On Recent Injuries

Ryback is recovering from a staph infection. It took him out of the title defense he was supposed to have at Battleground against Miz and Big Show. He is still not back. Did the WWE make the right decision by not having a new Intercontinental Champion crowned? If this was TNA, I could imagine them going on with the title match and giving the belt to someone else. Of course, TNA has a lot of needless title reigns. I didn't actually write about this when it was first revealed, but I was thinking the WWE could insert a face that didn't have a match at Battleground into this match and possibly have him win the title. How about Ambrose? Neville? It didn't come to that. I can understand the WWE does not want to take the title off Ryback probably because they had just taken it off Daniel Bryan due to an injury. Nevertheless, Miz and Big Show just seem to be waiting right now. I probably would have gone on with the match and crowned a new Champion.

Nikki Bella is apparently injured. That is why her match with Becky Lynch did not happen on Smackdown. Is that supposed to be some kind of excuse as to why no diva match happened on Smackdown? It is no excuse. How hard is it to do some kind of promo to get yourself out of the match you advertised and into another match? They had Becky Lynch vs. Brie Bella for Main Event. They could have put that on Smackdown. The Bellas are heels. Heels backing out of matches is not uncommon. Brie Bella could have done a promo and set up her match with Becky Lynch on Smackdown. If the WWE is serious about the diva division, they have to put better effort into still featuring them properly even when their centerpiece gets injured. If they do not, it isn't hard to imagine that the diva division will collapse again. Centerpieces not working out is what led to the collapse a lot of fans got sick of this year. As far as Nikki Bella dropping the title early due to her injury, I don't think they will take it from her. They are trying to have her break AJ Lee's record.

The most gruesome injury from the WWE this week goes to John Cena getting his nose broken by Seth Rollins on Raw. Cena's good looks is one of the things that keeps him as popular as he is with the ladies. Seth Rollins busted that up. There is still plenty of time until Summerslam, so the WWE will probably not change their plans for Cena. The build to Summerslam will be altered. The WWE might want to protect Cena a bit. If nothing else, this adds more heat to the feud. Aside from holding the WWE Championship, did Seth Rollins really hold any advantage over John Cena? Seth Rollins at least looks a little more dangerous now. There is something there for Cena to overcome, if they plan to have him win. The WWE can take a negative and turn it into a positive with this injury.

The Diva Revolution Hits A Bump

The diva revolution has only been around a few weeks. Fans love the WWE debuting new divas from NXT, giving the divas time, having more than one diva match on Raw, advertising diva matches, and so on. A few issues have popped up recently.

First, Alicia Fox was injured while working with Charlotte on Raw. She suffered a concussion. Two things to talk about with that. First, these NXT divas are obviously not flawless. Botches and miscommunications will happen. There is no need to condemn anyone, yet. If serious botches continue to be an issue, then the WWE might have a good reason to hold these women back a little. I do not think it will come to that.

The other thing to talk about with this injury to Alicia Fox is whether or not she should be replaced in Team Bella. I have already seen some fans writing her off and discussing which diva should replace her. I don't think the WWE should jump to doing that. Just have her not wrestle for a while. There are plenty of women already involved in this feud. However, just for the sake of discussion, I would replace her with Emma. All the other teams have at least one NXT star. Emma could use something meaningful to do on the main roster. It isn't like this would be a huge push, anyway. Alicia Fox is essentially at the bottom of Team Bella. Emma taking her spot would not be huge, but it is still putting her in a meaningful angle.

Second issue, there was a match advertised for Smackdown this week. Nikki Bella would face Becky Lynch. Smackdown was taped already. No diva match. This is not the first time the WWE has advertised a match and not followed through, but this isn't the kind of thing you should do when you are trying to promote your diva division as something respectable. This is not even the first time since the diva revolution started that there has been a show without a diva match. I have seen some fans happy because they were afraid Becky Lynch would job to Nikki Bella. She's going to job eventually. The WWE should not go the route of making themselves look like they will make false promises. They have already done things to make people question how trustworthy they are. And after you betray someone's trust to their limit, you have to earn it all over again. The WWE isn't exactly doing that with things like this.

Last thing I want to bring up, yes, it is nice that the WWE is promoting diva matches. They are making Stephanie McMahon look like some kind of hero for the diva division. Problem is, these are pretty much filler matches. These NXT divas may be getting a chance to introduce themselves to the general audience, but what is the overall point of this feud? I never liked the 3 vs. 3 vs. 3 thing, but if they are going to do it, they have to do more to make it more interesting. What is the point of advertising these diva matches when nothing is on the line? The WWE cannot be fooled by those people complaining on Twitter. They want to see fresh talent and great wrestling. But there are a lot of other fans that weren't saying anything at all on Twitter about giving divas a chance. The WWE has to actually add more intrigue into this storyline to talk to those fans. As I have said before, you pretty much only have a juggling act going on. Sasha Banks will look good here. Charlotte will look good there. Paige will look like the leader of her group, then tap out to Sasha. Nikki Bella is holding the title and closing in on breaking AJ Lee's record. Proper focus isn't on one diva. And even if some divas look protected now, it will not last long. You see singles matches. You see tag matches. Will we see the obvious 3 vs. 3 vs. 3 match? In the end, what's the point?

