Wrestlemania 31 Preview: Part 1

I'm going to spend the rest of the week previewing Wrestlemania. I will start with the least important matches first.

The diva match is the least important match on the card. That is not a shot at the women in the match. The WWE has just not made a great match here. Nothing is on the line. No legends are involved. It just hasn't been treated as anything too important. They have tried to tie in #GiveDivasAChance into it, but that protest has lost momentum, not gained it. I would say the faces should win. Let me take it one step further. While surveying #GiveDivasAChance last week, I saw a fan say she hoped AJ Lee got her Wrestlemania moment this year. I told her AJ already got her moment last year. She said AJ should have another one. Okay. That's nice. Not that it matters at all, but I would let Paige get the pinfall/submission for her team, if they are winning. Just a nice gesture.

The tag titles are on the line in the pre-show. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro defend against Los Matadores, New Day, and The Usos. The Champions just won it last month. No need to shoot it back to The Usos, who are the only team I think has the credibility to win it. The Prime Time Players and The Ascension should have been in this match. Not that it matters. A lot of sloppy development in the last few weeks.

The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal is in its second year. Winning this isn't anything too major, but things like this can still be fun. Who wins? A lot of possibilities. Axel? Sandow? Mark Henry? Miz? These are the guys I think have a good shot to win it. I would like to see Mark Henry win it. Of course, I can also see him being the last guy eliminated. Axel or Sandow would get a big pop for winning. Let's see if this year's winner ends up with a better push after Wrestlemania than last year's winner.

Tag Division Developments

I did not think the WWE should put the tag titles on Kidd and Cesaro. They just did not have the momentum that so many teams have had in recent years that won them. The WWE gave them the tag titles. They aren't as bad as McGillicutty and Otunga, but they were not the best options. Of course, wrestling fans will rejoice at these two holding the titles. Great in-ring workers. And people want to say that the WWE hates those fans because of what they did to Daniel Bryan recently? The WWE toss these fans a bone now and then. And you have also gotten some fresh diva action between Natalya and Naomi as this team feuds against The Usos.

Let me talk about the other teams in the division. The Ascension have tasted defeat. The Prime Time Players are back. The Rhodes have split. Miz and Sandow are having issues. Even though you do have some teams, you have to realize that the WWE does not treat all their workers equally and give them equal opportunities. I would agree that workers have to earn those top-tier positions, but just for the sake of freshness, you should treat your workers better in certain areas, like the tag division. Right now, I do not see any team worthy of winning the titles off Kidd and Cesaro, except for the team they beat to win the titles. I would like to see Titus O'Neil and Darren Young get them, but I do not think the WWE will develop them properly to deserve it. What's the point of giving someone a title reign if the fans aren't too interested? The tag division is not as hot as it once was. Tossing together two lower-midcarders for a short push will not help.

Just focus on Cesaro for a moment. There are still some fans out there chanting for the WWE to push him. They are pushing him. He's holding the tag titles. Those fan obviously mean a solo push. Some fans are just too demanding. Cesaro does not have the overness that Daniel Bryan has. In time, there might be some controversy that propels Cesaro to become a legend. Maybe. Until then, he's featured on a consistent basis and at least he is not jobbing as regularly as he did a few months ago. And did I mention he's holding the tag titles?

Tag Division Developments

Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns ran through a portion of the tag division on Smackdown this week. I will use that as an excuse to discuss the division. The Usos are still Tag Team Champions. I am just going to look at three heel teams that could be taking the titles off them.

First, the team they are actually feuding against. That would be Kidd & Cesaro. These are obviously two jobbers. The WWE has paired them up and given them a push. Should they win the titles? I don't think so. This would be a step down. They need more momentum I just do not think the WWE is willing to give them. Even should they win the titles, I cannot imagine the WWE doing anything great with them. Right now, Kidd & Cesaro seem to be there just so The Usos can go over them in this feud. There are more legitimate and credible teams deserving of the titles.

