Dean Ambrose Gets Kevin Owens For The Intercontinental Championship

It looked like Dean Ambrose had a feud brewing against Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens a few weeks ago. Seth Rollins getting injured and the WWE having that tournament to crown a new WWE Champion spoiled things, although the two still met during the tournament. Now that the tournament is over, the WWE is going back to that title feud.

These two are favorites for wrestling fans. They should be interested in this feud, especially with a title involved. Outside of that, there is no intricate story here. I do not have a problem with that. There is nothing wrong with just having a feud be about a title. In fact, I wouldn't have minded if the WWE didn't telegraph that this was the feud they were going to have. You can have a title feud where a guy wins a #1 contenders match or tournament, then start the feud from there. Not all feuds should be like that, but it is okay now and then. Moreover, given the WWE's recent history of sloppy storylines and sour angles, it is probably for the best that the WWE does not try anything fancy with this feud. Just keep it about the title. It can be nice filler feud with the Royal Rumble coming up soon after TLC. I would expect both Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens to be in the Rumble match.

Does Dean Ambrose need to win the Intercontinental Championship? He has had some title success already. Although it has been a while since he held the United States Championship, he has been pushed pretty well in the last year. Without ever winning a title in that span, he has still main-evented some PPVs. He made it to the final match of that recent tournament, as was expected. He's doing fine. As of now, I am thinking Owens retains.

Alberto Del Rio Goes Back To Jack Swagger

Alberto Del Rio had a feud brewing with Jack Swagger. They have feuded before, but with Del Rio as the face and Swagger as the heel. Also with Zeb Colter on Jack Swagger's side. Del Rio is now the heel and has Zeb on his side. The United States Championship is also in the mix this time. The feud was put on hold due to the WWE Championship tournament, but they are going back to it.

The outcome of this feud seems obvious. Alberto Del Rio wins. Jack Swagger was doing nothing prior to this push. All of a sudden, the WWE starts investing in him again. But obviously to put over Del Rio. The WWE did this same thing last year to use Swagger to put over Rusev. Jack Swagger did such a great job, I wondered if he should be the one to hand Rusev his first real loss. It was also disappointing when the WWE just deflated him after that. I expect a repeat of last year.

Could the WWE do more? There is this Mexican-American angle going on. The WWE could build a stable out of this. If nothing else, a tag team with a manager. Jack Swagger and Zeb are no strangers to that, having a group with Cesaro in the past. Jack Swagger would be a great choice to partner with Zeb and Del Rio. Del Rio represents Mexico and Swagger represents the United States. It would keep Jack Swagger relevant. It would add to this angle they have going on. And even after Del Rio does lose the United States Championship, he can go after the tag titles down the line. If the WWE does not find a good way to keep this angle fresh, it could fizzle out fast.

Should Brooke Adams Return To The WWE?

I have said many times before that the WWE should cut down on hiring all this new talent and bringing back old talent. They have all these bodies signed on the main roster, on NXT, as full-timers, as part-timers, getting legend's contracts, and whatever else. And what is it doing for them? They are not using their talent efficiently. Raw is seeing some of the worst ratings it has ever had. No one is going to save the WWE with all the issues they have. If this was a sports team, the issue would be with the coaches and team executives, not so much the players not being able to do their job. The WWE just is not putting their workers in a position to properly succeed and making bad decisions.

For a moment, let's pretend all that was not an issue. Brooke Adams (Brooke Tessmacher) has left TNA. There is a history of women leaving TNA and going right back, but how about Brooke coming back to the WWE? Some people might have forgotten she was ever there. She was not there for long and was only a part of a dance group on ECW. Needless to say, TNA utilized her much better.

Brooke has sex appeal, charisma, and developed her wrestling ability while in TNA. This is someone the WWE should want back. The diva division lacks good eye-candy divas right now. If you are a wrestling fan, you might be prejudice against women like that. But they help to make the diva division more fun. And right now, a lot of the eye-candy divas the WWE would like to push have issues, mostly injury issues. And then there's Summer Rae, who is tied to a guy I have no faith in to see pushed well. Brooke isn't the perfect eye-candy diva, but she has qualities some of these women currently in the WWE lack, like wrestling experience. Of the current crop of eye-candy divas, she would be an asset.

How would she be pushed? It is unlikely she will be pushed as the centerpiece. Regardless of Nikki's health issues, I still feel The Bellas will hold that position. It wouldn't be hard to get Brooke involved in the periphery. Just throw her in a romance angle. She got some of that in TNA, including an angle with Bully Ray. She did not do too much during that angle, but just being sexy is enough. And even pushing her as a credible jobber would not be horrible. As I said, she has wrestling experience now. She also has the look that can get many fans interested in her. She can put some fun emotion into her matches. When you have someone like this, you do not have to put too much creative investment in them. Just give them the freedom to do their thing. This is an eye-candy diva I believe can actually get over as a credible jobber.

One of the issues right now in the diva division is this sour atmosphere. You had AJ Lee do a pipe bomb a few years ago. Paige did one this year. #GiveDivasAChance has just made the division more serious, not more fun. Too much self-righteousness. Then you have crass storylines and segments. Sloppy storylines is one thing, but the tone of the division is just not fun. Looking at what Brooke has done in TNA, it is easy for me to say that having her would help change things. Or will the WWE force her to fit in with this sour atmosphere? As I said, if you give her the freedom to do her thing, she can help you. If you restrict her and have her work through this horrible landscape, she won't help you.

How about TNA? They will be alive in 2016, but their women's division is taking some hits. Brooke is leaving. Awesome Kong has to retire. Angelina Love is pregnant. Taryn Terrell wants to leave. I think TNA will work it out. Despite the WWE signing so many people for NXT, there are still a lot of women out there. Even GFW has not taken them all. And GFW and TNA do have a relationship. TNA still has Gail Kim. She is the closest thing to a centerpiece the company has. There is no one man that they build around. It is hard to say they even build around Gail Kim. They just keep giving her title reigns. But she is someone they can keep pushing. She still has a few good years left. The rest of The Dollhouse might finally be utilized better. And there is Velvet Sky. They have enough core women to steadily feature and can supplement them with new women. It might bring some freshness to the division.

Sheamus As WWE Champion

Prior to Survivor Series this week, Sheamus had held World titles a few times. They all came during that era where there were 2 major World titles in the WWE. He won the WWE Championship twice, but neither of those reigns were too long. He got a solid run with the World's Heavyweight Championship, but he still obviously was not the centerpiece of the company. Since unifying the titles, you might expect the WWE would be a little more selective with whom they put the title on. Someone like Sheamus, who had fallen into the midcard in recent years, would not be someone to put the title on, especially with how poorly he had been developed. Since his feud with Randy Orton ended, he had not been a part of a big feud. Even his feud with Orton was starting to drag on. Put it all together, I would have expected him to fail when he eventually cashed in.

