WWE Payback 2015: Final Preview

I am not going to talk about every match on the card. A lot of it is just filler. The outcome is just not too important or interesting. I will say that the WWE has done a better job developing the build for these matches than some PPV matches you have seen in the last 5 years. I have talked about most of the feuds going on already. I just want to go back over two of them.

There have been no real changes in the feud between Cena and Rusev since I last talked about it. But how the match ends and how the WWE handles Lana's story with Rusev are interesting. Putting those two things together, there is a great way to end the I Quit match. Have Lana throw in the towel to lead to Rusev losing. It is not really a matter of protecting Rusev by not having him actually quit. It is a creative way to further the storyline. That will be the breaking point for Rusev and Lana. If they do decide to do something like that, I just hope the beating Cena gives Rusev warrants Lana throwing in the towel. Nothing mediocre. It would be similar to a segment they had a few months ago on Raw where Cena was destroying Rusev and Lana gave Cena a title shot to convince Cena to stop the attack. This time, it will be a match where this happens. And this time, there will be no turning back. As far as a swerve goes, I am not expecting Lana to screw Cena and stick with Rusev.

The main event has gotten some development since I last talked about it. They have tweaked this match a lot. Kane has been involved in the story for a while now. But if Seth Rollins does not retain at Payback, Kane loses his position as Director of Operations. On the one hand, this is the perfect way to break Kane away from The Authority and have him feud with Rollins. On the other hand, would the WWE really have the reign end so soon? If they don't, then this tension between Kane and Rollins will likely continue. And that can be painful.

Who wins? Ambrose? Orton? Reigns? If the title is going to change hands, Reigns might be the obvious choice. They have been grooming him for that big win. He didn't get it at Wrestlemania. Will he get it a few weeks later? I would have thought they would wait until Summerslam. Wait for a big PPV. I would expect the WWE to keep the title on Seth Rollins and continue teasing that tension with Kane. They love doing that kind of thing.

John Cena Vs. Rusev: I Quit Match

If Rusev had regained the United States title from John Cena, that would have been an obvious reason to continue the feud between the two. That did not happen. And yet, the feud continues. They will have an I Quit match at Payback.

The spacing between PPVs is obviously an issue, but I do not like that this feud is still continuing. This will be the 4th PPV encounter between these two. Rusev won the first. Cena won the last two. John Cena is in an interesting position right now. He is holding a midcard title. You can set up a feud for him in the midcard. He also has the main-event credibility of being the centerpiece of the company for a decade. You can place him in the main-event scene again, even if he is holding a midcard title. You have him doing this open challenge. Even if you can't come up with a proper feud for him for a while, which is unlikely, just having him defend the title is good enough. So many possibilities. I would say continuing the feud with Rusev is at the bottom of the list. Cena does not need to be involved in the story between Rusev and Lana.

Cena has never lost an I Quit match. That should spell automatic doom for Rusev. I said there was a story between Rusev and Lana. Looks like they are breaking up. Will Rusev threaten to hurt Lana if Cena does not quit? That is pretty much the only way Cena will give up. I have seen fans bring up the possibility of a swerve. Rusev and Lana continue their issues. Rusev threatens to hurt Lana at Payback. Cena quits. Then Lana reveals it was all a trick to get back the title.

I do not like the idea of a fake turn for one reason. That was the kind of thing you had just last month between Miz, Sandow, and Summer Rae. That feud obviously was not as major as what you have with Rusev and Cena, but they already told this same kind of story. It is way too soon to do it again. People criticize the writers for so many things. Isn't rehashing a storyline so soon worthy of criticism? Do something different.

This probably will be the end of Rusev and Lana. You see the storyline going on. You hear reports that the WWE wants to give her a big push. Some fans have brought up what is going on with Rusev/Lana is similar to Marc Mero/Sable almost two decades ago. Sable went on to be pushed as the centerpiece of the diva division shortly after. What will happen with Lana? If she doesn't start wrestling, this "big push" won't be to develop her as the centerpiece. That void will still be in the diva division. Even though fans like her and she plays her role well, simple pushing her in a periphery role will not do much to make the diva division efficient again.

Kane: The Keeper Of The Gate

Kane will be involved in the steel cage match at Extreme Rules between Seth Rollins and Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. He will be the keeper of the gate. I have no problem with that. I said a while ago that the WWE should have had Kane get involved somehow as the stipulation Rollins chose for this match. Put the odds against Orton that way. The WWE is also teasing friction between Kane and Rollins.

I have not been a fan of the WWE teasing friction within The Authority. They started doing it not too long after the group formed. I don't know how they could think it is a good idea. Yes, you are creating something that can get fans wondering what would happen, but you are also making your top heel stable look bad before it even gets solidified. The Authority has solidified since then. It wouldn't be so bad now to lose Kane. Regardless, I think the writers should come up with better ways to keep The Authority interesting. I usually do not like blaming the writers for things. Most of the problems I talk about are about whom the WWE chooses to push as their stars. The writers are not responsible for that. They are there to come up with creative ideas. They need to do better than this and their bosses need to want to go in that fresher direction. Is it time The Authority angle just end altogether? That is another issue.

Kane can split from The Authority and feud with Rollins for the title after Extreme Rules. I have seen rumors of a supposed triple threat in the works between Rollins, Orton, and Reigns. If the WWE is serious about that, they can do it later. If you are going to do a feud between Kane and Rollins, do it while it is fresh. If this drags on, it might get painful.

If Kane does leave the group, he should be replaced. The person to replace him that immediately came to mind was Rusev. He can fit into Kane's role as a henchman perfectly. How about Kane's role as Director of Operations? Does that even need to be there? I think it makes things more interesting. How about Lana? She would be perfect for it. If the two do not get this spot or Rusev does not regain the United States title, I cannot picture great things for them as time goes on.