How about The Ascension? This is a legitimate tag team. This is not two guys in the midcard with nothing to do being tossed together. As far as credibility goes, the WWE is still protecting them. It might not really mean anything. Most guys that debut from developmental or guys on the main roster that get repackaged with a new gimmick get a little win streak. The WWE usually fails to develop proper feuds or runs out of guys for them to beat in a lot of these situations. The Ascension has still not had one great feud since debuting. And yet, they are undefeated. Are they being protected to eventually feud for the tag titles? Or to be fed to Cena next year as the undefeated act used to put him over? No, probably not that. With a team like this hanging around, it makes me believe even more that The Usos will keep the tag titles to eventually feud against them. I don't think they will win the titles, but it should be a fresh feud.

The last team Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns had to face on Smackdown was Big Show and Kane. Tension was teased between the two heels, which led to their downfall. I do not think this was a sign of a split coming anytime soon. This was just for the sake of the story of this one match. Regardless, Big Show and Kane should not be forced against Bryan and Reigns so much. I'll get into that more next week. And I also hate even teasing tension between Big Show and Kane like this. I didn't complain about it at the Royal Rumble. I can let that go. But again? So soon? They did this with Randy Orton and The Authority back when the stable was being formed. They just had this on-and-off relationship that didn't lead to that split they were teasing until what happened in 2014 with Orton and Seth Rollins. After a while, it just gets annoying. Instead of keeping your heel stable strong and feuding against all these faces out to run them out of power, the heel stable is having trouble from within. How can you strengthen the group? How about give them more titles? How about give Big Show and Kane the tag titles? Back in the day, The Corporation held a lot of titles. It wasn't just their main guy holding the World title. Present day, The Authority just does not compare. Outside of hounding after the World title at times, the group has not done a good job trying to get titles for their other members. It is like all those guys around Seth Rollins are there just for his benefit and he is the only one meant to be pushed in the group. That is probably the point, but for the sake of making the group look better and creating better feuds, you cannot be that limited. Big Show and Kane have held the tag titles before. I know a lot of fans despise seeing these guys these days, but putting the titles on them could be good. Not only does it help the stable look better, but it can really put over the team that beats them. It is the same idea as The Rhodes beating The Shield for the tag titles. It leads to a big moment. I am not saying it is likely to happen, but I think it would be a better option than what you have going on currently.

...Or They Can Turn Him Face

Wade Barrett returned on Raw last night to in-ring action. He faced and defeated Cesaro, who is another person I will be talking about. Barrett returned as a face?

When I was talking about Wade Barrett just yesterday, a face turn was something I did not bring up. How do I think he will work as a face? I think he could be good. He can be a bad ass face. That can help him stay connected with those fans that loved him as a heel and possibly become more popular with other fans.

Barrett is still a midcarder. There are issues in the midcard that I have brought up a lot. Unless you are in a title feud, you will probably be lost in the shuffle in no time in the midcard. Does the fact that Barrett is now a face help him avoid the midcard abyss? Another thing to consider is who loses a push now that Barrett is back. Instead of thinking of a heel that loses a spot, you have to think of a face that might be losing a spot. I think that would be Erick Rowan. He got pushed out of nowhere last month. That was due to Sheamus dropping out. I would say Barrett is being rotated in to fill that spot. When a guy like Sheamus does return, you might see Barrett back to being a jobber to the stars. Until then, he will be featured well as a face.

What is there to say about Cesaro? Before losing to Barrett, he was dropping a pipe bomb. Complaining about how you are being treated and putting yourself over is all there is to a pipe bomb. What was the point of that? Testing how he does? Developing him to be a big star? Just to set up Barrett beating him? To take a shot at CM Punk? The WWE has shown themselves to be pretty petty at times.

How did Cesaro do with his promo? He obviously had a little botch at one point, but just ignore that. I think his overall delivery was too stiff. It wasn't natural. His message was obviously something a lot of fans would like to hear, but it is how he tells it that really counted the most. He didn't deliver. People already knew his promo skills were not too great. If the WWE wanted the promo to purposely be awkward to take a shot at CM Punk, they did that. If this was Cesaro legitimately trying to sound like the next CM Punk, he fell short.

