One Year Later: Did They Botch?

CM Punk's epic rise started about a year ago. That is when he did a bitter "shoot" on the company during a title feud with John Cena. Would CM Punk leave the company with the WWE Championship? Would the WWE mess up, like many say they did with Nexus? Would he be killed off after a while and returned to the midcard? To put it simply, would they botch? One year later, have they messed up with Punk?

Of course, all this is from the standpoint of a certain type of fan. Before I get into that, how about looking at it from the standpoint of the WWE. This was their big summer angle last year. And yet, it did not draw great ratings. CM Punk became very over and sold a lot of merchandise, but ratings were not there. A year later, he is on the cover of video games. He is still very over. Ratings are moving back up, but I would not say that is because of him. Ratings are obviously not everything, but I find it interesting that not one conversation I have come across about how awesome CM Punk was last year ever mentions that ratings were not great.

How about reasons that fans might have to complain or say the WWE "botched" with CM Punk. Going back to last year, some fans did complain about CM Punk coming back so soon. I can overlook that. Zoom to 2012. CM Punk is one of the longest-reigning WWE Champions in the last decade. That should be something to keep CM Punk fans happy. And he has been putting on great matches. Problem is, when was the last time that he was in the main event of a PPV? That has not happened in 2012. He is still being overshadowed by John Cena, the centerpiece of the company. A lot of fans can have a legitimate complaint in that. Now, go back to the last PPV. John Cena was instrumental in the demise of John Laurinaitis. Wasn't CM Punk the guy who was challenging the establishment and status quo last year? Earlier this year, he was the one feuding with Laurinaitis. Funny how things just shifted away from that and to Cena feuding with Laurinaitis, isn't it? Once again, I would say that this is a legitimate complaint fans can have. Why shouldn't CM Punk look like the hero who beats the establishment? That was his storyline since last year.

All things considered, I don't think the WWE messed up at all. Some may complain about Alberto Del Rio winning the title last year, Triple H beating Punk, and Kevin Nash being inserted into the storyline, but there are other guys the WWE had to feature besides Punk and they have a right to try to develop the feud. Most importantly, it didn't even screw Punk. And even though he is a midcard WWE Champion, he is still holding the title longer than many thought he would. As for Cena getting what should have been Punk's feud, you just have to live with that. The status quo has not changed. CM Punk is still being pushed well. Has he lost some of his edge with his recent storylines? Yes. But he is still showing he has that ability to connect with the fans. I would say that the WWE has not "botched" with CM Punk. That is to say, not yet. What happens when he loses that title and gets cycled out? It will have to happen sooner or later.

Layla: Not The Centerpiece

I had said that what would really show whether or not the WWE wanted to develop Layla as centerpiece would be how they push her after her current title reign ends. Would they continue to revolve the major diva matters around her? You don't even have to wait that long. The WWE has pretty much already shown that they do not currently want to develop her as the top diva.

Go back a few weeks. Beth Phoenix got another title shot at a PPV. Before they brought this feud back to the main shows the week prior to No Way Out, it was pretty much nonexistent. When they did bring it back, it was just to hand Beth two wins to build momentum before losing to Layla, again. This match was more diva filler for the PPV card.

Where has Layla found herself since then? No credible jobber looks to be on the horizon. They can definitely try to push a heel Tamina against her, but they aren't. She has a brief encounter with AJ this week, including what happened on Raw and what will happen on Smackdown, but AJ is already tied into something more important. Layla is the one who does not seem to have a clear, great direction. And yet, she is Diva's Champion. But not the centerpiece.

As for AJ, her storyline continues to revolve around 3 main-eventers. They are pushing her hard. This is the hardest they have pushed a diva in the men's division since Lita. Depending on how much longer it lasts and what more they have her do, this might top what the WWE did with Lita. Because the WWE is not yet showing any interest in developing major diva division matters around her to hype her as the best diva in the division, she is not the centerpiece. It just goes to show that a diva does not need to be Trish Stratus for the WWE to develop her as a star. It is a smart move to shift to building divas in the periphery after years of failures with creating a centerpiece. AJ is definitely getting over.