And he now holds the WWE Championship. Triple H and Sheamus screwed Roman Reigns out of the title at Survivor Series. Sheamus has been elevated, but will this last long? Or is this just to eventually put the title back on Roman Reigns? Sheamus may have title credibility, but how many people really view him as a big star? Ratings will likely be bad in the weeks to come, but that will be more out of the poor quality of the product and this time of year typically being bad for the WWE, not necessarily Sheamus lacking through star power.

I still think the WWE should have turned Ambrose heel and had him win. Ambrose has actually been pushed better than Sheamus in recent years. Even with periods of inconsistency here and there, the WWE has placed Ambrose in more PPV main events. And Ambrose being the one to turn on Roman Reigns would have had better creative value to it.

Or how about just letting Roman Reigns keep the title? Sheamus would still have lots of time to be developed further and cash in down the line. Problem is, the WWE would need a top heel for him to work with. I doubt Triple H would put on his wrestling boots to feud with Roman Reigns now. They could revisit his feud with Bray Wyatt. They could put him against Sheamus with Sheamus as the challenger. Elevate Miz? Not a lot of great options available. The lack of great heels is probably the best reason for not letting Reigns keep the title. As much as they need to build a new centerpiece, they also need to build credible heels for that centerpiece to work against. And that is why I can understand Reigns not keeping the title. Aside from that, I don't think anything will stop the WWE from giving him a proper title run the next time he wins it.

More Thoughts On Charlotte/Paige

Roman Reigns won the title. Sheamus cashed in and won. He has aligned with The Authority. I brought that up as a possibility, although not one I thought they would follow through with. Since nothing that shocking happened with the main event of Survivor Series, I won't spend too much time on that. Wait to see how the WWE develops things on Raw tonight.

Back to that controversial segment on Raw last week involving Paige and Charlotte. Charlotte retained the title at Survivor Series, but that is not worth talking about now. When I talked about the segment previously, it was more about the decision to place it at the end of the show and the quality of the segment. I did not focus too much on the big issue that caused the controversy. Since it is still being talked about, I might as well do it. This is about the WWE allowing Reid Flair to be brought up.

I was hoping it wouldn't cause that much of an issue, but it did. I do not think the WWE should have done it. It was unnecessary and it was stupid. Let me explain why I feel that way.

First, why was it unnecessary? Because you already had a direction they could have taken this. Paige's first promo that started her heel turn had her bashing the other divas and the supposed revolution that was going on. All they had to do was stick with that. Would Paige calling out the diva revolution leave her sounding like a face, since the whole thing has been poor? Thing is, all the WWE had to do was have Paige sound self-centered. Have her sound like the only reason she wanted change was to benefit herself. Smarks would love her, but she would be a heel. Instead of keeping the focus on the diva revolution, they bring up Charlotte's dead brother. Horrible development. I think they could have kept fans interested just by having this be about the diva revolution.

Why was it stupid? What is the WWE thinking? How can they allow something like this to be brought up? Someone dies of a drug overdose and you bring that up in a storyline? That wasn't kayfabe. As I have brought up before, I do not like the WWE acting like they are family-friendly entertainment, then doing things that are just pushing the limits. The WWE just comes off as hypocrites. What do they think they are doing to their audience when they do these things? Fans want the Attitude Era back because it was entertaining. It was edgy in an entertaining way. The WWE is not pleasing these fans by being edgy in this way. Moreover, for those fans that think they are watching family-friendly entertainment, this crap is the kind of thing that might turn them off the product.

One of the reasons Chyna is supposedly not in the WWE Hall of Fame is that fear that fans might Google her and find some stuff that is not PG. I'll admit it, I had forgotten the circumstances around Reid Flair's death and had to Google it. That isn't PG. That isn't entertainment. That is crass. Why would the WWE not worry about children looking that up?

The segment was also upsetting to the Flair family. Again, it is obvious Charlotte is in the WWE in the first place because her father is a legend, but it would really be great if the WWE stops treating Charlotte as a Flair and just treats her as a performer trying to break out on her own. I do not think there is a worse way to utilize the fact that Charlotte is part of the Flair family. Ric Flair has been involved in some antics of his own, but bringing up Reid Flair like they did was the bottom of the barrel.

The WWE has done things like this before since turning PG. They had CM Punk take advantage of Paul Bearer's death while he was feuding with The Undertaker. That just didn't feel as terrible as what the WWE did recently. Was it that Paul Bearer did not die in a controversial fashion? Was it that fans were just expecting it to happen, while what the WWE had Paige do was out of nowhere? Was it an age thing? Whatever the reason, the WWE needs to learn when to draw the line.

How does this compare to that controversial angle between Mickie James and Michelle McCool? The WWE was obviously burying someone they did want over, while trying to make someone they did want over look amazing. It was the typical feud you see between a credible jobber and a centerpiece, just more heated. The WWE had pretty much lost control of their diva division, failing to make stars and a woman they were not pushing as a star becoming more over than the attempts to create a new Trish Stratus. How does Paige and Charlotte compare to that? The jury is still out on whether either of these two women are being developed as stars. Paige has been pushed as a credible jobber since debuting. Is her current push just about being built up for Charlotte to knock down? Charlotte does not have the look the WWE likes to push as their centerpiece. And she has not really shown that she deserves to be a star. And you have to keep in mind that Nikki Bella, the woman that they were pushing very well for over a year now, is currently out with an injury. If the WWE is not focused on developing a new star out of either Paige or Charlotte, that makes what they did even more unnecessary. At least what they did to Mickie James in 2009 and 2010 had a clear purpose. What they have done recently might just be nothing more than a stunt gone wrong. The aren't burying a woman they do not want over and this angle may not do much to help a woman they do want over.

Whom should you blame for all this? I am reading that the blame might go to Charlotte. I do not think it should. The WWE needs to take responsibility. Whoever suggested it is not the one that should be blamed. Whoever allowed it should be blamed. I was pulling for the Mets in the recent World Series. In their final game of the series, Matt Harvey was playing well. They had the lead heading into the 9th inning and the coaches were going to pull him out of the game. Matt Harvey protested and wanted to finish the game. Terry Collins, the manager, allowed it. Harvey threw the game away and the Mets went on to lose the game and the series in extra innings. Terry Collins took responsibility for what happened. He was the guy that made the decision. That is how this current situation in the WWE should work. It doesn't matter who suggested Paige bring up Charlotte's brother. The people that allowed it should be blamed. They have to be smarter than that.