There was a time earlier in the year where it seemed like the WWE might be grooming Cesaro to be the next CM Punk or Daniel Bryan. Build him up to be popular, play with now wanting to push him, then let the fans go crazy. If that was still their intent, it hasn't worked. Fans have not gone insane for Cesaro. In general, I am getting sick of these types of promos and storylines. Are they going to purposely mistreat their workers and hope fans go crazy? This is entertaining? One day, they are going to push some of these fans too far and something bad will happen.

If the WWE is mistreating Cesaro because they really don't believe in him, they are being foolish, as well. Yes, he lacks mic skills. So what? The whole point of pairing him with Paul Heyman was that he would be the mouthpiece for Cesaro. Brock Lesnar has even worse mic skills. Roman Reigns is not that great on the mic. Daniel Bryan is insanely over, but his mic skills are not the greatest. There are guys pushed as top stars or being developed to be top stars that are not great on the mic. Cesaro does not even need to be pushed at their level. Push him as a solid midcarder or upper-midcarder. You need to feature stars there better. With all the issues you have in the main-event scene, you have to do better with other areas. It's like a football team with issues on offense that has to rely on their defense and special teams to carry them to success. It happens. Centerpiece sucks and other main-eventers don't always seem to be consistent draws. With those issues, you have to improve the overall product. That should involve pushing Cesaro better.

What A Smackdown Main Event Looks Like

It was a Halloween-themed edition of Smackdown. Nevertheless, that was a garbage main event between Cesaro and Dean Ambrose. Cesaro is a B player. Ambrose is an A- player. That somehow averages out to a Smackdown main event. A comedy match like this might make it to the undercard on Raw, but it shouldn't be ending one of the main shows. I could imagine it ending Main Event. Ambrose should be involved in a heated feud with Bray Wyatt.

If you look at a lot of the main-event matches they have booked on Smackdown in recent years, what they did last week wasn't even that unusual. Even when there were still two World titles, the WWE had become comfortable not featuring the World's Heavyweight Champion well on Smackdown. Without that second top title and the WWE Champion rarely being a part of Smackdown, the WWE utilizes a lot of upper-midcarders to close the show. You can say that doing this is great and it helps to groom future main-eventers. Personally, I think you do that by having these guys you are developing to be stars work properly with actual stars. Don't just develop someone to feed to Cena, then toss them back down. And don't have a lot of filler matches on Smackdown.

I have seen a lot of fans complain about Smackdown. That is one of the reasons I bring this up. As fans, they have a right to complain about it. As critics, I would agree with them the quality of the show is poor. If you analyze the ratings, however, Smackdown is around the same spot it has been in recent years. No World Champion. A frequent lack of true stars. Smackdown's annual average this year so far is around a 1.9. The average for Raw is at a 3.0, and it will drop under that by the end of the year. While Raw, the show that features the WWE Champion more often, features John Cena regularly, and is treated as the main show, is declining to a horrible depth, Smackdown is remaining consistent. What incentive is there for the WWE to really try harder with Smackdown? They can put out a crappy product and still maintain their numbers.

Cesaro And Miz Switch Foes

Cesaro was feuding with Sheamus over the United States Championship. Miz was feuding with Dolph Ziggler over the Intercontinental Championship. That feud featured a few title changes. The heel challengers have now switched targets. Miz has a feud going with Sheamus, while Cesaro seems to want the Intercontinental Championship.

That is lazy booking. Putting someone in a basic midcard title feud is just so dry. It is even worse when they prolong it like they are doing now. Three of the guys I mentioned are former World Champions. Why should they be stuck in this cycle? Give them good upper-midcard feuds. Give them feuds with better development and better storylines.