What would I do? TNA used to do the Bound For Glory Series. It was a tournament where the winner got a title shot. Why doesn't the WWE do something like that for these 9 divas they are putting focus on? There are even other divas they could bring into this tournament already on the roster. Whichever diva scores the pinfall/submission gets a certain number of points. Whichever diva has the most points by Summerslam, Night of Champions, Survivor Series, or whenever, gets a title shot. Another way of doing it, whichever group gets the most points gets to "run" the diva division, however you want to interpret that. Part of the story has been The Bellas pushing their weight around and acting like they run the division. Make it seem like one of these factions can run the division for a certain amount of time. It would make all these filler matches seem more important. Even if you think my idea sounds stupid, which it might, the WWE should do more to make things more intriguing than just having these women wrestle. Make the matches worth more.

Kevin Owens Vs. Cesaro

One of the first rumors you might have read after Kevin Owens lost to John Cena was that Owens did not have anything for Summerslam scheduled for him. The dirtsheet writers may have been a little quick on the draw with that. It had not even been one week since Battleground. Summerslam is going to be 4 hours, which means they will need matches to fill it up. Moreover, you have seen wrestlers in the WWE recently that you would not expect to get lost in the shuffle experience just that and not have PPV matches at times. That is not Kevin Owens. Not right now. He has a feud with Cesaro.

You can say this feud between Kevin Owens and Cesaro was building even before Battleground. They had some exchanges, including being part of a triple-threat match that also involved Rusev on Raw. Kevin Owens has attacked Cesaro before. Cesaro is now clearly a face and Owens is still heel. No title on the line, but that is not necessary. This is looking to be a good midcard feud.

Another thing to note about this match is that it features two guys wrestling fans love. A lot of these fans expect these guys to be pushed better than they have been and will complain about it when they aren't. Regardless of which guy wins this feud, I would expect these fans to be happy. Cesaro and Owens are sure to put on a great match.

GFW Has TV Tapings

Global Force Wrestling (GFW) had their first television taping last Friday. They still do not have a network, but they are taking the first steps towards getting things done. They still have a long way to go before they are even near TNA's level.

One thing that stood out to me from reading about the taping and just looking at GFW in general is how the promotion is featuring Jeff and Karen Jarrett. It is obviously their company. But the way they are featuring both of them is very similar to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in the WWE. GFW shouldn't try to play chess with the WWE. TNA has done that in the past. Many fans often roll their eyes at it. You can probably count on one hand the number of times TNA actually has beaten the WWE at their own game. I am not saying GFW should not look at what the WWE has done to make them successful, but do not try to imitate them. The WWE isn't exactly knocking it out of the park with every swing these days. They should not want to imitate that. Yes, Triple H and Stephanie being authority figures makes sense because they actually have power. But it has gotten stale and irritating at times. Jeff and Karen running things also makes the same sense, but I am looking forward to the day they get someone else to play an authority figure.

Jeff and Karen are known for playing heels. The two of them playing face roles just does not seem natural now. And when I look at GFW's shop site, I see a lot of generic company merchandise. The only individuals that have merchandise for sale so far are Jeff and Karen. I know the company is just getting started, but seeing them only marketing merchandise for the founders just does not seem right. A lot of fans view the current NXT product as Triple H's baby. There is even merchandise for the performers on there. Go back to when the promotion really started to take on the identity it now has. Before there were any real stars there, how would you react if the first NXT merchandise available was generic NXT shirts and autographed photos of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon? It's just awkward. That is just my overall impression of Jeff and Karen Jarrett. The whole thing just does not seem natural. They should eventually become the kind of owners that are not involved in storylines. If they are going to get involved, eventually turn them heel.

GFW is in the position to not make the same mistakes the WWE and TNA have made. The WWE is guilty of not giving their workers fair opportunities and often trying to force things. Too much ego. TNA is kind of the opposite. They are far less forceful. That is not a good thing. There comes a time where you have to make a decision on whom your top stars are, commit to them, and push them the way they deserve. TNA just rotates everything around. Will Jeff Jarrett do better with GFW? They have some talent to look at and decide which will be the stars.

Mickie James is in GFW now. What will likely be her final TNA match will air soon. Is she finally going to work for a promotion that lets her be the top star of their women's division? She was a credible jobber in the WWE. She was used to put over whom they wanted to be the stars and used as filler when the stars were not around. She had the overness to deserve to be pushed as the centerpiece, or at least a periphery diva, but the WWE was too focused in going in one direction. TNA rotating everyone around led to her not being pushed right. She is the best option GFW has for the centerpiece of their women's division. They are showing signs of promoting her as the top star of their women's division, but they just need to follow it up with proper booking.

The Diva Revolution

After not having any matches on Raw and Smackdown last week and not promoting a diva match for Battleground on either of those shows, the WWE has picked up some momentum with the diva division. There was a PPV match. There were two diva matches on Raw. The new divas have gotten the chance to showcase what they can do.

You still have this 3 vs. 3 vs. 3 feud. I still do not like it. It is a juggling act. Which of these divas is really getting proper development and momentum put into her. Everyone is just exchanging wins. Which of these divas really stands to benefit in this situation? Nikki Bella? She is still Diva's Champion and it is very likely she will get the record for longest reign with the butterfly title. Aside from that, the freshness from having Sasha Banks, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch on the roster will soon fade.

