Is This The End For Dolph Ziggler?

For a show that is an hour shorter than Raw, Smackdown has as many big storylines going right now as you would expect Raw to have. You have the WWE Championship feud and Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton. Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler is also continuing, and it has picked up more interest lately.

This week on Smackdown, it was announced that these two will go at it for the Intercontinental Championship again. This time, at No Mercy, Ziggler's career will also be on the line. That should grab some people's attention.

Is Dolph Ziggler leaving the WWE? There is a ton of speculation that this could be a real situation. Ziggler had the opportunity to leave last year and stayed. Is he unhappy so soon? I think Ziggler does have the potential to deserve to be pushed better, but there just comes a time when you have to move on if you are not happy. I do not know what the WWE promised Ziggler last year to get him to stay. I don't know if the WWE not treating Ziggler the way he expected to be treated might be a reason for him possibly wanting to leave again. But why waste so much emotion just to get the Intercontinental Championship? Ziggler has been stuck in the midcard for most of his career. He has given these heated promos in recent years about deserving better. If he really feels he deserves better, I don't see why he should settle for another run with the Intercontinental Championship. This is just more of the same. After a while, it just sounds like whining and the whining isn't getting him anywhere. Just leave.

If this is just a heated angle designed to draw in the audience, it will likely only have a big impact on smarks. And how many of them still care that much about Ziggler? I don't like angles like this. It isn't just because they blur the line between what is real and what is not or exploit real things going on for the sake of storylines, but because I usually do not find them that entertaining. It's just a whole lot of self-righteous complaining. And most of the men and women doing it aren't even as good on the mic as CM Punk. It is refreshing here and there, but the WWE has just relied on it too much in recent years. It loses some of that value. Pro wrestling is supposed to be about entertaining. That is why I prefer the kind of storyline you have between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton. They are taking a guy with a unique gimmick and using that gimmick for the sake of a storyline and interesting segments. What is Ziggler's gimmick? Complainer? Yeah, Miz was also doing that recently. A lot of guys do that. What about interesting segments? Complaining on the mic and putting yourself over? Once again, a lot of guys do that these days. Less of that bitterness would be nice. Do something fun. Do something that is not tied to any seedy real-life drama. Stop making creative decisions aimed at smarks and start thinking about entertaining the wider audience.

Randy Orton Vs. Bray Wyatt Gets A Little More Creepy

Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt have been feuding for the last month. Their match at Backlash was ruined due to Randy Orton's health issues. But the feud has continued. And it has taken a creepy turn recently, especially this week on Smackdown.

Bray Wyatt's gimmick has so much potential for interesting storylines and segments. A lot of the time, all you get is his cryptic babble. The cryptic babble is present for this feud with Randy Orton, but the WWE is doing a good job here with those interesting segments. Considering that Orton has been pushed as a top star for the last decade, it is not shocking that the WWE will pull out something interesting for this Wyatt feud. Prior to this, Bray Wyatt was just a supporting player in the feud between Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler. They are doing something more interesting with him here.

The writers are doing work. For a lot of what you see these days, it is like there are no writers. There is no real creative effort. They are just hanging onto whatever some wrestlers were in NXT or the indies. It is often dull. What they are doing here is better. It should spread out to other feuds. Build more unique gimmicks for more workers and come up with more interesting segments. There was nothing self-righteous or bitter about these segments on Smackdown this week. It was just entertainment. The WWE could use more of that.

Sheamus And Cesaro Team Up

When I was previewing the final match in the series between Sheamus and Cesaro for Clash of Champions, I said that there were a few ways the WWE could get fancy with this angle. I felt they should not have done anything like that. Just let one guy win the title shot and go for a title on Raw. I went with Cesaro going for the Universal Championship.

The WWE decided to get fancy. The match at Clash of Champions ended up a draw. Both men complained about it on Raw. Mick Foley said they will now be teaming together and going after the tag titles.

I think this is just a terrible turn of events. It is not the first time this kind of angle has happened. A face and a heel have a rivalry, they end up teaming together, and they eventually get the tag titles. Problem is, this rivalry between Sheamus and Cesaro was never that great to begin with. Some loved seeing two hard-hitting guys going at it, but there were also some that found this feud stale. They had faced each other numerous times before the "Best of Seven" series started. There is no real rich story between these guys. This whole feud has just been forced. And now the angle continues with them teaming up.

Should they win the tag titles? New Day's reign of terror continues. If there are any records left in the tag division, the WWE might just hand it to them. I feel like the WWE is wishing that Sheamus/Cesaro captures some of that same magic Rhyno/Heath Slater has. There are not a lot of great true tag teams around. The WWE is just throwing together two guys getting singles pushes and trying to run on their momentum. It would be nice to try to do a better job building the true tag teams. As for whether Sheamus and Cesaro will win the tag titles, let's wait and see if they do capture some of that magic. If not, if they are viewed as flops, New Day will hold it for another few weeks. Anderson & Gallows are flops. The WWE still could have forced the tag titles on them. They didn't. I think the WWE will hold those same standards for Sheamus and Cesaro. If they do fail, they will just go back to feuding with each other.

Prefab Stars

Prefab. Makes me think back to when I would go on long road trips with my family when I was younger. I would sometimes see these houses being towed down the highway. I don't mean mobile homes. I mean actual houses. It was a sight to see back then. These houses would be taken to a site and set up there. Instead of building the home piece by piece at the site, most of the work is done elsewhere, the site is prepared, and then everything comes together. Seems pretty efficient.

What does that have to do with anything? I've been thinking about how the WWE has been handling the debut of new talent from NXT, and even the indies, in the last year. There is obviously a problem. I am not even the only one seeing it. I notice more and more wrestling fans bringing it up. The WWE just seems to be running on the assumption that people are watching NXT and know who these wrestlers are. If someone is making some noise in NXT, the WWE seems to act like they are automatically stars when they come to the main roster.

These are prefab stars. The WWE is treating NXT like it is just some kind of star factory. And it isn't. These performers are only connecting with a minority of the WWE's total audience. By treating these workers like they are already established, the WWE is alienating a lot of fans. They are either going to start following NXT, and likely subscribing to the WWE Network, or they will just get annoyed and stop watching. If they are having a tough time connecting with the product, why should they keep watching?

One of the things about prefab homes is that the site still has to be prepared. There is work to be done once the sections of the house get there. Workers don't just dump it and leave. The "site" these prefab NXT stars are coming to is obviously the main roster. And that is a mess. The brand split did not fix anything. If anything, some depth issues might have popped up due to the brand split. The WWE is inefficient on the main roster. Smackdown is a little more efficient than Raw, but that doesn't mean it is perfect. It has not been regularly getting more viewers than Raw, even with Raw going against football now. The main roster needs to be handled better to create a better foundation. All houses need a solid foundation. The same goes for the WWE.

Another reason the WWE should not be relying on NXT as a star factory, it is just better for fans to see that growth and development for themselves. There is entertainment value in that and that is what really helps someone get over. If the WWE just brings someone from NXT or the indies and starts talking about how great he is, the millions of viewers that don't follow NXT and the indies will just be hearing all this hype and might not be seeing the actual character development to help that worker get truly over. There is nothing entertaining about building a house. I have never built one, but I have been around when the house I am living in went through renovations. Very stressful. But this is pro wrestling. It is supposed to be entertaining. And building a star should be entertaining for the fans. Let me bring up a few names to illustrate my points further.

Look at AJ Styles. He didn't go through NXT, but he is an indies guy. Needless to say, wrestling fans loved this guy for over a decade. When the WWE debuted him, they hyped up how popular he was. Who is being targeted with that? Wrestling fans already love the guy. The wider audience is supposed to love the guy because other people do and the WWE is telling them to? The WWE then went through various motions with Styles and he has been heel for the last few months. If he was really so popular, why didn't his heel turn flop because fans refuse to hate him? Smarks will cheer for him because they cheer for guys like him, but the wider audience definitely does not appear to be sold on him.