Should either Miz or Cesaro be winning the titles they are currently chasing after? I cannot think of a good reason why Miz should get another title run right now. On the other side of that, Sheamus is stale, so that is a reason to want him to drop it to someone. Cesaro isn't that fresh right now, but he would have been a good choice to win that U.S. title. Instead, he is going after a title that Dolph Ziggler just regained a few weeks ago. Dolph Ziggler should not lose the Intercontinental title so soon. To answer my own question, no, I do not think either Miz or Cesaro should be winning the titles they are currently going after.

Hopefully, the midcard title feuds going on right now do not last long. There are other guys that have never held those titles that can freshen up the midcard scene by chasing after them. Rusev might benefit from a title reign. Bray Wyatt has not held a title. You can even argue that one of his henchmen might win a midcard title. How about Ryback? He has been out with an injury, but he will come back. He has never held a title. He had enough momentum and credibility at one time to possibly deserve the WWE Championship. He has not exactly flopped since then. I wouldn't mind him feuding against Sheamus or Ziggler for a title. There are some options for fresh feuds. How many more weeks of the same two heels going after the midcard titles?

Night Of Champions 2014: Previewing The Intercontinental Championship And United States Championship Matches

It wouldn't be Night of Champions without every title being on the line. I've talked a lot about Cena. I've talked about The Bellas being inserted into the AJ/Paige feud. I have talked a little about what's going on in the tag division. I should say more about the other two title matches.

Miz gets his rematch against Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship. I have already said that I would have had Ziggler win the title at this PPV, not Summerslam. No point repeating that. The WWE continues to develop Miz's Hollywood gimmick. I am not a fan of it, but it provides an interesting character. It also gives Sandow something to do now. The actual feud between Ziggler and Miz hasn't exactly been amazing, but it is better than you usually get in the midcard. Who wins? Ziggler just won the title. I see no good reason to shoot it back to The Miz.

The United States Championship feud features quite possibly the two most boring guys currently being pushed in the WWE. I am not denying that Sheamus and Cesaro can go in the ring, but they aren't exactly pushed with interesting characters right now. I am actually knocking how they are being pushed, not them. Cesaro looked so much better a few months ago. And I believe he had a shot to win the United States title back then. The WWE didn't pull the trigger then. I wouldn't be surprised if they did now. What more can Sheamus do with the title? You might as well give it to Cesaro and let him have a mediocre run with it. After all his momentum has been killed, how many fans will really care about him getting the title? Smarks will care. If there are a lot of them at Night of Champions, Cesaro beating Sheamus might be the closest thing to a "feel good" moment you get in terms of a title change.

Your Former Heyman Guy: Cesaro

The business relationship between Cesaro and Paul Heyman seems to be officially over. Cesaro broke ties with Heyman on Raw last night. Heyman now has Brock Lesnar to manage again. But Lesnar is for another day. Today is about Cesaro.

Now that it is over, was it really worth it? Cesaro had so much momentum right after Wrestlemania. He was getting over. And along comes Paul Heyman. Do I blame Paul Heyman? No. I blame how Cesaro was pushed while being paired with Heyman. Even Curtis Axel looked better with Heyman than Cesaro did. I wonder if they really were serious with wanting Cesaro to make it. Or was this just something to keep Heyman on TV for a few months while Lesnar was away? If the WWE was serious about developing Cesaro to be a star, they would show it in how they pushed him. You can tell they are serious about someone like Seth Rollins. Aside from Cesaro's feud with Jack Swagger, they really didn't develop any proper feuds for him since putting him with Heyman. And that feud was pretty much a given. They had to do it. After that, they just pushed him as a B+ player. He was pushed a little better than the typical midcarder, but they didn't really take him to that next level. He never got the kind of focus on him that the former members of The Shield currently have. Those are A- players that will likely end up A players one day. I don't blame either Heyman or Cesaro for Cesaro not keeping that connection with the fans. He wasn't pushed right.