These 9 women will not be feuding against each other forever. The WWE is not building up to a 4 vs. 4 vs. 4 vs. 4 feud. Needless to say, the goal is not to have a 5 vs. 5 vs. 5 vs. 5 vs. 5 feud in a few years. No, they are going to go in the other direction. They will soon be removing divas from the primary feud. The WWE has not added any creative depth into the diva division. Aside from this main feud, you have the Lana/Summer Rae angle, which is your classic eye-candy periphery diva feud. This other feud with 9 women  is just lumping women into one story. And it doesn't make it elaborate. It just makes it, as I said, a juggling act. None of this divas is getting proper development.

Of course, this is just about adding credibility to the diva division. That is what the "Diva Revolution" is really about. Whether the WWE realizes it or not, having women with proper wrestling credibility be the credible jobbers is what made the golden age so respectable. How great would Trish Stratus have looked if she was the centerpiece of a diva division where other eye-candy divas were the ones treated as legitimate threats? It would not be as respectable. Not only have a lot of these women used as credible jobbers in recent years just not been as great in the ring, the WWE has not shown the same confidence in them on a consistent basis. The WWE just added 3 women from NXT that can immediately inject credibility. And Nikki Bella will be the centerpiece of this diva division, most likely. If they can sell her as holding her own against these women, you have another Trish Stratus.

This seems to be exactly what fans wanted. They never really asked for anything more. They were unhappy about the quality of the diva division. And the WWE is taking steps to improve that. But what about these women getting a fair shot to succeed and earn those better careers. Doesn't matter. It was never #GiveDivasAChance to be the best they can be. It was #GiveDivasAChance to perform in a more respectable women's division. All they care about is match quality. That is their primary issue. Just increasing match time for a while was enough to satiate many of them at one time. I am not even going to try to drill it through their heads that all these women are not getting fair opportunities to succeed. Just a waste of time. Some fans are willing to riot when Daniel Bryan is only getting a very good career and not an amazing career. When it comes to understanding the problem in the diva division is worse, no one knows what the hell you are talking about.

Bray Wyatt And Roman Reigns Gain Allies

Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns at Battleground had a screwy finish, but no one seems to be making a big deal out of that, as compared to certain other matches I have talked about recently. Luke Harper got involved to help Bray Wyatt. Roman Reigns is also not alone. Dean Ambrose is there to help him.

There are rumors of Sting getting involved, but I am not even going to bring that up further. Just focus on this now turning into a tag feud. I do not like it. There was a personal, heated feud between Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns at one point. It did start to get stale in the last few weeks, but the WWE had an opportunity to try to make it fresh again. They inserted one of Bray's former henchmen. Okay. They still could have kept this a personal feud. Just treat Luke Harper as another obstacle Reigns has to get through to get to Bray Wyatt. Instead, they are going the route of a tag feud. The Shield and The Wyatts had a big rivalry years ago. This is a little taste of that. Some fans might like that, but I still feel they are ruining the feud between Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt. This is still a feud for the faces to win, but they could have had a great gimmick match between the two at Summerslam.

I always say Dean Ambrose is a guy that should not get lost in the shuffle. He has a purpose now. Nevertheless, I think they could have found something else for him to do. Now that Orton/Sheamus might be over, they could have developed some kind of feud between Sheamus and Ambrose. Ryback is out for a while. How about putting Ambrose against Miz or Big Show? Make the feud for the Intercontinental Championship a four-way feud. There were options.

Lesnar/Rollins Gets Spoiled

Cena/Owens was not the only match at Battleground to end in a manner that many fans did not like. Brock Lesnar was destroying Seth Rollins and closing in on the title. And then The Undertaker came back. The match suddenly did not seem important anymore. Taker/Lesnar is more important than anything else heading into Summerslam.

One possible issue was how the WWE would pull this off without making The Undertaker look like a heel. He waited over a year for revenge? He's mad he lost cleanly? He's going to help Seth Rollins, a heel, retain the title? It all sounds like the making of a heel turn. Of course, The Undertaker is a legend and won't get booed easily these days. Regardless, it might matter to some wrestling fans that spend hours contemplating this stuff. The Undertaker showed up on Raw to say his piece. It seems he was fine with the loss, but annoyed with how Brock/Heyman kept bringing it up. I think you can buy that. The WWE could have done a better job building up to that, but it is a reason for Taker to want to face Lesnar again.

But what if they had Lesnar win the title from Rollins, THEN Taker came out to ruin his moment? That sets the match up at Summerslam to be for the title. Would it be nice for The Undertaker to get one last title run before he retires? It would not have to last long. Just have Sheamus cash in the night after or have Taker drop it at Night of Champions. Thing is, Taker/Lesnar does not need the title for it to be the main event of Summerslam. Think back to when The Undertaker and Edge faced each other at Summerslam 2008. No title on the line. But it was still a bigger match than Triple H vs. The Great Khali for the World Championship. The WWE can build a stacked card by having this be a non-title match and having another match that is for the WWE Championship.

How about the guy who is still holding the WWE Championship? So much for all that talk about whether the coal will turn into a diamond. If that was still relevant, Seth Rollins definitely failed. He was an afterthought at the end of the night on Sunday. He does not look good. And it seems the WWE is running with that.