Speaking honestly, I find it a shame that Mickie James will have to end up with this tainted legacy, while a woman hyped by many as her replacement is getting built to be a success. Comparing AJ's career in the WWE to Mickie's is comparing the career of a periphery diva to a credible jobber. Mickie James earned her overness the hard way and a better career than she was given. As I just mentioned, AJ is really benefiting from years of inability to recreate Trish. They are not even pushing their Diva's Champion as well as they are AJ.

Final point, what about Beth Phoenix? If you have ever read my blog before, you probably guessed that this depush and poor treatment would be coming for Beth even before she won the title last year. If you have never read my blog before, let's just look at the history of Beth's recent push. Before she got the push last year, she wasn't doing anything. She had no storyline or feud going. The WWE even had to turn her heel the very night she won a title shot and started her feud with face Kelly Kelly. After Beth did win the title, they never really developed any great feuds for her and often pushed her inconsistently. Good focus was not on her. It should have been easy to see that this push for Beth would end like all her other pushes in the past. She is back to being lost in the shuffle.

Big Show Not Moving Down An Inch

Brodus Clay is no longer undefeated. Nothing wrong with having him lose to Big Show, but I am disappointed that the feud didn't last too much more than a week after Brodus helped Cena beat Big Show at No Way Out. Brodus was just used to put over Big Show's new dominance. They did that before No Way Out, even though the match between the two then never got started. This is why the midcard is so poor. I should have known not to trust the WWE to do the right thing. Elevate Brodus up to an upper-midcard feud. Lower Big Show down to that level, just for a little while, if necessary. Big Show can go over in the feud, but Brodus at least walks away with some good credibility. That is how I would have done it. Brodus was not completely squashed on Raw, but it wasn't the kind of match I had in mind. Needed to be longer.

Where does Big Show move to? Money in the Bank. There were definitely a few ways to still develop a feud with Brodus Clay off of Big Show's goal to win a briefcase, but I'll move on. The WWE Championship Money in the Bank match will feature 4 main-eventers going after the briefcase. In past years, the briefcase was usually a tool for new Champions to be developed. There are some exceptions, like Kane. Kane, John Cena, Chris Jericho, and Big Show will go at it. Where are your midcarders who can use the rub or make the match more entertaining with their unique styles? Kofi Kingston? I would say Brodus Clay, but many fans may dislike big men in ladder matches. And yet, this match will feature both Kane and Big Show. And Cena really isn't famous for ladder matches. Basically, the match quality may suffer from not having as many good spots as past Money in the Bank matches have had.

Big Show still going after Cena? Was that really necessary? With Jericho coming back, a feud between Cena and him would have been a little fresher than Cena and Big Show. Even if they were still going to all be in the 4-man match, keep the focus on a fresher foe for Cena. With the way they are pushing Big Show, it is like Mark Henry 2011 all over again. The WWE must have noticed what having a dominant monster did for Smackdown's ratings. Nevertheless, even though I do not hate Big Show, I wish they would have given him some slight depush.

Brock Lesnar Vs. Triple H At Summerslam

This is a feud that the WWE is trying to develop over the span of months. This is a feud that a lot of fans have been interested in seeing for close to a decade. This is a feud that may be the main event of Summerslam. And Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar is going to happen.

And yet, I'm really not too hyped for it. Having Brock return a few months ago was great. Even though having Cena overcome him in his return match was typical booking for many, I still found it great that the storyline involved this idea that Brock was trying to basically take over, bullying the GM of both shows, John Laurinaitis. When Brock "broke" Triple H's arm, you could tell what was coming. They bring in these lawsuits to make things more heated, but I'm not feeling the hype. There is still a lot of time to develop things further and raise the stakes.

Why is it even important to care about this feud being good? Brock Lesnar is a huge investment for the WWE. He is someone they are pushing as a big deal, while not even using him much. Is he really going to earn his pay? That might be the wrong question. Is the WWE going to utilize Brock properly? If they do not, I can see them making the same mistake TNA makes. They have great talent, legends, and people who are definitely popular and proven they can draw. And yet, the company does not deliver on its part to make the talent really deliver for them. If the WWE cannot come up with a good direction for this feud between Brock and Triple H, this whole investment may fail to draw.