What now? He did win last night. Problem is, it was the loser of the match that looked better than the winner. Cesaro is still a jobber. It's too late to just toss him back with Zeb and Swagger. They turned face. Should Cesaro turn face now? I don't see the point in doing that for him now. I wouldn't even recommend a title reign. He needs his momentum back. Just tossing a midcard title on him when he is pretty much lost in the shuffle is not going to help him. It's one thing to toss a title on Miz or Sheamus, but Cesaro seems like he really needs to reconnect with the fans and a title reign won't help. And without Heyman, I cannot picture any great feuds for him.

Money In The Bank 2014: Previewing The World Title Ladder Match

Eight men will go after the vacant WWE World's Heavyweight Championship. Three of them stand a chance to become a first-time World Champion in the WWE. The company has not had one of those in a few years. You can also have the scenario of one person taking down one title and another person taking down the other, splitting the Championships again. A lot of fans are talking about that. I don't see the need for that, so I am not going to say more on that possibility. I'll talk about the eight guys in the order I think they are likely to win. Nothing fancy this time.

John Cena could get his 15th World title reign. And it is very likely to happen. He has not won the title this year, yet. The WWE has given the fans a little break from Cena being in the title hunt. Heading into Summerslam, they might want their top star to hold the title. There are rumors of the WWE aiming for John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar again. If that is the case, why would Lesnar want to face Cena if Cena is not the World Champion? The reason Brock came back earlier this year was because he wanted the title. It didn't work out. He ended up facing The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. He got a nice consolation prize, to say the least. If he is going to come back again, it would make sense for it to be for the title. This could be a big title match. You also have the possibility of the Summerslam rematch between John Cena and Daniel Bryan. If Cena does not win the title, what does he end up doing? I doubt he goes back to Bray Wyatt. And Rusev has not been developed properly to face Cena. Cena seems like the best bet to win the title.

In terms of momentum, Roman Reigns might seem like the best bet. He seems untouchable. Of the three men that could become first-time World Champion in this match, Reigns seems most likely. They want to build this guy into a star. Unlike Cesaro and Bray Wyatt, the WWE is actually showing it through how well they are pushing him. The talk has been about him feuding with Triple H. Does the title really need to be there? I don't think so. Let Reigns be built up more before they toss the title on him.

Kane was just added in the match on Raw this week. He should have been put into the match the same time they put Randy Orton into the match. Kane was booked to face Daniel Bryan in a title match at Money in the Bank, if Bryan was cleared to compete. But if Daniel Bryan is not cleared to compete, Kane suddenly does not still get his title shot? He has to earn his way into the match by beating Cena? He fails to do that and still gets put in the match one week later? You will probably fry your brain trying to make kayfabe sense of all this. This was just sloppy booking. Does the fact that they put Kane in this week mean they plan to hand him the title? Not necessarily. In terms of storyline sense, Kane might be there to ensure Randy Orton wins and stop Roman Reigns from winning. Why am I putting Kane above Orton on the list? I have seen some fans bring up the idea of Kane winning the title to continue his feud with Daniel Bryan and dropping the title back to Bryan. I like that idea. It probably won't happen, but Kane winning could lead to something.

Randy Orton has held these unified titles before. He was Champion just earlier this year. He never got his official rematch. He's getting it now. I don't think he is likely to win, but he is more credible than those guys I have not gotten to yet. His run with the title earlier this year was not that great and I cannot think of a reason why it would be better if they put it back on him.

Big Poppa Wyatt and his freaks can walk out with all the gold this Sunday. That is to say, Bray Wyatt can win the World title, while his sidekicks win the tag titles. Bray Wyatt has lost a little bit of focus and momentum since his feud with Cena. That's not surprising. He has not been completely buried. Speaking as a fan, forgetting all about the fact that the WWE likes making stars, having a centerpiece, and all that stuff, I would like to see Wyatt  win the title. I am not even a fan of the guy or the stable. I just like the idea of the cult leader winning the title and being pushed as the top guy of the company for a while. I don't think the WWE would do it. Even if they put the title on him, they would probably bury him under some other angle or just develop him to put over Cena in a title feud. TNA would probably pull the trigger on this idea. The WWE wouldn't or wouldn't do it right.