Even with this little change in the match, I still expect Seth Rollins to retain. Will they pull some kind of swerve and reveal Kane and Rollins were on the same page the whole time? I do not think they will. I think they will continue to push the issues between the two. Rollins will still retain somehow, but Kane will eventually turn face and leave the heel stable.

John Cena Vs. Rusev: Russian Chain Match

Extreme Rules coming up means the WWE has the opportunity to come up with some interesting matches. I am just glad not everything is a variation of a basic No DQ match. John Cena will face Rusev in a Russian Chain Match. The United States title will be on the line.

How has John Cena been as the U.S. Champion? They have been booking him as a fighting champion. I have mostly seen two different feelings from the fans. Some say that John Cena is burying these midcarders. He's just running through all of them. Others are saying that someone like Cena, as well as Daniel Bryan, holding a midcard title boosts the midcard and raises the prestige of these titles. The WWE is obviously putting focus into the U.S. title that you have not always seen in recent years.

Speaking for myself, I disagree with both of those reactions. I do not think Cena is burying these guys and I do not think he is adding that much of a boost. Look at the guys he has beaten in title matches since winning the title. None of those guys were being groomed to be top stars right now. After losing to Cena, none of them got demoted to a lower level. They are all in the same position they were in prior to facing Cena. One match does not define what type of career you are getting. If the WWE is serious in making you into a star and featuring you as one, it will show in how they treat you over time. At the same time, I do not feel Cena is helping the midcard that much. The midcard should belong to the midcarders. John Cena is an A+ player, in terms of how he has been booked for the last decade. And if they really wanted to raise the prestige of the title, they would have Cena defend it against more credible opponents on Raw. I remember when Triple H and Steve Austin were teaming together and held a lot of titles. Triple H was the Intercontinental Champion, as well as holding the tag titles with Austin. The Intercontinental Championship actually felt like a big deal because Triple H was carrying it around in main-event segments. Right now, it does not feel like the midcard and United States Championship have been elevated thanks to Cena. If anything, I feel Cena has been demoted to the midcard. That is obviously not what the WWE wants to do to Cena, but this booking might all end up in the "botch" category one day.

How much longer can Cena continue defending the title so much? He will run out of credible opponents sooner or later. They can bring in guys from NXT just to get title shots, but even that can only last so long. They might even bring in former WWE superstars and legends, but I doubt they go that far. You also have to wonder if this booking takes away from Cena's main feud. Right now, his main feud is supposed to be with Rusev. I do feel they could have put better focus there.

Will Rusev regain the title? Would they have Cena's reign be so short? I already pointed out that they cannot continue with this booking for Cena for a long time and that the whole situation doesn't feel too great. Give it back to Rusev and let him go back to feuding with other midcarders. Once Cena is done with that feud, he might move on to a feud against Seth Rollins over the WWE Championship. That is what I would do. As far as what the WWE might do, Cena will probably retain against Rusev. But I would expect the WWE to change how they are booking things with Cena as U.S. Champ.

Wrestlemania 31 Preview: Part 2

The feud development between Randy Orton and Seth Rollins could have been better. I can picture this feud going beyond Wrestlemania. I can also picture Orton beating Seth and Seth going on to cash in his briefcase to win the title. I know no dirtsheets are reporting that, but if the WWE is starting to realize that the main event is horrible, they might pull some kind of swerve to create some drama.

The Undertaker lost his streak last year, but he is still coming back for more. Bray Wyatt has been pestering him with promos for weeks and weeks. Match quality will most likely not be amazing here, but you have a legend fans love seeing and two guys with unique gimmicks. It would have been better if Taker was around to help push the feud. I will say The Undertaker wins.

You have a 7-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. This is the match many predict will steal the show. Barrett vs. R-Truth vs. Ambrose vs. Ziggler vs. Harper vs. Stardust vs. Bryan. I wouldn't mind Ambrose winning the title from Barrett, but then they added in all these other guys. I think it will be either Ziggler or Bryan.

There is a chance a main-eventer might also be winning the other midcard title. John Cena vs. Rusev for the United Stated Championship. Rusev has the momentum. He already beat Cena last month. This one seems obvious. Cena regains the title. 

What Is Rusev Without Lana?

Lana is taking some time off to make a WWE movie. That leaves Rusev alone as he continues his feud with John Cena. Is this the beginning of the end for Rusev? Some might say that entering a feud against John Cena was the beginning of the end for Rusev.

Rusev has been pushed well since his debut last year. Very well. He has been climbing up that ladder of opponents. He has won a title. But what really makes him credible and interesting right now? He has his undefeated streak. He has the United States title. He has his gimmick. He had a manager. Just because Lana is away now does not mean the duo is completely done. But losing his manager is not the only issue. Rusev stands to lose his undefeated streak and title next week. Once you take that first defeat, more will come. I can imagine Rusev taking losses to Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, and even Jack Swagger before the year is up. Even if the gimmick is still there, he will not be pushed with the same focus.

There have been many men like Rusev. I mean heels pushed very well for a certain period that even had managers or some type of sidekick. Umaga. Lord Tensai. The Great Khali. And not all have been big monsters. Alberto Del Rio had a sidekick. Jack Swagger had a manager. No pairing seems to last forever. Does Rusev have what it takes to stand on his own? Without even bringing up the likely depush, is he a good enough performer to be interesting without his manager? He is not completely incompetent on the mic. He can talk. As for his in-ring ability, he is good. I always see fans praising him for his selling ability. Lana definitely helps to make him more interesting, but he is capable on his own.

What is Lana without Rusev? Look back at those other men I just mentioned that had some type of manager or sidekick. Once the pairing broke up, nothing too major happened with the manager. Some of them were wrestlers, but the WWE didn't really push them too well. It seems they were only there to serve a purpose. Once they were done serving that purpose, their character was phased out. That is what usually happens. There are a few exceptions.