There is an even scarier thought than that. What if this feud between Brock and Triple H is the big summer storyline they were planning to develop this year? They also have Raw's 1,000 episode and going 3 hours, but that isn't really connected to a storyline. Going back to my main point, this feud seems to be lacking hype to it. Go back to the previous big summer angles. Last year, CM Punk did a bitter promo and challenged the establishment. Year before that, Nexus revolted against the entire company. Before that, Donald Trump "bought" Raw. In all these situations, there was intrigue in what will happen and the very landscape of the company could have been altered, in terms of kayfabe (storyline). In Brock/Triple H, I don't really feel that intrigue. As I said, when Brock attacked Triple H, it was obvious what was going to happen. They were going to fight. What about the company being shaken? They could definitely do more with that lawsuit aspect. As of right now, it is really just about money. They need to do more. It would be the 2nd-biggest disappointment of 2012 if the big summer angle ends up just being a basic feud between Triple H and Brock Lesnar over an injury and lawsuits. The biggest disappointment would still have to be Jericho's epic return. And he's coming back again, isn't he?

Dixie and AJ Are Such Good People!

Most of my complaints involving TNA's storylines revolve around them being boring and repetitive. The feuds are often dry. This recent storyline involving Dixie Carter and AJ Styles does not fall in that same category, but it is so bad, I have to mention it.

A lot of people would say that pro wrestling is a lot like a soap opera. TNA has just proven that point. For weeks now, Christopher Daniels and Kaz have been terrorizing AJ and Dixie, claiming that they were sleeping together. This week on Impact, the truth was finally revealed, supposedly. A woman came down and said she was an addict whom AJ and Dixie were trying to help. That is supposed to explain everything. That is one of the craziest things that could have come out of this storyline. Too dramatic. I would agree that TNA needs to come up with some elaborate storylines to appeal to more than just wrestling fans, but the direction this storyline has taken is over the top. They had an elaborate feud between Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle last year. That was a good feud with a reasonable storyline. Well, reasonable in comparison to what is going on now. The feud became personal through Jarrett bringing in Karen. That feud was based on something that actually was real and it made sense. What is going on with AJ and Dixie is obviously just a storyline to cause drama. Once again, I think they are taking it too far in a stupid direction.

What should they do? I would hope it is revealed that Dixie paid that woman to lie. She wanted to cover up the truth. I am not saying Dixie needs to turn heel. The way the storyline is going, it is sickening to see them make Dixie and AJ look so virtuous. They go to all that trouble to help that woman? It is just a hard storyline twist to swallow, which makes me really dislike this whole thing. I hope this all does not end with the tag title match coming up.

Since I am on the subject of TNA, how about the ratings? How have ratings been doing since the disastrous number the first night they went live at the new time? From that night, it took 2 weeks just to get back to a 1.0. Yeah, that is pretty sad. You never had any episode drop below a 1.0 during the summer of last year. So far, it would seem that going live and starting at an earlier time is having no positive effect. The response will be to wait until people get used to the new time, but where will that get you? 1.2? 

People Power Ends

Let me go back to what I said before No Way Out.

Unless the WWE plans to bring in a controversial replacement for Laurinaitis or make their summer angle revolve around Laurinaitis trying to revolt in some way, John Cena should be the one losing.

Obviously, John Cena did not lose. No clear signs of Laurinaitis trying to regain his power have popped up. How about a controversial replacement? The WWE has decided to run with interim GMs. That is not something I had in mind, and I definitely would not consider it controversial, but it is an interesting thing to do. There have been a lot of legends who have been in charge in the last few years. We have already seen Mick Foley. How about Bret Hart? I would be happy to see Stephanie McMahon again. And even though William Regal is still on the roster, it would be nice to see him used in a relevant role again, even if only for a short period. Moreover, depending on what the WWE does with the future GMs to come, this can branch off to that controversial summer angle. Simply rotating GMs is not good enough to count as a big angle. Nevertheless, it does get people interested in who may be coming back to run the show and the kind of things that might happen.

