Dean Ambrose Vs. Dolph Ziggler For Summerslam 2016

With Raw creating its own title, someone on Smackdown had to be chosen to feud with Dean Ambrose over the WWE Championship. Who is it? AJ Styles? John Cena? Bray Wyatt? It's Dolph Ziggler. He won a #1 contender's match.

The first thing that might pop out to you is that Ziggler is a face and this is a face vs. face feud. I will talk about that next, but something else to raise an eyebrow is that Dolph Ziggler hasn't really been pushed well in a long time. He has been a pure midcarder for a long time now. To just toss him into the title picture like this just doesn't seem right.

Ziggler needs to be rebuilt a bit first. He needs a big feud against someone closer to the main-event scene than he was. Once he regains some of that credibility and momentum, then move him to a feud for the WWE Championship.

But how about this being face vs. face? Is it going to remain like that? Or will Ziggler be turning heel? On the one hand, a heel turn would probably add something to the feud. Moreover, you don't want to do face vs. face too much. It can get annoying. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles was face vs. face for the WWE Championship. Yes, despite his negative reaction, Reigns is a face. And Styles turned heel soon after that feud. On the other hand, I don't think they need a heel turn that badly. AJ Styles is a heel. Bray Wyatt is a heel. Miz, having some main-event credibility from being a former WWE Champion, is a heel that can be pushed higher up the card than he is. And don't forget young talent that they can elevate. A heel turn for Ziggler is just not necessary. So what do you go with? A face vs. face feud that might lack some edge to it? Or a possibly unnecessary heel turn? I would go for the face vs. face feud.

Looking at the two World title feuds, forgetting that they just created a new title, the feuds just look lackluster for the second-biggest PPV of the year. I already talked about how Ziggler has not been a big deal in a while. Dean Ambrose just won the title for the first time a few weeks ago. Seth Rollins isn't a big star, yet. And Finn Balor has wrestling fans on his side, but you can't say much more than that. He's going to draw in subscribers with those NXT fans? The same fans that will be subscribing to the WWE Network already to watch NXT anyway?

The WWE Network got around 1.5 million subscriptions for the previous quarter, which included Wrestlemania. I read somewhere that the WWE is not expecting a big drop for this quarter. I don't know what makes them that confident. Not only was the previous quarter helped by Wrestlemania, but the WWE generated hype with a huge match between The Undertaker and Shane McMahon. They made fans actually think The Undertaker's career was on the line and total control of the WWE was on the line. The WWE proved wins and losses don't matter one night later, but there was still hype there to draw. What is there to sell Summerslam, the biggest PPV of this quarter? I already talked about the title matches. AJ Styles vs. John Cena isn't The Rock vs. John Cena. The WWE will obviously lean on Lesnar, but I am wondering about his ability to draw for them, especially in a mediocre feud, which this feud with Randy Orton is looking like so far. I am not saying numbers will drop below a million, but I wouldn't expect them to do nearly as good as they did for Wrestlemania.

Sasha Banks Wins The Women's Championship

No credible jobber has held a title in the women's/diva's division since 2014. That was a long time ago, wasn't it? Daniel Bryan had his big Wrestlemania moment. Roman Reigns was not yet the most hated man in the company. Stephanie McMahon even wrestled a match back in 2014.

Until this week, Charlotte was holding the new Women's Championship. She appears to be the centerpiece of this new era in the women's division. Before her, Nikki Bella had a lengthy run with the Diva's Championship and will likely be the final centerpiece of the diva era. She won the title off of AJ Lee, the top periphery diva of the final years of the diva era. She traded the title a few times with Paige. Paige would be the last credible jobber to hold the title. Her first title reign lasted a few months, but was filled with mediocre feuds that did not put proper focus on her. She won the title again as a birthday gift, but the reign was short and she was overshadowed by AJ Lee and The Bellas. She has been pushed inconsistently since and is pretty much irrelevant these days. Classic credible jobber treatment.

That brings me to Sasha Banks. She won the title on Raw this week to help usher in the new era. How many "new eras" has the WWE come up with in the last year? You have had a couple for the women's division and a couple for the overall company. The match had some bright spots, but I will get more to that in a while.

If I had woken up on Tuesday and read that Charlotte had been suspended for a wellness policy violation, or something else, I would not have been surprised. Yes, having a title change on Raw is a good thing and good way to sell change, but why not have the title change at Summerslam? That would be a bigger stage. Moreover, I have seen many fans that love NXT so much say that one of the reasons feuds feel better there is because they spend so much time developing them and make it into a real chase so the moment someone wins the title, it feels more special. I have even seen some fans suggest that the WWE needed to invest more in the jobbers, like Summer Rae and Dana Brooke, to make Sasha's chase for the title mean more as she beats them to get to Charlotte. Throw all that stuff out the window, the WWE just gave her the title one night after she already beat Charlotte in a tag match at Battleground. And the overall reaction I see from fans isn't groaning about the title change. If anyone was involved in a chase for the title and arguably deserved to be the one to beat Charlotte for the title, in terms of storylines, it would be Becky Lynch. The WWE sent her to Smackdown. Okay, that leaves Sasha Banks as the obvious choice. But the chase really was not sold very well by the WWE.

Onto the match. As I said, some nice spots. Also some sloppiness. One spot caught my attention. That spot where Sasha paid tribute to Lita by almost injuring herself with a dive outside the ring. I haven't cringed while watching a spot since last year watching Daniel Bryan on an episode of Raw. I just felt the guy needed to ease it up a little or he would get hurt again. And he did get hurt again. And his career is over. I don't hate Sasha Banks. I certainly don't want to see her get injured. But she does need to ease it up a little. No one needs to injure themselves do get fans to respect them. A common theme in a lot of Sasha's big matches since coming to the WWE is at least one spot where it looks like she could have been seriously injured. She suffered a concussion a few weeks ago, although that was not on her. Regardless, you don't want to develop a history of head injuries or your career is over. I brought up Lita and that scary dive on an episode of Raw where she won the title from Trish Stratus in the main event. She ended up getting injured for real just a few weeks later. It was back to the periphery for her. If Sasha keeps testing her luck, she might eventually pay for it.

Back to the point I started with. No credible jobber has held the title since 2014. What is Sasha Banks? Is she someone they want to be a star? Or will Charlotte be getting the title back in a few weeks or months, then move on to feuding against someone else? Is the WWE changing their system to where they will just juggle around who gets the spotlight? That would be bad. That is not how you create a star and all these women they will juggle around will not be equally over. Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Asuka are popular with wrestling fans. But there are other women that should be getting pushed too. Save them from Smackdown? There is a chance Sasha Banks won't end up like Paige. Is this really a new era? And the WWE's treatment of guys like AJ Styles and Finn Balor this year might indicate a willingness to push someone as star that has not yet truly broken out beyond just being over with wrestling fans. But the WWE will still have some tough decisions to make. You can only push so many women in the women's division. If Sasha Banks does suffer a serious injury or is involved in more scary spots, that will just make the decision even easier for the WWE.