What the WWE did was simply horrible. I do not know if it would have been okay even if the WWE wasn't PG and this was the Attitude Era or Ruthless Aggression Era. It wasn't entertaining or exciting. It wasn't outrageous in a fun way. As I have said, it wasn't even necessary. It was crass. Vince McMahon might have supposedly thought what Mickie James did at Wrestlemania 22 was crass, but I never saw it get a negative reaction like what the WWE deliberately allowed to happen last week. The WWE is relying on crass angles to be edgy. Problem is, this is neither entertaining nor something that can draw. It is more likely to disgust fans and turn them off. Not smart.

Final Preview For The WWE Championship Tournament At Survivor Series 2015

Survivor Series was supposed to feature Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship. Two former Shield members going at it could have led to a good title feud. Seth Rollins got injured at a live event. He is out for a few months. The WWE decided to have a tournament to crown a new WWE Champion. After a few weeks of tournament matches, we are down to Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Alberto Del Rio, and Kevin Owens. The final three matches will happen at Survivor Series.

During those first two rounds, none of the matches really got main-event focus. I thought that was a bad move by the WWE. This tournament finally got a small taste of that on Smackdown this week. The final four men in the tournament faced each other in a tag match. Better than nothing.

Onto who wins. Going by dirtsheet reports, many people backstage supposedly want Dean Ambrose to win. Of course, those reports leave a little wiggle room by saying Vince McMahon will have the final say. In other words, anything can happen.

It is pretty obvious whom the WWE will put in the final match. Two of the men in this tournament are holding titles already. Alberto Del Rio is the United States Champion. Kevin Owens is the Intercontinental Champion. It isn't likely they pick up another title. We just saw a World Champion holding a midcard title very recently. I doubt the WWE goes there again. Is it likely one of the current Champions even makes it to the final round? Again, I think not. It would be great for the sake of a swerve, but it looks like it will come down to Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.

Assuming Reigns and Ambrose are the final two, what will that look like? This is Shield vs. Shield, although it would not have gotten the build Reigns vs. Rollins would have gotten. These are two faces. These are two friends that are as close as brothers. The situation is just ripe for a heel turn. It would probably be disappointing if there was not one. With the WWE losing someone they were pushing as a top heel, they might feel they need to plug someone else into that position.

The Authority obviously needs a new chosen one if they are going to continue the facade that they are a stable. They have not hidden the fact that they are looking for someone. Not only are you likely to get a heel turn, or possibly someone already a heel getting elevated to a bigger push, but you are likely to see them with The Authority.

Reigns or Ambrose? A lot of people keep on suggesting that Reigns turn heel. He is over with certain fans, but hated by those critical wrestling fans. I don't think it will be an easy answer like some people suggest. The issues with Roman Reigns go beyond a bad character. As for Dean Ambrose, I have seen it mentioned that Ambrose turning heel and joining The Authority would not make sense. It doesn't match his character. That would make the turn even better. Why would Dean Ambrose do that? It would get people talking. And it would be an opportunity for Dean Ambrose to evolve. I will go with Ambrose being the one to turn and win the title.

If there is a heel turn, it should not be a prolonged heel turn. I have seen some fans suggest the WWE plant the seeds of a heel turn and build to it later. No. The WWE just did that kind of thing with Paige and it was sloppy. After her doing a promo that made it obvious she was turning heel, they had her get back with her stable, then turn on them by attacking them. It was just awkward. It was not handled properly. It was like "frenemies" all over again. It wasn't developed like Randy Orton pretending to rejoin The Authority to strike Seth Rollins when the moment was right. If there is going to be a heel turn, let it be like Seth turning on The Shield. No turning back. Have someone sell out.

And then there's Sheamus. He can cash in. The WWE could have him be The Authority's new guy. Keep both Ambrose and Reigns face and just elevate someone that is already a heel. Problem is, I do not think many fans buy Sheamus as an A or A+ player. I doubt even the WWE would be willing to elevate him into that position. I will stick with Ambrose turning and winning the title. As for Sheamus, unless the WWE starts developing him better, I can only imagine him failing when he does eventually cash in.

Last year's Survivor Series featured the WWE debut of Sting. That created buzz and led to Raw the next night getting a nice ratings boost. I expect something shocking to happen at Survivor Series. To just have either Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose win cleanly, shake hands, and leave it at that would not be intriguing. There has to be some kind of swerve somewhere. Will it be a heel turn? Sheamus cashing in? Either Del Rio or Owens winning another title? Someone shocking getting involved in the main event? Let's see if the WWE can pull off the unexpected.

General Survivor Series 2015 Thoughts

It really does not feel like there are many things going on for Survivor Series this year. The WWE Championship tournament will lead to three matches on Sunday. I will talk about that more on Friday. Then you have the divas match. I already talked about that. The other big match is The Brothers of Destruction vs. The Wyatts. I talked about that. I was hoping something else noteworthy would be announced for me to talk about today. Nope.

There will obviously be more matches and segments for Survivor Series than just the five I just mentioned. But all of it will be filler. It has not gotten strong focus. It would be difficult to do with the tournament coming about. The WWE obviously has angles going for guys like Cesaro and Ryback, but whatever it leads to for this Sunday will just feel like filler.

There are a lot of fans unhappy at no traditional Survivor Series match being booked. There might still be one. Problem is, as I was just talking about, it will come off as filler. Nothing exciting. You had a Survivor Series match last year that led to The Authority losing power, for a short while. There was at least some intrigue there. Whatever Survivor Series match they have this Sunday will be a bunch of midcarders and lower-midcarders thrown together.

There was also the issue that this tournament going on would ruin the original plans the WWE had. One of the victims of that is Jack Swagger. He had been irrelevant for a while. Prior to Seth Rollins getting injured, it looked like a feud was brewing between Swagger and Alberto Del Rio. It is a feud that just had to happen, given Zeb being involved. Del Rio is now caught up in the tournament. Swagger was never even in the tournament. Swagger will likely still get the push again after Survivor Series, but it does look sloppy how the whole thing was handled.

The WWE thinks they can sell the PPV on just the tournament and The Undertaker. And they might be right. The attention they have given the divas on Raw was not even that necessary. Survivor Series will feature the legendary Undertaker. And the crowning of a new WWE Champion. Everything else is just filler. They might be able to get away with that.