Enter John Cena. He put himself over at the expense of Seth Rollins. While the top Champion is getting cheap wins, a midcard Champion is stealing the show. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena would be great for Summerslam. It really seems like they are stacking this Summerslam to be Wrestlemania-like.

Kevin Owens Loses To John Cena, Again

Kevin Owens won the first encounter with John Cena. He won cleanly. The reaction from some fans was a bit much. They acted like this was something huge. Some felt this was a changing of the guard. Cena won the second match, but Owens still looked good after the loss. The third match, which was for the United States Championship at Battleground, was won by Cena. And Owens tapped.

There was once again a bit of an overreaction to what happened last night. Some fans are saying that Owens has been buried. Not only did he lose to Cena twice in a row, he tapped out. I have seen some fans say Kevin Owens should never tap. Well, he did. I think he'll live. I didn't think Owens still had the momentum to deserve the title. Having him lose is no big deal. How about having him tap? Did they need to do that? It should not be surprising that Cena would get a submission win over him. Many guys have tapped to John Cena. Even legends have. For the sake of not stabbing some fans in the heart, it might have been better to let a Super AA end the match.

Where does Kevin Owens go from here? One more shot at the United States Championship? If so, they should probably add Cesaro and/or Rusev into the mix. I can say no one wants to see the same match four events in a row, but this series between Kevin Owens and John Cena has connected well with fans. Regardless, add in some extra bodies that may hold a legitimate claim to a title shot and have more momentum. If they do not keep Owens against Cena, that might open the door for him to feud with other guys that need someone to work with. Dean Ambrose is a face that should not get lost in the shuffle. He should not be stuck as only a tag partner for Roman Reigns. A feud between Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens could be good.

Switch to John Cena. He is still holding the title. Is it even necessary to bring up whom he should feud with next? Does he even need a feud? He has this open challenge going on. Can they just stick with that? Of course, Summerslam is coming up. They are not likely to just do open challenges with Cena right now. The reason I bring that up is because I do not think they can balance Cena's open challenges and regular feuds properly. I never see anyone saying the WWE has "botched" things. They are loving the great matches and Kevin Owens getting this push. But you have a lot of Cena's open challenges ending by DQ when the guy he is feuding with interferes. On the other side of that, the guy he is feuding with might look like an afterthought or lose momentum when Cena is being pushed to the limit by some other guy. That is what I feel happened with Owens recently. Call it a side effect of the way they are booking John Cena as U.S. Champion. Many fans love it, but there are issues it causes. It might have been better if they had just ended the title reign last night.

Brock Vs. Seth At Battleground 2015 & Possibly More?

When the WWE first made it official that Seth Rollins would defend the title against Brock Lesnar, I was looking forward to see how the WWE would have Rollins step up. He had been booked as a weak WWE Champion. Would he finally turn into that diamond? Instead of continuing along that path, they went backwards and have continued to treat him as a coward that needs The Authority. Of course, his help has now been once again removed. Rollins has once again alienated himself from his partners, attacking Kane himself on Raw this week. Does that really give Rollins the momentum heading into Battleground? Seth Rollins with no help vs. Brock Lesnar. The odds are still against Seth.

Who wins? The outcome will probably not benefit anyone. If the WWE really wanted to help Seth Rollins look like a real star, they would have him look good against Brock. The story of this match will probably be Seth acting cowardly and Brock looking like a beast until shenanigans happen. Even if Seth retains like that, how does that really help him? And what about Brock regaining the title? That didn't work out as well as it could have last year. I wouldn't be surprised if the WWE does it again, but I would say it is an overrated idea that Lesnar getting the title back is best for business. It would help if it isn't a long reign. Regardless of all that,  I will say Rollins retains this Sunday.

Sheamus and his briefcase will be around. Will that play a factor this Sunday? I don't think it should. Sheamus just doesn't seem like a big deal. I can only imagine him ending up like Sandow. If the WWE wants people to really buy into him, they need to do more with him. If they do decide to use him now, it can be a convenient way to get the title off Lesnar, should he beat Rollins. Again, I just do not buy Sheamus as worthy of being WWE Champion again.

Will anyone else be around at Battleground? There are heavy rumors of The Undertaker being there. That is relevant to the title match. Brock Lesnar was the man that ended Taker's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania. Will The Undertaker come back for revenge? It seems petty. It does not seem like what Taker would do, as a face. Would they turn him heel? If he is going to be involved in this story, it might be either to cost Lesnar the match or set up a feud with Lesnar after he beats Seth Rollins for the title. The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar at Summerslam for the WWE Championship. That sounds big. There are also rumors that Sting will be around. Is the WWE planning to start the build for a feud between The Undertaker and Sting?

This is the kind of thing that feels like a big summer angle. The WWE needs something like that to help their ratings. But there is something to keep in mind. Go back to this year's Wrestlemania season. The WWE had feuds going for both The Undertaker and Sting, as well as John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar, and pretty much all their available stars. And ratings were mediocre. All the ratings leading up to Wrestlemania were at the level you would expect from football season. The ratings boost did not show up. Will trying it again help ratings? The Undertaker should help, especially if he shows up more frequently than he did during Wrestlemania season.

John Cena Vs. Kevin Owens & Bray Wyatt Vs. Roman Reigns At Battleground 2015

When the feud between Kevin Owens and John Cena started, Kevin Owens was the NXT Champion and John Cena was the United States Champion. But it wasn't about titles. And the feud felt like it was above titles. It was the top guy of NXT at the time going against the top guy of the WWE for a decade. Owens picked up the first win. Cena got the second, although Owens still remained looking strong.