The WWE Universal Championship

That is a stupid name. Couldn't they call one title the WWE Championship and the other the World Championship? How about the WWE Raw World Championship and the WWE Smackdown World Championship? Can't wait for them to debut the WWE Intergalactic Championship in 20 years. I'm sure they'll be defending it on the moon by then.

In any case, that is the name of the new Raw title. Seth Rollins and Finn Balor will be facing each other at Summerslam to crown the first ever Universal Champion. That name just sounds like something a minor-league promotion would come up with to make its title seem more important. Back to the point, Balor defeated Roman Reigns in the main event of Raw to get the shot at Summerslam.

Seth Rollins was handed the spot in the match. Okay, I can live with that. He is a heel and affiliated with Stephanie McMahon. I almost expected the WWE to put Seth Rollins in one of the fatal fourways, Roman Reigns in the other, and have the main event of Raw last night be for the new title between those two. They chose to hold it off for Summerslam. That's fine.

How about Roman Reigns getting a depush? I think it is for the best. The guy is not a great centerpiece and fans just seemed to ease off him a little last year when he took a break from the title scene to feud with Bray Wyatt. I just hope this isn't Vince McMahon being bitter about the drug suspension. It is just a dumb reason, especially since Brock Lesnar got even more media attention for his recent drug issues and the WWE hasn't shown any signs of punishing him. Some people want to say he shouldn't be punished because he didn't fail a WWE drug test? Well, Hulk Hogan didn't exactly make those racist comments at any WWE event or while even employed by the WWE during his run last year. They still fired him. They have not yet brought him back. If Brock Lesnar broke a rule while employed by the WWE that got Roman Reigns in trouble, why shouldn't he get in trouble? But back to Reigns, I would have made the same decision to depush, but more because he isn't working out than being bitter about the failed drug test.

And then there is Finn Balor. I saw some fans talking about the main event. Some fans just didn't want Roman Reigns to win. A few said Finn was being pushed too fast. Fans responded, "Relax! He won't win!" And he won.

They are pushing him too fast. He hasn't done anything to deserve the push. I am not saying he is untalented or anything like that. I am saying he hasn't done anything since coming to the main roster to deserve this push. How could he? He was drafted to Raw last week on Smackdown. Less than a week later, he's on Raw and wins two big matches in one night to headline Summerslam to possibly become a new World Champion.

I said the same kind of thing for AJ Styles earlier this year. The guy debuts and they are already hyping him up way too much and putting over how popular he is. Let the guy's wrestling ability speak for itself. It does. Work on building his character and using him in interesting storylines. That will get him over with the wider audience. If I felt they were not pushing AJ Styles right earlier this year, I definitely have to say the same thing for Finn Balor now. AJ Styles at least worked for a number of years in the WWE's closest competition, TNA. Finn has less of an argument for being well-known beyond wrestling fans than that. If being in TNA isn't enough to become an A-tier star (in terms of popularity), Finn has no argument why he should be pushed this hard. You can argue this is a harder push than even AJ Styles got this year. AJ at least worked with Jericho for a few months before moving on to a title feud.

I think how the WWE had the commentators hype this guy was terrible. Don't tell me his life story. I don't want to hear it. Yeah, he wrestled all over the world and won all these titles. He scrubbed toilets. Save it for his DVD or some WWE Network special on him. Who are they talking to with this? Wrestling fans know who this guy is. The WWE is just preaching to the choir. The wider audience is not going to care as much. You have to put creative work into him. Kayfabe is dead for certain wrestlers. They have no character. They are simply what they are as a performer. They are simply however many titles they won, what countries they wrestled in, whom they feuded against, and whatever else you can read off their Wikipedia page. Does the WWE even have any writers employed anymore?

Raw last night was just a dream for smarks. I will get to Sasha Banks tomorrow. But the WWE is further looking like they have lost it. NXT and social media are turning them stupid. For years, this was a company that insulted wrestling. You can't say they are still doing that. But what they are doing can either be seen as pure pandering or ignorantly believing that giving wrestling fans what they want will draw for them. These are the fans you have to win over to make the WWE Network successful. If you want to win over the wider audience to get your ratings back up, you can't just work to please wrestling fans.

What Happens To Bray Wyatt After The Brand Split?

The draft last week broke up The Wyatts. That didn't stop Bray Wyatt from still picking up some momentum when his group beat New Day at Battleground last night. But where does he go from there?

He goes to Smackdown. That's where he goes from there. What will he be doing there? Well, he will be without Braun Strowman. The WWE can still keep the group going with his original henchmen. Rowan is there. Harper can return from his injury and rejoin Bray. On the one hand, it would feel like the group is in the same place it was when these guys debuted. On the other hand, it would probably be for the best if they stayed together. The WWE has proven that they can still push Bray well enough on his own. He just looks better with a group. Moreover, the other two seemed somewhat lost without him when they got solo pushes over a year ago. With their gimmicks, they just stick out and look like they need their cult leader.

Keeping the group together aside, what should they do with Bray Wyatt in terms of pushes. This is an upper-midcarder that looks like he deserves a title feud. Unless the WWE plans to keep the WWE Championship held by Dean Ambrose involved in some kind of war between Shane and Stephanie to see which show gets it, someone on Smackdown should be getting the title shot. AJ Styles and Cena are feuding. Randy Orton has Brock Lesnar coming up. Bray Wyatt is free. If Ambrose is looking for a challenger, how about a guy that has beaten him a few times in the past? That is the feud I would go with.

Previewing The Shield Triple Threat At Battleground 2016 & Brief Brand Split Thoughts

Wrestling fans have been dreaming about a triple threat between the former members of The Shield for years now. They are getting it at Battleground. Dean Ambrose is the WWE Champion. Both Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have held the title a few times already. Some fans are upset that this big match is happening on such a minor PPV. Regardless of the brand split, regardless of injuries, regardless of suspensions, and regardless of whatever else, I would not be surprised to see this match again in the future. Until then, let's look at Battleground.

Let me start with Seth Rollins. A year ago, I would say that Seth Rollins had not broken out on his own. He was a weasel. He has looked better since his return this year. I don't mean his physique. I mean his character. He seems more like his own guy and more like a true top star. He doesn't have an A+ connection with the fans, and I wouldn't say he has surpassed the likes of Edge and CM Punk, but he is better than he was a year ago. Even if he is going back to be allies with Stephanie McMahon, I think his character won't be damaged too much by that. If only he would drop the Pedigree as his finisher. He isn't Triple H's son. Triple H didn't train him. A guy as talented as Rollins should be able to come up with some finisher the WWE would allow.