Look at Daniel Bryan. The WWE wishes AJ Styles could be that over. Daniel Bryan was loved by wrestling fans even before coming to the WWE. They were the ones that really fought for him to come back after being fired. But he did not yet have A+ overness. How did he get it? Thanks to the whole "Yes!" and "No!" chants. And it all played out for the audience to see on the main roster. It was something that energized them and something they could play along with. AJ Styles has not done anything like that. #BeatUpJohnCena appeals to the smark crowd, the ones already loving Styles before he came to the WWE and that have been annoyed by Cena for the last decade. He has not done anything to become A+ over on the main roster.

American Alpha did go through NXT. If you think about it, these two are the kind of guys that wrestling fans should love. They are wrestlers. But they are pretty boring and have not gotten as over as the WWE might have expected. The WWE put that focus on this team when Smackdown became its own brand again. They looked like the obvious winners of the new tag titles that were being made. They flopped. Heath Slater & Rhyno rose. These two guys, unlike American Alpha, actually had an interesting storyline that played out for the general audience to see. American Alpha needs to be a part of some interesting angles. It is not as easy to pander to wrestling fans as it might sometimes seem.

Women's wrestling has been hot in NXT. Some women made a name for themselves down there. But how have these women done on the main roster. In terms of their performances, none of them have lived up to the hype, in my opinion. I just expected much better from these women after all the hype I have been hearing in recent years. And I don't just mean in terms of wrestling. Their promos are also often not as great as I expected. Their characters also do not seem that entertaining. Blame the WWE for certain things, but these women also need to improve. In terms of their overness, none of them are as over as they should be. One of the dumbest things the WWE has done with them in recent weeks was that Sasha Banks angle on Raw. Why even fake a retirement for her? I talked about it before, so I won't say much more. I will say that they put her in a position to draw and it flopped. If the WWE fell for the hype generated by smarks over Sasha Banks, they made a terrible mistake. Sasha Banks still needs to be pushed a lot better than she has for her to get over to the point where she might draw.

On the other side of that, look at Mickie James. She wasn't a big name in wrestling when the WWE signed her. OVW back then isn't like NXT now. There was no big hype for her when she debuted on the main roster. She eventually became the most over diva on the roster, connecting well with both wrestling fans and the general audience. And she did it without the hype that women like Sasha Banks and Bayley have gotten. How did she do it? She earned it on the main roster. Even when the WWE took away her psycho gimmick and gave her the inconsistent treatment of a generic credible jobber, she solidified her overness. She did it by just having qualities that could appeal to various types of fans. She was a solid in-ring worker that can get wrestling fans on her side. She had an appealing look that could attract fans interested in that. And she had a charisma that could also draw in fans. Sasha Banks has been pushed like a credible jobber in her rookie year on the main roster, which makes the WWE's decision to give her that fake retirement segment even more weird. Unlike Mickie James, she is not a credible jobber that has earned her overness on the main roster. She cannot simply rest on her success in NXT. And if the WWE is serious about her being a star, they can't make that mistake, as well.

Building a prefab house is not as easy as it may sound. There is still a lot of work to do, both at the factory and at the site. The same thing has to be true for prefab stars the WWE is creating in NXT or taking from the indies. Yeah, develop them in NXT, but there is still work to be done when they get to the main roster. There are millions of fans that did not see them in NXT or the indies and are not going to be sold on them right away. To treat these workers like they are already established is something that could lead to these fans not watching anymore. And the foundation on the main roster needs to improve. Without that, a lot of these prefab stars are just going to flop on the main roster. Just like a building needs a good foundation, so does the main roster. 

Previewing The Clash Of Champions 2016 Main Event

This match seems pretty straightforward. The winner seems obvious. But I will also take this time to look ahead to what the WWE should do with the Raw main-eventers after Clash of Champions.

First, you have Seth Rollins. He obviously has his drama with Triple H. Rollins is slowly turning into a full face. What some people might not be thinking about is the fact that Seth Rollins has been in every World title PPV match for about a year and a half now that he could possibly be in, not counting the time off he took for being injured and the recent Smackdown-only PPV. It made sense when he was WWE Champion last year, but he has just gotten title shot after title shot this year. He has even gotten some non-PPV title matches in recent months. It is just too much Seth Rollins. Even if they have decided to groom him as the centerpiece over Roman Reigns, it is too much.

In the other corner, you have the Universal Champion, Kevin Owens. He just won the title a few weeks ago. He won it in a cheap way, Triple H pretty much handing him the title. Kayfabe aside, he has not been built up for this big push like certain other guys are prior to a World title win, like Rollins and Reigns. But there is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with a surprise big title win like this. The WWE shouldn't telegraph everything they are going to do. Fans will complain about them being predictable.

When these two come together this Sunday, who wins? It makes sense for it to be Kevin Owens. If Triple H screwed Rollins on Raw a few weeks ago, he's not going to let him get the title at Clash of Champions. The WWE should keep the angle going of Rollins being screwed. But will Triple H show up and do the same thing he did on Raw a few weeks ago? Will he Pedigree Rollins and hand Owens the title? Some variation of that? Will Stephanie McMahon be the one to screw Rollins? He has been taking out his anger verbally on her. Whether the story is about Stephanie legitimately not knowing her husband would screw Rollins or not, Rollins is giving her a reason to screw him herself. No matter how exactly it goes down, Kevin Owens will end up retaining the title thanks to shenanigans.

What happens after that? Seth Rollins really should move on from the title for now. He would want to get revenge on Triple H, or Triple H and Stephanie, depending on how the WWE handles the story. The WWE might try to drag this all the way to Wrestlemania, so don't expect Triple H vs. Seth Rollins for Survivor Series. What does Seth do in the meantime? What about Roman Reigns? He was also screwed by Triple H a few weeks ago out of the title. Moreover, he just beat Kevin Owens in a cage match on Raw this week. Does that create an argument for him getting a shot at the Universal Championship?

Let me start with Roman Reigns. Let him win the United States Championship from Rusev and continue that feud for a little while longer. No need to put him in a feud for the Universal Championship. Wrestling fans would dislike that even more than the endless title shots Rollins has been getting.

Speaking of Rollins, he should not be getting another shot at Kevin Owens so soon after Clash of Champions. Enough of Seth Rollins in the title scene. But if you cross that out and are not giving him Triple H immediately, what's left? How about a feud with Chris Jericho? He is friends with Owens. He might even be the one to screw Rollins this Sunday, which would make that feud even more obvious. Even if he doesn't screw Rollins, he can come out and rub it in that Rollins lost to Owens. He can mock Rollins for getting screwed. There is no real stable around Triple H and Stephanie McMahon anymore. If there was, Seth Rollins could just feud with their henchmen. He's not going to wrestle Mick Foley. The next best thing is feuding with another top heel outside the title picture. That's Chris Jericho.

Where does that leave Kevin Owens? Roman Reigns is busy with Rusev. Seth Rollins is busy with Chris Jericho. Have Owens face Cesaro. Remember him? He should be winning that series against Sheamus, and the winner gets a title shot. I have seen fans come up with some interesting scenarios with that Sheamus/Cesaro match. The WWE has been a little vague with what "title shot" actually means. Which title? I have seen one fan bring up that Cesaro will take his title shot and use it for Smackdown's World title. I have seen some fans talk about one of the two men winning the series, then being informed by Mick Foley that the title opportunity that he won was for the tag titles and his partner will be the guy he just beat at Clash of Champions. There is some room to get fancy with this angle, but I don't think there is any need for that. Give Cesaro a shot at Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship.

Wrestling fans have been wanting Cesaro to get that big push for years. I am not against him winning the series and getting this big push. I just hate the booking of the series. I can understand a face overcoming the odds, but the odds were just annoyingly against Cesaro in the series. And I would say this is the perfect time to give someone like Cesaro the push. It obviously wouldn't be the biggest story going on Raw. That would still involve Seth Rollins, but he does not need to be involved in the title chase for that story. Even Roman Reigns might still be featured better than Cesaro, but people would be happy that Reigns is out of the Universal Championship hunt. There is enough going on to still keep things going. And with the WWE Network, it's not like the WWE really needs to work hard to sell each individual PPV. For $9.99, just in terms of PPVs, you get one for Raw and one for Smackdown in a given month. The WWE's success in October does not have to hang entirely on Cesaro. But this will be a push wrestling fans can enjoy. And the WWE does seem to be interested in feeding those fans these days. 