Lana should not end up like those guys. Lana is what an eye-candy periphery diva is supposed to be. She might be the best eye-candy periphery diva since the days of Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson. She is hot and she can play a great character. Fans are interested in her. If a depush does come for Rusev, I would not bother pairing her back up with him. I don't think she should become a wrestling diva. It is obviously up to her and the WWE, but I cannot imagine her being featured well in this messy diva division where they cannot even be efficient with divas they want to be stars. Pair her up with another guy to manage. Possibly make her an authority figure one day. You can also have her change her gimmick. This is not a woman they should just lose in the shuffle.

Cena Gets Rusev At Wrestlemania

When his back's to the wall, he might do anything at all. John Cena could not get onto the Wrestlemania card. He couldn't get Rusev to give him another shot. He assaulted Rusev on Raw this week and forced Lana to give him what he wanted. Cena will get another shot at the United States Championship against Rusev at Wrestlemania.

Considering whether the WWE should have waited a while to have Randy Orton snap on Seth Rollins was brought up yesterday, and the same idea holds value today. Should the WWE have waited a little while longer to make this match official? They have created a situation where Cena is in a predicament and must overcome it. That is the typical story for Cena. This time the possibility of being left off Wrestlemania was the issue. Most fans would realize that Cena would end up on the card. Just to tease it a little longer and play with those few fans that are buying into the storyline, wait until the last Raw before Wrestlemania to have Cena get his match. Make it look like he was barely able to accomplish it. There is still time to kill now. Considering this is John Cena, the WWE probably will not drop the ball in keeping things interesting. Regardless, continuing to sell it as Cena's back being to the wall until the final Raw might have made things more tense. It might have made things better.

Cena put on his serious face on Raw this week when he was attacking Rusev. Some fans saw some heel signs in him. He won't turn here. Cena also got some good reactions for the attack. This is the Cena a lot of fans want to see. And he didn't even turn heel. It just goes to show that a character change can make someone look good without a face/heel alignment change. Just have Cena go out there and show that ruthless aggression. Of course, it would probably get old if he did that every week, so don't expect it. He will be his normal self soon enough.

Cena Vs. Rusev At Fast Lane: Final Preview

An element that had popped up in the storyline between John Cena and Rusev was that Cena was old. He's over the hill. In terms of years, he is not old yet. Even in the wrestling business, many guys wrestle after turning 40. Cena is not there yet. I think a lot of fans have overreacted to that part of this storyline.

You see this kind of thing with Cena a lot. They put his back to the wall, often making him look weak, and he overcomes. After losing to The Rock the first time at Wrestlemania, an angle eventually came about selling it as the worst year of Cena's career. He went on to beat The Rock at Wrestlemania to win the title. He got completely decimated by Brock Lesnar at Summerslam last year to lose the title. Some people loved seeing that. He bounced back and destroyed Bray Wyatt in one of the most awkward matches I have seen, not including botched matches. He also came close to regaining the title from Lesnar. Did anyone make a big deal about that treatment hurting Cena's popularity or star power? And yet, that is how a lot of people have reacted just because of this current storyline about calling Cena old. Do you ever think the WWE acknowledging Cena has a lot of haters might hurt his popularity? No one puts that much thought into it. Again, I think people are just overreacting.

Did you see what happened with Cena and Rusev this week? Cena turned the tables and destroyed Rusev. That was to be expected. It would seem like the WWE is already going that path of Cena proving himself in this feud. But I don't think this feud is over yet. Rusev will likely retain at Fast Lane.

What happens after that? Continue the feud to Wrestlemania? One of the reasons I did not like the idea of this being Cena's Wrestlemania feud is that it didn't seem good enough. But with this new storyline detail, they might lead it to something worthy of Wrestlemania. If they do not, saying Cena was old was just overkill. You already had enough in this feud. Rusev is undefeated. He has an anti-USA gimmick. He is holding the United States title. There is enough there for Cena to try to accomplish. Rusev can just continue his gimmick and put over his undefeated streak to keep this feud up. No need to make it seem like Cena doesn't have it anymore. You are just putting too much in there. And if what you are putting in is confusing some fans and possibly hurting the feud or one of the performers, you have to wonder even more if it is worth it. If this is all part of developing to an epic feud, it will be worth it.

One last thing. I just have to shake my head at some fans. For years, they have complained about Cena being pushed so hard and the WWE not pushing other talent. What is going on right now is exactly what these fans should want. Cena is not chasing after the main title and he is not involved in the main storyline. They have done this with him before. His feud with Bray Wyatt last year is an example of that. A lot of the same fans I have seen complain about Cena are confused by what is going on and some even seem to feel bad for him. It is just stupid. With fickle people like that always voicing their opinion, the WWE might be justified in ignoring them. John Cena will one day not be the centerpiece anymore. I do not think that is this year. He is just taking a backseat as they try to develop a new star. Last year, it was supposed to be Cena taking a backseat as they pushed Batista with Randy Orton and The Authority. That crumbled to Daniel Bryan getting the attention. I would not make too much of this feud currently going on. It is just a variation of what they have already done with Cena in the past.

What Should Daniel Bryan Do At Wrestlemania 2015?

Fans were obviously upset again following the Royal Rumble. Once again, part of that has to do with the mishandling of Daniel Bryan. He lost, getting eliminated rather early, and a guy many people did not like winning, Roman Reigns, won it.