John Laurinaitis is gone. Would they bring him back for a run as interim GM? It would be funny if that somehow led to him regaining full power. As of now, he is gone. I honestly think he should have lasted longer. And then you have the issue a lot of people may have. Did Cena have to be the guy to get rid of him? I would have had a good feud between Laurinaitis and Triple H, but that was long before Triple H and Brock Lesnar started their issues. Before that, everyone would have said that CM Punk should be the guy who topples Mr. Excitement. CM Punk's whole gimmick last year was that he was anti-establishment. Laurinaitis was his enemy. I wouldn't say that the WWE shifting away from that is an example of bad writing or not being able to follow a storyline through. I would say that it is an example of once again putting the centerpiece in a spotlight where he may not have belonged. Did Cena really need to look like a hero here? Whatever some people want to say, he did end up looking like a hero. They spent a long time building up Laurinaitis, and it paid off for Cena.

And ratings? I read that it was a 3.42 for Raw this week. That is a very good number and will definitely help elevate the low yearly average Raw has gotten so far in 2012. For the sake of comparison, not one Raw during the summer of 2011 saw an average rating as high as a 3.4. People tuned in to see Laurinaitis go? Fans are always talking about this guy being the reason for bad ratings, but if ratings do eventually sink back to anything around a 3.0 or lower (before football season), what will the excuse be then?

Jobbers Take Over Tag Division

The direction the tag division has taken recently is kind of funny. In the last few weeks, you had Ziggler and Swagger, who are arguably the top heel team, split up for the benefit of Ziggler getting more of a singles push. As far as R-Truth and Kofi Kingston went, they were obviously the top tag team of the division and held the titles. Problem is, R-Truth got injured. That pretty much leaves your two major teams broken.

What does the WWE do? With the tag division showing even fewer resources to run optimally than the diva division, they pulled in four tag teams for a #1 contenders match at No Way Out. There were actually four other teams other than Ziggler/Swagger and Truth/Kingston? Yes. They were hidden away in the lower-midcard. These teams would be lucky if they even got to job on Raw in recent weeks.

Darren Young and Titus O'Neil have been getting some good exposure lately. They are the ones who ended up winning the title shot. They also have developed a little feud with Epico, Primo, and Rosa, after A.W. betrayed his former clients. An actual storyline in the tag division? Epico and Primo have held the titles before, so it is good that the WWE is still giving them attention. I did find having them win on Raw this week stupid. If you are going to build up Darren Young and Titus O'Neil, they will need some wins to build up their credibility. Even a cheap win would do. Instead, Epico and Primo get the cheap win. But I do realize that the WWE pretty much needs to do this. Even if the current Tag Champs were at 100%, they would have to break up eventually. And then what? You start building up new teams? Why not start now, especially when R-Truth is not ready to go? Overall, I have to give the WWE credit for their recent interest in the tag division. It's too bad it took the possible short-term collapse of the division for them to do it, but still good.

Brodus Matures

Brodus Clay is still undefeated. Otunga did not defeat him in the pre-show match last night. More importantly, Brodus was an instrumental part in Big Show's loss in the main event. Obviously, Big Show made a few enemies during the course of the storyline, and that came back to haunt him.

This is the kind of Brodus Clay that I was hoping for 2 or 3 months ago. This is more than just squash matches against the regular jobbers on the roster. The WWE is finally having this guy show he is more than just a dancing comedy character. This is good character development. From here, Brodus can continue to be used in more regular feuds.

Where should he go from here? An obvious answer would be a legitimate feud with Big Show. I don't see any need to continue Cena/Show. As everyone knows, those two have already been in various feuds over the years already. I would also say that now would be the time to finally develop a midcard title feud for Brodus, but there is an obvious problem with that. The U.S. and Intercontinental Championships are held by faces. A heel would have to win them first, then eventually transition to a feud with Brodus. That would take a while. Big Show and Cena does not need to continue, and some fans may hate if it does, so a feud between Big Show and Brodus Clay would be great. Start developing a new big man.