Cesaro is the third guy that could become a first-time World Champion. After his big win at Wrestlemania and pairing him up with Paul Heyman, it might have seemed likely that they would groom him to be a World Champion. It looks more like he's just a step or two ahead of being as bad as Curtis Axel. There were talks earlier in the year of this guy facing Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. I had my doubts about that. And it seems like it won't be happening. Paul Heyman said Cesaro would be winning this Sunday. Spoiler alert?

Remember that time Sheamus won the Royal Rumble? How many people really expected that? It is not likely that the United States Champion will be winning even more title belts this Sunday. Then again, the WWE might do it, just like they did with that Royal Rumble win.

And at the bottom of the list? Alberto Del Rio. I like Alberto Del Rio. I just cannot think of any reason why they would give him the title. He just seems to have been lost in the shuffle for the longest while worse than anyone else in the match. Sheamus has a title. Cesaro has Paul Heyman as a manager. Bray Wyatt has a stable and has been pushed well. Randy Orton is a top star. Kane has been feuding over the title. Roman Reigns has the momentum. John Cena is John Cena. Del Rio is just there.

Sheamus Vs. Cesaro At Payback

What else does Curtis Axel 2.0 need? He has Paul Heyman as a manager. He is getting a mediocre push. A midcard title! Curtis Axel won the Intercontinental Championship last year while aligned with Paul Heyman. And Cesaro stands a chance at regaining the United States Championship at Payback.

Sheamus will defend against Cesaro at Payback. Cesaro was supposed to be someone that did not need generic midcard title feuds to stay interesting. I said Curtis Axel got a mediocre push last year. Some might disagree. He wrestled top guys like Triple H. Thing is, that push was more hype than substance. He was getting fluke wins. No one in their right mind could really take him seriously. Cesaro is better than that. I would rather he was getting those rubs with top stars. And I'm not talking about fluke wins. Sheamus is a former multi-time World Champion, but he doesn't have that credibility right now. He's a midcarder. He's a B+ player. And that is the same type of treatment Cesaro is getting. It is better than where he was a few months ago, but he should get more.

Who wins? Sheamus just won the title a few weeks ago. Did they really give it to him just to shoot it to Cesaro? Losing could hurt Cesaro's momentum even more. Could this be a good feud if they carry it beyond Payback? Sheamus somehow retains at Payback, but Cesaro stays in the hunt and eventually wins the title. If developed properly, this might not be a bad feud to extend. Hornswoggle vs. El Torito is a bad feud to extend. Yes, I'm an old man and I hate fun. No, not really. You could just be devoting that time to pushing other guys better that could really use it or deserve it. As for this U.S. title match, I think Cesaro should win. They need to do something to improve his push.

Cesaro's Lost Momentum

What has happened to Cesaro? I actually thought the WWE was serious about this guy and would give him a good push. He is lost in the shuffle, like so many others.

Pairing him with Paul Heyman was supposed to be something good. Heyman has spent more time putting over Brock Lesnar than Cesaro. Lesnar is not even around. I know they are saying that Cesaro will face Lesnar, but how can the WWE seriously be considering that feud? Cesaro looks mediocre. He is eventually going to get tired of Heyman and that will lead to a big feud with Brock Lesnar? That would be a waste of Lesnar. I am not saying Cesaro is unworthy of such a feud. I am saying they are not developing him properly to be worthy of such a feud. I doubt they will follow through with it, if they were really serious about this in the first place.

They could have developed a proper feud between him and RVD. There could have been a great story there. Personally, I wasn't interested in it. Nevertheless, it would have been better than nothing at all. It would have been even better than a generic midcard title feud. That is, if it was done right. It is not even being done at all.

