Miz used to be tag champs and feuded after that, but it had been months since they really went at each other. Daniel Bryan was the guy who really had issues with Miz right now. Morrison was in limbo. WWE obviously wanted to push him, but they had no legitimate plan or free, worthy opponent for him. If they wanted to do a submissions match, it could have easily have been just between Miz and Bryan. In any case, Daniel Bryan brings in Morrison to be his partner in the recent Raw match, the heels win, and the face team falls apart as both have issues with Miz that they want no one to get in the middle of, supposedly.

I am not complaining about Morrison finally finding himself in a match like this, just finding the development of it all funny. In this particular type of match, action can potentially spill anywhere. If you remember Morrison's match with Sheamus, that can be a very good thing for John Morrison.

Do I think John Morrison will win? Why end Daniel Bryan's reign so soon? That may make it even more poor than R-Truth U.S. Championship reign a few months ago. However, there are two good options for Morrison. Either he walks out with the title or walks out with a feud with Miz over that empty briefcase every World Champion fears so much. They could choose to have Miz cash it in on Sunday, dashing that plan to hell. What would be left for Morrison then? Heel turn followed by feud with Daniel Bryan? I would rather see Daniel Bryan feud with his old friends in Nexus. Something better really develop from this match on Sunday. They cannot push Morrison around randomly without a focus.

Am I talking too much about Morrison? Would you rather I talk about Barrett? Believe it or not, I am not a huge Morrison fan. I just think he would be a fresh option to push that fans can actually enjoy. Let me talk about the other two men in this match. I still am waiting for Daniel Bryan to do something to actually entertain me and earn the rating so many people give him. The most entertaining thing about this guy is the joke of a theme they gave him and Michael Cole's hate for him. Do I have to wait until Daniel Bryan turns heel to find him truly entertaining? I am not going to mark out because the guy reminds me of Chris Benoit. Being a good wrestler is one thing, especially when so many around you have mediocre talent, but a guy like CM Punk is someone I can respect as a good wrestler who also entertains, both in and out of the ring. This does not mean I want Daniel Bryan to lose the title. If he did, I would not care so much. And Miz? Miz really does not need to hold the midcard title and briefcase at the same time to seem credible before he officially rises into the main event. This guy has the character for it. He has the demeanor in the ring. The fact that he has a lackey even helps the facade more. I can buy that he is something of a heel leader. He holds victories over Cena, and not that fake stuff of calling Cena out and Cena not showing up. He may not be a Kurt Angle or Chris Benoit, but he can put on a believable performance with top guys. The WWE does not need to hold the midcard down by keeping the title near him anymore.

Paul Bearer Rises From The Dead

While Nexus seems to be losing steam on Raw for the time, the story between Kane and Undertaker really picked up recently. Paul Bearer, "father" of Kane and manager to Undertaker is back to support Undertaker.

For the worth of nostalgia, this is a great move. What's more, you are bringing back a guy with an actual gimmick and legacy in the WWE. There is entertainment value in that. It also adds a great new dimension in the storyline. Intrigue is back again. There was a bit of intrigue over who attacked Taker a few months ago, although most people guessed it was Kane. Now people can talk about what Paul Bearer will do in this feud. Will he turn on Taker eventually? Will Taker turn on him again? That would be funny.

One thing has to be admitted. None of this would have happened if Undertaker was not injured a few months ago. Jack Swagger (God, rest his main-event push) would have probably still been near the main event at this time, whether he lost the belt eventually to Taker or not. Kane would have probably still been a face jobber, putting over Cody Rhodes. Swagger definitely did get screwed, so I hope even more that the storyline does pay big in terms of entertainment.

Thoughts On AJ Lee And On The End Of The Women's Championship

I did not really want to talk about AJ Lee, or any other NXT diva, again until they were moved up to the main rosters. Every week, I still see people comparing AJ or some other diva to Mickie James. All the talk about AJ being there to replace Mickie is circulating around. If you ask me, that sounds like an interesting topic for discussion. Why should I just watch people compare AJ to Mickie James and not join in?