Previewing The Clash Of Champions 2016 Undercard Matches

There was a time for a while in the WWE where they just did a poor job building up their PPV cards. They would just put most of their focus on a handful of major matches. Everything else got mediocre development. You would even see random filler matches on these PPVs. The WWE then improved themselves a little bit. But it looks like they might be going back to their old ways with the brand split back. I can hardly believe Clash of Champions is already here, but it is.

Chris Jericho faces Sami Zayn. This is a feud they just threw together in recent weeks. You can say that the injury to Finn Balor shook things up. Chris Jericho cannot continue his tag-team run with Kevin Owens in the manner the WWE might have wanted to. Owens has Seth Rollins, so Jericho is left with Sami Zayn, who had been without direction for a few weeks before that. But this is a feud for Sami Zayn to win. Jericho doesn't need this win. Yes, I said the same kind of thing before Summerslam, where Jericho and Owens beat Enzo & Cass, but I am sure that feud would have continued to give the face team the win later on. I do not think Zayn/Jericho should be an extended feud, so let Zayn win here and move on.

Sheamus vs. Cesaro has been flavored filler. These guys will have the grand finale of their "Best of Seven" series at Clash of Champions. The winner gets a title shot, but it has still been a long feud. Even wrestling fans have been giving this feud mixed reviews. Some love it because these guys can go in the ring. Others hate it because of how stale it is. And I just hate the booking of these matches. Sheamus won 3 straight. The odds were against Cesaro. There was even an injury angle involved. And Cesaro bounces back to win 3 straight. Is Cesaro going to come out to John Cena's theme song this Sunday? The Swiss Cena probably should. That's how this feud is making him look, especially if he wins. I think Sheamus should win this just so he doesn't look pathetic. But I will say the WWE will have Cesaro win.

New Day vs. Anderson & Gallows is another feud that has been going on for a long time. The issue with this feud isn't really staleness. It is just terrible segments and the WWE not knowing what to do with Anderson & Gallows. Are they destructive monsters? Or are they comedians? Destructive monsters that moonlight as comedians? Whatever it is, it hasn't worked out very well. I have talked about them and this feud a lot in recent weeks. The WWE missed their chance to put the titles on these heels when the timing was better. But they will probably win it here. If Jericho/Owens was still a force in the tag division, I would say have New Day retain this Sunday and lose the titles to them. Not going to happen. No other great heel teams on the horizon. Give the titles to Anderson and Gallows. 

The Cruiserweight Championship will be defended at Clash of Champions. TJ Perkins defends against Brian Kendrick. And this just feels like something thrown together. Yes, there was hype for the cruiserweights for months, but this actual match just popped up the week before the PPV. People criticize the WWE for how they handled the debut of the division on Raw this week. Where's TJ Perkins? Where are all the other guys that will be in the division? Where is proper development for the guys that were there? It is like the WWE just tossed them out there to be wrestlers and is not putting in the work to make them stars. The WWE is obviously not planning to sell the PPV on this feud, but the cruiserweight division could have gotten off to a better start. As for the winner of this match, TJ Perkins. Why would they have him lose the title so soon after getting it?

Roman Reigns vs. Rusev for the United States Championship is the only undercard match to get great development. That is because it involves Roman Reigns. This match could be considered one of the top matches for Clash of Champions. It has gotten some main-event focus on Raw. I could have talked about it Friday. But I'll just talk about it here. The only flaw in the development of this feud was Rusev taking some time off. He just got married to Lana a few weeks ago, so I am not going to criticize him for taking time off. I am just saying that there was some time where the feud kind of got lost in the shuffle. That left time for Roman Reigns to be involved in the drama over the Universal Championship. Maybe that added a little to the feud. Rusev ran out last week to screw Roman Reigns out of a match that would have given him another shot at the Universal Championship. Overall, one of the better feuds on the card this Sunday.

Who wins? Rusev seems to have momentum. He attacked Roman Reigns after that cage match this week on Raw. Rollins ran out for the save, mostly to also take out Kevin Owens, not save Roman Reigns. The only way I can picture Reigns losing this match is so he can get involved with Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship after Clash of Champions. A main-eventer like Roman Reigns does not necessarily need a midcard title. He's not at that stage of his career that John Cena was when he won the United States Championship twice last year. And Reigns doesn't feel like one of those former World Champions that gets demoted back to the midcard to win titles there, like Miz. I know it looked like he would get demoted after his suspension and getting pinned cleanly a few times, but the WWE seems to be back to pushing him as a major player. If he does lose to Rusev, it won't be cleanly. And it would have to be in a way that still ends the feud to free him up to face Owens, if they want to go in that direction. I will just say Reigns wins this Sunday.

Previewing The Clash Of Champions 2016 Women's Championship Match

Clash of Champions will be the first Raw-only PPV of the new brand split era. Not a lot of big matches to talk about at all. I'll talk about the women's matches today.

Sasha Banks had won the right to face Charlotte at the PPV last week on Raw. Due to a questionable finish that the WWE obviously did not like happening, they changed it this week to a triple-threat match, adding in Bayley. If the WWE had planned for both their shoulders to be down at the end of the match last week, they just would have acknowledged it during the show. The Internet sure saw it and made a whole bunch of noise. I am not surprised at all that they would turn it into an angle this week. Considering how many times Charlotte has faced Sasha Banks on the main roster alone, adding in Bayley at least makes the Clash of Champions match a little fresher.

Who wins? Charlotte just won it back last month. I don't care if they want her as the centerpiece, Sasha Banks as the centerpiece, or will just juggle these women around, there is no need to rush the title off her now. The WWE needs to do a better job developing these women. Bayley has just debuted a few weeks ago. Sasha Banks just returned from her break a short while after that. And now they are both in a title match. Bayley has already tasted defeat on the main roster. You have a botched finish in a #1 contenders match last week. Sasha Banks always seems to have a dangerous botch in big matches. This Sunday will probably be no different. I just think the WWE needs to stop and think things over. Even though I think it would be a good decision to keep the title on Charlotte, I will say the WWE puts it back on Sasha Banks. As long as there isn't some injury issue, the WWE might just put it back on her.

A less-important match happening his Sunday is Alicia Fox vs. Nia Jax. I don't think I need to spend many sleepless nights wondering who will win this one. At least Nia Jax has graduated beyond local jobbers. But the WWE actually has to go somewhere with her. If she is going to get a title shot soon, that means a face will have to be holding the title, which is another reason I feel Sasha wins this Sunday. By the time Sasha is done feuding with Charlotte, she can move on to Nia Jax.

The Cruiserweights Are Coming

Yes, I would rather watch her paint her toenails. But I'll probably be watching the Mets tonight, and football after that.

For true wrestling fans, tonight is a big night on Raw. The Cruiserweight Classic has been going on for the last few weeks on the WWE Network. The cruiserweight division is now returning to Raw tonight. I am not going to focus on any specific individuals. This is just some general thoughts.

I have seen some people wonder if the new cruiserweights will get to work outside the division with the other guys. I think it is obvious that will happen. It happened years ago when the Cruiserweight Championship was around. Rey Mysterio had some big matches with some big guys. The WWE won't have these new guys just wrestle each other in some kind of box. They will branch out. You likely won't see that right away, but it will gradually happen for the new guys debuting for the cruiserweight division.

Something I don't see anyone else bringing up, who will lose their time so that the cruiserweight division can shine? Raw has been going for a few weeks now since the new brand split. They have managed to do okay. There have been some lower-midcarders getting angles, like Jinder Mahal, Darren Young, and Titus O'Neil. I can definitely imagine them losing their spots. The women have also gotten two angles going many nights in the last few weeks. One would revolve around the title, while the other revolved around Nia Jax. Nia Jax squashing people will not last forever. Question is, once her push is over, will the WWE continue to maintain to separate women's feuds? Or will that time go to the cruiserweights? The simple answer might just be to cut down on the long matches and segments. Five minutes here and five minutes there could add up to the cruiserweights' segment time. I would expect the division to get 15 to 30 minutes every Raw. That is just respectable time.