Some people say that the issue is that they didn't turn him face. Cesaro was connecting so well with the fans. Keeping him heel ruined his momentum. I disagree. They could have turned him face and still pushed him as mediocrely as they have now. He could have been treated as a very dry, very generic face. That, most likely, would have led to a loss of overness and momentum. What would fans be saying then? He's a bad face? Worst face turn since Randy Orton in 2004? The issue is not developing proper feuds for him and putting great focus on him. Heyman hasn't done him too many favors. I find "King of Swing" is a stupid nickname. But the real problem is a lack of commitment on the part of the WWE.

Extreme Rules 2014: Assorted Thoughts

I am just going to keep it short for the other matches on the card. After that, I want to talk about an article I came across about the WWE Network and PPVs.

El Torito vs. Hornswoggle. Yep.

Alexander Rusev vs. R-Truth and Xavier Woods. The winner in this is obvious. At least the WWE did a little to make Truth and Woods look credible against Rusev recently.

Paige vs. Tamina. Once again, the winner seems obvious. No need to end Paige's reign here. I have been talking about feuds that should last beyond Extreme Rules in the last few days.This is not one of those feuds. The WWE has not developed a great feud here and I don't even want to see them try. It will be painful. Just move Paige onto something better.

Big E vs. Bad News Barrett. If any title is likely to change hands at this event, it has to be the Intercontinental Championship. Big E has held it for months. He has been pushed pretty mediocrely for the majority of that time. Not surprising at all. On the other side of that, you have Wade Barrett, who has been rejuvenated with this gimmick. Bad News Barrett is great. He has a ton of momentum on his side. He can be a great thing for the midcard.

Cesaro vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger. The likely match you could have had for Extreme Rules would have been between just Cesaro and his former partner, Jack Swagger. You had Heyman and Zeb to add a little spice to things. The WWE took it one big step further. They inserted Rob Van Dam. And I think they did a pretty good job of inserting him into the mix. The story is there. I usually do not like triple-threat matches where nothing is on the line, but I'll let this one go. Cesaro should win. He is the one they seem most interested in pushing in this match.

I came across an article in the last week about a topic I have brought up a lot in the last few months. It can be found here. A lot of points to bring up.

First of all, reading the article, I realized I did not properly account for international buys when I was determining what kind of benchmark you should want to have for Wrestlemania XXX. I admit it, I botched. All it really means is I should have kept the benchmark higher. Like 800,000 total PPV buys. For the millionth time, the reason is that you would want to have high standards for a Wrestlemania that should have been treated as something special.

The article mentions that expectations were at 295,000 domestic buys. That is low. I understand you have the WWE Network, it does not include international buys, and all that, but I would have expected at least 400,000, which is around the number they ended up getting. Of course, the WWE really did not create a stellar PPV card featuring legends and celebrities that generated a ton of hype. Hulk Hogan returned, but they did not do anything exciting with him. When The Rock came back, they started developing a feud between him and John Cena. This Wrestlemania season did not measure up to what you had in the last three years. That is probably the reason expectations were so low. Poor build leads to low expectations. That is underachieving.

The writer of that article said one thing I found very interesting:

Buying a PPV the old-fashioned way instead of subscribing to the network makes no sense for even casual WWE fans. One PPV costs roughly $60 -- the same price as six months of the network, which gives you access to six PPVs, around 1,300 hours of archived WWE content, and tons of exclusive programming.

It makes no sense? Really? I don't think a lot of people understand casual fans. Fans do not come in just one flavor. Let me break it down into 3 groups. You have your casual fans, regular fans, and hardcore fans. Hardcore fans are really into whatever it is they love that much. You ever see people get tattoos of their favorite sports team or get it shaved into their head? That's hardcore. Regular fans support whatever it is on a regular basis, including spending money on it now and then. Casual fans are the ones that care about it, but really are not that into it.