I am not going to start with comparing looks, charisma, wrestling ability, or any of that just yet, although I have been noticing a few things. I will wait until she wins NXT3 and is moved to a main brand. I am going to start with just talking about there starts in the WWE. If people actually think this woman can replace Mickie James, she has to have the ability to get over on her own. That being said, I see that AJ Lee has two advantages Mickie James did not even have when she had her debut angle in 2005. First, the internet was already high on AJ Lee before she really did anything in the WWE to earn it. Before the final period was put at the end of NXT2, fans had already voted AJ as the winner of NXT3. Mickie James had years in the indies before her debut too, but neither that nor internet pre-debut love for some other reason set her up to be what she became. Many women have wrestled outside of the WWE before debuting. Not all get AJ Lee's level of hype from the fans before they even do a thing in the WWE. If this woman was actually at the level in the ring of a Daniel Bryan or Kaval, I would probably still roll my eyes at having any of them shoved down my throat as I have seen from a lot of fans, but I would grant her the hype more easily. The second advantage that AJ has that Mickie did not is that AJ is being booked very well for her own sake on NXT. Correct me if I am wrong, but was AJ not booked in the first main event of NXT3? Was AJ not booked to WIN the first main event of NXT3? The WWE is doing that placement, not the fans or AJ's wrestling ability. I don't think Mickie James ever even won a main event on Heat, let alone a televised WWE program. The WWE is booking AJ special. She is on a show where she does not have to compete with any other top face diva, or any diva with more overness than her for that matter. Kaitlyn is a close second. She may pull off an upset to win this thing, but I have my doubts.

I did not compare talent or anything from the wrestler's end that gets them over. What I compared was booking and how fans view wrestlers before they officially debut. It is really the internet that will decide the winner of this. How will AJ do on one of the major shows? One thing is for sure, if the WWE has a heavy hand in building her and keeping her over before she is fed to McCool, and she loses much of her overness when she is moved back down, AJ Lee sure has not proven to be a Mickie James.

I also see a whole bunch of topics and videos about people complaining about the retirement of the Women's Championship. Maybe if I still wrote a diva blog, I would have been more eager to join in. But it seems like another interesting topic to talk about.

How do I feel about this villainous move from the WWE? I don't care. All I see is people talking about how the title was built on the backs of women like Moolah, Trish, Ivory, Mickie James, Lita, and others. I hear people say that Moolah must be rolling in her grave for what the WWE did. Really? I think Moolah had enough reason to roll in her grave if she saw the direction women's wrestling was heading in the WWE before LayCool even broke a belt in half. After everything I have seen in the last 12 years, all the downs and supposed ups, retiring the Women's Championship is not that big of an insult at all.

Why continue to drag two titles on? Smackdown's diva division is dead. Raw's diva division is not exactly full of women who could legitimately replace Moolah. Too many women do not have the credibility to deserve the title. Some still get it. Others never will, whether they develop the credibility and overness for it or not. Women who do get it might possibly be getting it to really just put over some other woman or build their own credibility before they job later. Look at what they did to Melina. I will not go off here, but her last title reign was even more pathetically booked than Mickie's run as Diva's Champion. And they pretty much screwed over a diva or two who was under Melina. Would you have rather they killed off the Diva's Championship? Two reasons why they would not. It is the newer of the two titles. Why kill it so fast? Moreover, and building off that first reason, it represents the direction the WWE wants to send their women's division. See the pretty butterfly?

Do not like the direction the WWE is going? There you have what I say the real insult is. You want to keep the legacy of great past divas alive? You do not do it by shoving around a title they were booked to have from person to person until you build enough credibility in one to make them a legend. You do it by showing proper respect to your female wrestlers and valets, rewarding those who can bring results properly, giving them ample time to work in and out of the ring, and actually allowing them to be sources of entertainment again, not sources of building credibility. It is boring. The past divas worked to give the fans a show. That is another way you keep the legacy alive. Stop caring so much for titles and more about entertaining the fans. That is what it is about. When Moolah looks down at the WWE, what she should be most proud to see is two female wrestlers ripping the arena to shreds and the crowd cheering in approval, whether a title is on the line or not. That is something she could have said she helped to inspire and build. Booking and titles should not get in the way of that. Sadly, it is.

To sum it up, screw the title. Your higher priorities should be seeing these women respected properly and demanding to see real entertainment from them that goes beyond laughing about how they provide a "bathroom break" and all that. In itself, the title really is not either respect nor entertainment.

Cena Or Nexus?

The next big thing for John Cena and his feud with Nexus is the match with Wade Barrett coming up at Hell in a Cell. If John Cena wins, Nexus is done. If Wade Barrett wins, Cena must join the group.