Should Smackdown get something to counter the new division, including the new title and new workers? I am a believer that the two shows should feature unique things and possibly even unique philosophies. Smackdown should have something. Some people are loving Talking Smack, but something during the actual show would be nice. To simply make a cruiserweight title for Smackdown is not the answer. That would not be anything unique. How about a hardcore title? It might not be as fun as the original title, but it would be something unique for Smackdown. I could also suggest tag titles for the women, but the WWE doesn't have the depth to make that really worth it. They could hire more women to make it work, but the WWE really has to keep an eye on their budget. Besides, Smackdown is only two hours. It would be nice to create something for the workers already there.

Onto ratings. Will the cruiserweights draw for Raw? No. First, they are not really bringing in any big names. Even if they did bring in cruiserweight royalty, like Rey Mysterio, I would not be sure it would draw. Second, what the WWE and supporters of the new division might hope is that the exciting style these guys wrestle would draw. Thing is, there have been cruiserweights in the WWE all these years even without a title for them to exclusively fight for. Guys like Seth Rollins and AJ Styles wrestle that exciting style. Has it been drawing? No. The WWE is feeding wrestling fans, but they need to do more than that to draw the wider audience.

The WWE needs to spend time to actually develop the characters of these cruiserweights. I have said the same thing about the women these days. Everything cannot just revolve around some kind of revolution. With these cruiserweights, it cannot just revolve around them being exciting wrestlers. Build their gimmicks, as well. I remember when Neville made his Raw return from injury a few months ago. He did not really get a great reaction at all. He is an exciting in-ring performer that will fit well in the new division, but a lot of fans just do not care that much about him. He had been around for about a year. Fans got the opportunity to get to know him on the main roster. And yet, not that over. How well will these new guys work out? They better do a better job showing character than Neville has on the main roster.

I don't want to make it sound like I hate cruiserweights. Back when I first started watching wrestling regularly, I liked Juventud and Kidman in WCW. They had some nice spots and I just liked them as performers. The WWE's lightheavyweight/cruiserweight division never did anything for me. It just felt like more of a division in WCW. Even when they started to have some fluke title reigns, including certain women getting the title, it just felt better than what the WWE was doing at the same time. I'll have an open mind and see if any of the new guys catch my eye.

Becky Lynch Wins Title, Must Defend Against Alexa Bliss

Becky Lynch won the Smackdown Women's Championship at Backlash recently. I had her right behind Nikki Bella when I was previewing who should win the title. On Smackdown this week, Alexa Bliss won a #1 contender's match and will get the first title shot against Becky.

Let me start with Becky Lynch. I am happy she got a title win. Smarks are obviously happy. But the WWE seriously needs to put the work into her to make her into a star. As I said before, there are three situations where a company should give someone a major piece of history, like being the first person to hold a new title. They are either a hot act and very popular, have already been given a top-tier career, so having this accomplishment on their resume would not look awkward, or the company plans to give them that great career following the person being booked to make history. Where does Becky Lynch fall in? She may be over with smarks, but she isn't that popular. She has not had a great career so far at all. I don't think she's ever won a PPV singles match since coming to the main roster. And she wasn't exactly getting the best development prior to Backlash to lead up to her big win. The only thing you can hope is that the WWE actually starts pushing her a lot better than they have.

This situation makes me think back to the Sasha Banks issue from last week's Raw. The WWE advertised Sasha Banks having a big announcement, hyped it throughout the show, teased that she might retire, and it just failed to draw. Sasha Banks is loved by many wrestling fans, but she is not over with the wider audience. The WWE has not put the work into her to help her get over with the wider audience. Putting her in a situation where they would have expected her to draw was just unfair. They have given her the inconsistent career of a credible jobber since she debuted on the main roster. And it is the same thing with Becky Lynch. She has gotten the career of a credible jobber. Some might say she has been pushed even worse than Sasha Banks. Just handing her history now does not automatically make her a star. Do not expect her to draw for you. Don't even expect her to be that over for you. You can't expect women that get juggled around like that to get too over. Just because Mickie James got over off of this type of career doesn't mean it was an asset in her success. It was an obstacle to be overcome. The WWE cannot misjudge how over these women are just based on NXT and Internet reactions.

Onto Alexa Bliss. This is an interesting choice for Becky's first title feud. Alexa is not the greatest women's wrestler on Smackdown's roster. Even as far as heels go, Natalya is more credible than her. Of course, Smackdown's women's division has more women hired without wrestling experience and are still not too credible than Raw's women's division. If Eva Marie was around, she probably would be in this first title feud in some way. Either way, this is not the feud I would have gone with.

Alexa Bliss's style is tied mostly to her agility. She does some nice flips. Even though she isn't more experienced in the ring, I still see a lot of fans liking her. Even in terms of her in-ring work, they like what she does. I think that's a little hypocritical. Kelly Kelly wrestled pretty much the same style. She relied on agility and did flips. And wrestling fans pretty much hated her. I remember reading a report for a match between Kelly Kelly and Gail Kim on Superstars. The writer called it a typical "divas" match. When I watched it myself, it was much better than I imagined. Personally, I do not dislike either woman or their in-ring work that much. But if you are going to say one of them doesn't know how to wrestle and even sucks, it is kind of hypocritical to say another worker that wrestles a similar style is good.

A lot of it comes down to character. Even if you are not a great wrestler, wrestling fans will forgive that if you are an entertaining character. Look at Enzo. I see fans criticizing this guy's in-ring work all the time. But he is so good on the mic and such an entertaining character, fans forgive his wrestling ability and still want to see him get pushed and get the tag titles. Kelly Kelly was not that great at showing emotion. She was very generic. Alexa Bliss is not only attractive, but she has good charisma. Look at Dana Brooke. Her best attribute is her charisma. If Dana could do some impressive flips and high-flying spots smoothly, she would be more like Alexa Bliss.

I have seen some fans compare her to Trish Stratus. And these fans don't seem to have a problem with that. Alexa Bliss succeeding like Trish did and having that kind of career would be diva-like. At this stage in the game, I would say Alexa Bliss is a little better than Trish in some areas prior to Trish winning her first Women's Championship. She has a few more impressive spots than Trish did. I would also say her character is better. Trish benefited from debuting in the Attitude Era and during a hot time in the diva era. She was able to lean on her sex appeal much more than eye-candy divas today. And yet, Alexa Bliss is able to portray a character that even wrestling fans can enjoy in the PG era. Depending on how successful Alexa Bliss is, there might once again be an eye-candy centerpiece in the WWE, despite the WWE giving Becky Lynch the new title first.

I said before that this was not the feud I would have gone with. What would I have done? Becky Lynch vs. Natalya. I can hear the groans now. Some fans may hate the idea. But if Becky Lynch is the centerpiece, or is at least in line for a good push while holding the title, why not have her feud with a woman with more wrestling credibility than Alexa Bliss? And remember that point I made earlier about Becky having never won a PPV singles match on the main roster? Her last PPV singles match was a loss to Natalya. She got the win back on Smackdown, but it might have meant more for her first successful title defense, and first PPV singles victory, to be against this heel she already has a history with on the main roster.

How would you make this match between Natalya and Becky more interesting? Add some kind of gimmick to it. Make it a street fight. Or a submission match, since both women have submission finishers. One of the things TNA does right is put their women in gimmick matches to freshen up stale feuds and matches. Their women have had a ladder match and cage match this year. It is funny how this is supposed to be an era in the WWE of treating women with more respect, but they don't give them special matches. What have they gotten since the revolution started last year on the main roster? Beat The Clock? That doesn't count. During the diva era, you had these kind of matches. Sable was in a strap match. Trish Stratus was in some hardcore matches. Lita and Victoria had a cage match. Even after Trish and Lita retired, the WWE would still book some gimmick matches here and there. It wasn't all Bra & Panties matches or costume matches. It would be a proper finishing touch to the rivalry between Becky Lynch and Natalya.