It would seem the WWE is possibly heading towards Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler would most likely be the guy turning heel in that feud. No title is likely to be involved. Is this a great match for Daniel Bryan, a guy many feel should be involved in something big for Wrestlemania? I feel like this is a consolation prize. Not for Bryan or Ziggler. For the fans. These two guys put on what was likely the best match of the year in 2010. In terms of wrestling, these two can steal the show at Wrestlemania this year, even though both should be involved in better. Those fans so upset by what happened last week would likely be slightly appeased by a great match like this. At least, that might be the WWE's logic. I have seen other fans bring up this argument. I think it makes sense.

Of course, there is still plenty of time to change things. Fans are anticipating that something will be changed with Triple H's big announcement. Just a little while ago, people were talking about Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus for Wrestlemania. Fan reactions helped to alter things last year. It might happen again.

What should Daniel Bryan get for this year's Wrestlemania? Wrestlemania is a PPV where the WWE tries to develop big matches. And if they cannot put you in a big match in terms of hype, they toss you into a multi-man match. That's not for Daniel Bryan. If you cannot be in the World title match, there are still options for you. You have a lot of legends getting involved at Wrestlemania. Celebrities sometimes get involved. I don't think a celebrity angle would be right for Bryan. In the case of John Cena, the centerpiece, you have even seen him face a well-developed upper-midcarder at Wrestlemania just last year. There are options.

Should Daniel Bryan be forced into the title match for the second year in a row? I don't think so. It would just get redundant. I know it was not their intention to tell that kind of story last year, but they did end up telling it. Will we have the "Yes Movement 2.0" this year? I would really not want that. It's annoying. Should you blame the fans for being so hot about Bryan or the WWE for mistreating him? The answer is obvious. The WWE put themselves in this situation.

There are two options I like for Daniel Bryan outside of inserting him into the WWE title match or a straightforward feud with Dolph Ziggler. First, think about the option of facing a well-developed upper-midcarder. This year, that is Rusev. He seems to be on the path of being fed to Cena. Let's say that does not happen and Rusev survives this feud with his undefeated streak and even the United States title. Even John Cena could not stop him. Who can? How about Daniel Bryan? It would be great to see someone else hand Rusev his first legitimate defeat outside of John Cena. You can say the United States title is beneath Daniel Bryan, but it definitely is beneath John Cena. It could be a nice Wrestlemania moment. You also have Bray Wyatt still protected, and he has had issues with Daniel Bryan. Bryan beating him at Wrestlemania is also an option, but I like the Rusev feud better. Just seems like Daniel Bryan can accomplish more there.

The other option involves giving Daniel Bryan the opponent he wants. He wants to face Brock Lesnar. It is a shame that almost all of Lesnar's singles matches since returning have been against guys that were around during his first WWE run. And too many of them have involved John Cena. For the sake of giving Daniel Bryan his dream opponent and creating a fresh match for Wrestlemania that fans would definitely like, how about putting these two together? It would be a non-title match. How do you get the title off Lesnar? You do have a guy floating around with a briefcase that guarantees him a title match whenever he wants. Have Rollins cash in. Rollins vs. Reigns at Wrestlemania for the title. Some fans are already worrying about the match quality of a Reigns/Lesnar Wrestlemania match. I think Rollins/Reigns would be better. And the fact that they have that history together makes this match even better. There will be a natural story there. You can even toss in Ambrose. Is this match worthy of main-eventing Wrestlemania? Probably not. Then again, Reigns/Lesnar will have obvious issues, if they decide to force that. It will just have to be one of those years where the title match does not end Wrestlemania. Whatever Sting and Triple H do can headline Wrestlemania. Back to Daniel Bryan and Brock Lesnar. I really think this is the best option for him and everyone involved.

Time to revisit an old question. Should Daniel Bryan be pushed as the new centerpiece of the men's division? Should he be that guy they want to consistently push in title matters and top storylines more than any other one individual? Should he be in John Cena's position?

The arguments against him might be his injury history and the fact that he is over 30. John Cena also has an injury history and is a few years older than Daniel Bryan. Just push him in that position for a few years or until fans legitimately get sick of him. While he is the top guy, you can groom Roman Reigns properly or give someone else a fair chance to earn that spot when Daniel Bryan's time at the top is done. 33 isn't that old. A superstar or diva in their 30s can still be pushed as a centerpiece for some time. 40 and over, that is when you should be moved to an HBK-like role and not even consider starting to develop someone like that as the centerpiece.

You can also bring up whether he can draw. Being over does not necessarily mean you can draw an audience. And a centerpiece of the entire company should be a draw. I don't think he ever got a fair shot to prove he can draw. His big push in 2013 started against football season. They depushed him a few months later. The whole situation to get him the push back was messy and annoying. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned some fans off. He got injured soon after that. Since his return, he has not been pushed hard. You are not exactly drawing well now with Cena, so giving someone else a legitimate shot would make sense. And I don't think Roman Reigns is the guy to do what Cena cannot.

Some fans get angry or bored when certain wrestlers get pushed too much. With Daniel Bryan, fans are getting upset because the guy is not being pushed enough. He had his year last year. He had won a lot even before that. And the fans still want more. This is the guy you should want to push as centerpiece. There is no other full-timer in that company that is connecting that strongly with fans. The WWE probably wishes Cena had that kind of connection with the fans. What's that? You want more Cena? Absolutely! Thing is, it isn't Cena that is getting that kind of reaction. It is Daniel Bryan. Those fans do not want to settle for moments. They want him to be pushed as a true A+ player. The WWE might as well give it a legitimate try.

Cena Vs. Rusev

Because of weather issues, there was no regular episode of Raw this week. I could talk about the interviews Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan gave, but I have already spoken about that situation a few days in a row. Let me talk about a different feud going on.