Do I want to see the Nexus angle end? I do not really care now. What made the angle so appealing months ago was the intrigue. Why were these guys doing this? Who was behind it? Who would be next? How far would they go? Pretty much all the answers have been lame. The group is pretty much doing it to make a statement and try to dominate on Raw. Is that supposed to be original? There is no mastermind behind, just Barrett himself. Their targets and attacks have become mediocre or expected. And how pathetic is it now that there are only five of them? The intrigue is gone and the whole thing recently has been just a cheap way to build Barrett up as a main-eventer. I will not even bring up how I feel about them saying the guy can have a PPV title shot, then have it wasted in a match with four other guys challenging Sheamus. These men can better be served by singles pushes or being sent back to FCW. I think Justin Gabriel has proved he can hold his own. Will Barrett fail without his backing? Probably, but they would have had to go there sooner or later. Worst case, just make him a comedy act like Sheamus.

Do I want to see Cena destroy another evil force in the WWE to look like a hero? He already went over Nexus at Summerslam. Why must it really rest on his shoulders to finish off the diluted group? Seven Raw men stood against Nexus back then. It would be even more if you count all the jobbers and other wrestlers who were eager to get rid of them. All these other men are now in hiding, leaving Cena to stand alone against what is now an overrated threat?

What do I want to see then? Have Cena lose. Not cleanly. No, why do that to Cena? Just have him join Nexus. Triple H will have to come back sooner or later. The face main-eventers would include him, Cena, and Orton. That is even assuming that no other faces get a fair build up to the main event. Jericho will be out for a while. Edge can enjoy his new home in the midcard. Sheamus should have probably stayed in the midcard if he had not gotten that push last year. If you really want to give Barrett credibility, and the stable as a whole, have them really conquer Cena. That will get people intrigued again. Will a heel turn follow for Cena? It need not. People may still tune in to see what would happen. While Cena is further involved in Nexus, Orton gets a fair run with the title, Triple H may return to feud with Sheamus, and someone like John Morrison may arrive and stay for a while.

Things have gotten stale again. Both John Cena and Nexus can use refreshing. I do not think you solve the problem by pushing Cena in the same stale direction. Although destroying Nexus and giving them singles runs is an option, that does not have to be the only answer to the problem either. Pushing Cena in a new direction in this whole feud with Nexus may be beneficial to both sides, as well as the WWE product.

New WWE Champion: Randy Orton

It looks like the steps to develop a new face of the WWE may be moving along. Randy Orton defeated everyone else in his way tonight to win the WWE Championship from Sheamus. I am between being shocked and having expected it. I would have been shocked if Edge won it. He's just a main-event heel jobber these days. I was expecting Sheamus to retain. But the WWE had been pumping Orton with momentum for weeks now. By my look, he has only lost momentum once in the weeks leading up to this match, and that was when Wade Barrett pinned him on Raw in an elimination tag match. Orton even went over Cena.

Long time ago, I asked how Orton and Cena could both coexist on Raw as faces. Now it is going to get interesting. Over the last few weeks, Cena has definitely been pushed down in favor of Orton. If this keeps up, it will not be just an issue of whether Cena is face of the company, but whether he stays face at all. Different meaning for "face" there, but the idea is there. How may heel Cena work out now?

Where Is Morrison Going?

John Morrison put on one of the most exciting performances on Raw from someone not names "Randy Orton" I have seen in a while. He lost a match to Sheamus. Had he won that match, he would have been inserted into Raw's main event this Sunday at Night of Champions. It was a Falls Count Anywhere match. That gave the two men a lot of freedom. I would even say it was the kind of match I would not expect in the PG era. Screw blood, you can still have a somewhat violent match without it. In the end, it was Chris Jericho who screwed Morrison out of the match. The ending was the only point that was weak. After all that was going on, it should have taken something more to put Morrison away. He was on fire.

Even his segment before the match was more entertaining than some of the matches tonight. I figured it was going to be a basic warm-up segment to advertise the match was next. Wow. I was not expecting that bit. I knew about Morrison's unique training and all that, but never expected to see it like that.

But where is Morrison going? He beat Chris Jericho and was getting the better of Sheamus. They have been investing in him. The fact that he can do his own share in making himself look good, unlike certain people, would make me classify him as a good investment. Have him feud in the midcard? He's been there too long already. However, if he is feuding over Miz's Money in the Bank, you may have a good feud for both. The main event is already stacked. There may not be room to have Morrison feud for the title now. He may end up just being used primarily as fodder now, although still getting such a feud will build him up well for the future. Whatever happens, I cannot imagine the WWE dropping the ball here. It would be too stupid.