AJ Styles Vs. Dean Ambrose Vs. John Cena

AJ Styles won the WWE Championship at Backlash. It wasn't completely clean, but that doesn't really matter. I still say they should have waited. They kind of made it feel rushed. In any case, Dean Ambrose has a rematch coming.

There is more to the story than just that. John Cena came back on Smackdown this week to confront AJ Styles and throw his hat into the ring for the title. John Cena had "disappeared" after losing cleanly to AJ at Summerslam. Cena was never really gone. He showed up here and there, including working house shows. The WWE just tried to sell an angle by having Cena not be around. It gave AJ the free path to feud with Ambrose and get the title. Again, not how I would have handled things, but there you have it. AJ Styles has two faces chasing after him.

Dean Ambrose and John Cena are no strangers to chasing after the same target. A few years ago, both had their eyes set on Seth Rollins. That didn't lead to a triple-threat match. Dean Ambrose won the right to face Rollins first. Cena eventually still got Rollins. That was a heated feud back then, even before Cena was inserted.

I don't feel the title feud between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose was as heated as Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose. And simply tossing back in John Cena doesn't make it that heated, but the WWE gave it a good try on Smackdown this week with that promo involving the three men. There were some exchanges last night that are the kind of stuff smarks will eat up. The WWE has just been relying on that kind of thing too much recently. Certain fans may always love hearing it, but if it is only this self-righteous chatter with nothing big coming of it, the wider audience won't care as much. The WWE has a lot of work to do to draw in those fans and keep them.

Anderson & Gallows Continue To Try To Find Their Groove

Anderson & Gallows have just been terrible since splitting from AJ Styles. I am not really talking about match quality. I am talking about their personalities and trying to actually get over. They were at their best when they were with AJ Styles and an actual stable. That is when they truly deserved the tag titles. They are now on their own and still hunting for the tag titles.

Since the brand split separated The Club, Anderson & Gallows have gone from being serious, but boring, threats to trying to be entertaining goofballs. Last week's "Old Day" segment seemed to be the last straw for that gimmick. Fans did not like it. The WWE is even acknowledging that the two heels are done trying to be entertaining and are now refocusing on being a serious threat.

The main problem with them as serious threats is that they really do not feel that dominant. They have been knocked around and sent running many times since they came to the WWE. Their is no mystery to what they are about. There is no intrigue. There is no cool vibe. They are just lame. Karl Anderson's hot Asian wife can debut and she would automatically be more over than either of these two guys.

A lot of people usually say when a wrestler isn't working out that he should turn heel. Heel characters usually get to do things that connect better with the audience. Here is an example where it is heel characters that are struggling. And the answer isn't to turn them face. Being serious heels out to beat people up was not enough to make these guys truly interesting. Giving them comedy gimmicks flopped. They are just mediocrities. As I said before, they were at their best when part of an actual stable. That might be the answer for them, although the WWE may not be able to make it happen. It just goes to show that heels don't always work out.

I also found it noteworthy that the WWE made this into a bit of an angle. They had the commentators just keep mentioning that Anderson & Gallows were ditching being entertaining and putting over that the new attitude is helping them. While admitting when something flops is good from the standpoint of accountability, it just felt a little awkward to hear it. It is not something that needed to be said, especially that much by commentary. Just let these guys go out there and be serious threats again, if that is the direction the WWE is once again settling on. The WWE is obviously being reactionary to fan criticism. If you are going to do it, you don't need to make angles out of it like this. It seems like the writers just cannot come up with great storylines and are just going with the flow of how fans are reacting on the Internet. How is that working out? Doesn't look good.

Sasha Banks Returns In A Big, Disappointing Way

Last week, a tweet from Sasha Banks stirred speculation that she might be retiring. The WWE spent much of the night promoting Sasha's big announcement. She got her segment in the final hour before the main event. She sold it like it might be the end. Dana Brooke came out to heel it up. Sasha Banks attacked her and announced that she was not retiring. She was just officially back.

This whole thing just seemed to fail in multiple ways. There were even dirtsheet reports of talent being unhappy about it. I think it was a pointless angle. Beyond that, Sasha just said something that is terrible for her character to say. There is a lot to get into.

First, why did they even bother? Sasha Banks was only gone for what ended up being two weeks. Just have her return by attacking Charlotte, which she has done before to a lot of buzz from wrestling fans. Or have her return to save Bayley from an attack from Charlotte and Dana Brooke. Or have her return while Charlotte and Bayley are having an in-ring promo. There was no need to tease that her injury issues might lead to her retiring.

Why did they do it? The WWE is either very stupid or they are trying to fool someone. It was Labor Day last Monday. There was a college football game on between two good teams, and the game ended up being somewhat competitive. How would the WWE compete against that? Hyping something and building up to it is an efficient way to draw. Problem is, Sasha Banks isn't that over and isn't that well-known with the wider audience. Why would they care to tune it? If the WWE thought Sasha Banks could draw big in this situation, they overestimated her and made a big mistake. Or were they just doing it to sell that they want Sasha Banks to be a top star for them? They haven't exactly put in the work to properly get her over beyond wrestling fans.

A few months ago, I talked about how the women's division lacked star power. Someone commented that I underestimated Sasha Banks. He brought up the great ratings Raw had gotten one night, which was when Sasha Banks returned from an injury and attacked Charlotte. There were a number of reasons why you should not have made too much out of those numbers. To start with, it was the night after a PPV, which usually get good numbers. Beyond that, the WWE did not hype Sasha Banks returning. And she wasn't exactly out there for long. Even if Twitter buzz led to some fans tuning in, Sasha Banks was probably done doing anything interesting by the time they tuned in.

If Sasha Banks has the power to draw for the WWE, they gave her the opportunity to prove it last week. The seeds were planted before Raw even started. The WWE hyped it throughout the night. It led all the way to the third hour. How did Raw do last week? 3.06 million viewers. And viewership dropped each hour as the show went on. The hour involving Sasha Banks was the worst of the night, getting about 2.8 million viewers. The WWE obviously did not deliver with the intrigue of Triple H returning and screwing Seth Rollins. Why did he do it? Have to wait and find out. But they ran with this Sasha Banks angle, which could have drawn interest, if Sasha was as much of a draw as some people think.

Onto some talent reportedly being upset with the angle. The WWE ran with a fake retirement due to injury angle. That can hit home for some wrestlers. They watched the careers of some of their friends and legends they respect come to an end due to injury. There were even some workers there that night that could directly relate to injuries ruining their careers. I wasn't personally offended, but I can understand if some people really were offended. Just to make it clear, workers are reportedly upset with the WWE running the angle, not with Sasha Banks.

I have seen some fans say the WWE just did the same thing they did with Mark Henry years ago. Not exactly. Mark Henry has had his injury issues, but the WWE never led people to believe back then that he was being forced to retire due to injury when he did his memorable segment. It was just a guy that was in the WWE for a long time deciding to hang it up. With the Sasha Banks segment, the WWE was running with Sasha Banks having injury issues.

Just comparing the two segments, Mark Henry's was obviously better. But just back to the idea of Sasha Banks failing to draw a big audience with her angle, Mark Henry was a guy that has been in the business for decades, including during the Attitude Era, and has accomplished things outside of wrestling. Putting a person like that in this kind of situation is more likely to draw and make an impact than what the WWE did with Sasha Banks. Sasha has only been wrestling for 6 years now. She has not made a name for herself outside wrestling. Being related to a celebrity is not enough. Making a name for yourself in NXT is not enough. NXT does not get the wide audience the main roster gets.

Back to the idea of people being upset about the segment. It wouldn't be the first time the WWE exploited a sensitive subject, especially with the women, and had it flop. You just have to be sensitive these days. When Kevin Owens recently won the Universal Championship, someone from ESPN got trashed by fans for saying something on Twitter many viewed as insensitive in response to the son of Kevin Owens celebrating his dad's win. His son has autism. Made me think back to a comment I had made about his son having a new toy to play with when Owens won the new title. Should I feel bad for saying it? Should I apologize? I don't think I said anything offensive. That is still his son. He is 8. Kids that age play with title belts. I know teenagers and adults that play with title belts. But as far as the WWE goes, they take advantage of these kind of things to try to drum up controversy and draw for them. I would say it is worse for them to do this kind of thing.