John Cena is starting his feud with Rusev. This was a likely feud for a while. Even before rumors and reports, it was a feud you could have just anticipated. Rusev was being kept strong. His undefeated streak stands. The WWE just loves creating situations like this to put over Cena. If this feud only lasts up to Fast Lane, that is one thing. If this spills over into Wrestlemania, which is a possibility, that is another issue. For the sake of discussion, let's say this is a feud that lasts a few months.

This would be the second year in a row that John Cena has feuded with an upper-midcarder for Wrestlemania. He feuded with Bray Wyatt last year. And it was very similar to what you have now. Bray Wyatt attacked Cena at the Royal Rumble last year. Issues going on at the time led to them killing the development of the feud for a few weeks. Cena and Rusev had a confrontation this past Sunday. Much like Rusev, Bray Wyatt was also protected and made to look strong heading into that feud with Cena.

Comparing Rusev now to Bray Wyatt then, I personally think this is a step down for Cena. Bray Wyatt did not have any title credibility then. And I will admit that Bray Wyatt is not as great in the ring as Rusev. But Bray Wyatt had his stable and a gimmick that made him look like some kind of demented threat. Rusev has a midcard title and a manager. His gimmick is really one of a foreign heel people are supposed to hate. He got a positive reaction from fans on Sunday, but that is really because of what was going on in that match. Aside from that, I just don't think he has been properly protected. He has had a few losses, although not by pinfall or submission. And he doesn't really look unbreakable. Bray Wyatt was not 100% undefeated back then, either, but he just seemed like he was better built. Rusev has looked very beatable against some guys. The WWE can try to spin it however they want, but this is not the biggest threat in Cena's career. He has overcome worse.

What about the United States Championship and Rusev's feud with Ryback? Cena will obviously not need a midcard title. Ryback winning it would be nice. But should that happen during or after Cena's feud with Rusev? You can have Cena help Ryback win the title. Problem is, that's the end of Rusev's undefeated streak. That is something they would want to give to Cena. Of course, they could have Rusev drop the title in some multi-challenger match and not get pinned. The problem with having Rusev hold the title until after he is done with Cena is that you could have some other guy holding it and defending it during that time and it could leave Ryback with nothing to do for a few months if he's left waiting for that feud to end. The midcard is not good these days. He could feud against Barrett. Either way, it would have been nice to bring proper closure to the feud between Ryback and Rusev before starting to tease Cena vs. Rusev.

John Cena is the top guy. It is Wrestlemania season. Does he deserve better than this? I have already said that I felt Rusev is a step down from last year's opponent, Bray Wyatt. Any other time of the year, it would be a great idea to have this kind of feud. If they wanted to have Cena be the guy to beat Rusev, I would have done it last month. But this as Cena's Wrestlemania feud? What else is there? They can try forcing him into the WWE title feud, but he is not the answer to that situation. The only feud I think he can fit in would be Triple H vs. Sting. It has been over a year since Sting's last match in TNA. He will be 56 by the time Wrestlemania gets here. Maybe for the sake of match quality, you would want to turn it into a tag match. Ease Sting into the action. John Cena and Sting vs. Triple H and his partner. Who? Ric Flair? Probably not. Shawn Michaels? That would be epic. How about Hulk Hogan? He has said he wants to wrestle one more match. A tag match would be safe. Just pair Triple H with a legend to go with Cena's legend. That is something worthy of a Wrestlemania for John Cena. And it still keeps him out of the title picture for the big event. And there is an obvious story there. Cena has had issues with The Authority in recent months. I think it would be better than Cena feuding with a guy that is not at Cena's level. Save that for any other PPV.

Barrett & Rusev

The WWE midcard continues to have issues. I am just going to focus on the two midcard heels currently holding the midcard titles.

Wade Barrett regained the Intercontinental Championship from Dolph Ziggler. They did not follow through with a face turn for him. That exchange he had with Cesaro was probably either meant to take a shot at CM Punk or just humiliate Cesaro. There were other ways they could have brought him back, especially if they intended to keep him heel. Or is this just very bad inconsistency? They could have had him return to confront Ziggler in some manner. Barrett did deserve a title shot since he never lost the Intercontinental Championship. Just not good development.

The man you would expect him to be feuding with, Dolph Ziggler, is currently fired as part of a storyline. What is left for Barrett? A minor feud with Sin Cara? And it is very minor. It feels like Wade Barrett has already lost the momentum he had when he returned. When he returned the way he did, that got a lot of fans interested in him. Is he really turning face? He also had some freshness on his side. Even keeping him heel and giving him back the title was not necessarily horrible. The problem has been everything since then. It seems like he is back in the same position he was in last year prior to his injury. Sin Cara is not a guy that can elevate him. That is just filler.

Rusev is still holding the United States Championship. Much like Barrett, the guy Rusev is supposed to be feuding against is not around. That would be Ryback. It was only a matter of time before Rusev ran out of worthy opponents to go against the kind of gimmick he has. I think they have reached that point. Is John Cena the last guy left? Another thing, the WWE was doing a good job of taking Rusev up that ladder. He started off beating clear jobbers, then Big E, then Jack Swagger, then Mark Henry, and then Big Show. He beat Sheamus for the US title. He was a part of Team Authority at Survivor Series. But after all that, where do you really go with him? His feud with Ryback seems like a step back down from some of the guys he was feuding against. The climb up the ladder was good, but it seems the WWE's desire to prolong his push like this might hurt his momentum.

There is also the fact that he is undefeated in terms of never being pinned or tapping out. He has gotten some cheap finishes here and there. And he isn't exactly completely dominant. There have been a few nights where he has been made to look human. To put it simply, I do not think he has been developed to be the dominant threat that he should be. If this guy is really supposed to feud with John Cena, does he have the credibility? Or is he really just an overrated midcard act?