That brings us to the third match. This time, the United States Championship is on the line. Kevin Owens, moreover, is no longer NXT Champion. I do feel this feud is now less impressive. It isn't really because Owens lost his title and now wants John Cena's midcard title. The development has just been mediocre in recent weeks between these two. Owens is starting to feel like a midcarder. Cesaro has been elevated more in recent weeks than Owens. Even Rusev looked impressive in how he almost beat Cena this week. With the WWE making all these guys look impressive like that, Owens is left looking like a guy that walks away from matches, screws other guys that look like they can beat Cena, and has not really been that threat to Cena in recent weeks that he appeared to be when he first beat Cena cleanly.

Should Owens win the title? There was a time I believed Kevin Owens would be the perfect choice to take the title off Cena. He had the credibility. But the WWE has just not been great with him recently. I would say Cesaro deserves it more. Of course, you can have Owens win the title and drop it to Cesaro. I just feel it would be bigger if Cesaro beat Cena cleanly for the title. I do not think Owens should win the title. As far as what the WWE is likely to do this Sunday, I think they will have Cena retain. Momentum is on the side of Kevin Owens. That usually means the other guy wins.

The feud between Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt is another one that seemed so heated a few weeks ago. It seemed like it might get personal. Since then, the development has been poor. Most of this feud is now just Bray Wyatt ambushing Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns obviously turned the tables on Raw this week. It seems like a waste of Bray Wyatt's gimmick and potential. In other words, this is like most Bray Wyatt feuds.

Who wins? Bray Wyatt is simply there to put over Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns will win this feud. The question is whether this feud will go on beyond Battleground. If it does not, Reigns wins this Sunday and moves on to something else. If the feud is going to continue, you can image Bray Wyatt winning or some kind of indecisive finish, like both brawl their way to the back for a double countout. That should lead to some kind of gimmick match for Summerslam. Sounds good, but the WWE really needs to do a lot more to keep this feud interesting, if they extend it. Simply having Bray Wyatt distract Roman Reigns or ambush him is not intriguing anymore. I don't think the WWE can pull off an extended feud properly. I would rather the feud end this Sunday. Nevertheless, I would not be surprised to see an indecisive finish to prolong it.

Three NXT Divas Debut On Raw

The Bella Twins and Alicia Fox came out to gloat on Raw last night. Stephanie McMahon came out and put them back down. That led to Paige, Naomi, Tamina, and a few new divas from NXT coming out. Those NXT divas would be Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch. Charlotte and Becky sided with Paige. Sasha Banks has been paired with Naomi and Tamina. Not surprisingly, a lot of fans are praising it as the greatest diva segment in years.

What kind of feud do you have here? 3 vs. 3 vs. 3? As I have said before, the WWE has just made the diva feud more complicated than it needed to be. They did not need to call up three women in one night to insert them into this feud. If they had kept things simple weeks ago, they only needed to debut one diva to keep things fresh for the rest of the year. No need to put Alicia Fox with The Bellas. No need to bring back Naomi and Tamina against The Bellas. If they really wanted to do something with these other divas, do a better job utilizing other women already on the main roster, like Emma. I know #GiveDivasAChance is not all about Emma, but she was the one that took the pin the night all this started. And what has she done on the main roster since? No need to hand her the title, but a minor feud on the main roster would be nice.

Another issue with the development of this diva feud, there isn't exactly a lot of time between the debuts and Battleground. The WWE could have debuted a new diva a week or two ago and spent the time between then and the PPV introducing her to the main audience by having her wrestle singles matches and be in Paige's corner for her matches. The PPV match would then be Paige and the new diva vs. The Bellas. Instead, all you have until the PPV is one more Smackdown. And how well can you feature three new divas on that one show? It has just not been timed right to properly build to whatever match they are aiming for.

How the WWE follows through with these women after Battleground will also be interesting. If they had just debuted one diva, you could just put the focus on her as she slowly takes the spot against The Bellas Paige has held for months now. You now have three new women in the picture. Obviously, these women still have NXT stuff to do. That makes the decision to use all three on the main roster right now even more questionable. It would have been better to just debut a diva you were prepared to properly develop on the main roster. Good luck trying to keep the ball rolling with this after Sunday.

Let me just talk about Stephanie's promo. She talked about a revolution with women in sports. She brought up women's soccer, UFC, and tennis. Yeah, I can respect what the US women's soccer team has done, what Ronda Rousey has done, and what Serena Williams has done. What makes these women great are not the accolades. It is how they have earned those accolades. It is not just talent. It is how they have utilized that talent. It is the fact that they have beaten other top challengers. Competition. Stephanie also brought up that word. But is there competition in the diva division now? There is fresh talent in the diva division. But will they be given a fair shot to actually succeed and earn the top spot from The Bellas? If not, nothing has changed. This is still a women's division that revolves around eye-candy divas and women with wrestling credibility are often just used to put the stars over. These new divas will get to show how great they are on the main roster. That freshness will excite a lot of fans. But there is more to it than that. What about earning those better careers? What's the point of earning something when you are not allowed to get it? What if those female athletes I brought up did everything right to earn a major title, but some official or committee decided to just hand the title to someone else that did not earn it? Unthinkable, but it happens in the WWE. And I don't mean titles. I mean being actually pushed as a star.