What can you say about Roman Reigns? His suspension is recently up. Fans were throwing a party for it on Twitter. But don't expect him to get a positive response this Sunday. More importantly than his crowd reaction, is his time at the top over already? He wasn't the top draft pick for either Shane or Stephanie. I don't think you should read too much into that. I have seen someone shake his head at Natalya being picked before Cesaro, Sheamus, and certain others. I wouldn't expect her to be featured too much better than those guys. Moreover, the recent drug issues with Brock Lesnar and the WWE's reaction to it might indicate that they won't take away the centerpiece spot from Reigns. A guy they treat even more godly than Reigns is getting negative attention for the same kind of thing and they are still promoting him and look like they will feature him as well as they did before. Drafting a part-timer? Was it worth it? Anyway, I just do not think this is the end of Roman Reigns at the top.

Dean Ambrose is holding the title and had two title defenses in one week prior to Battleground. Is that a sign that it is time for him to lose? He seems to just be a transitional champion. His title reign has been better than Daniel Bryan's infamous first run with the WWE Championship. If the WWE had given him this kind of run Dean Ambrose is getting now, I don't think fans would have gotten so upset back then. They could have gotten away with not promoting him up to pushing him as an A player.

Which of these three guys wins this Sunday? The brand split does not need to be that big of a factor. The WWE has not laid down any solid rules when it comes to the World Championship situation and they may not even know what they want. If they want one title defended on both shows, they can hand it to anyone. If they want two titles, just give the title to anyone in the match, then do something to decide who the other Champion would be. None of these men absolutely needs to win the title to help the title situation. At certain times during the previous brand split era, there were sometimes some messy title situations where it just seemed obvious the WWE only had one option. This is not one of those situations. This should come down to feud development. What is the best booking decision for the WWE to run with the main title feud that they want? I would say they want to run with Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins, two guys that happen to be on the same brand. But they won't just hand the title back to Roman Reigns. It has nothing to do with the suspension. Part of the fun is making it a struggle to overcome your foe. Rollins can win it at Battleground and drop it at Summerslam or after that.

Onto the brand split. A lot of things happened this week in regard to that, but I was too busy talking about Battleground to say anything on that. I'll just bring up a few topics.

First, you have the decision to have General Managers under Shane and Stephanie. Is it necessary? I think it is a good move. Take advantage of some popular/legendary non-wrestlers associated with the WWE. It also makes this feel like a real sports organization. Sports teams have a hierarchy. You have your owner(s). He will have his executives around him, including GMs. You have a head coach and his coaching staff. And then you have players, including possible team captains and those players that are leaders even without an official title. I like what the WWE has chosen to do.

Shane McMahon picked Daniel Bryan. Good choice. If not him, I would have gone with Sting. Both of them were never utilized to their full potential in the WWE, and injuries suffered last year really hurt their careers. But they can still be useful in non-wrestling matters. Daniel Bryan is getting something big to do. Hopefully, Sting might one day get a brief run as GM.

Stephanie McMahon picked Mick Foley. Interesting choice. A heel picks a lovable face. It can have some interesting storyline value down the line. It is more likely you see tension between these two before you see serious tension between Shane and Daniel Bryan.

Overall, I see fans complaining that Smackdown got the short end of the stick in the draft. I don't see it like that. I brought up that Raw is at a disadvantage because it has to go head-to-head against Monday Night Football soon. Being live and being its own brand on a night with no football, Smackdown is going to see an improvement from what it was getting in the ratings the last few years. It had a higher viewership than Raw this week. I don't think it will be the last time that happens before the year ends.

I wouldn't have even given Smackdown John Cena. I understand it has some storyline value with how AJ Styles is also there, without The Club. If that wasn't an issue, keep Cena on Raw and send Cesaro or Sami Zayn to Smackdown. Ratings aside, some fans bring up how Cena doesn't regularly work house shows anymore. Who will draw for Smackdown? They will just have to create stars on Smackdown. They might take a hit until then, but the brand split should be an opportunity to build new stars, anyway.

All things considered, I do not think the Smackdown roster is that terrible when it comes to what the WWE needs to do to draw. They have some level of star power and can make stars out of guys that may be loved by wrestling fans, but still need some work to break out. AJ Styles falls in that category, whether smarks want to admit it or not. Don't forget that the WWE will also bring back some workers from the past. Jinder Mahal could be the face of Smackdown and it would still draw more viewers than it has in the last few years. I don't see anything wrong if the WWE wanted to buff up Raw a bit with the draft. They could have shafted Smackdown even worse than they did.

Previewing The Battleground 2016 Undercard

Recently, the WWE has shown that they will go with certain things that wrestling fans might appreciate, but the general audience may not be able to. For the most part, I don't think they should do that. The feud between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn is a rare exception I am willing to make. They just have a heated rivalry and a chemistry. You pretty much have to add another chapter to their story on the main roster. The brawls and interactions can get that general audience interested.

Problem is, this match for Battleground seems like a disappointment. I said that Natalya vs. Becky Lynch might have deserved some kind of stipulation, and I will say the same thing for Owens vs. Zayn. How can it not have a stipulation? They are treating this like it is the final battle between the two. It won't be, but how can you not add to the match to make it feel like a bigger deal? Last Man Standing? I Quit? You don't need the Extreme Rules PPV to have these matches. As for the winner, I feel this can go either way, but I will say Sami Zayn.

The brand split may have messed up The Wyatts. Nevertheless, they still have New Day at Battleground. Tag titles are not on the line. People complained last year when the WWE did not have Nikki Bella defend the title at some PPVs, saying they just wanted to have her walk her way to the record for longest run with the Diva's Championship. I don't see anyone complaining about New Day not having to defend the titles here. I'm sure they are out there, I just don't see them. As for this feud, I think it has been rather disappointing so far. There is a storyline with some potential. But the fact that the tag titles are wasted here and the WWE arguably failed to beat TNA at their own game with that segment recently just hurts my interest in it. It annoys me more than it entertains me. Bray Wyatt needs wins more at this point than New Day, especially when their tag titles are not on the line. Wyatts win.

Darren Young gets a title shot against The Miz. These two were drafted to different shows. It seems this feud will end at Battleground. You might say that Miz obviously retains to keep the Intercontinental Championship on Smackdown, but the WWE could have Darren Young and Zack Ryder win their respective matches, switching what shows the United States and Intercontinental Championships are on. Not likely. Miz retains, but what happens to Darren's push after? I am not going to say he started at the top, but this push pretty much started as high as anyone would have expected him to go. Will he be pushed properly in the midcard? Or become a jobber? That would be a waste of Bob Backlund. Will Backlund even last the year in the WWE?

Rusev defends the United States Championship against Zack Ryder. I already said it is unlikely the two midcard titles switch shows by having two lower-midcarders win them on the same night. And Ryder won't beat Rusev just to bring the title over to Smackdown. I can picture Ryder losing this and going back after The Miz and the Intercontinental Championship.

John Cena and Enzo & Cass vs. The Club. AJ Styles will not have his buddies much longer due to the draft. But this match will still happen. Either Anderson and Gallows will likely eat the pin in this match. Face team wins.

What happens to the feud between Cena and Styles after that? Now the playing field is cleared up. Enzo & Cass are not on Smackdown with Cena and Styles. Anderson and Gallows aren't there, either. It will just be Cena vs. Styles. That might make Summerslam their final encounter.