Go back to when I was talking about TNA's Havok recently. They built her up to be dominant. It wasn't just about winning matches. They had her destroy other KOs. The only issue was her not being around long and TNA not having enough time to monitor if she was connecting well with fans prior to making decisions on her. On the other side, you have TNA's Crimson. His main claim to fame is an undefeated streak that most fans would agree was lame. He really wasn't that dominant and never really got over.

If they are developing Rusev to be a top star or put over a top star, his dominance should be leaning towards how TNA has handled Havok. Instead, it is starting to lean towards Crimson. They were doing a better job for a few months, but right now, Rusev needs better focus. Feud development is hurt with Ryback involved in a bigger angle. His gimmick isn't leading to anything fresh. His dominance is questionable. And I don't think that undefeated streak is enough to carry him.

Ryback Vs. Rusev

Rusev has now moved on to Ryback. You have a feud developing there. Will Ryback be the one to finally defeat Rusev and take the United States Championship?

Should he be? Rusev has been involved in so many USA-themed feuds since his debut. This feud between Rusev and Ryback is not one of them. This is really brute vs. brute. I am not against Ryback winning a title. He should have one eventually. But for him to be the guy that knocks of Rusev? I still think it should be Jack Swagger. If a heel still held the Intercontinental title, Ryback can go after that and leave Rusev and Swagger to still feud.

How about Dolph Ziggler winning back the Intercontinental Championship? I don't like it. Fans wanted to see him get pushed again. He finally did. He won the title, lost it back to Miz, then won it right back. That was stupid booking, but fine. He then lost it to Harper. Okay, that could be the start of pushing some fresh midcarders around that title. Nope! Back to Ziggler. Ziggler could be feuding with upper-midcarders in non-title matches. They might have even considered having him get a title shot against Lesnar instead of always putting Cena in that spot. Ziggler stuck in the midcard title scene is a waste of him and not good for other midcarders. This US title feud is good in that it features midcarders, but you could have started developing something fresh with the other midcard title.

Rusev And Swagger Meet Again

Rusev is now feuding with a familiar foe. That would be Jack Swagger. These two had a great feud a few months ago. I have seen some fans complain about Rusev going back to Swagger so soon. Rusev has not been on the main roster for even a year and he has already gone back to feuding with someone he already feuded with. There are depth issues, which seems to be something I bring up 921,456 times a week. Nevertheless, there were other options for Rusev. If they had shuffled things around differently, Rusev could have been defending that United States title against Dean Ambrose, Ryback, or possibly Erick Rowan. These are guys he has not feuded with. You would have had a fresh feud.

I am not going to complain about going back to Jack Swagger. Swagger deserves something to do. These two had a great feud. I would say this could be the greatest midcard rivalry of the decade, if the WWE handles it right. A midcard rivalry for the WWE usually means two midcarders are going to wrestle each other too many more times than they need to. No real storyline. A lot of the matches feel like filler or are obviously meant to give one guy momentum. The gimmicks Swagger and Rusev have just beg for a great rivalry to happen. And there is so much more they can do with this rivalry. Can they get away with turning Swagger heel and Rusev face and having them feud against each other? How about forcing them to be on the same side? How about having them naturally want to be on the same side? Is there a common enemy Americans and Russians have? One of the reasons the rivalry between Trish and Lita was so great is because they were on the same side here and there. That adds to the story when they would feud against each other. That is the kind of thing they could pull with Swagger and Rusev. Not necessarily now, but in the future. Right now, their feud gets elevated because the US title is involved.

Once again, should Jack Swagger be the guy to hand Rusev his first official loss since debuting? This time around, that would likely involve Swagger winning the US title, a title he held before. Unless they are just building Rusev up for Cena or a pert-timer to beat him, Swagger is the best option. It may not happen this month, but I think it should happen with this feud. Swagger has gotten over and he is worthy. It would be another chapter in their rivalry.

Rusev Wins The United States Championship

That was a pretty good episode of Raw last night. But one of the major segments of the night happened on the WWE Network. Rusev won the United States Championship from Sheamus.

It was a basic title feud. It was one that seemed likely to involve a title change. I wasn't even going to bother talking about it again as the feud progressed. Well, the title change happened just like that. What now? They can do some interesting things with Rusev holding this particular title. You can imagine a lot of great segments. On Raw, however, they already went in the direction of The Authority trying to recruit Rusev for their team at Survivor Series. Nothing wrong with having him in that match, but don't start treating him as a henchman for The Authority now. Rusev's character has potential away from just being another heel henchman for the top heel stable. Back when I was bringing up names to replace Randy Orton in The Authority, I did not bring up Rusev. He doesn't need to be in the group to be relevant.

The other thing worth talking about is that this happened on the WWE Network. They had multiple opportunities this year to have a title change happen on the WWE Network. I think it is a good idea to do it. Make people believe big things happen on the WWE Network. Of course, they are giving a month-long free trial right now. You would think the WWE would do their best this month to bring those subscribers in. Not to make too much of one night, but they did pretty well so far.

How about that WWE Network? I came across a graph last week that illustrates how it has been doing in terms of subscriptions.

It is still not at that 1,000,000-subscriber benchmark. They have spread out to more countries, although not their main international markets, but it is still very weak numbers. It is a smart move to offer a free trial for a month and get rid of the 6-month commitment. In general, however, this has not been a good investment. Keep in mind that they alienated a lot of their PPV partners. $9.99 is just too cheap for a PPV and all that other content subscribers get every month. Don't even bring up giving away November for free. Everyone can say that it will take time for the WWE to make a profit off of this venture, but they have not started off on a good note. First, I believe they were saying they would get 1,000,000 subscribers around Wrestlemania. Didn't happen. Next, they will get it by the end of 2014. Doesn't look like that will happen. And with all these other issues coming up, getting a million subscribers is really just a ceremonial benchmark. When do they start getting a real profit?