Sheamus And Orton Feuding

Sheamus and Randy Orton had some issues even before Sheamus won the briefcase. The feud has continued even after that. You have two former World Champions going at it. Beyond that, is there anything worth saying about this feud? It is pretty boring.

Who should win this feud? Randy Orton is above Sheamus in the WWE hierarchy. He is also the face in the feud. However, Sheamus won the briefcase. If they are really serious about building him back up to be a credible Champion, a victory over someone like Randy Orton should help. Of course, there have been a lot of instances of Mr. Money in the Bank losing a lot. The main reason you can say Sheamus does not need the star building is because he has won World titles before. He has won the Royal Rumble. His momentum does not seem to be there, but he has credibility. I would say they toss Orton a bone and let him win this.

Should Sheamus cash in at Battleground? I will bring that up when I talk about Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar. But as far as cashing in goes, if Sheamus were to cash in around now, how likely is he to win it? Does he seem like a guy that would win the title right now? I don't think so. Seth Rollins has not been the greatest WWE Champion, but Sheamus feels like a boring midcarder, which is much worse. The WWE really needs to do a better job of making Sheamus intriguing.

The same can be said about Randy Orton. This is a dry time for him. I think now would be a good time to pair together two main-eventers or upper-midcarders and let them get the tag titles. Teams like that should not dominate the tag division on a constant basis, but having them win the titles now and then might make title matters exciting again. Look at John Cena and the United States Championship. A lot of fans are praising what is going on there. The situation is not great because it is the United States Championship. The situation is great because John Cena is involved. The WWE will push him well. The tag division is overrun by jobbers. The WWE does not do a good job developing teams prior to winning the titles, they do not let them hold the titles long enough to get great, and then they give the titles to another team that has not been developed well. It doesn't really matter who wins the titles at Battleground. Things will be mediocre. Pair Randy Orton up with another top performer that the company cannot push well right now and let them have a run with the tag titles. They don't need to do open challenges like Cena, but I am sure the fact that two top guys are holding the titles will improve matters in the tag division. It should freshen things up.

Dean Ambrose Lost In The Shuffle?

Should it even be surprising that Dean Ambrose has nothing really important to do right now? It is a sign of the times. Facing Bo Dallas is nothing. Dean Ambrose is a popular guy. He has been involved in some big matches. He was just feuding against Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship a few weeks ago. How can they just drop the ball with him so easily?

Dean Ambrose is pretty much a face version of Bray Wyatt. Bray Wyatt will win feuds against guys under him, but that has usually been to build him up to feed him to guys the WWE wants to feature as stars. And there definitely has been some occasions where the WWE just had nothing for Wyatt. Dean Ambrose can at least still get featured in filler matches. Wyatt does not always get even that. Bray Wyatt has won feuds and the WWE has had nothing for him to follow up.

Some people have said that the answer to Dean Ambrose being treated like this is to turn him heel. I do not see how that will be an automatic fix. Yes, the heel turn will freshen him up a little and he'll likely get an initial push from it. And then? They are not likely to promote him just by turning him heel. He'll still be that guy that beats guys below him and is used to put over others. He would just be doing it as a heel. Look at Bray Wyatt. Pushing him as a heel isn't saving him. Pushing Dean Ambrose as a heel would likely not save him.

I just believe it would be so easy for Dean Ambrose not to be featured so poorly right now. He was just feuding against The Authority. Seth Rollins is busy. Kane isn't. Those two should be feuding right now. It would be a feud Ambrose would obviously win. I am a little surprised they are not even giving him that. If they supposedly want to feature this guy as a star, they need to do a lot better than this.

Is The Romance Fading?

Some fans seem to be souring on the romance angle involving Dolph Ziggler, Lana, Rusev, and Summer Rae. It has not worked as well as it should have. I have seen an article that said that the WWE purposely destroyed Lana for getting over. Some fans say this angle might ruin Ziggler. How have things been going?

First, this idea that the WWE intentionally tried to ruin Lana. No, I do not agree with that. If they had turned her face and pushed her alongside Sandow and Axel on whatever show those two are featured on these days, I would say they buried her. They paired her with a guy they feature consistently on the main shows. They are running a storyline with her. Have they changed her character? Yes. But I do not see it as the WWE trying to "destroy" Lana. This is a botch. Lana got over the way eye-candy divas in the company typically get over, her sex appeal and character. She was playing a heel character at the time. Because of her popularity and the WWE deciding to go with it, they would have to change her in some way. They did not try hard to force her as a heel, which might have been an obvious sign they did not want her cheered. Could they have pushed her as a face while still keeping her strong character. Would have been nice. I would have liked it. But might not be as easy to do as it seems. Moreover, she is an eye-candy periphery diva. And that is exactly how they are treating her now. She has had some moments here and there where she stood up for herself against Rusev. Overall, however, it has been a lot of making out with Ziggler and acting a little too lovesick.