Previewing Battleground 2016 Women's Matches

It is one of those occasions where a PPV will have two women's matches. Despite that, the Women's Championship will not be on the line for the second PPV in a row.

First, Natalya faces Becky Lynch. It is a decent secondary feud. Could be a lot better. The WWE has tried to make it like the story here is that all of Becky's friends turn on her. Not much to buy into here. Just seems like a lame story.

To make this feud mean more, I wouldn't have minded them making this some kind of gimmick match. No DQ? Falls Count Anywhere? Natalya has been brutalizing Becky for a while now. You want to sell this as a heated feud? Add something more to the match. Right now, this just feels like a match you would get on a Raw or Smackdown. And I don't think it will continue all the way to Summerslam. If it does, it will likely be on the pre-show. 

Who wins? It just seems obvious Becky Lynch should win. She is the fresher talent of the two. It is obvious by now Natalya is not going anywhere. She has dominated the feud against Becky. It just seems like Becky is winning this Sunday.

Onto the tag match. Charlotte and Dana Brooke vs. Sasha Banks and a partner of her choice. Let me start by talking about the WWE's decision not to have the title defended at Battleground. I am not a believer that a title has to be defended every PPV. I wouldn't even throw a fit if the WWE gave the Champion a rare night off to give the spotlight to two other women that have something else great going on. But this is the second PPV in a row that Charlotte is in a tag match and the title is not being defended. I am sure the WWE won't make too much of a habit out of this, but this new era for the women's division hasn't been working out as well as many fans would hope.

How about the decision to make Sasha get a partner to face Charlotte and Dana? That angle had some potential. They could have legitimately have sold it as no one wanting to team with Sasha, either because they don't want to cross Charlotte and Dana or women on the roster have not fully grown to trust Sasha after being a heel as long as she was. Problem is, the WWE had Becky Lynch team with Sasha on Raw this week to face Charlotte and Dana. Becky obviously won't be teaming with her on Sunday, but it kind of kills the potential of this angle by showing other women are willing to face Charlotte and Dana and tag with Sasha.

The only thing this angle still has going for it is the mystery element. Who will the partner be? Looking around, the top three options I see fans bringing up are Paige, Nikki Bella, and Bayley. The WWE going with Paige is not likely. There is no real impact there.

How about Nikki Bella? I have said before that she has not officially retired and could be coming back. She is not the partner Sasha Banks would pick if she had the power to pick her own partner, but the WWE might pick Nikki to get her back in the picture. And if she is back in the picture, it won't be as a jobber.

Bayley seems like the likely option. NXT will be represented in the draft on Smackdown tonight. Bayley and Sasha have a history. Wrestling fans would love to see her. But they are dreading one thing. What if Bayley debuts and gets lost in the shuffle soon after? With the brand split, it might be less likely that happens. Nevertheless, I do see some fans saying they would rather it be Paige so Bayley can debut at a better time and in a better way. If Bayley does debut and gets this match, what are the chances she gets added to the title feud between Charlotte and Sasha Banks? That would be unfair to Sasha. I thought it was unfair to insert Sasha Banks into the storyline that was there between Charlotte and Becky Lynch, and you might get the same kind of situation again where Sasha gets the short end of the stick. I would just like the WWE to see a feud for one of these new women to a proper finish before inserting another new woman.

The WWE could have avoided a lot of this dread if they just kept the feud between Sasha and Charlotte simple. Put the title on the line in a singles match at Battleground. Charlotte retains through cheating. Sasha wins the title at Summerslam. Bayley can debut a little later. Let one of the divas debut from NXT tonight, like Alexa Bliss. Some fans have brought up Nia Jax. Bayley is still the favorite to debut, but it would be nice if she wasn't inserted into the feud involving Sasha and Charlotte just yet. Sasha has enough face partners on the main roster already to tag with her against Charlotte and Dana. There was no great need to treat this like she needs to find someone special. Because you are left wondering what will happen to that person she does find. If she gets lost in the shuffle, that is something to complain about. If she ruins Sasha's push, that is something to complain about. Let's see how that plays out.

As for the winner of the match, it would be a shame to have a debut or return and have Charlotte and Dana win. The only way I can picture the heels winning is if it is someone like Paige that gets picked. I will say Bayley debuts and the face team wins.

Brock Lesnar Vs. Randy Orton For Summerslam 2016

There was a time I would have said Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton would be a dream match. They faced each other during Brock's first run in the company, but that was before Randy Orton broke out as a top guy. The match has been made for Summerslam next month. Is it everything I hoped for?

So far, it doesn't feel right. The WWE just made the match and it is going to happen. Randy Orton has been out with an injury for months now. I am not even wondering about Lesnar possibly injuring him again. I just don't like that there was really no proper reason given for this match.

You see this kind of thing in MMA all the time. An opponent is named for someone and they just do some interviews and trash talk to build up to the match. You sometimes spend a whole bunch of time talking about a match and getting hyped for it, and then it only lasts about a minute.

You have seen the WWE do this kind of thing for special events for Brock Lesnar. They would just name an opponent for him and Brock would go on to beat the guy. This is a PPV. Summerslam is one of the WWE's biggest PPVs of the year. I don't have a problem with them doing this for WWE Network special events, but when you are trying to sell a major PPV, you have to do better than just that.

What is the feud I would go for with Brock Lesnar? Lesnar vs. Wyatt. It was the feud they were going for earlier in the year. It got ruined. Bray Wyatt is back from his injury. Just have him finish goofing around with New Day at Battleground and have him face Brock Lesnar for Summerslam. There is already a story there. There is unfinished business there. I would feel more hyped for this match than I currently do for Lesnar vs. Orton.

Speaking of Orton, he will be back at Battleground for an interview segment with Chris Jericho. Someone likely has an RKO coming in their future. Orton and Jericho can then have a mini-feud, since Brock is a part-timer and Orton will need something to do when he is not there.

Let's get to the news concerning Brock Lesnar that everyone is talking about. He is being investigated for possibly doping. For the sake of discussion, let's do the worst-case scenario and say he is guilty.

I have brought up a few times this year the hypocrisy and double standards when it came to people getting suspended. Titus O'Neil gets a heavy suspension for something he did without any malicious intent and that didn't make the company look bad. Roman Reigns, the new centerpiece of the company, gets suspended for violating the wellness policy. People are now wondering whether his top spot should be on the line.

Brock Lesnar, being a part-timer, is sort of above the law when it comes to the WWE's wellness policy. This isn't like Hulk Hogan making racist comments and the WWE firing him. The WWE will not fire Brock Lesnar over this. But should the WWE hold Brock accountable in some way? Suspend him for 30 days? Lesnar would probably laugh that off. It is no punishment at all for a part-timer like him. He would still make it for Summerslam. Paul Heyman could just carry the feud with Randy Orton until then on Brock's behalf. And don't forget Chris Jericho.