Thoughts on Raw, Alberto Del Rio, and AJ Lee

My thoughts on Raw follow the same theme from the last few weeks. Not that interesting. If you count the Edge/Khali matches as 1, there were only 5 actual matches on the show. Didn't Edge and Khali have a match just a few weeks ago? Their latest showing will not be giving Taker vs. HBK II at Wrestlemania a run for its money for MOTY. Chris Jericho vs. John Morrison was good for giving Morrison fans another reason to say he should be in the main event, and also furthered the angle with Jericho. Nevertheless, neither of those two have been fresh for a while now. Then you have Nexus and Cena and Orton. Darren Young will fail to bring the intrigue back to Nexus. Melina once again defended the Diva's Championship. Is Maryse the only credible heel on Raw left for her to knock down before the PPV? Miz/Daniel Bryan segment furthered Miz/Daniel Bryan feud. Honestly, not to parrot Michael Cole or say something just to start an argument or be different, Daniel Bryan does not interest me. At least Chris Benoit had an intensity to him. Before anyone says the old CM Punk excuse, I don't want to watch Daniel Bryan's ROH stuff. I am not going to watch his indies work to say that the stuff the guy is doing now is so interesting and entertaining for me. No one knows better than me where the real blame should go, but I think Daniel Bryan has to be able to be better than this. I am getting tired of the same old faces in the same old spots. Where is DiBiase's push? They injected credibility in Bourne, thus creating an even more credible jobber. Even pushing Mark Henry can really make something different. I need not mention that the Tag Champs are wasted on Raw. How can two hours just go by with the same thing for so many weeks in a row?

Now something I do like. Alberto Del Rio. I am not going to make the comparisons to other wrestlers. Anyone who has been watching wrestling for a while knows them themselves. This guy is entertaining. He is one of those superstars who can get themselves over with their own abilities. It helps that the WWE is hyping him pretty good too. Is it too early to wish he becomes a WWE Champion one day? Hope his push does not get too messed up in the future. On a sadder side, what midcard heel has really lost that momentum recently? Resources devoted to Alberto Del Rio have to be coming at someone's expense. I would say McIntyre has really lost what he had. He had an epic entrance, great angle, and good hype on him for months. Recently? He looks like he's staling.

AJ Lee. Every NXT seems to have someone the internet is high on before it even starts. First, Daniel Bryan. Second, Kaval. Now, AJ Lee. I am approaching her with the same philosophy that I have every other wrestler I have ever seen in the WWE, whether it be Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Mickie James, William Regal, Randy Orton, or whoever. I am going to wait and see what she can actually do in the WWE. I will not even judge her from her NXT work that much. I will wait until she is doing what the regular divas must do on the main rosters. However, I still want to bring her up. I have read the hype the sites are already spreading. Everyone seems in love with the fact that she was the first female with wrestling experience to be hired by the WWE in two years. I also read she was only wrestling for two years before WWE signed her. She had just over 20 matches under her belt. Two years? 20 matches? OH MY GOD! THIS IS BIGGER THAN THE SECOND COMING OF JBL!!!!!!!! Not by a mile. This is the woman who is now supposed to save the diva division? Sounds like Angela Fong all over again. Sounds like when Smackdown needed Gail Kim to debut so badly. Sounds like so much that I have already heard. This woman is not here to replace Mickie James. She is here to replace the credible divas still there whose role is to put over the major star(s). How many times can McCool go over Melina? Once McCool finally pins Beth Phoenix, Beth's days might as well be numbered in terms of either when she gets released or the countdown to when she gets a meaningful push and proper treatment again. WWE has not pushed a fresh real wrestler in the diva division in years. They need more divas like that. AJ Lee seems to be a perfect choice to me. The fact that she is already gaining some overness without having to do anything on actual WWE programming may make her a good face to put over the heels they want over. I highly doubt she is here to be made a centerpiece. Don't get too attached.

Matt Hardy Not Happy?

"Gotta state this. I'm sick & tired of being 'hurt', being misused, & not being shown the respect that I've earned-something has to change."