Rusev Chasing After The United States Championship

This is one of those feuds for Rusev that just seems obvious. Jack Swagger had a gimmick that pretty much begged for him to feud against Rusev. That happened. You have seen a few other feuds developed for Rusev with that pro-USA angle. How about having him go after the United States Championship? Sheamus isn't exactly a "Mr. USA" character, but he's a face and he's holding the title.

Unless something notable happens, this will probably be the only preview I give for this feud. It is a feud that pretty much writes itself. They can treat it as a basic title feud and it would still be interesting because of the gimmick Rusev has. Will he bring the United States Championship to the Russian side? Should Rusev win the title? I think so. Sheamus has held it long enough. There is no better heel to drop it to right now. Is Rusev likely to win it? I think so. It would take him to a new level. They were pretty much running out of credible faces to represent America. They can do some interesting things with a guy like Rusev holding a title like the United States Championship.

Of course, there is also the possibility they have Sheamus retain the title by some cheap manner and never have Rusev get it. I cannot imagine Sheamus being the guy to actually pin Rusev. If they do go the route of keeping Rusev without the title, what happens to him next? Feud with Cena? That means he would be taking his first real defeat. That would be typical. The possibility of Rusev winning the title, doing something interesting with it, which has not been done in years, and getting some good midcard feuds is better than just moving him on to Cena.

Big Show Vs. Rusev At Hell In A Cell 2014: Final Preview

The feud between Big Show and Rusev is definitely one of the top feuds heading into Hell in a Cell. They have faced each other a few times in recent weeks. All those matches ended indecisively. It is not shocking that they would have a PPV encounter.

Rusev should be winning this one. But does Big Show deserve to beat Rusev? With the job Jack Swagger was doing with his feud against Rusev, I felt it should at least be considered that he should be allowed to hand Rusev his first real loss. Even Mark Henry's feud against Rusev was pretty good. How does Big Show stack up? Big Show is definitely over. He was over before even entering this feud. He is a good performer. He is good on the mic. All that being said, this feud just doesn't grab me like Rusev's last two feuds. Is it that this kind of storyline is getting old? Is it that they were a little bit inconsistent with this feud, including bringing in The Rock for that one appearance? If they didn't let Swagger or Mark Henry beat Rusev, I don't think there is a good reason to give this to Big Show. He doesn't even need it.

There will be some kind of storyline coming out of this match with Rusev at Hell in a Cell. I felt the WWE had to have had something more planned when they scheduled that match between Rusev and Big Show on Raw. Mark Henry came out to support Big Show. No heel turn happened, but I feel the seeds have pretty much been planted for someone to turn. Does Mark Henry cost Big Show the match? Does Big Show lose cleanly and snap and take out Mark Henry? Another possibility I was thinking of was both Big Show and Mark Henry remain a team and someone debuts to join Rusev or someone on the main roster teams with him. That would help extend focus on Rusev. He has to be running out of credible opponents. But I don't think the WWE will go that route. A heel turn is more likely. After having Mark Henry look so bad against Bo Dallas, I would expect Mark Henry to turn. I am more interested to see what happens between Big Show and Mark Henry than the actual feud between Rusev and Big Show.

Big Show And Rusev Will Try It Again

The Rock made a surprise return last week and had a segment with Rusev and Lana. You don't need me telling you that. That means the match that was advertised between Big Show and Rusev on Raw last week did not happen. They will supposedly have it this week.

That little interruption from The Rock did not really hurt this feud between Rusev and Big Show. As I pointed out last week, there is plenty of time to build up this feud between Rusev and Big Show. I was wondering why they were so eager to have another match between the two. Save it for Hell in a Cell. They had to have had something more planned with this feud. I doubt it was an appearance from The Rock. Nevertheless, they had that extra time available there to have The Rock come back and have a great moment. More surprise moments like that might help ratings in the long run. As far as Rusev/Big Show goes, the WWE can go back to developing that and there is still time to do it well.

Should The Rock be the man to beat Rusev? The only full-time performer I can imagine beating Rusev is John Cena. It would also be nice if Jack Swagger was considered to still do it, since his gimmick fits so well against Rusev and he has done a good job in getting over. I do not think that one is likely. The Rock is a part-timer. Would it be a waste of all they have put into Rusev to have The Rock beat him? Should that go to a full-timer? The Rock obviously does not need the win. And I doubt that confrontation last week needs to lead to a feud. You also have the issue of how much longer the WWE can keep Rusev undefeated before he runs out of credible opponents. I am definitely not saying they should feed him The Rock just to make him look good. I do not think there is any need to follow up on that confrontation from last week at all. The WWE will definitely be mentioning it to create interest that The Rock might come back, but I doubt he will for a feud against Rusev.

Big Show Vs. Rusev

Rusev won his feud against Mark Henry. The story continued past Night of Champions with this angle of Mark Henry being devastated about the loss. Enter Big Show to feud with Rusev.

Let me start with what I like. I like how they transitioned from one feud to the other. Big Show and Mark Henry were teaming together. It was likely that Rusev would move up the ladder and feud with a guy like Big Show after Mark Henry. How they did it was pretty good. I also like how this is not just another patriotism story. That was getting old and they were going to run out of options very soon. Having Big Show trying to avenge his friend is a nice element to add to the story of this feud.

I would have held off on putting Big Show in there. There is still time until the next PPV. Big Show and Rusev could have had their next encounter there after the initial encounter they ended up having on Smackdown recently. Have the feud between Mark Henry and Rusev go on a little more. Sell that story a little longer. With how much time you have left, they might not develop this feud with Rusev and Big Show well.