The WWE might just look like hypocrites if they don't do anything to Brock. Their wellness policy does not force them to, but they would still look like hypocrites if they let Brock off without any repercussions. You shouldn't have this policy just for the sake of having it. You should have it to protect your workers from something that can have a negative impact on them and to protect your company's image. If Brock Lesnar was to be found guilty, it would just make the WWE look bad to do nothing to him, especially when Roman Reigns is currently suspended for drug use. Is there a double standard? Is it okay for Brock Lesnar to do it and only get a slap on the wrist, if he even gets that?

Some say this will hurt Lesnar's ability to draw for the WWE. I would question his ability to draw even before this scandal. It certainly doesn't show in the ratings. Does it show in PPV buyrates and subscriptions to the WWE Network? I think more people were interested in the drama between Shane McMahon and The Undertaker this past Wrestlemania than Lesnar vs. Ambrose. I think more wrestling fans buy into the hype of Brock Lesnar than the general audience. In himself, Lesnar will not draw. The WWE needs to create a big situation to draw, like they did with Taker/Shane. Having Lesnar definitely helps the WWE get more media coverage, but if it doesn't translate to many more people being interested in the product, what's the point? Moreover, when Lesnar gets caught in something negative, the WWE is going to have to deal with that baggage.

I would say the WWE should hold Brock Lesnar accountable, if he is found guilty. The WWE might just face negative attention if they let him off without any penalty, while other workers have to face suspension for drug use. Billy Gunn got let go not that long ago after failing a drug test. He wasn't even an active wrestler for the WWE anymore. Brock Lesnar does wrestle for the WWE. Again, they won't fire him, but he should be punished to send a message on accountability. Fine him? Take away his Summerslam match? As I said, a simple suspension wouldn't do. If one of your workers does something to hurt the image of your company, you should do something. And if you don't, that might hurt you even more.

Split Cena And Reigns?

The draft is approaching. This is the most important Smackdown has been in a long time. As I have said before, I am not going to do any mock draft. Just not into it and it seems pointless. But there is at least one more issue I want to bring up concerning the brand split.

John Cena has been the centerpiece of the company for about a decade. Roman Reigns is the new centerpiece. That is, unless the suspension ends up being the last straw and they do end his run at the top. For the sake of discussion, let's sat he is still the guy. Can Cena and Reigns work on the same brand? Would it be smart to split them?

It is possible to have a former centerpiece on a brand with a current centerpiece. Shawn Michaels came out of retirement and spent the rest of his career on the Raw roster. He was there during Triple H's run as centerpiece and the first few years of Cena's run at the top. He has some title runs and big pushes here and there, but he was never really in the way of the other guy the WWE would rather be the top star.

It just might be time for Cena to enter that stage of his career. He isn't over 40 yet, but he is banged up, stale, seems to be slowly finding more stuff to do outside the WWE, and there are lot of younger guys that can be pushed better in his spot. There is one major difference between Shawn Michaels back then and John Cena now. Cena is close to tying and breaking Ric Flair's record for most major World Championships. Shawn Michaels never came that close to it and was fine not dominating the title scene. Cena might be different. How can you come that close to it and not break it? While Roman Reigns dominates the title matters on one brand, John Cena can continue to get title reigns on the other brand.

If Roman Reigns and John Cena do stay on the same brand, likely Raw, might they get in each other's way? If Cena isn't really willing to take the kind of role Shawn Michaels did just yet, then you might have a Raw that is going to be dominated by two guys smarks aren't that fond of. Raw might become painful for those fans.

There is a plus to having Cena and Reigns on one brand. That means the other brand can be free of them. Someone like Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, or AJ Styles can be the centerpiece of Smackdown. Throw in a few more bodies and you have a Smackdown Six. Someone like Cesaro might stand a better chance of winning a World Championship on this show, and actually get a decent run with the title. People can have a legitimate alternative to a show dominated by Cena and Reigns, beyond just NXT.

Of course, the WWE will eventually want to do Roman Reigns vs. John Cena. They will treat it like a dream match, even if some fans don't care about either man involved. You might even have a "passing of the torch" moment. It won't help Reigns, but it is something to expect. Reigns and Cena being on separate brands does not need to stop that. The WWE will likely have inter-brand feuds, especially during Wrestlemania. This feud might even feel bigger if it is the face of Smackdown vs. the face of Raw.

Is the WWE likely to do it? Will the suspension change things? The WWE does not give up on people they want to be top stars easily. They need to really flop or screw themselves to actually lose their spot. Roman Reigns has done enough to lose his spot, but let's wait to see if he actually loses his spot. I think he will stay on Raw to be the top star there. And I will say Cena stays there, as well. The WWE will probably have Shane build Smackdown around younger talent and talent that will get a positive reaction from vocal wrestling fans. With football season coming up, the WWE might feel they need guys they have really invested in to be on Raw to try to limit the damage NFL action will do. With Smackdown being live and being its own brand again, it just doesn't need much to see a rise in ratings from previous years. Raw needs the help.

Will Credible Jobbers Be Returning?

Let me start with a little review of terminology. The centerpiece is that woman the WWE wants to be the main focus of the women's division and to dominate title matters on a long-term basis. Women with wrestling credibility will be used to put her over and be used as filler. Those are credible jobbers. Stars developed and featured on the periphery of the centerpiece and her title matters are periphery divas.

With the brand split coming, many fans are excited for the WWE bringing back certain talent from the past to help fill out the rosters. If the WWE was not doing a brand split, they would have more than enough talent between the main roster and NXT to handle things efficiently. The WWE would just need to improve how they use that talent to truly produce results. With the roster split, however, the WWE does need more bodies. And it would help to bring in people viewers are familiar with, not just talent from the minor leagues only wrestling fans will care about.

There are a whole bunch of reports of people the WWE is interested in bringing back. It is mostly men I see popping up in these reports. That is understandable. More men get pushed than women. Besides that, the WWE is able to generate hype with wrestling fans just with women from NXT. These women don't have any real star power, but this is an era where vocal wrestling fans are hyped up about women's wrestling and will react to a lot of these women more than the general audience will care to do. The WWE does not really need to bring any women back.

Nevertheless, the WWE has shown that they are willing to bring women back in this era. Some say the new era started after they dumped the old butterfly title and debuted the new Women's Championship at Wrestlemania. The first woman to return on the full-time roster after that magical night? Maryse. A diva. She is involved in a periphery angle with her husband, Miz. An eye-candy periphery diva is the first woman to return in a new era that is supposedly more about women's wrestling.

What about credible jobbers? What about those women there mainly for their wrestling talent? Wrestling fans would probably be even more excited to see some of these women back right now than in previous years. And yet, no real reports about these women being contacted to come back for the main roster. I have seen none.

Look back at the diva era when it came to credible jobbers coming back. It has happened on occasion. What has never happened, however, is that a woman given this type of career returned to the company to be treated better.