What the WWE has done with Lana is nothing unusual. I would say it is the kind of thing that happened with John Cena. John Cena was a popular midcarder. He even gained that popularity while playing a heel. What happened? The WWE decided to push him as the top star of the company. They took him and turned him into something that many vocal fans hate. But you have to realize that this was not the WWE's intention. They didn't destroy Cena. His failure to properly connect with the audience is a combination of his own shortcomings and bad decisions on the part of the WWE. Lana's situation is pretty much all the WWE's fault from a botched creative standpoint. I am not even going to put anything on her shortcomings. This has just become a storyline that would be hard for any diva to handle, even Sable and Trish Stratus. But this isn't like what happened to Zack Ryder. The WWE wants Lana to be a top star in the periphery. Sadly, their inefficiency these days are messing up so many things, including diva matters, including this.

How has Ziggler been looking? Some fans say it might look heelish to pick on a crippled guy and taking his girl. Well, Rusev is healed up and he was a jerk to Lana first. Dolph Ziggler was one of the most over guys on the roster. This angle has started to hurt him slightly, but I do not think it is a big deal. I do not think the WWE was trying to bury him, either. Ziggler gets a storyline with Lana and a feud against Rusev. So many guys on the roster lack that much. Where's Jack Swagger? Sandow, who was also so over a few months ago, has nothing important now. Cesaro lacks true direction. Dolph Ziggler is definitely better off than some. If his character is taking damage, I would say it is inadvertent.

There has just been a few things to hinder this feud. First, obviously, Rusev's injury. Second, Lana is not an actual wrestler. If she was, that might open up possibilities and help her. Third, the WWE is PG. They ran this kind of angle when the diva division got started. Sable broke away from her man and stood on her own. And she was able to flaunt her sex appeal. That helped her. What is the PG version of that? I think you are witnessing it. Lana letting her hair down and making out with Dolph Ziggler. Some people might say that is the WWE ruining Lana, but it might just be the best they could come up with during this era. They are not simply trying to create some kind of strong, feminist character. They are looking to entertain. They are looking to push sex appeal. If Sable had to work in a PG environment, was as limited in the ring as Lana has been, and had to work against an injured Marc Mero, she might look a lot like Lana today.

There is hope as this feud moves forward. Rusev can go in the ring again. That means this thing does not have to drag on longer than it needs to anymore. And if Lana can take a few bumps, that might lead to a mixed tag match. Seeing her get a little physical should help her with the fans. She doesn't need to ever get as good as Trish Stratus. A lot of divas back in the day had no real wrestling ability and still were put in matches. You even had Vickie Guerrero getting matches in recent years. Let that be Lana.

One Week After The Worst Raw Of 2015

Last week, Raw did poorly in the ratings. You would expect the WWE to do something in response to getting the lowest numbers of the year when there was no sports competition or holiday to use as an excuse. Notice anything different? Well, Cena was in the main event. Cena defended his United States Championship against Cesaro in the match of the night. Cena retained. Kevin Owens came out. That was the main event.

Having the show end like that does stand out. Cena has not really been involved in the main event of Raw for a while. His title defenses and feuds have been featured in the undercard. The main spotlight has gone to The Authority. Brock Lesnar is around. You might think the show would still end with the feud that has gotten the main attention. It seems this was the WWE's answer to the low ratings last week. Cena was put back in the main event.

During CM Punk's long title reign, John Cena was still frequently featured above him. This is not necessarily a return to that. One thing you can take away, Cena is still the centerpiece. People have said a lot about Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, but I do not feel the WWE has yet pulled the trigger on pushing anyone new in Cena's spot.

Aside from whom the WWE put in the match, something else to note is the WWE decided to close the show with an amazing match. That will definitely please wrestling fans, but what about other fans? What about the wider audience? I am not a believer that great wrestling will get the WWE back to amazing numbers. I respect wrestling, but you need real stars, intriguing storylines, and you need to utilize all your workers efficiently, not just the main-eventers. The WWE cannot start thinking that pleasing wrestling fans is all there is to start going in the right direction. Even outside of the main event, there are still issues with the show.

How will this week's number do? Last week's was bad. I would expect worse numbers during football season. Right now, I would not expect things to get worse. The WWE did not really do anything huge to promote the show to draw big or hype anything too amazing during the show to draw viewers. I would say this week's numbers will be in the same area as last week. Not much worse, not too amazing.

The Extended Family Of The Authority

The story of Big Show in The Authority has been pretty messy. He was there almost from the start. They forced him to join. He never really was heel during that time. He eventually got his freedom. He spent some time away from that storyline. He then turned heel and aligned with the group again. It looked like he was a real member. There was even the vintage tension between him and other members that The Authority angle always seems to have. He took some time off. When he returned, instead of being a simple henchman for the stable, he was gunning for the Intercontinental Championship. Now, they refer to him as an "extended family" member of The Authority. They really could do better with this stable.

Of course, there is one good thing about Big Show not being featured prominently alongside The Authority anymore. He gets to work against some different guys, while some different guys can be used in his place. You have seen Sheamus getting some of the matches you would expect Big Show to get if he was still in the stable. Sheamus, however, is not a member of the group. Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury have also been featured more, but that is not necessarily a good thing.

If the WWE really wants to freshen up their top heel stable and the main-event scene in general, they  really need to push someone new in Big Show's place. You are just looking for some intimidating brute. Mic skills are not important. Rusev would have been a great choice, but he is injured and still working with his storyline with Lana and Ziggler. Could the WWE debut someone from NXT to fill the role? You can talk about Kevin Owens, but he is a guy you would want to see actually be pushed as a star, not just as an enforcer in the stable. When Seth Rollins one day leaves the group, then you can bring up Kevin Owens to fill his position. Mark Henry is too old and injury-prone. Regardless of what the WWE does, the freshness just is not there right now in The Authority.