And in something completely unrelated, I was watching one of those old-time shows. It wasn't a wrestling show. The host passed along some interesting words of wisdom. He said, "A rumor is like a check- don't endorse it until you're sure it's genuine." Probably heard it before, but just keep it in mind.

Dance Or Die

I'm not allowed to ever mention my favorite singer, am I?

Vince McMahon returned on Raw, made fun of Jim Ross, danced a little, put John Laurinaitis in a "Do or Die" situation, and got killed off again. On Smackdown, it will be revealed that John Cena might end up being fired, if he does not defeat Big Show in that cage match. In other words, someone is going to lose their job.

Did the match really need that added stipulation? Just go back to how the match looked before this week. John Cena vs. Big Show in a cage was going to be the main event of a PPV, trumping World title matches. These two have faced each other before in PPV matches that did not involve a title. It wasn't the main event then, so what makes this feud worthy of it now? Enter Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis. Putting the GM job on the line definitely makes it worthy of the top match on the card. But making it seem like Cena now has something to overcome? He has beaten Big Show lots of times. I have to admit, they at least made things more interesting to try to draw in buys.

Who will win? Obviously, no matter what happens, it can all be undone very easily. Cena has been "fired" before. Remember when Cena was drafted to Smackdown? That didn't last long. But how should the WWE handle this situation? Laurinaitis losing his job will lead people to wondering who will be in charge next. How will that person run things? Will Laurinaitis try to fight back? If Cena loses, that will cause even bigger controversy. Of course, they didn't exactly follow up with that kind of direction the last time they did it very well. Unless the WWE plans to bring in a controversial replacement for Laurinaitis or make their summer angle revolve around Laurinaitis trying to revolt in some way, John Cena should be the one losing. That would be the only real outcome that will get people wondering whether the status quo will really change or not.

Santino Is Still Champ, Right?

I was thinking about current things in the WWE that I may have been overlooking. How about that Santino? He is still United States Champion, but he really hasn't done anything relevant with the title for a while now. That is not surprising. Before him, Jack Swagger was not doing much with the title. Before him, Zack Ryder had a bad reign. Dolph Ziggler was the last well-booked U.S. Champion.

The WWE still seems to be continuing issues between Santino and Ricardo. Both are comedy characters, but both can wrestle. Why not make more of a legitimate feud out of this? For the title? Yes. Crazy? I don't think it is as crazy as putting a title on a popular worker and not doing anything relevant with him. Am I saying Ricardo should win the title? No. But this can at least make for an interesting feud in the midcard.

Getting serious, who should be the real person to actually take the title off Santino? No need for him to lose it to another comedy character, but I think he has held the title long enough. What heel could use it? Give it back to Swagger? I could only see him getting it if they wanted to transition it to another face they wanted to develop. They definitely do not care about developing Swagger, at the moment. Now that Tensai is heading into a direction that may fit him more, the midcard, I don't think it would be bad to give him a title run. Have him beat Santino. If the WWE had lost all faith in the guy, they would have just dropped him completely, especially after his loss to Cena. They didn't drop him. They had him lose to Sheamus this week. Then, Tensai beat up his buddy. He is pretty much crumbling before our very eyes. But he has to level off somewhere. Or get released. This guy isn't so horrible that he needs to go to FCW. There is also Otunga. Again, people may criticize his wresting ability, but he has never held a singles title. And he has definitely gotten a lot of good solo attention lately. Other than those two, I cannot think of a heel on Raw that really deserves a title run and is not already involved in something more. Santino definitely does not need the title to be used.

Del Rio Out, Ziggler In

I was hoping Alberto Del Rio's injury would not have been serious enough to make him drop out of his title match against Sheamus. Sadly, it was. He had just returned from a serious injury a few months ago. It forced him to miss competing at several pay-per-views, including Wrestlemania, although they probably still could have used him there.