Gail Kim is the classic example. She was in the WWE. She won the Women's Championship. Her matches were not that great. The WWE didn't get rid of here right there, but they eventually did. She went to TNA. She made a big name for herself. The WWE roped her back in. And they still treated her like a credible jobber. She never got any title reigns. She got jobber pushes. She got the weak periphery angles credible jobbers tend to get. She became an afterthought. And she walked out on the company and went back to TNA.

A lot of wrestling fans would love to see Mickie James back in the WWE. She connected better with the fans during the diva era than any of the other credible jobbers. And she still has a few good years left in her. They brought her back in 2013 to be a guest trainer in NXT. They will eventually put her into the Hall of Fame years from now. But she has not yet retired and wants to come back to the WWE as a performer. What are her chances? She would be the best choice of active female wrestlers that were pushed as credible jobbers in the WWE already. Problem is, the WWE did not view her as a star when they had her and it doesn't seem like anything has really changed since then. If she did come back, she would probably end up like The Dudleyz. She already won 6 women's titles in the WWE. The WWE will not book a credible jobber to tie Trish's record and they probably will not acknowledge that Mickie already beat the record when you count her TNA title reigns.

Overall, I am not expecting the WWE to bring back any credible jobbers in the coming weeks. They don't need them. They can generate hype in the women's division just with what is coming out of NXT. They can sign women that have no real star power, run them through NXT for at least a year, and debut them much to the excitement of wrestling fans. It is more likely that a new debut from NXT happens in the coming weeks. Even if you do have a return of one of these female wrestlers that were not actually pushed as stars in the diva era, how will they end up being treated in this era?

Time To Make Darren Young Great Again?

The lower-midcard revolution continues. Another lower-midcarder, Darren Young, finds himself getting a title feud. He has been somewhat reinvented when the WWE brought back Bob Backlund to manage him a few weeks ago. They have been doing mostly vignettes. This week on Raw, Darren got a cheap win in a battle royal to get a shot at Miz's Intercontinental Championship.

Let me start with Bob Backlund. I am not going to put him in the same category of people over 40 the WWE has to bring back to try to draw for them. Why? Because he's just the manager of a guy that won't get too far. Until the end of this angle does come, there can be more fun segments and interactions involving Backlund. I doubt the WWE does expect Backlund to bring amazing results for them. He's just there as an interesting character.

What about Darren Young? Does he deserve the push he is getting? When they started to show interest in pushing him again, I figured he would just get some minor matches against some heel jobbers. Nothing wrong with that. See how things work out from there. That is how I would do it. The WWE, however, probably would have lost him in the shuffle after that. He is starting out in a title feud against Miz.

I feel like I should be saying the same thing I said with Zack Ryder. There was a ring full of guys on Raw that have no great direction. Former World Champions were tossed out the ring and are not getting this push. Guys that debuted this year and are fresher than Darren Young are not getting this push. Likely Hall of Famers are not getting this push. If nothing else, however, Miz vs. Darren Young is a fresh feud. I will give the WWE that.

It is even less likely that Darren Young wins his title match than Zack Ryder wins his. There are just a lot of guys that can make for a more credible feud with Miz. The WWE should want to eventually go with one of those feuds. I don't think Darren's current angle really needs a title, especially so quickly. Get more out of the comedy potential of Bob Backlund.

Shades Of TNA's Matt Vs. Jeff Feud In WWE's New Day Vs. Wyatts Feud?

The outrageous feud between Matt and Jeff Hardy in TNA went to another level last week. There have been some fans that have compared that feud to what the WWE is doing with New Day and The Wyatts. The two major promotions often do take ideas from each other. But there is one minor difference that I want to bring up here.

There was no title involved in that crazy match Matt and Jeff had last week. This is a non-title feud. Matt did hold the TNA Championship a few months ago, but he lost it to Drew Galloway as the feud between Matt and his brother continued. I actually would have kept the title involved in the feud between Matt and Jeff. This was obviously the biggest feud they had going. I just felt that the title would make it feel even bigger. Instead, Drew got one of those title reigns that falls in the category of title reigns that make you wonder why TNA even bothered. They could have built him up more to eventually win the title down the line and get a better run than he did. But that's another issue. Point is, no title was involved in that match last week.

And look what TNA accomplished last week. They had 410,000 viewers, easily the highest number on their new network. I doubt fans were tuning in to see Lashley. They wanted to see what was going to happen with Matt and Jeff. TNA created hype with a match where no title was on the line. Control of the company was not on the line. No one's career was on the line. It is just a heated grudge feud. It is a blood feud.

Onto the WWE. People want to compare what TNA is doing to New Day vs. The Wyatts. There is an interesting storyline developing there. It is not as heated as Matt vs. Jeff, but there is a good storyline. Thing is, the tag titles are also there. Do they need to be there? You can have this storyline without the tag titles. It would be a great non-title storyline.

I have been saying for months that keeping the titles on New Day for so long was not a good move. There were a number of other teams and feuds that could have benefited from the tag titles. I think right now is pretty much the limit. The tag titles are completely unnecessary for this storyline. New Day will break the record for longest run with the tag titles, but what does it matter in the long run? The WWE could have given the titles to The Club. While AJ Styles feuded with Cena, Anderson and Gallows could be defending the tag titles against Cass & Enzo, another hot face team. It's not really about praising or rewarding Anderson and Gallows. It is about creating interesting feuds. And New Day vs. The Wyatts can be interesting without the tag titles. There are other feuds that could be more interesting with those titles involved right now.

Fans sometimes debate whether there should be more titles. Especially for the women recently, they have thought about a second title for them and even tag titles. No, they don't need it. Not only would the WWE not handle it efficiently, it is just missing the point. The point is to entertain the fans and create hype to get more people interested and interested enough to spend money to come see the stars, watch PPVs, buy merchandise, and so on. Title reigns are only a small part of it. TNA was able to generate enough hype to get over 400,000 viewers last week for a match where no title was on the line. Fans may be interested in New Day vs. The Wyatts, but don't expect it to create a ratings boost for the WWE like what TNA got last week with The Hardys. The WWE has not hyped it and built it up that big. Meanwhile, the tag titles are just being held hostage in that feud. Nothing is added. 

State Of The WWE Women's Division: July 2016

This is my first time doing a general overview of the WWE women's division since they made "diva" a bad word. Have things really changed that much? First, I am going to run through the main players in the women's division right now. After that, I'll look at the two feuds going on.

Let me start with Summer Rae. She is a diva. And she is a diva that has been getting in the ring probably too much. Most of her singles matches this year have been losses, so wrestling fans aren't going to complain about her burying anyone. This is a new era and I don't think seeing someone like Summer Rae get so many matches is what many wrestling fans were hoping for. Not only are some of these matches the WWE is booking not as great as some fans might hope, it just gets stale seeing Summer Rae always in this position. She needs a periphery angle. That's where she can do her best work and be more useful.