As far as insensitive comments go, Sasha Banks said something in that segment last week that rubbed me the wrong way. She body-shamed Dana Brooke. I don't take offense to it personally. Even as a fan of Mickie James, what she said does not offend me because of bringing back any memories to what the WWE did to Mickie in her final months in the WWE.

The issue I have is that Sasha Banks should not be saying that. Not only is she a face, she is a woman that a lot of fans look at as some kind of hero. She is viewed as a hero to women's wrestling. She is viewed as a hero to women in general. And she slams a woman for how she looks? She just looks like a raging hypocrite. I have given Sasha Banks a fair shot in her first year on the main roster, but she has just not won me over at all. I don't know if that was a scripted comment coming from the WWE or if Sasha just did it on the fly to taunt Dana. Either way, it is garbage.

The rest of Sasha's promo before that wasn't exactly anything fresh. I am not saying anything about her execution. I am talking about the actual message. It was more feminist hype. The WWE just needs to cut it down. Enough of it. It is not entertaining. Even though some fans like hearing it, it is abrasive for a lot of other fans. It is one of the reasons this whole revolution has not been as widely successful as it could have been. You can treat these women better without making a theme out of it. That is what I would like to see.

Overall, I would love it if more of these women did stand up for themselves more backstage. If Sasha was told by the writers to make that body-shaming comment towards Dana, she should have put her foot down and refused. Not only are you making Dana look bad, you are making yourself look like a hypocrite. I sat there about 7 years ago and watched my favorite female wrestler allow herself to be humiliated by the WWE for the sake of exploiting her to get some woman over that can't do it for herself. How about you put your damn foot down and don't let that happen? You can talk about being in the WWE being a dream job and wanting to look like a team player all you want, but there are just some terrible decisions that don't make you look good, don't make the WWE look good, and don't succeed in accomplishing anything good. Why do it? Why allow it? This is the era of female empowerment? Okay, so when are these women going to put there foot down and stop these terrible segments from happening?

With Sasha Banks back, that throws a bit of a wrench in the feud that was developing between Bayley and Charlotte. The easy answer is to have a triple-threat match. Some fans have suggested one of the faces just feud with Dana Brooke for a while. Is that a feud anyone wants to see? Dana is not great in the ring, the result of the feud would be predictable, and they have already had Dana face both Baylay and Sasha in singles matches. It would just be pure filler. Reports suggest the WWE is not even sure how they want to handle things for the first Raw-exclusive PPV of the new era. They still have some time to put something together.

Previewing The Top WWE Backlash Matches

Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt is one of the top matches for the first Smackdown-exclusive PPV of the new era, Backlash. There was a time I would have been more hyped for this feud than I am. Even though the WWE has created some interesting segments with this feud, Bray Wyatt feuds have just become disappointing. He talks big, but has really not accomplished anything too interesting. He just floats around.

Who wins at Backlash? I don't think the feud will end at Backlash. With the brand split, they now have limited options for feuds. Ambrose and Styles will likely still be feuding past Sunday. There aren't too many other top guys to work with Wyatt or Orton in a fresh feud. I just get the impression that this will be an extended feud. Orton should win here. He should regain some momentum after being fed to Lesnar at Summerslam. Some people might say that Randy Orton should just be used to put over younger talent. Well, the guy he put over at Summerslam wasn't exactly younger than him. Give Orton a break. He has lost to a lot of guys cleanly in his career. He likely will take a loss to Bray Wyatt eventually, just don't groan at Orton getting one win at Backlash. He hasn't exactly won at a PPV in a while.

The WWE Championship will be decided between Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles. Styles has been in the WWE for less than a year. This will be his fourth PPV match for the WWE Championship in that time. He debuted in the Royal Rumble match, which was for the WWE Championship this year. He had two shots against Roman Reigns for the title. And now Dean Ambrose. Stuck in between those matches were big feuds against Chris Jericho and John Cena. No one can complain that they have underutilized AJ Styles. I think it would have been better if they did slow him down. Yes, he will be 40 next year, but if rushing him doesn't work in connecting him with the wider audience, you have to wonder if spending a few months building his character in the midcard would really have been a tragedy. They have just gone all over with his character. Debut him and treat him like he is so popular. Bring in The Club and work with that aspect of his background for a while. Take away The Club just after a few short months. Throw in a heel turn between all that. What is the wider audience supposed to make of AJ Styles? Wrestling fans already buy into this guy and love. They want to see him win the title. And they eventually will.

I just don't think it should be at Backlash. Let Ambrose retain here. Things just feel a little too rushed, given how there was not much time between Summerslam and this PPV. Give this feud more time. I am sure AJ will win it soon. And then probably back to Cena. Cena has been around, despite the WWE not featuring him on TV. They are obviously selling his loss to Styles at Summeslam. No Cena storyline can end like that. He will come back for Styles, likely when Styles has the WWE Championship. Until then, Ambrose retains here and the feud continues between him and AJ Styles.

Previewing The Backlash 2016 Undercard

The tag tournament to crown the inaugural Smackdown Tag Team Champions has gotten a bit muddled. It looked like it would be American Alpha vs. Rhyno and Heath Slater at Backlash to crown the new Champions. The Usos turned heel and attacked American Alpha. Due to an injury angle, American Alpha is out and a new match will occur this Sunday to see who faces Rhyno and Slater. The Usos and Hype Bros now get another shot at the titles.

Let me start with this new match. Who wins between The Usos and Ryder & Mojo? This tournament just felt too face-friendly in the final rounds. I am glad that The Usos turned heel. And since Rhyno and Slater are faces, why wouldn't The Usos win this match?

Who wins the tag titles? A contract for Heath Slater is also on the line. It is obvious Rhyno and Slater should win. This is one of the most entertaining acts in the WWE right now. I talked about last time what kind of person should be the first to hold a new title. You have to either be very over, have already been getting a great career, or be someone the company is likely to follow up with properly and give that great career to after the big win. A lot of fans have been enjoying Heath Slater. A guy that has been mostly a lower-midcarder is usually not a good choice to make history like this, but he is pretty over now and it would make for a good storyline. Speaking of storylines, the only way I can see the face team losing is if Rhyno turns on Slater and the story turns to Heath Slater having to beat Rhyno for a contract, which he eventually does. It could happen, but I would rather it didn't. If Rhyno does win the tag titles, even if it is just a short reign, wouldn't that be something? He wins it, but The Dudleys never did in their recent run?

Onto the Intercontinental Championship feud between Miz and Dolph Ziggler. The big story for Miz these last few weeks has been what he said to Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack. The WWE has just been selling this idea this week that Miz is a coward. That is just terrible. After Miz stood up for himself and gave Daniel Bryan a verbal stomping, this all just looks bad. This has nothing to do with disliking Daniel Bryan, liking Miz, or any combination of that. I am not a huge fan of either of the two guys, although I can respect them. But why should Miz be made to look so pathetic? If you don't want this story to be about Daniel Bryan being bullied, that's fine. If the WWE won't let Daniel Bryan get in the ring to shut Miz up that way, it shouldn't be about pushing around Daniel Bryan. But Miz's character looked so strong two weeks ago. People speculated if this could be his ticket back into the main-event scene. And the WWE has let it all crumble to Miz being afraid to fight. That's no better than the angle Kevin Owens had last year where he walked out of matches. Given the hype Miz had around him, this is a poor way to follow up.

Onto the actual match, Miz should retain. Attention is still on him. Dolph Ziggler is just there. He is another guy I think they dropped the ball on, in terms of storylines. He had a heated storyline with Dean Ambrose, failed to win the title, failed to beat AJ Styles after that, and just keeps on coasting on. They should have done some kind of angle where he snapped and turned heel. I am not even sure it will happen if he loses to Miz this Sunday. He will probably just keep coasting on to something else.