In terms of ratings, however, I would say not handling things better has hurt the WWE. Numbers were up this week, but keep in mind that last week's episode was taped. If this week's episode did even worse than that, you would have a real problem on your hands. There was still the third hour drop. In comparison to Raws in November 2014, moreover, this month has been pretty horrible. If the WWE did a better job developing more storylines, that might have helped. If the first round of the tournament was not filled with so many jobbers, that might have helped the tournament seem more important. As I have said before, an eight-man tournament might have been better. And feature each of those first-round matches like a big deal. A horrible November will only lead into a December to forget for the WWE.

Paige And Charlotte Have The Final Segment

Raw this week ended with an elaborate segment featuring the divas. Paige and Charlotte got some main-event focus prior to their Survivor Series match coming up this Sunday.

Normally, I might be split on how to feel about what the WWE did. This is not one of those situations. What the WWE did was foolish. I do not like it. I do see a lot of fans complaining about the quality of the segment, and that is part of it, but I dislike how the WWE handled things for other reasons.

First, you have a tournament going on to crown a new WWE Champion. You have had tournament matches going on since last week. So far, none of those tournament matches have gotten the main event of either Raw or Smackdown. Is the WWE trying to build a main-eventer here? I said just a few days ago that I would have these tournament matches be the main event for the Raws and Smackdowns before Survivor Series. I can understand taking a backseat to someone like The Undertaker, but taking a backseat for a diva feud that had no main-event credibility whatsoever? No. That is not something that should be happening. The WWE should be giving this tournament better focus. Charlotte and Paige could have gotten another top spot on the card under the main-event slot.

Another reason I dislike what the WWE did, they didn't really put these women in a position to succeed. It is football season. It is not unusual for the WWE to juggle things around during this time of year. A segment you might expect to close the show might open the show, since the NFL game has not started yet. There are also times where it seems they plan what segment they want to go on when halftime of the football game comes up. At around the time Raw is ending, the NFL game is in the final quarter. If it is a close game, this is the time fans will be more interested in watching that than Raw. And this week's game was close. It featured an undefeated team taking its first loss. I am thinking Raw's third hour might be bad this week. And will that be used as an excuse to not feature the divas better in the future?

It wasn't too long ago that Raw ended with The New Day laying out John Cena and a few other guys. The Tag Team Champions were standing tall to end Raw. But should you really make too much of that segment? Has the WWE continued to roll with the heel stable at that high level? No. None of them were even in the tournament currently going on. These were guys with no real direction prior to the stable being formed and will likely be right back in limbo a year from now. I see this diva segment as comparable to that. Don't make too much out of it.

Looking at the actual segment, it wasn't the greatest. First, you have Charlotte not being that great when it comes to promos. I talked about that recently. Another issue is the whole tone of this segment and feud. It is very sour. The WWE is trying too hard to be edgy. The segment also lacked energy to it. It just wasn't worthy of ending Raw, especially given other things they have going on.

I am for the divas being treated better, but you have to be sensible. You have to get your priorities in order. Moreover, simply throwing them into the main-event spot does not make everything great. The WWE cannot make the mistake of thinking the diva revolution is more important to the fans than it really is. There are still plenty of viewers that do not care too much and the WWE needs to put in work to get those fans to care. The WWE cannot get fooled by those fans on Twitter. Look at what they did with AJ Lee a few years ago and The Bellas last year. They didn't just put these women at the end of the show. They gave them rubs from main-eventers and Stephanie McMahon. They created big storylines for them. There was no main-event credibility last night. Michael Cole does not count as a main-eventer. And this storyline has been more sloppy than big.

This has been a very terrible year for the WWE diva division. AJ Lee, the first big star they created since Trish and Lita left, leaves the company. Nikki Bella, the woman that appeared to be the new centerpiece, has injury issues. Lana, the best eye-candy periphery diva in a long while, got injured. And if the WWE really had high hopes for Eva Marie, they are having a tough time getting that to work out. Is the WWE really trying to make Paige and/or Charlotte into stars? Or was that segment more about hyping the "revolution" than actually making stars? This is an era where fans care more about in-ring work and how the women are being featured than actual stars. That could lead to the WWE getting lazy when it comes to making stars. They sure have gotten sloppy.

Who wins this match? I will say Charlotte. But this feud will likely continue. After investing a little more into it, they should continue it. Problem with that is, it keeps someone like Sasha Banks from getting her time in a title feud. More fans seem eager to see her get the push than Paige. Is Paige just there to put over Charlotte? Or will she regain the title down the line?

The Undertaker & Kane Vs. The Wyatts

The Wyatts attacked The Undertaker after his loss to Brock Lesnar a few weeks ago. Kane was next after that. Bray Wyatt then appeared to "absorb" their powers. That didn't last long. The Brothers of Destruction returned last week to take out the entire Wyatt stable. A match is now set up between Undertaker & Kane and two of The Wyatts.

There are a lot of things here that I have seen fans complaining about. Let me start with some fans rolling their eyes at Bray Wyatt supposedly taking the supernatural powers of Taker and Kane. Is this the Reality Era? Nevertheless, extraordinary gimmicks are what made wrestling fun back in the day. I have also said Bray Wyatt has a gimmick with a lot of storyline potential. The WWE is taking advantage of it here.

Fans also dislike Taker and Kane popping back up so soon. Ideally, you might have at least one feud before their return where Bray Wyatt actually uses his new "powers" to accomplish something. Build him up like a threat before Taker and Kane come back for revenge. What the WWE has done is similar to John Cena getting fired during the Nexus angle and never actually being gone. It is similar to The Authority being taken out of power last year and coming back in a few weeks. I have seen fans unhappy with those situations. Seeing as how The Undertaker was advertised for Survivor Series, it was obvious he would be involved. I would let this go.

Undertaker and Kane come back and took out everyone in the stable. No signs of weakness. I have seen fans say The Wyatts have been buried. Well, they didn't exactly look too good. Survivor Series is in less than a week. Can the WWE build The Wyatts to actually look like a threat after what happened last week?

Another thing to keep in mind, it is only 2 members of The Wyatts that are facing The Undertaker and Kane. These two legends took out the entire stable, but now fans are supposed to be intrigued by a match with just two Wyatts going against them? This is where discussions of credibility might matter. The Wyatts have lost some of their credibility after last week. A simple tag match does not seem like an appealing match, even if it does involve someone like The Undertaker. I was expecting something more compelling.