One step above of Summer Rae would be Dana Brooke. She is another eye-candy worker. But she is a little more relevant than Summer Rae by being the sidekick to Charlotte. Michelle McCool had Layla and Charlotte has Dana Brooke. Again, this is a worker wrestling fans probably did not expect to get as much in-ring time as she has when this new era started. She is not the greatest in the ring. She is charismatic. That's probably her best strength. She should be a sidekick. It is a good role for her. But the WWE needs to get some better in-ring workers to help make these filler matches a little more appealing for wrestling fans.

Switching to some eye-candy divas that aren't getting in the ring, let me start with Maryse. Miz is back from filming another movie, so his wife gets to be relevant again. Maryse hasn't been used in a big way, but she has gotten involved here and there in segments. That's good. I would say they are using her about as well as they could an eye-candy diva in this era aligned with a midcarder.

Lana is a different story. When Rusev and Lana first came on the main roster, Lana really stood out. Rusev was the brute that destroyed people and Lana was his charismatic, sexy mouthpiece. She had a strong character that got over, even as a heel. Rusev has grown since then. He now speaks for himself. He is his own guy. Lana is still in the picture, but she is really an afterthought. If she wasn't a sexy woman, she would probably be phased out and eventually released like certain other sidekicks over the years. But the WWE can use her for Total Divas, photoshoots, and other things like that. She has been learning how to wrestle. The WWE could develop an in-ring feud for her. Don't treat her like Summer Rae, but do more to let her character really stand out again. There have been some beautiful women in the history of the WWE that may have hurt their overness by getting in the ring and not being good enough to keep wrestling fans on their side. I don't think it would hurt Lana to get in the ring a little more often. If not that, find a better way to incorporate her into Rusev's angles.

Switching to the actual wrestlers, let me start with Paige. Paige is more relevant for angles associated with Total Divas than she is for actual wrestling angles. She is a credible jobber. No shocker with how she is being pushed. I have said before that she deserves better. Push her in that spot AJ Lee had. Push her as the top female wrestler in the periphery. I think she has what it takes more than any other female wrestler on the roster right now.

Natalya is also a credible jobber. She had her recent heel turn and feud with Becky Lynch. Eventually, she might be the one serving the purpose Summer Rae now serves. After the brand split, just keep Natalya on the show with the title to be a heel credible jobber there. Let Summer Rae go to the other show and get periphery angles there.

Becky Lynch is pretty much the face version of Natalya. She is a face credible jobber. I would say she is another one being underutilized. Getting a feud is better than nothing, but there was a great story between her and Charlotte that has gotten ruined. The WWE may never be able to regain the momentum that was there, even if they wanted to try in the future.

Sasha Banks is the face credible jobber currently being used as jobber to the centerpiece. Most wrestling fans want to see her win the title. The WWE might as well do it. Don't play with fire. Just give her a title reign, go through the motions with her for a few months, and then drop it back to Charlotte, or whomever they want the centerpiece to be by then. By that time, Bayley will probably be debuting and wrestling fans will be calling for her to get a title push. Sasha Banks can then get phased out easily. I have seen the WWE do this many times in the last almost two decades. No one ever catches on. Fans will just say that Sasha Banks had her push and Bayley deserves her opportunity. They won't stop to realize that, while all these women are being rotated around, the WWE is attempting to treat one woman as a constant.

And that constant appears to be Charlotte. She is the centerpiece of the new era. She just is not a great centerpiece. Some fans point out that she is getting heel heat. Okay, but is most of that reaction she is getting based on her being a great heel? Or is it mainly fans not liking her or her act? Is Roman Reigns a great heel because he gets booed? Problem is, he's a face. If the WWE turned him heel and fans still hated him or his act, he would get booed. It wouldn't be heat because he's a great heel. It would be heat because fans just don't like what they see. That's the kind of thing I am wondering with Charlotte. Even if she does get genuinely over as a heel, what happens when they turn her face? Do fans buy her? A centerpiece should have the versatility to connect with fans as a face or a heel. If fans boo a heel because he does a great job playing the heel role, that's good. If fans cheer a heel because he is so entertaining or a wrestler they will respect no matter what, that is also good. But if they turn that heel face and fans don't care or hate him, that's a problem. While Charlotte may be working as a heel, there are women on the roster that can be great as a heel or a face. One of them should be the centerpiece.

Let me go to the feud between Charlotte and Sasha Banks. It really isn't that amazing of a feud. Since Sasha Banks is involved and has a chance to get the title, many fans are buying into this as something more amazing than it really is. I can see Charlotte retaining at Battleground and Sasha winning the title at the next encounter, probably at Summerslam.

Becky Lynch vs. Natalya is another feud that really isn't that spectacular. But it is getting heated and fans are buying into it. Natalya is dominating the feud so much, the outcome seems obvious. While creative depth is always good, I hope the WWE doesn't make every secondary women's feud just a heel beating up a face until the face wins. More of a story would be nice.

Let me close by going back to the issue of certain women that aren't that great in the ring getting put in matches too much recently. That is a depth issue. The WWE has had to deal with some injuries to some women in the last few months. This is just reminiscent of issues they had in the diva era. A lack of depth led to the WWE pushing women they probably would not have wanted to push. You can say the WWE could have just rushed the debut of someone from development. They didn't. They made do with what they had. How about recent months? Has the WWE been in a situation where they should have rushed a debut? I am not talking about Bayley or Asuka. I mean someone that would be an obvious low-tier or mid-tier credible jobber. It would make for some fresher matches and likely better matches. Fact is, they didn't. That's not something they do. They make do with what they have. It will be interesting to see what they do with the brand split and should issues arise in the two women's divisions after the split occurs. If the roster gets thin again, how will the WWE react?

Time To Push Zack Ryder Again?

The big patriotic moment on the July 4th Raw did not come with Titus O'Neil beating Rusev for the United States Championship like I talked about on Monday. It came with Team USA winning the main event of Raw. Specifically, it was Zack Ryder that got the final elimination in that match.

Is it time to push Zack Ryder again? Looking at the endangered species that is Smackdown spoilers, he seems to be getting a push. Coincidentally, he seems to be getting a push against Rusev for the United States Championship.

What are the chances that Ryder actually wins the title? I do not think he should. He got a big Wrestlemania moment and Intercontinental Championship win just this year. Yes, the reign was very short, but it is still better than some guys get. And that's why I don't think he should be getting this push. There are a few guys on the roster that have never held a title on the main roster or have not held one in a long time. What about them? It can help them gain some momentum and credibility. It can add to whatever storyline or feud they may have.

Zack Ryder is not a guy that needs all that. He is not someone being groomed to be a main-eventer. He is a guy that got over on his own through his character. The WWE should be giving him things to do that brings that entertaining aspect out of him. How many times can you treat him as an underdog? He was an underdog when he first won the United States Championship. He was an underdog earlier this year for his title win. He's an underdog again against Rusev. Give him some non-title feuds. And it would be nice if some of these non-title feuds didn't involve him just being an underdog.