Dolph Ziggler will be taking his spot. Not a bad choice at all. A former World's Heavyweight Champion will be challenging for the World's Heavyweight Championship. His reign was pathetic, but I don't need to remind anyone of that. Question is, what will the WWE do with this push? Go back to January. Dolph Ziggler was feuding with CM Punk for the WWE Championship. However, Ziggler was really just a pawn or supporting player in the larger storyline between CM Punk and John Laurinaitis. Not surprisingly, he soon got phased down after he got his shot at the title. The WWE cannot afford to do that kind of thing again. Why do I say that? Look at all the injuries, suspensions, and flops that have been going on in the last few months. Alberto Del Rio is injured. Randy Orton was suspended. Tensai flopped. Those are just some of the issues. No need to list them all. Fact is, there is definitely a need to develop new stars. Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio may be back soon, but neither are too reliable, despite being great workers when they are around. Jericho has a music career that cuts in on his availability with the WWE. Mysterio gets injured a lot. You can say that they have Sin Cara to replace Mysterio, but who can really replace Jericho? CM Punk still seems to be in a league of his own right now. Dolph Ziggler may not be at Jericho's level on the mic, but he can deliver in the ring. This is a guy they should develop to be a star.

Should Ziggler win at the PPV? I think they should develop him, but not necessarily push him to the moon. Sheamus should retain at No Way Out. If the WWE is not going to give Del Rio back the push after that, continue to develop Ziggler to win the title. That is how I would do it.

Laurinaitis Done?

They are promoting Vince McMahon returning to evaluate the job John Laurinaitis has been doing as GM. They did something similar a few months ago with Triple H and Laurinaitis. Obviously, that ended up not ending Mr. Excitement's run. It eventually led to him getting more power. Having Triple H coming back to do it again may have been repetitive. Besides that, Triple H already has a storyline going on. Having Vince McMahon himself return to do this should make it a lot more interesting.

Will they end the reign of terror? Ending it now would be rather abrupt. John Cena is still feuding with Laurinaitis and Big Show. They would have to find a creative way of tying that in. I remember that they teased that "The Board" could have fired Laurinaitis back when he first started feuding with Cena and Cena saved him, but repeating that same kind of thing would be a waste. I do expect something big to happen, but does it need to be Laurinaitis leaving? A lot of fans seem to blame him for the horrible ratings Raw has been getting. I don't think that is fair. Ratings were dropping even before he appeared last year. And who can you really replace him with? Teddy Long? I doubt he can draw. Nevertheless, I think tonight will probably be the start of one of those angles where the GM must prove himself or get fired. Do or die. And with the strong possibility of some big summer angle, I wouldn't be surprised if they are prepping to get rid of Laurinaitis. A change of power is always a big angle.

In a completely unrelated note, I know some people are getting excited about the possible Mickie James heel turn in TNA. Just keep in mind that Mickie turning heel is not the same as turning back into a psycho heel. Her character will still depend on TNA storylines and booking. And I remember once commenting on someone who said Mickie James should turn heel back in around 2008. I said the WWE would try to turn her into Victoria if they did that. Remember how poorly the WWE used Victoria in the end of her career? If TNA insists on pushing Gail Kim as still the top heel or uses Mickie as simply a jobber to Velvet Sky or Brooke Tessmacher, TNA would probably end up making Mickie into what I hoped the WWE would not in 2008. Knowing TNA, they probably will mess up.

And Kelly Kelly Leaves?

It is being said that Kelly Kelly will be taking some time off. There is a chance that she may not return. To be fair Kelly Kelly has not had a televised match in weeks. Before that, she hasn't exactly done much. It was almost like she was already on hiatus, but losing a face diva, even for just a period of time, will make for less options and possibilities.

Solution? Push Kaitlyn more? How about Kharma returning? Kharma cannot be a replacement for Kelly Kelly. I'm not stupid enough to imply that Kelly Kelly is a better wrestler than Kharma, but I cannot picture the WWE pushing Kharma as regularly in the women's division as they would someone like Kelly Kelly. It would pretty much mean the end of the diva division. Alicia Fox is also around, but I don't feel the WWE is too interested in pushing her.

And what about your Diva's Champion, Layla? She has not been in a televised match in weeks. In fact, there has not been a televised women's match on Raw or Smackdown in weeks. The WWE has been banking everything on AJ. Leads me to wonder, do they really want Layla as centerpiece? They are definitely not pushing her as centerpiece. It would also seem they do not have enough fresh resources to run the division they would like to have.