That bit is from Matt's Twitter. I understand where he is coming from. Back when his whole feud with Drew McIntyre, really heated up, I drew the comparison to the story between Mickie James and Michelle McCool. I do not remember whether I mentioned it in a blog, on a message board, Twitter, or just kept it in my head, but it just seemed to me like they were using Matt to get Drew McIntyre heat. I made the mistake of thinking that they would give him the Intercontinental Championship as a "reward" for the use. That did not happen. However, Matt did technically win the feud, right? He got his spot back on Smackdown and Drew was deported? If Drew did not have some real issues there, I question if the feud would have even ended like that.

What came after that feud? Matt Hardy was involved in a little thing that teased a heel turn from Christian. Now? Matt Hardy is in pretty much the same spot he was before. He's a jobber. McIntyre may not be pushed as heavily as he was before, but he is not in the same position as Matt Hardy.

I think Matt Hardy should just quit the WWE. I have seen him ask the fans whether he should stay or leave. I have seen him claim that pretty much every year would be his year. WWE keeps on screwing him over in that regard. He is more over than a lot of other guys. He has sacrificed his body a lot for the fans and to put coin in the WWE's pocket. He has shown more loyalty to the WWE than his brother, but that is a debate I do not want to get into. I am not saying they have to push him in the main event right now, but when was the last time Matt Hardy was given a meaningful push against someone that is his equal or better? When was the last time he had a feud where both he and his opponent can mutually benefit, if not have Matt elevated a bit himself? At this rate, they might as well had Matt Hardy take Beth Phoenix's place after she got injured in the Smackdown diva division. Have him put over McCool. He can probably do a better job at it than Beth. Why? He has the overness. That is why he was used against McIntyre. Now Rhodes? I don't even want to go there.

Matt Hardy had dedicated his life to entertaining the fans. If he was still allowed to be a respectable entertainer, I do not think he would complain. But his use has gone down the toilet. The WWE will continue to use him but never spit him out, like they did Mickie James. As his feud with McIntyre proved, they do not have to hand him any titles at all. They must feel they can keep him content with feud-ending victories to keep him content, even if the feuds are really doing more for the heels he is working against than himself. He will always be stuck as just a tool. The fans respect him, but the WWE's idea of respect is relative.

Diva/Women's Unification

One of the last points I made back when I wrote a diva blog was that there would be another movement of divas before the 2011 Draft. My rationale for this was that things would simply get stale on either brand after a while.

I was right and wrong. Things did get stale, especially for Smackdown. In the case of Smackdown, divas have been dropping like flies since the 2010 Draft. Beth Phoenix was injured. Tiffany was suspended. Kelly Kelly is left as the only face on the show, and she almost got seriously injured herself at a house show. The WWE released Serena, but she was not directly involved in main title issues anyway, and I doubt they were going to push her in that direction well as long as a certain someone else was top heel on Smackdown. Rosa is a joke. Everything revolves around LayCool. Even if you split them up, Michelle McCool is still the constant. Over on Raw, they keep things fresh by passing the title between women with very little credibility and no good build. The title was meant to give Eve and Alicia that credibility. The matches were nothing to be too proud of. Alicia got screwed with the return of Melina. It was not a strong division at all.

I was wrong in thinking that the answer to this staleness would be a diva trade. How could I have predicted Beth getting injured and the stuff I just mentioned? A trade would just look awkward. Smackdown loses Rosa Mendes and gains 4 or 5 women in her place? And who do they send back to Smackdown? All the main players have been there already. There is nothing fresh left in the whole division at all. Judging by how the WWE treated Eve and Alicia, they are on a path of failing to build divas properly. The answer to the problem? Title unification.

The obvious choice to win, if you want what is right for the division, would be Melina. The Unified Women's Champion will surely be able to work both shows, just like the tag titles can supposedly be defended on either show. Even though there is diva movement in that, I do not count that as an actual trade of any sort. Have Melina show up on Smackdown to add more options to matches. Make tag matches again. If Tiffany ever shows up, you may even have 6-diva tags for a while. When those NXT divas are ready to go to the main brands, then you could hand the title back to McCool. Just send many of the women to Smackdown. Then again, we are dealing with Michelle McCool here. The type of match it is also makes me wonder, as well as the fact that Melina has been built too well so far.

In a related issue, when those title do combine, how do you treat women who have held the defunct title? Just like both World titles are combined when you say Triple H is a 13-time World Champion, the two diva division titles can combine the same way. Why bring that up? That would make Melina a 5-time Champion. McCool is a 4-time Champion. Mickie James is a 6-time Champion. I believe that ties into a certain belief I hold. I would be interested to see how the WWE starts pushing Melina after her 6th reign.