There was a time when you might have expected a 4 vs. 4 Survivor Series match. With all the injuries and the tournament going on, you can understand not going that route. However, how about a 2 vs. 4 Survivor Series match? That would be something. Against a dominant stable, you might think this kind of match is stupid. However, The Undertaker & Kane did take out the group last week. They can credibly win a match like this. There is something for them to overcome. The Wyatts would also have more credibility in a situation like this. The commentators can play up the possibility of The Wyatts eliminating one of their opponents early and having a 4-on-1 advantage. It might not come down to that, but the possibility makes The Wyatts a threat. In this regular tag match, all the credibility is on the side of the faces.

I would expect Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman to be the two Wyatts in the match. They are the most credible. Even then, it would make sense for the faces to win because this is The Undertaker's anniversary match. He debuted at Survivor Series. If they win, however, it would feel like a burial. The WWE needs to do something for The Wyatts before Survivor Series. I doubt the heels win here and the feud is extended until the faces win. If this was not a special match for The Undertaker, that is the way this feud should go. Bray Wyatt is no stranger to being built up for some face to knock down, but this feud should balance out better.

The First Round Of The WWE Championship Tournament Ends

The WWE was put in a bad spot when Seth Rollins, their WWE Champion, got injured. They decided to do a tournament. I said I wouldn't be too critical of them, since this is a tough spot to be in. Nevertheless, I still have a few things to say about how they have handled things.

Let me get some of the good things out of the way. The first round of the tournament is in the books. I like that they had some of the matches on Smackdown this week. Fans always say the WWE needs to do more important things on Smackdown. Smackdown is just a filler show. This week's Smackdown had some important things going on. That is a good move.

Now, let me get to some things I am not a fan of. First, the tournament has 16 guys in it. Looking at the bracket, you can see some of the guys are clearly jobbers. Even though he won in the first round, does anyone think Kalisto will go all the way? I think the WWE should have cut the field down to just 8. Pick 8 guys that should be in a tournament like this, including Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Having guys people know have no chance of winning in the Royal Rumble is one thing. But this is a tournament to crown a new WWE Champion. This is not a King of the Ring tournament. This is something bigger. I think the WWE should have done more to make it feel more elite.

Even with what would end up being 4 first-round matches in an 8-man tournament, the WWE still could have spread it out so both Raw and Smackdown featured tournament action. In fact, I would have one match per show leading up to Survivor Series. The PPV is November 22nd. Counting this current week, that is 2 Raws and 2 Smackdowns before the event. The main event of each of those shows could be a tournament match. Make them feel like a big deal. Build up to them during the show. Make it feel like these guys are that important. I know The Wyatts vs. The Undertaker & Kane is a big deal, but it does not need to take the main-event spot. Even with handling the tournament like this, the WWE will still be able to have the last three matches at Survivor Series.

Looking at the brackets again, the WWE may be telegraphing what the final match will be. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose are on opposite sides. A lot of fans are already discussing which of the two will turn heel during the match. That is the match they expect to see. I agree, that is the match the WWE seems to be going for. I hope the WWE does something shocking. I don't mean in terms of a heel turn. I mean in terms of the final match featuring some other combination. Back when the WWE unified the WWE Championship and World Championship in 2001, many people might have thought it would come down to The Rock and Austin. Chris Jericho ended up winning. I cannot say right now which guy I would rather see sneak his way into the final match, but it would be nice if there was something unexpected.

Let me bring up TNA's tournament to crown a new Champion. I feel the WWE putting in guys that are really down the ladder in the tournament is just creating filler. For TNA, however, it is different. They also have guys all over the card. They even have women involved. Thing is, TNA has a history of putting their title on pretty much anybody. They can take anyone and start pushing them as a main-eventer. Their women have main-evented Impact more often in recent years than the WWE's women have main-evented Raw, even though I still doubt TNA gives the title to a woman. There is also the fact that TNA has so much time to kill. They are managing that time as best as they could. I feel the WWE could manage their time with their tournament better.

And you want to talk about telegraphing what you are going to do? TNA has already taped all these matches. Fans already know the outcome of the matches. However, TNA is going to do some shows in India in a few weeks and they are advertising the World Championship Series semi-finals will take place there. Looks like they are developing something fresh. And as I said, given TNA's history of inconsistency and pushing anybody as a main-eventer, they can end this tournament by putting the title on someone the majority of fans did not expect. Will the WWE do the same? TNA's way of doing things fails to create and properly feature stars. It ruins storylines and feuds at times. But they are more likely to do things you might not expect, whether good or bad.

Looking at the two promotions, I like what TNA is doing more than what the WWE is doing. The WWE was put into this situation by bad luck. Injuries happen. You can say TNA was put into their situation by simply not being a better promotion. They put themselves in this position. If they had made better decisions over the years, they would not frequently have issues with their networks. Nevertheless, I would say they are doing a better job with their tournament.

How Goes Things For Becky Lynch?

Of the three women that debuted from NXT a few months ago, Becky Lynch is in the worst position. Charlotte is currently holding the title. Sasha Banks has gotten a lot of wins. Becky Lynch is just a sidekick. She is not undefeated. She doesn't really have her own feud going on. It looks like she will be a low-tier credible jobber.

Of those three women, in my opinion, I would say Becky Lynch is the hottest. She also knows how to wrestle. She has a unique look and style. I do not follow steampunk too much. The gimmick doesn't have much depth as far as storylines go. Bray Wyatt is a guy with a gimmick that you can get a lot out of in terms of storylines. Becky Lynch's gimmick is more about the look. She also happens to be Irish, which I am sure the WWE can do something with. She seems energetic, which I like. I am not going to make it sound like she's perfect. Some fans have criticized her mic skills. In general, I think she is a well-rounded performer with some good potential.

What should the WWE do with her? You can say she will eventually get her opportunity to shine, but I do not know when that would be. Sasha Banks is arguably the next in line to eventually get put in a title feud. I am sure The Bellas are not done yet. Before you know it, it's 2016 and the WWE is debuting even more divas from NXT. That makes it even less likely that Becky gets a proper push. It would be very easy for a woman like her to get lost in the shuffle. The best she might get is a mediocre filler feud. I would say she deserves better than that.

The obvious periphery angle for her is teaming her with Sheamus. Irish diva teams with Irish superstar. That might mean turning Becky heel. I do not know if the WWE would be willing to turn Sheamus face. It could work. But would Becky be paired with a main-event Sheamus or a midcard Sheamus? She would obviously get a bigger rub with a main-eventer, but I do not think that is important now. Just get her over. A simple midcard romance angle could be enough, if done right.