I would sometimes debate with myself whether this dark period in the diva division was worse than the division after Sable left. The division was a joke at times back then, but at least it was entertaining and had more going on. I don't remember how long of a dry spell of no televised women's matches they had, but it couldn't have been as bad as this. Raw will be 3 hours next week. You would assume that the divas will have to be in some match. I remember saying the same kind of thing about Miz a few weeks ago. All he ended up getting was mentioned that he would get a U.S. title shot in a pre-show match. I do not have faith in what diva match may end up happening, no matter when it eventually happens. This division cannot deliver. Whether Kelly Kelly is there or not, the WWE cannot get it done.

Alberto Del Rio With A Beating On Sheamus

This week on Raw, Alberto Del Rio did a good post-match attack on the man he will face for the World's Heavyweight Championship. He looked vicious. He does that well. Of course, he did this same kind of thing before, but then the WWE frequently pulls the plug and starts having him act cowardly. I'm thinking back to that feud with Cena. Will the WWE pull something similar with this feud with Sheamus? A lot of people are comparing Sheamus to Cena. Then again, Sheamus is easily now the top face of Smackdown, depending on if Randy Orton returns after the suspension or not. But can Sheamus carry the show like that? Cena has CM Punk, the hype of Raw being the top brand, and other factors helping to make Raw barely make that 3.0. I don't think Brodus Clay will be enough to pump up Smackdown.

Let me get back on topic. Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus will happen at No Way Out. Having Del Rio attack Sheamus was great, but it didn't really take the story in a strong direction. Not important. Wasn't this PPV supposed to feature gimmick matches? Aside from the cage match and triple-threat match, this Smackdown main-event has no special stipulation to it. That would be a waste. If there is no further storyline development and the match itself remains basic, the WWE pretty much just dropped the ball with this.

Should Del Rio win? Before Orton got suspended, I would say that the title should change hands. Orton will be gone for almost 2 months now. Assuming he does return and the WWE wants to shoot him into a title feud right away, could the WWE kill two months with Del Rio as Champion? I think so. After the feud with Sheamus, have him enter a brief feud with Christian. Or Sin Cara? And if Orton does not return? What if he does and the WWE has no confidence in him for this kind of push? Then you are going to see a strain on Smackdown's star power. Some might say that you have already gotten that, but it will be worse once some feuds run stale.

Cena Overcomes Cole And Tensai

John Cena sure made up for not being in a televised match on last week's Raw. This week, he defeated both Tensai and Michael Cole. When they announced that Michael Cole would be facing Cena, you could almost feel it would be one of those crappy Raws. If you are a fan of comedy, you might have thought the main event was great.

CM Punk was once again left out of the main event for the sake of Cena. When this happened for Cena/Rock, you could understand. For Cena/Lesnar, you could let it go. For Cena/Laurinaitis, you can even allow it, since Cena was feuding against the GM. Last week, Big Show's "match" against Brodus Clay trumped WWE title matters. That is where things, speaking for myself, really started to get stretched. But the show closing with Cena vs. Michael Cole? Above Kane vs. CM Punk, which was a match hyped as having to have a winner? I know Cena is centerpiece, but they really need to give it a break. That was just too much of a waste of time. And they decided to not even use Big Show, which makes up for not using Cena during the program last week. But for the sake of just allowing Cena to humiliate Cole? Stupid.

Of course, looking at what happened before Cena beat Michael Cole, Cena avenged his loss to Tensai. Not shocking at all. Even if Tensai had not dropped down in the ladder for the sake of Big Show, he still would have ended up losing to Cena. Cena officially looks like the hero that toppled Tensai, handing him his first official loss. Did he need it? As I said before, it would have been stupid to waste it on Brodus Clay, or anyone lower than that. Cena and Punk were the only two real options on Raw to beat Tensai first. Tensai did return later to try to cost Cena the match, but it didn't work. It doesn't really matter. Tensai's downfall will still continue. I think he will be extremely lucky just to win a midcard title from here.