Making The Diva Feud More Complicated

The story you had in the diva division was The Bellas, who are heels, cheating to win and pushing their weight around. Paige, the face in this story, was trying to get support against them. None of the other divas wanted to do it. The direction this storyline would go in is obvious. A diva debuts from NXT to side with Paige. Simple.

The WWE has decided to make things even more messy. They have paired Alicia Fox with The Bellas. That was not necessary. They have also brought Naomi and Tamina back into the picture to wrestle The Bellas. Again, they are just messing up the story they were already developing. All these face/heel turns are not necessary.

If the WWE wants to give these other divas something to do, they could do it without adding them to the storyline involving Paige and The Bellas. Have Alicia Fox feud with Natalya. Have Naomi and Tamina feud against Natalya and Emma. Some people might say that they had to bring Naomi and Tamina back into the picture because Paige is busy with Tough Enough. No, that is not an excuse. Just have this other diva feud they could have been developing get the spotlight those few nights Paige will not be used. The Bellas do not need to be featured this much, especially when it is resulting in the storyline they were building getting more complicated than it has to be. And as far as the idea of needing to put Naomi in the mix because of the WWE Network special coming up, this isn't a major event, so I would not have had it influence the long-term storyline that matters more.

I have seen some fans speculate that the WWE is dragging things along without debuting anyone from NXT because they want to extend Nikki Bella's title reign until she beats AJ Lee's record. Once again, that is no excuse. I do not care if that is really the WWE's logic. It is stupid. The diva match for Battleground would be a simple tag match between The Bellas and Paige and her new partner. Summerslam would be Nikki defending against that new diva. Have the match end in some kind of indecisive finish. That leads to a rematch at Night of Champions. Nikki drops the title there. And she still gets the record. There is no need to drag anything out. The WWE had just enough time to work with to build a proper feud that made sense and still got Nikki Bella the record, if they care about it so much. There is still time to work things out like that, but the WWE has gotten very sloppy with the development.

This would not be the first time the WWE has gotten sloppy with the storyline development in the diva division. They did it last year with AJ Lee and Paige. It had looked like they had pulled the trigger on Paige's heel turn. But the WWE seemed to take a step back and pulled a "frenemies" thing that just didn't run smoothly. You also had the mess with The Bellas. They recently talked about it. There was supposedly going to be a 15-minute match between AJ Lee and Nikki Bella. I doubt the WWE seriously would have gone through with that. Paige and AJ Lee didn't even average 15 minutes in their PPV matches. I find it hard to believe the WWE would let Nikki Bella and AJ have that much time. As far as Brie Bella's mediocre heel turn to side with her sister again, I can cut that some slack when I think about it. They are sisters. Regardless, still a lot of sloppiness and inconsistency. It is nothing personal to one diva. It is not even personal to just the women. There is also sloppiness in the men's division. I am always bringing up the inconsistency with The Authority angle. And yet, this diva storyline they had going on seemed very simple and had the potential to still intrigue. The WWE has just made it more complicated than it needed to be and might be hurting that potential.

Worst Raw Of 2015

In terms of ratings, this week's Raw was the worst of the year. It averaged 3,463,000 viewers. That is the lowest since the last Raw of last year. Not counting that, you have to go back a few years to find a Raw that did worse. And numbers are usually bad when Raw falls on a holiday or goes against football. None of those excuses can be used for this week's poor numbers.

This is not a weird occurrence. Ratings have been bad all year. Through the first half of 2015, Raw has averaged over 4 million viewers only 8 times. For  the sake of comparison, Raw only failed to average more than 4 million in the first half of the year twice in 2014. One of those days was a holiday, while the other was when Raw was in England and taped earlier in the day. The WWE has just done very poorly this year.

There is no one problem. There is a lack of great star power. Guys like Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns are not real draws. Guys that the WWE has counted on to be stars, like John Cena and Randy Orton, sometimes seem to have issues properly connecting with the fans. Part-timers just cannot do it anymore. The Rock came back to a house show recently. They mentioned it on Raw. And yet, the excitement that a star like that might randomly show up on Raw does not draw. To make matters worse, the WWE is incredibly inefficient with their entire product. The tag division has regressed. The diva division continues to be mediocre. The WWE has shown signs of improving the midcard at times, but they just cannot be consistent with it. Even the main-event scene is stale.

What makes this poor number coming at this time of year even more sad is that it's summer. Where's the big summer angle? Brock Lesnar gunning for the title? You did that last year. Aside from fans loving Cena getting destroyed, it didn't lead to anything. There is nothing big going on right now to really excite fans. The WWE is not being shaken up by anything. Even the NXT Champion showing up on Raw is really not a big deal. Kevin Owens is not a big star. Talented wrestler, but not a star that can draw in that wider audience. I would like to believe there is still time for the WWE to try to do something big for this summer, but they probably will not do it.

It can get worse. Football season is usually when Raw gets bad numbers. There is still another two months before the season starts. The viewership this week is even worse than the average for last year's football season. How bad can things get before the year is through? I am more excited by how low they can go than for the actual product.