I do not think Becky Lynch even needs a periphery angle. I think she has what it takes to get over. She is energetic. That is one of the things that helped Mickie James get over and stay over. I think all Becky Lynch needs is to break away from being a sidekick. The WWE likes having multiple diva feuds these days. Problem is, one of them usually ends up feeling like filler. It seems likely Natalya is currently just being used to put over Sasha Banks in the future. The feud is not that amazing. But if the WWE can improve how they handle these secondary feuds, I think Becky Lynch is someone that can really benefit. Just put focus on her. Let her do the rest.

Fans have criticized the WWE for watering down Becky Lynch on the main roster. Her entrance alone was more epic in NXT than on the main roster. You can say the same thing for almost everyone that came from NXT. There are two ways to look at it. First, you have been taken out of your comfort zone. This is where you are being challenged. Can you overcome this new environment to succeed? Or can you only succeed when a lot of things are in your favor, like they were in NXT? The other way to look at it, the environment on the main roster is just too horrible. This isn't something you should have to overcome. Even if you do overcome it, you are likely to still get screwed if they do not want you to succeed or just fumble how they handle you. As I said, I think Becky Lynch has potential to get over, even on the main roster. But she will need a better position than she currently has.

How Goes Things For Sasha Banks?

A few months ago, a Sasha Banks match on Raw didn't get a great reaction from the live audience. That was the night those fans were more interested in Brock Lesnar. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. It was nothing personal against Sasha Banks. I felt she was someone that could get over on the main roster.

Not too long after that, Sasha Banks put on a great match on NXT, the home for great women's wrestling these days. You have then started to get "We Want Sasha!" chants. This is not what I had in mind. Her great matches on NXT are making her very over with smarks. I find it hard to believe that a woman that hasn't really done much on the main roster is that over with the general audience. NXT may be based in Florida, but those rowdy fans that are so into what is going on over there can be found all over the place.

What I had in mind was Sasha Banks actually earning it on the main roster. She obviously has the wrestling ability. She might be the best of the three that debuted together this year as far as that goes. She also has a good gimmick. It is a variation of what the typical diva gimmick is. It is all about glamour and sex appeal. And she might just have the charisma to make it really work.

Of course, the main problem is that she is stuck in a mediocre stable and not being pushed too well. That is one of the problems of having so many women in the diva division right now and wanting to feature them more. This feud against Natalya currently going on is just filler. It will likely end with Sasha Banks beating Natalya. Nothing more interesting to it. Will Sasha then move on to Charlotte? Probably. Until anything like that happens, many fans and even wrestlers seem to be unhappy with Sasha not being pushed better. I have seen some fans say that she has not been featured better because she was still banged up from her grueling NXT matches. That is not an excuse. I remember when people used to say the same thing for Mickie James when she would not be pushed. If she's healthy enough to travel, she's healthy enough to do promos, or even just stand there in the corner of some guy. She could have been pushed in the periphery. On the other side of that, I remember Michelle McCool getting injured and the WWE still trying to create storylines for her. That is because McCool was the centerpiece of the diva division, while Mickie James was a credible jobber.

So far, Sasha Banks is a credible jobber. People might bring up her undefeated streak on the main roster, but those wins and losses do not matter. It is how you are actually being pushed and the direction you are going that matters. Beth Phoenix was protected for a while, as well. She was made to look dominant. But there were still spans where the WWE had nothing for her. When they did, they gave her filler and jobber pushes. Sasha Banks will eventually win the Diva's Championship, but that does not mean she will be pushed as a star.

When Sasha Banks does get her opportunity in the position Paige or Charlotte have had, will she deliver? It seems a lot of these NXT divas fail to live up to the high expectations many fans have for them and those fans end up turning back to NXT to find some other woman to get excited for. I am not going to be optimistic. I am not going to be pessimistic. Just being realistic, I do think Sasha Banks will not be able to live up to those high expectations. It isn't a question of her abilities. She has proven she can wrestle in NXT. But when it comes to wrestling in the diva division on the main roster, a lot of these talented wrestlers just cannot be consistently amazing. You have some good matches here and there, like that #1 contenders match recently, but it is not consistent. Part of the problem is the lower expectations on the main roster. You also have to come down a bit for women that are not as talented in the ring. If you don't, you risk injury or sloppy spots. In the end, those fans chanting that they want Sasha may get her, then start losing interest in her.

How Goes Things For Charlotte?

Unless something really noteworthy happens on Raw tonight, I'll spend the next few days talking about those three women that debuted from NXT a few months ago. I'll start with the current Diva's Champion, Charlotte.

Charlotte is in the WWE because of who her father is. That sounds like something a heel might say in a promo, but it is pretty much the truth. She does not have the look the WWE likes. She wasn't making a big name for herself in women's wrestling prior to signing with the WWE and going to NXT. She really does not have anything else going for her that makes her stand out for the WWE to want her. She is Ric Flair's daughter. That's okay. She should still have an opportunity to make some kind of name for herself.

How has she been doing? In terms of how they are pushing her, she won the title. Does that mean they want to develop her to be a star? Or is this just building her up to put over The Bellas or some other star down the road? Is this just filler until the WWE decides what to do next? How the WWE pushes her will decide. Aside from Ric Flair popping up here and there to celebrate with her or comfort her, there has been nothing too spectacular about her push. That is usually a sign that the WWE does not care to develop someone to be a star. But during this era in the diva division, the WWE could just be lazy. They might be fooled into thinking all fans are so interested in just wrestling that they don't have to put more work into what they are doing. Wait a few months and see what identity the diva revolution era takes on.

In terms of her own personal development of her skills and getting over, I would say that Charlotte is not really living up to the hype. She is a solid performer with a few nice spots, but she isn't really showing too much. And she is not that charismatic. I have been saying here and there over the last few weeks that charisma comes in different flavors. You do not need to be funny to be charismatic. You do not need to be energetic to be charismatic. That does not mean everyone has great charisma. Charlotte lacks it. She copies some of her father's mannerisms and does these random acts of athleticism. But the emotion is not there. Her mic work has also been flat. I do not want to go to Twitter or Instagram to see if someone has a personality. What can you show as a performer when you go out there in front of those fans? I doubt Charlotte will do anything like what Zack Ryder did. Until she does step up, I do not think she will get as over as she should be. The WWE pushing her as Ric Flair's daughter is not enough.

The WWE isn't exactly a land of fair opportunities. If they do not want someone as a top star, they will not push them as a top star, even if they have the talent and overness to deserve it. On the other side of that, if someone they want to be a star has obvious issues stopping them from succeeding, they will often still force that person, as long as they still care that much about that person being a star. The WWE has not shown anything to convince me they want Charlotte as a true star. But if I was managing this women's division, what would I do about Charlotte?