Raw And Impact Have A Bad Week

Last week, both Raw and Impact saw their lowest ratings for the year, but for different reasons. Raw fell on Memorial Day. Impact moved to a new time and went live.

I'll start with Raw. 2.7. That is low, but is it really anything to panic over? This is not the first time Raw has dropped below a 3.0 this year. Last year, they dropped all the way to a 2.4 for Raw on Independence Day. This year, not only did Raw have to deal with a holiday, but there was stiff competition on other channels. Very stiff. I was in shock to see Hatfields & McCoys get over 13,000,000 viewers. Got my numbers from here. Just for the sake of comparison, Memorial Day last year brought Raw a 3.07. The week prior, it got a 3.4 Jump back to this year. The week before Memorial Day, Raw had a 3.03. A drop was bound to happen, and I don't find that 2.7 shocking. The WWE didn't even bother using Cena on the live show to stop Big Show from attacking those faces. Ratings will go back up. This will definitely hurt the overall average for the year, but it is not really the ultimate sign of doom for the WWE, yet.

Impact got a 0.9. That is the worst number since 2010. Impact did not fall on a holiday last week. They switched to a new time and went live. In theory, these should have led to some kind of ratings boost. At least, that is what TNA would have liked. The show also featured the return of Sting to in-ring action, again, and Brooke Hogan coming to run the Knockouts division, but no women wrestled on the show. Comparing back to last year, the lowest number Impact got in May was a 1.15. This year, TNA has not seen anything near a 1.15 since February. Needless to say, it will not be following the great direction in the ratings it was heading last year. I usually read spoilers for Impact, but I did tune in to certain parts last week. They had some good matches here and there, which is not shocking, but the tone was still too serious and dull for my liking for too much of the show. If I were a casual fan, that show would not rope me in. Of course, I am not speaking for all casual fans. But it just seemed like a lot of the same usual thing that was failing to draw great numbers. You could only hope that ratings will bounce back, but considering that this should have been a show that had a spike in the ratings, will things get worse?

Big Red Monster Inserted Into A Wrestling Classic

Kane has been inserted into the title match that will be happening between Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. Good or bad? Considering how good CM Punk and Daniel Bryan work together, inserting a big guy like Kane may ruin the potential of the match for those kind of fans who love the style Punk and Bryan bring. In that sense, adding Kane is bad. On the other hand, Punk and Bryan have already been facing each other way too much in recent months. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing? In this case, it just might be. It might run stale after a while.

Speaking for myself, someone who does not consider himself as elitist in my opinion as certain other fans, I think they should have kept Kane out. There was already AJ Lee in this storyline to make it interesting and more than a basic title feud. Even though I don't watch wrestling simply for great wrestling matches, I was imagining the idea of having Punk and Bryan face in an Ironman Match. It has been a while since you had one of those. And a match like that between these two would definitely be a classic and please a lot of fans. Of course, problem is, if Daniel Bryan does win the title at No Way Out, that would have to lead to a rematch. That would mean even more matches just between these two within the span of a few months. If that is where the WWE goes with this, you have to accept Kane being inserted into this as a welcomed break from the same old thing. However, if the WWE does not plan to have AJ turn on Punk and help Bryan win the title, and Punk thus ends up retaining, adding Kane was just unnecessary baggage.

From the standpoint of a Kane fan, adding Kane is not too bad. What else would the guy really have had to do in the last few weeks and at the PPV? Look at how far he has sunk since his return. He returns to put over the centerpiece of the company. He then gets demoted down to putting over the "Franchise Player" of Smackdown. He spends a few weeks not being relevant, defeating Zack Ryder in a pre-show PPV match. Ryder? Seriously? Woo Woo Woo? Point is, Kane really has fallen. And it is pretty clear that he has been forced into this feud. This feud was already good with the storyline involving AJ. Now they have this second storyline of Kane trying to get revenge on Punk and Bryan and possibly win the WWE title. It definitely makes things interesting. But if Kane was not getting this, how likely would it have been that he would still be lost in the shuffle?