This is nothing personal against Ryder. I just think he doesn't need to be involved in the title scene to be relevant. I have said the same thing about New Day. They don't need the tag titles to do their act. As a Mickie James fan, I have said the same thing about her in the WWE. I would have loved for her to get some real periphery angles that actually went somewhere. She never did. Ryder should be able to get something good to do without a title being involved.

Should Dean Ambrose Be The New Centerpiece?

Roman Reigns, the new centerpiece of the WWE, got suspended less than a year into his run at the top started. John Cena, the former centerpiece, hasn't really taken over the show in his absence. It is not unusual to see Cena be treated as the main guy on Raw, even if he wasn't holding the title. No, for the most part, the WWE is pushing Dean Ambrose, the WWE Champion, rather well.

Dean Ambrose, however, is not the true centerpiece. What makes you the centerpiece isn't whether or not you are holding the top title or whether or not you are in the main event more times than anyone else in a given month. It is about how they are pushing you over time. It is about how they push you when that title reign ends. Until the WWE does officially ditch Roman Reigns, he is still the guy. That makes Dean Ambrose the interim centerpiece.

It happens all the time in sports that a head coach gets fired in the middle of a season and someone is chosen as interim head coach If that guy can do a great job, however, the "interim" comes off and he becomes the head coach for the team.

Should the "interim" come off for Dean Ambrose? Should he be the new guy? I am not asking whether Roman Reigns should lose the job. I have already brought that up. I will probably bring it up again, but that is not what I am doing here. This is just about Ambrose. In the absence of Roman Reigns, is Dean Ambrose doing enough to make people say this guy is the long-term face of the company?

It might be too early to say. I will bring this back up again later. But what are the kind of things you should be watching out for? Fan reactions obviously matter. You also have to keep ratings in mind. The centerpiece isn't just a guy being pushed to be a star. He is a guy being pushed to be a draw. You should also take a step back and look at the guy objectively. Look at his talent and potential. How far can you really go with this guy? Because this is someone you are going to push at the top for years and years to come. Can his act get stale fast? Or is this a guy that can consistently be someone fans enjoy seeing?

Just giving my initial reaction, I don't think the WWE should write off Dean Ambrose too quickly and just count the days until Roman Reigns comes back. Dean Ambrose isn't perfect, but he deserves a fair shot in that centerpiece spot until Reigns comes back. He already connects with fans better than Reigns. Of course, the WWE can also consider a three-headed monster at the centerpiece spot. Just keep rotating all The Shield guys at the top. Eventually, however, that is just going to get annoying.

Should Titus O'Neil Win The United States Championship Tonight?

Rusev and Titus O'Neil have been feuding for a few weeks now. Rusev won the PPV encounter a few weeks ago. The feud did not stop there, however. It has become a little more intense. Titus gets another shot at the United States Championship tonight on the July 4th Raw.

Should Titus win it? It just seems like a great thing to do to have the evil foreigner lose the United States Championship on an American holiday like today. It is something for fans to get into. Depending on promos and how they build up to the match tonight, Titus could get a very good reaction, if he wins. Or the evil foreigner can win for even more heat.

This could also be seen as a way for Vince McMahon to apologize to Titus for overreacting to that incident a few months ago that got Titus suspended for originally 90 days. It was lowered to 60 days, but still a harsh punishment for a guy that did nothing with bad intentions. I have seen some people in the WWE do worse and not even get suspended for 30 days.

If he does win the title, I can see this as the kind of push Kalisto got. Kalisto traded the title with Alberto Del Rio, ended up holding it a few months, but ultimately lost the title and has not been too relevant since. I can see Titus getting a big win tonight and losing the title, probably back to Rusev, in the near future. He might even lose it back to Rusev on Smackdown this week.

So, should he win it? I think so. The WWE has done a good job building up this feud. Then again, they also did a good job building up Rusev vs. Jack Swagger. Swagger never won the title off Rusev. But I will say Titus wins. If he had not grabbed Vince a few months ago, I don't think he would even be getting the push he is getting now. I think the solo run he was getting just would have fizzled out, just like his previous solo run.

Mid-2016 Ratings Review

Numbers have not been that great for the two major wrestling promotions. Football season will obviously hurt the WWE in a few months. Before that, the brand split will have an impact on ratings. I get my numbers from here and here.

Let me start with TNA. Fans have been waiting for TNA to go out of business for years now. They keep hanging in there. They didn't last too long on Destination America. How have they been doing on their new network? They are averaging over 290,000 viewers. That is down from the over 330,000 they averaged last year. I wouldn't say that is too terrible of a drop. Some numbers this year have been just as good as last year. Of course, they are no longer near the million viewers they once had just a few years ago.

What does the future hold for them? They will not be going head-to-head against NFL games in a few months, so their numbers will not suffer because of that. I think they have shown some signs of doing some good things here and there. Even though many fans may not respect the Matt vs. Jeff feud, it is the kind of thing that at least has people talking with how crazy it is. It is one of those things that is so bad that some people might find it good. And it features two big names in wrestling. Well, as big as TNA can get right now. If they keep giving fans something to talk about, they might have an easier time rebuilding.

Onto the WWE. Let me start with Smackdown. Smackdown just seems to have everything going for it. It is moving to Tuesdays, away from Thursday night NFL games. It is going live, which will surely help it get more viewers than a taped show. And the brand split means there will be some stars regularly featured on the show and storylines exclusive to the brand. There is no reason Smackdown should not improve in terms of ratings.

How have the numbers looked so far? They are what you would expect. 1.7 average for the year so far. They averaged 1.69 for all of last year. Around the same area, but football season coming up would have ravaged them. Luckily, they are avoiding that. I will not give a specific number or range I would expect the average for 2016 to be by the end of the year, but there should be a good improvement.

Raw is a different story. It will face NFL action on Monday nights. The brand split will hold back the WWE's ability to use their full roster for their top show. Yes, there is all this talk about bringing back stars and all that. Who can they get that will legitimately save them? The WWE also has shown issues managing the talent they have. There are consistently reports of Raw reaching new lows with their ratings. I see no way for them to avoid a killer drop in the coming months.

Raw has averaged a 2.45 for the first six months of 2016. They averaged 2.64 for all of last year. I could probably stop typing right here. They are already far below last year's average, and football season hasn't even started yet. Let me just bring up a few recent numbers. Two weeks ago, they averaged 2.97 million viewers. NBA playoffs was the main reason. Okay, that was to be expected. They bounced back to 3.47 million viewers last week for the Raw after Money in the Bank. Raws after a PPV usually do well. I saw fans saying Dean Ambrose was a draw. They said Sasha Banks was a draw. They said Roman Reigns losing the title was a draw. Yeah, that's nice. I was expecting a drop this week. This week had 3.09 million viewers. That is a terrible drop. Second-lowest viewership of the year, only better than that 2.97 million I brought up. This wasn't even the norm for football season last year. Was this just one bad night? Will things get even worse? Is Roman Reigns really a draw? Probably not. Expect terrible numbers for Raw on July 4th, but what happens after that will be interesting.