I would eventually depush Charlotte. She has gotten an opportunity and has not shown that this is someone I must stick with. She isn't horrible. No need to send her back to NXT. There are just too many other women that are waiting for a shot. The WWE debuted too many at one time and some of those other women do deserve to be pushed in the spot Charlotte has to show what they can do. If the WWE just spent more time trying to get Charlotte to work out better, that would be unfair to women like Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch.

How about putting Charlotte in the periphery? The periphery has been where stars come from in the diva division in the past. Place her with some guy that will be pushed well that can give her a rub. Does she deserve it? Does she have what it takes to be great there? Wrestling ability is not too important in the periphery. Looks do not even have to be too important in the periphery. Having charisma helps. As I said before, she isn't that charismatic. But the rub and sharing a gimmick might help her. I would say put her in The Authority, but that stable does not look like a stable any longer. Triple H obviously is no stranger to being in a stable with a Flair. If the WWE has a good idea for her in the periphery and can pull it off, go for it. If they cannot, she should be left as a credible jobber.

Charlotte reminds me of Michelle McCool. I have seen some fans compare her to Roman Reigns. Neither of those are positive comparisons. Roman Reigns is limited in the ring and does awkward promos. Those have been the criticisms against him. Michelle McCool was a solid in-ring performer that just lacked charisma. They gave her a charismatic sidekick, a big gimmick, and continued to push her hard. She never got the overness she should have. What will happen with Charlotte?

Seth Rollins Injured

Seth Rollins suffered a serious injury while working with Kane at a house show recently. He will be gone a few months and will have to vacate the title. The WWE has already announced that there will be a tournament and a new WWE Champion will be crowned at Survivor Series.

It is obviously horrible that Seth Rollins has suffered such an injury. What makes it worse for the WWE is that a number of top stars were already not available. However, this is where it might pay off for the WWE to have such a loaded roster. They have a lot of former World Champions and other guys on the fringe of being main-eventers or upper-midcarders that can legitimately win a World title. I am thinking about Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, Bray Wyatt, and so on. A tournament should be exciting.

Another problem you can see in all this is that it ruins the WWE's original plans. Not only does it ruin their plans for Rollins/Reigns, but also the feuds they were developing for guys that will likely now be a part of this tournament. Time will tell exactly which feuds are effected and how. But I will not criticize the WWE too much for whatever happens. This was just a bad situation and they are trying to make the most out of it. Coincidentally, it is not so different from what has been going on with TNA recently. But I doubt the divas will get a shot to be in this tournament.

This injury will also hurt Seth Rollins in terms of his development up the card. He was getting a lengthy title reign. We will never get to the point where I discuss if he might break CM Punk's record. During his reign, he retained the title against some big names. He held the United States title, in addition to the WWE title, for a while. He also injured a few guys accidentally. Karma? Despite how he was being pushed, I do not think he had solidified himself as an A+ player. He has wrestling talent, but I do not think the wider audience really saw him as a superstar. It is a combination of sloppy booking and his own limitations. I would say most of the blame should go to the WWE. How will the WWE handle him when he returns? Face turn? Back with The Authority? He might be treated better without the title.

What about The Authority? I have said for a long time that this stable looks horrible. Well, the "stable" is now Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. It's over. Will they select a new guy to be their "guy" in the group? Roman Reigns? That would be a nice swerve. I will talk about that more closer to Survivor Series. Until then, the current situation is an example of why the WWE should have done better in keeping the stable looking strong and like a stable. Now, all you have are two authority figures that switch between being faces and being heels like it is nothing. They might as well just go away and let someone else run things.

Ratings have been horrible all year. The WWE just lost their WWE Champion. How will this impact ratings? Well, I do not consider Seth Rollins a draw. As I said before, he never really solidified himself as an A+ player. This tournament probably stands a better chance to generate interest than Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns. Until the new WWE Champion is crowned, the WWE will live. Last year, they put the title on a part-timer for over half a year. There were times when it felt like there was no WWE Champion. The WWE did that to themselves and worked through it. So far, they seem to be working through this situation.

I will not say too much about the tournament itself now, but let me bring up one name. What about Daniel Bryan? He says he's ready to go. The WWE says otherwise. Might the WWE change their mind given the loss of Seth Rollins? It isn't like they are bringing him back to perform in a ladder match. He does need to take it easy. But he has worth and he still wants to wrestle. This isn't a guy that should be pushed into retirement and get lost in the shuffle until he gets put in the Hall of Fame. The WWE does not have anyone that hot. Even if John Cena and Randy Orton were around, they still do not have anyone that hot. Regardless of how they use him, Daniel Bryan should be coming back in the coming months.

Speaking of injuries, Nikki Bella is also suffering through some injuries. That is not as big a deal. Why? First of all, she is no longer holding the title, anyway. Second, the WWE loves pushing quantity over quality during the diva revolution era, so there are still plenty of other things going on. Third, they can feature Brie Bella in her place. The WWE can push both Bellas as the centerpiece in a way they have never done with a duo. LayCool were pushed as the centerpieces at one time, but it was really Michelle McCool that was the centerpiece and Layla that was the sidekick. After McCool retired, Layla never really was pushed well, despite a title reign and a mediocre periphery angle with Summer Rae. Both Bellas were pushed hard last year, although Nikki Bella came out with the better position. Is it time for more Brie? I cannot imagine Team Bella being lost in the shuffle for long.

Speaking of Nikki Bella, she was named #1 by PWI. That just goes to show what their criteria is based on. Nikki Bella has not been the most talented female wrestler this year. She has not been the most over female wrestler this year. But she has broken the record for holding the most important women's title in the most important wrestling organization longer than anyone. PWI often just reaffirms booking. As a fan, you love it when someone you like ends up being #1, but often turn around and say these lists don't matter when they select someone like Nikki Bella. Should it have been Taryn Terrell, who also broke a record? Should it have been Sasha Banks, who put on some great matches in NXT? Whomever you pick, it was Nikki Bella that got the top spot.

Paige Gets Title Shot Against Charlotte

Charlotte has moved on from Nikki Bella. A match was held on Raw to determine the new #1 contender. Paige vs. Brie Bella vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch. All three groups represented, as well as Paige, the odd diva out for a while now. And Paige, not too surprisingly, won. She will go against her former stablemate, Charlotte.

The story here has been pretty inconsistent so far. Paige did a promo a few weeks ago slamming just about every woman in the diva division. She walked away from her team. It was obvious she was turning heel. Once again, the WWE takes what should have been a simple story and makes it complicated. They had Paige trying to get back with PCB. And they even had Charlotte and Becky let her rejoin them. Paige then attacked them after a loss on Raw recently. There was also the whole minor issue with Natalya. That was fine, but the angle of Paige trying to rejoin PCB was just stupid.