Or is there more to it than just a feud between Big Show and Rusev? Can you imagine Mark Henry snapping over his recent failure and turning on Big Show? Is that the match they will go for at Hell in a Cell? I don't think they should. These two have feuded before. I don't think they need to feud again, especially so soon. And with a lack of top faces with Roman Reigns now out, I don't think you should turn a top face heel. Could you imagine Big Show and Mark Henry having a friendly feud over who gets to face Rusev? That sounds familiar. Cena and Ambrose both want Seth Rollins. I don't think what you have going on with Big Show, Rusev, and Mark Henry needs that. Nevertheless, I am expecting something more from the story you have with Big Show and Rusev. They faced each other last week and a rematch is already set for next week. After that, what happens with the story?

What Do You Do With Bray Wyatt Now?

Ever since he debuted, Bray Wyatt has been featured pretty consistently at PPVs. He didn't have a match at last year's Survivor Series, but his lackeys did. At this year's Night of Champions, neither he nor his guys had a match. And he still seems lost without anything meaningful to do.

Ever since his feud with Cena ended, you can make the argument that they really haven't had anything meaningful for Bray to do. He was in a ladder match at Money in the Bank, but that was really just as an extra body. How about that epic feud against Chris Jericho? If they had not brought back Jericho for that feud, Bray Wyatt probably would have been lost in the shuffle earlier than he ended up. Not surprisingly, Jericho put Wyatt over. And the WWE has no way to follow up. It kind of makes that feud with Jericho seem even more like filler. Bray Wyatt has beaten all these top stars. He has all this credibility. He has all this momentum. And he has nothing to do with it.

Should Bray Wyatt be treated as a priority? I am not saying he should be pushed as a main-eventer right now, but you have room in the midcard to push some interesting characters and develop good feuds. Moreover, the WWE has lost some guys they might have been interested in pushing recently. Aside from Daniel Bryan, you have Roman Reigns getting injured and both Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho leaving again. Problem is, all these guys are faces. If you wanted to talk about whom they could push to full the void from losing those guys, you would probably have to list faces. They could turn The Wyatts face, but is now the time for that? I think you can do more with them as heels. And I do think they are good enough to deserve to be featured in some kind of storyline.

What do you do with them? You had Rupert and Murdoch feuding against Big Show and Mark Henry in a pointless rivalry. While that was going on, Mark Henry also had issues with Rusev. Mark Henry losing to Rusev has left him a broken man. You also had some signs that Big Show might feud with Bray Wyatt. Let's combine this all. Mark Henry is broken. Bray Wyatt comes in an gets him to join his side. Enter Big Show to save his tag partner. What does that leave Rusev to do? Forget about that for a moment. This is just about what to do with Wyatt. All of a sudden, things tie together a little better. Mark Henry and Big Show's feud against The Wyatts does not look as pointless. You transition what happened with Mark Henry in his feud with Rusev into another angle with another heel. Big Show now has a more creative reason to feud against these guys. I am not implying at all that this was the plan all along, but I think it is a plan that can make the WWE look more clever than they may really be. And this can culminate in Big Show and Mark Henry facing all three members of The Wyatts. The WWE featured some 3-on-1 handicap matches last year, so 3-on-2 should not be so unbelievable, especially when the guys that seem to have the numbers disadvantage are Big Show and Mark Henry.

They really should do more with Bray Wyatt from a creative standpoint. Some fans complain that The Wyatts are booked badly. What exactly do they mean by that? They don't win matches or just win against jobbers? Bray Wyatt has won some big matches. His two guys looked like legitimate contenders for the tag titles a while ago. The issue isn't wins and losses. It is more about the storylines than how they are actually booked. Bray Wyatt winning matches means nothing if you are not pushing him in an interesting manner. He'll get a cheap pop from mentioning what town he's in and his entrance has become a fad. But when it comes to how he is actually being pushed, they can be better creatively with him.

Night Of Champions 2014: Previewing The Non-title Matches

Did they really end Raw with Mark Henry and Rusev? Wow! It must be football season! I know very well this was not done because this feud is so important to the WWE. The WWE wanted the Cena/Brock segment, the segment that was the most important on that show, to occur during the halftime of the NFL game on Monday. Cena pretty much spelled it out in his opening promo. I'll talk more about that on Friday. Let me just focus on Mark Henry and Rusev right now. I didn't feel this feud would be as good as the one between Rusev and Jack Swagger, but it is better than I expected. I still wouldn't say it has the same feel as seeing Swagger turn face and it working, but it is a good feud with some good segments. I am not a United States patriot, but I do like these recent feuds. How many more can they possibly come up with? And can they keep them fresh? Mark Henry has all the momentum and I don't think they are developing Rusev to put him over. Rusev wins this match. And I would expect this feud to continue.

Chris Jericho faces Randy Orton. Why? I don't know. I figured they would go with this match. You can spend hours trying to explain the storyline reason for this feud to me. I don't care. This is obvious filler. Both men had feuds that were ending in the weeks before Night of Champions, leaving them with nothing to do. It is a rushed feud, if you can even really consider this a feud. How will the WWE write Jericho off? Punt to the head? Have Christian do something to Jericho? I am actually more interested in how they write Jericho off than in which guy wins the match. The outcome will really be meaningless. Jericho doesn't need to be put over, especially if he is leaving. Orton doesn't seem to be doing anything important right now. I can see Jericho winning and Orton taking him out out of frustration. I'll go with that. Jericho wins.

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins go at it. I feel like I have seen this match before. Very recently. Might have even been on Raw. Why would you do that? Again, I am not talking about a storyline reason. It is just this booking is stupid. Reigns won that round. He did it cleanly. You would expect Seth to win at Night of Champions. Why hand Reigns two straight wins against another guy you want to build to be a star? And because you had that clean finish, I would expect something different at the PPV. Ambrose returns? Kane does something? That match on Raw has to lead to something more at Night of Champions.