Previewing The Smackdown Women's Championship Match For Backlash 2016

Before I actually talk about the match to crown the first ever Smackdown Women's Champion, let me just talk about the name. Nothing fancy, but I like that. The Universal Championship has been the target of many jokes in the last few weeks. One of the reasons for that is the name. I believe I suggested just naming it the Raw World Championship. You want the two World Championships to be on equal footing? How about naming them pretty much the same thing, only distinguishing between what show the title will be featured on? Should the person holding one title ever end up on the other brand, the title would just get vacated. Not only could it have worked, the WWE is doing pretty much the same thing with the women's division titles.

Six women will fight for the new title. Every active in-ring worker in Smackdown's women's division will be in this match. It will be Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella. No Maryse. She has not wrestled since returning this year. Eva Marie, of course, has her suspension. Most fans would probably have dreaded her being in this match, anyway.

Being the first person to hold a new title is a major piece of history. You want to get the title lineage off on a good foot. You should put the title on someone that has the major overness to deserve it, has already made a great impact to deserve it, or someone that is at least pretty much guaranteed to be given a legendary career following that big moment. This is the kind of accomplishment that likely gets someone into the Hall of Fame, so it would be nice if that person also has other things going for him or her to make it even more clear that this is a legend.

Go back a few weeks to Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor to crown the first Universal Champion. Both of them would have been good options. Seth Rollins has made an impact in his WWE career. He was a part of one of the best stables in WWE history. He was the first member of that stable to become WWE Champion. He held two titles at the same time for a while. He never officially lost the WWE Championship during that first run. And he has continued to be treated as a big deal since returning this year. Had he won the Universal Championship, it would be another big accomplishment on his resume. Finn Balor, on the other hand, had just debuted on the main roster. Nevertheless, I think the WWE would have put in work on him to make him a legend. His injury has ruined that, for now. Regardless, my point is that both guys had things going for them.

This women's match this Sunday does not feature six women that all have things going for them to make them all worthy or likely to win. That is just the truth. I will talk about all of them, from least likely to win to most likely.

Alexa Bliss is a diva. She is there for her looks. She has improved in the ring in NXT, but none of her matches really blow me away, aside from about two spots or so. She is not the only diva in the match, but she is just too new and has not been given great focus. She does not seem like someone the WWE is really ready to invest in yet, although I do see even smarks loving how hot she is.

Natalya is a female wrestler. In this era, you might hope someone like her gets the title. Coincidentally, Natalya was in the last match to crown an inaugural Champion in the WWE women's division. She lost to Michelle McCool 8 years ago in a match to crown the first Diva's Champion. And she will probably be losing again. Fans know by now that Natalya is not really going anywhere. She had one mediocre title run and has not done too much before or after that. She is not way over. If the WWE loses their minds and puts the title on her this Sunday, I am not confident it would be the start of great things for her.

Naomi is someone I think deserves a title run one day. She has been around for years. She can be fun to watch, albeit not the greatest in-ring worker. Regardless of that, I think there are some fans that will be very happy if she wins. I just do not think she needs to be the first woman to hold this new title. Again, this major piece of history should go to someone that is very over, is already established as a top player, or is likely to be pushed great after the win. Naomi does not fit in any of those categories. But it would be nice if she gets a title run later on.

Carmella is only ahead of those other women because she has better individual focus on her heading into Backlash. She turned heel recently and has been attacking Nikki Bella. She looks like Charlotte. Charlotte looks like Michelle McCool. I don't want to make it sound like I'm being insensitive to Michelle McCool. I know she is dealing with cancer. But all these women just have this droopiness to them. It hurts their charisma as performers. They have all had issues connecting with the audience. Michelle McCool had a huge gimmick and made history numerous times, but never really became beloved during her time in the WWE. Charlotte just seems robotic at times. People say Carmella turned heel because of her inability to connect with fans as a face. Both Michelle McCool and Charlotte made history by becoming inaugural titleholders. Will the third member of this sorority follow their lead? Carmella does not deserve it at all. The only way I could see her winning it is to feud with Nikki Bella, but since major history is on the line here, I don't see things being booked like that.

Becky Lynch might just be the smark favorite to win. She is the only member of the Four Horsewomen on Smackdown and the only woman out of them to never hold a title in the WWE, including NXT. It just sounds amazing to have her be the first woman to hold this new Smackdown Women's Championship. Like Naomi, I would like to see Becky win it one day. If Eva Marie was the sixth woman in this match, not Nikki Bella, Becky Lynch would be the last woman I bring up and the woman I say deserves it the most and is likely to get it the most. But that is not how things are working out. Becky Lynch has her fans, but she is not A+ over. She has also not had that big career. What you have to ask yourself, if they give her the title, will they follow through properly with her? Raw has been the division where female wrestlers get featured better than the divas. Becky Lynch looks like she is already taking a backseat to face Nikki Bella. If they give her the title now, I do not imagine them giving her the career someone that makes big history should get. In which case, they might as well not do it at all.

Nikki Bella is the favorite to win. I would say she should win. It has nothing to do with John Cena or reality shows. Unlike any of the other women in this match, Nikki Bella has been pushed as a top star on the main roster. She held the butterfly title longer than anyone else. She is not an A+ player in terms of overness, but the positive reaction she got when she returned at Summerslam must have been surprising even to the WWE. Why shouldn't they try to capitalize on that? They did it with Roman Reigns last year to get the title on him right after it seemed fans were on his side. Most importantly, she is someone you know the WWE will not toss aside like a mediocrity eventually. Smackdown is the brand that does not treat women's wrestling as seriously as Raw. Having Nikki Bella be the centerpiece there would be good for a change of pace. And if she is the centerpiece, she might as well make history this Sunday.

The Drama With Alberto Del Rio And Paige

There have been a few disgruntled workers in the WWE this year that have just had enough and left. Cody Rhodes is gone. Ryback left. The Dudleys recently left. You might include Wade Barrett as someone that didn't want to stay. It seems you can now add Alberto Del Rio to the list.

Alberto Del Rio returned last year after being fired rather unfairly. He started off with a bang, winning the United States Championship against John Cena cleanly. Things just went downhill for him from the time he lost the title. The League of Nations just flopped and Del Rio was not treated right since. I am not saying it would have made all the difference in the world for Del Rio, but the WWE should have treated that stable better, including giving them the tag titles. New Day does not need them that badly. Those goofballs sell merchandise, I know, but they will sell items as long as they are entertaining. They'll sell shirts, cereal, unicorn horns, bellybutton lint, and everything else they can cut a promo on. Meanwhile, other teams could have used the credibility of holding the titles.

Anything major of value lost? Not really. I like Alberto Del Rio. He had potential. Things just never came together for him. But the WWE does lose a heel with some main-event credibility and who is a solid enough worker in the ring. Alberto Del Rio can be replaced, but the WWE will have to get to work on that. Is Kevin Owens being groomed to take that spot? Meanwhile, Smackdown's roster takes a hit. Bringing back lower-midcarders and midcarders will not take Alberto Del Rio's spot on Smackdown. The WWE will probably maintain a solid push for Baron Corbin.

Something I really don't like about this situation is that Alberto Del Rio supposedly expected to be treated a certain way by the WWE during this run and they did not follow through. He is not the most over guy in the WWE, and so is not entitled to much, but if the WWE made him believe he would get something if he returned and they failed to live up to their end of the bargain, I do not blame Del Rio for wanting out. It is the same kind of thing with The Dudleys. You just take guys with potential and fizzle out on how you push them. The WWE cannot keep on hiring all these guys and show the kind of ego issues that they sometimes have in the past. You have to give them fair opportunities, use them efficiently, and if you make promises to them, it would be nice if you saw them through.

Alberto Del Rio was in a relationship with Paige. Perhaps not coincidentally, she also looks like she might not be in the WWE much longer. She was dealing with some injury issues. She got suspended the same time Del Rio did for a wellness violation. And now there are these rumors that the WWE threatened to fire her if she did not break up with Del Rio.

First, let me just look at that report about the WWE threatening to fire Paige. If they actually did threaten to fire Paige over that, it comes down to whether they did it for a professional reason or some petty reason. If they did it for a professional reason, the WWE would not have anything to worry about and just acknowledge it. Just say that they felt the relationship was having a negative influence on the careers of the two involved or the professional atmosphere backstage. Something like that. The WWE pointed the finger of blame on Del Rio the first time they fired him. If Paige is causing a problem backstage due to this relationship or the WWE feels the relationship is negatively impacting her career, they can just come out and say that. The WWE has denied the reports. That makes me think journalists are exaggerating the situation or the WWE did it for reasons that go beyond what is truly best for their workers and the backstage environment.