Earlier this year, the WWE had Randy Orton come back for revenge against Seth Rollins. The Authority wanted Orton back in the group. Orton pretended to rejoin the group so he could wait for the right moment to strike and get his hands on Seth Rollins. That is how the WWE played it and it worked fine.

This story in the diva division is not the same. Charlotte and Becky Lynch were already sour on Paige after her promo. They weren't open to bringing Paige back. But the WWE just has them accept her back. It reminded me of the whole "frenemies" angle with Paige and AJ Lee last year. That was not developed properly. Wanting to build up to something is one thing. What the WWE did was essentially pull the trigger, act like they didn't, and then pull the trigger again a short time after. All they had to do to keep Paige busy for a few weeks was have her feud with Natalya, then move on back to Charlotte and Becky Lynch. No need to get the group back together so Paige can turn on them again.

Speaking of that feud between Paige and Natalya, there were rumors that Paige was losing back then because of some issue she had using profanity. I am not going to talk about that much, but I will say that what bothers me more is the WWE allowing their own workers to use certain words on WWE programming. Stephanie McMahon herself has used "bitch" just last year. I am not offended. I am annoyed. The WWE wants to do family entertainment, including targeting kids, then they allow their workers to do things like that. There is also guys using the middle finger. If a worker does it in private, some interview, or something like that, I do not see it as such a big deal. But as far as the product itself goes, what does the WWE want it to be? The WWE just comes off like they can do whatever they want. That is arrogant. If you are going to target kids, there are things you should not be doing. I am sure more fans have seen and heard profanity watching Raw in recent years than even knew about what Paige did.

As far as Paige goes, what does the WWE want her to be? I am still not convinced they want her to be a star. She can go the path of AJ Lee, the top female wrestler of the diva division, or she can go the path of Melina, a woman who got a push like this just to put over another credible jobber and got lost in the shuffle soon after. Aside from that promo she gave weeks ago, there has been nothing too spectacular about this push. The WWE is either not serious about pushing her as a top star or they have gotten lazy. They might think that fans buzzing about the diva division this year means more people are into than there actually are. You still need to put work into these women. You can't just shuffle them all around in various feuds. AJ Lee got a huge push in the periphery a few years ago. The Bellas got it last year. I am not saying there needs to be a diva getting pushed that hard every year, but I do not see Paige being pushed like that.

The Usos Pop Back Up

I usually do not talk about the tag division two times in a row. The Usos returned to Raw this week to take part in the main event. Jey Uso was injured a few months ago and Jimmy Uso has not really done anything too important since then. But they are back as a team.

The tag division does not have a centerpiece in the same way the overall men's division or women's division in the WWE has. Despite that, many fans viewed The Usos as the faces of the tag division at one point prior to that injury to Jey Uso. What does their return mean to the tag division?

First off, you have the obvious feud between the heel Tag Team Champions and The Usos, who are still faces. This should be a good feud. It would be a fresh feud. I will not speculate right now whether or not The Usos will win the titles from New Day.

What does this mean for The Dudleys? I just got finished saying the WWE should have given them the tag titles by now. Not long after they returned, I imagined them eventually feuding with The Usos. I felt this could even be a face vs. face feud. Or turn The Dudleys heel. Or The Usos. Or add in a third team, like New Day, and make it a 3-way feud. This could have been a great feud. The WWE might still go there, but I do not feel the same freshness will be there. The WWE ruined the momentum The Dudleys had. I do not think the returning Usos have the same hype to them that the returning Dudleys had. The Dudleys are legends. The Usos come from a wrestling family and a lot of fans do like them, but they are not at the level of The Dudleys. It isn't good to ruin the momentum of The Dudleys, even if The Usos are the ones being pushed in their place.

The Dudleys Still Without Gold

The New Day retained the titles once again against The Dudley Boyz. They don't deserve that "z" anymore. The Dudleys have gotten a few shots in the last few months and the WWE has not booked them to get the tag titles. They are not done in the WWE and I still believe it is only a matter of time before they do get another run.

Regardless, the WWE should have given them the tag titles by now. I felt the perfect time would have been in New York City a few weeks ago. I am not saying the WWE had to hand them the tag titles the first chance they had. Make it a bit of a journey, but don't take too long. You might ruin these guys' momentum and freshness. You might fail to take advantage of the hype while it is there. I think that is what is happening.

Is it that New Day have developed some momentum of their own? I do not think that should matter too much. I am not denying these guys have done well in the last few months. I even wondered at one point what kind of reaction this match might have in front of certain audiences. The crowd might not be completely behind The Dudleys. Nevertheless, the WWE should be able to keep New Day relevant without the tag titles. Or how about just letting The Dudleys hold the titles for a month or two before handing them back to New Day, making them 3-time Tag Team Champions in less than a year?

Look at how the WWE handled RVD coming back. They hyped him up. That must have excited the fans. And then they completely fumbled with him after that. He never accomplished anything noteworthy. He was a jobber to the stars. If he came back more often since then, he would be another Jericho. I am not saying Rob Van Dam had to win the briefcase. I am not saying he had to win a World title. An Intercontinental Championship run would have been nice. Even without that, can't you develop better feuds for this guy outside the title picture?

Look at Mickie James returning to TNA in 2010. A lot of fans were looking forward to that. Mickie James would have the chance to become the first woman to have held the WWE Women's Championship, WWE Diva's Championship, and TNA KO Championship. TNA took months to finally get the title on her. They did not take advantage of the hype and momentum when it was there. Having her feud with Tara first was fine. Tara was Madison Rayne's sidekick. Mickie having to go through her to get to Madison made sense. But TNA just dragged everything on and had Mickie James fail on her first 2 tries to get the title. It took about 6 months after she returned to win the title. It only should have taken 3 or 4 months.

The Dudleys have now failed in their 3 tries to get the titles. And much like RVD, they are starting to look like jobbers. They have lost that momentum. Just like Mickie James eventually won the title, I still believe The Dudleys will get them. But it is not just about honoring these guys. It is about taking advantage of hype while you have it. You expect these wrestlers to tell stories in the ring, but these wrestling promotions also tell stories with their workers through how they push them. I gave the WWE credit for making something out of Nikki Bella breaking a record. They really made it a storyline. They took proper advantage of the situation. But they did not do that here with The Dudleys. Again, I am not saying they had to give them the titles right away, like they recently did with Alberto Del Rio, but they are just killing the hype that was there at first.