Now, let me just look at Paige. She is a credible jobber. She was a credible jobber in 2014. She was a credible jobber in 2015. And her career was not improving in 2016. Some fans say the WWE handed Paige the world when they handed her the Diva's Championship on her first night on the main roster. No, they handed her the Diva's Championship. That's all. Looking at how they pushed her during that first reign, it was very mediocre. There was often a lack of proper feud development and often better creative focus on the women Paige was feuding against than Paige. Paige was not being pushed as a star. Things started to improve when she started to feud against AJ Lee again, but that was because Paige was being used to put her over. Paige's second title run was short and possibly even worse than her first one. The Bellas and AJ overshadowed her. She jobbed a ton during the start of the diva revolution last year. She was supposedly the leader of her trio, but Charlotte was the one groomed for a push in that group. And her career since putting over Charlotte has been an afterthought.

I do not blame Paige for the current situation she might be in. The WWE does not like her being immature? How about when AJ Lee was being immature? This is an example of why I don't like the WWE letting certain individuals get away with things they stomp other workers for doing. The WWE just ends up looking like hypocrites. Paige was there in the WWE when AJ Lee was acting up. She watched as AJ did things that could have made the WWE look bad and could have gotten AJ in serious trouble. Instead, AJ was allowed to be the longest-reigning Diva's Champion during her time in the company, won the belt two more times after that, remained undefeated at Wrestlemania, and got to retire when she wanted. I never read reports of the WWE threatening to fire AJ Lee or forcing her to retire. They just pushed her better than they should have.

Some people might say that AJ was treated that way because she is a big star. Problem is, she didn't exactly earn it by starting off with the credible jobber pushes most female wrestlers get, got over off that, and then moved on to a legendary career. The WWE groomed her in the periphery. Why wasn't Paige given the opportunity to earn that spot for herself, especially after AJ retired? I have said many times before that she should have. People say the WWE was making money off AJ Lee. Well, they were also making money off Paige. They should have done more to push her as a star and try to make even more money off her. That has been one of the WWE's problems in the past. They try to make money off of things that they want to make money off of and make stars out of people they want to be stars. If the WWE viewed Paige the same way they viewed AJ Lee, they would push her better on a consistent basis, make even more merchandise for her, and let her get away with some supposed backstage immaturity.

Some might say it is an age thing. Paige is so young and people at that age are sometimes not professional and might take things for granted, like their career. I would say it is more about being misled, which the WWE has done to certain other workers, regardless of age and gender. The WWE has not pushed Paige even decently in a long while. If she sees things are not going her way, why shouldn't she lose interest? It happens. Some might say Paige should still remain professional. Easier said than done at times. And if the WWE has made Paige believe that she was ever on top of the world or they were giving her a chance to be on top of the world, the mistreatment she has endured for most of her career on the main roster is going to hurt. Paige knows she has gotten great reactions. She knows she has made money for the WWE. To be put through the motions that the WWE has done to many female wrestlers for almost two decades now is annoying. It does have an emotional and psychological impact on people. I have brought up a few men that had enough and don't want to be a part of the WWE anymore from just this year. How often do you have women become disgruntled with the WWE to the point that they leave? Gail Kim is one of the best examples of this decade. But how many since her? AJ Lee? Not as many as the men, although I would say many women have more of a reason to walk away.

Should Paige leave the WWE and be allowed to work elsewhere, what will become of her? She has a few options. She comes from a wrestling family in England and can easily go back there. She can work in the independent scene in the United States. Having gained some notoriety from being in the WWE, TNA would love to have Paige. With Gail Kim reaching that age where she might finally retire, TNA might look for a new centerpiece for their KO division. Why not Paige? She has a lot of great qualities on her side. It might be a good fit for her.

What would losing Paige mean for the WWE? Honestly, I would say the WWE needs Paige more than she needs them. I already pointed out that she has various options. The WWE has a depth problem with their women's division, especially on Raw. Is Bayley the only face currently on Raw? No, but Raw misuses the roster so much, it feels like she is. Things will get a little better when Sasha Banks returns. Problem is, Sasha has shown that she can be very sloppy at times, particularly when doing dangerous spots. That makes Raw's depth questionable whether she is there or not. And these other NXT women need to stay healthy or things can collapse very easily. With a healthy Paige there, however, that helps the depth a little. NXT can't build women down there fast enough to help the situation on Raw.

You also have to keep in mind that Paige was on the main roster about 2 years before her injury issue, suspension, and the rest of the drama. The other top-tier NXT women have only been around a year. Bayley debuted a few weeks ago. I would like to see how the WWE keeps the ball rolling with these other women, if they even try to keep it rolling. Charlotte might be the centerpiece of Raw, but what about the rest? If they go through the same demotion Paige went through, how would they react? What stories will dirtsheet writers come up with? How will fans react? What happened with Paige could happen again.

The Heath Slater Drama

One of the stories coming out of the brand split was Heath Slater not ending up on either brand. What would become of Heath Slater? Where would he end up? He has shown up on both Raw and Smackdown over the last few weeks trying to get a contract. He has had various matches and segments during this angle. He has faced Rhyno on Smackdown. He has stood up to Brock Lesnar on Raw. He now finds himself teaming with Rhyno and in the hunt for the Smackdown tag titles.

The WWE is showing how easy it is to make a new Damien Sandow. Sandow was a guy that played an entertaining gimmick. It turned into him standing up for himself against Miz. He got pretty over. And the WWE just fumbled with him and didn't do anything good with him for months, releasing him this year.

This is just a recipe for success you might see in other areas throughout WWE history. Just look at some of the women. Look at the divas. First, you have Sable. She entertained fans through her sex appeal. You eventually had that moment she stood up to Marc Mero, even powerbombing him. Trish Stratus was a woman that entertained with her T&A. She eventually stood up for herself against the McMahons. She became a respectable character, and still flaunted her sex appeal at times. That is pretty much how the WWE tried to create centerpieces during the diva era. Sex appeal will help the women get over, then you work to get them respected, both in terms of their wrestling ability and their overall character.

I don't want to make it sound like Damien Sandow did nothing and deserved to be released. The WWE definitely could have done better with him. No need to push him as a main-eventer, but a solid midcard run would have been nice. Nevertheless, it is no huge tragedy that he was released. He can make something of himself in TNA, if they figure out how to use him right.

Back to Slater. The WWE has created a compelling storyline for a lower-midcarder. He has shown to be entertaining. Standing up to Brock Lesnar was his big moment of respect. He has had other moments where he showed heart. It does all remind me of Sandow.

I do not think the WWE will immediately fumble with Slater. They might eventually fizzle him out for the sake of putting another guy at his level through a similar push, but Slater will still be featured well for now without fans having to riot for him. All the way to the tag titles? I will talk about that more next week when I preview Backlash.

Let me do an aside about Smackdown's viewership this week. It had more than 2.8 million viewers. Not the most for Smackdown in 2016. It didn't get more than Raw this week. Not more than Raw has been averaging during this down year. Nevertheless, still better than I expected. It seems some fans did buy into the hype from Talking Smack last week.

But did the WWE deliver something that would keep the fans coming back? If the fans were hoping to hear that Daniel Bryan would come out of retirement for at least one more match, they got nothing like that. If fans tuned in because they wanted to see if Miz would get a monster push, which I doubt, they were probably disappointed with just Dolph Ziggler coming out. They got a pretty mediocre Smackdown. They got some random guy stripping to his underwear and getting chokeslammed by Kane. That was followed by a mediocre main event between Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin. That is not a knock at those two, but it just wasn't a big main event, especially after Raw crowned a new Universal Champion the night before. The WWE did not deliver. If they had really planned the whole time to create something big from that Talking Smack segment, they failed to do it. It does look like unexpected hype came up and the WWE couldn't make something great out of it.