Why would fans that are not that into it subscribe to the WWE Network? The archived content? Tons of exclusive programming? They can live without it. And that would be why they are CASUAL fans. They just want to pay for what they want. As I have said before, drawing in the casual fans is why Wrestlemania is the most successful WWE PPV pretty much every year. These fans don't care that much about seeing the five other PPVs included in the 6-month commitment. That is why all those other PPVs would get lesser buys. It really isn't shocking at all that the number of subscribers for the WWE Network fell short of initial expectations, while the number of PPV buys for Wrestlemania exceeded expectations. The number of subscribers exceeded my expectations, but I was expecting a lot of PPV buyers. And just for the sake of repeating myself, I still feel the WWE could have done better and should have tried to do better.

Let me get to the main point of that article. PPV providers are dropping the WWE. You might have noticed how the commentators handled things on Raw. Satellite providers are not offering Extreme Rules. I have Dish Network. I had DirecTV before that. I have not subscribed to the WWE Network. I am not going to. Well, looks like I'm screwed. That is, if I am ever interested in watching another WWE PPV. Right now, I can live without it. They have gotten pretty pricey.

This is not how the WWE would have liked things to work out. They are losing money. Fans are essentially paying just $9.99 to watch these PPVs that would normally cost more than triple that. The WWE only gets about half that, while the other half goes to the PPV providers, but that's still more than $9.99. The WWE has not even gotten enough subscribers to break even yet. And what happens when 6 months are up and people start dropping it? Will the flow of new subscribers offset the drop? They will most likely have to raise the price of their network. If the WWE makes roughly half of what a PPV costs for themselves, it would make sense to charge a little bit more than roughly half of what the average PPV would cost. Make your money for the PPVs and for the other content. You cannot count on PPV revenue when those providers start dropping you.  

Barrett Or Cesaro?

The WWE is holding a tournament to find the #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship. That is a good move. If the WWE did not do that, they would have random filler matches on Raw anyway. You can still say that these matches are filler, but it at least makes things a little more interesting to make it seem like they matter a little more.

Should the winner be Bad News Barrett or Cesaro? Those are the two heels left in the tournament. Beyond that, RVD and Sheamus really do not need the Intercontinental Championship. These guys are above being midcarders. Moreover, it seems like the two heels in this tournament just have momentum on their side.

Give it to Barrett. Cesaro just got a big win at Wrestlemania, was paired with Paul Heyman, and should be entering into feuds with top guys. Last year, they gave that same title to Curtis Axel. The only purpose it ended up serving was making him look more credible while he was being used to help Heyman. He held the title longer than he needed it. This year's Heyman guy, Cesaro, is more over than Curtis Axel. He already has something to give him credibility. Heyman can brag about Cesaro winning the battle royal at Wrestlemania.

Why do I say Barrett should win this tournament and possibly the title? Aside from his gimmick, which is definitely working for him, he has nothing. He has no feuds being developed for him. Of course, even with the title, he still might not get any feuds developed for him. You can at least settle with him holding a title. I really do not think Cesaro needs it. And should Barrett win the title, you can always cross your fingers and hope this is the start of great things for him.

Your New Heyman Guy: Cesaro

After Cesaro won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, I was ready to talk about just that. I was going to compare it to Damien Sandow winning Money in the Bank. Both situations were the biggest wins in the WWE career of the respective wrestler. Both led to them getting good midcard feuds. Sandow got a good feud against Cody Rhodes and Cesaro is entering a feud with Jack Swagger. What happened on Raw now gives me something else to talk about. Cesaro ditched Zeb and joined Paul Heyman.

With Brock Lesnar once again riding off into the sunset, it would make sense to give Heyman a new guy to keep him active. Last year, that was Curtis Axel. Let me compare Cesaro to Axel. I just felt that push for Curtis Axel was doomed from the start. Not only was he not over, but they did not even push him properly. He was more of a pawn developed for the larger feud between Punk and Heyman than anything else. Will Cesaro end up like that? Is he only getting this push alongside Heyman to keep Heyman relevant? I would hope not. Cesaro has really developed himself to get over. He can be a great midcarder. I think it is too soon to talk about making him World Champion. There is nothing wrong with being a midcarder. There is nothing wrong with feuding with a few top guys now and then without ever winning the top title. Push him as a B+ player or an A- player. I wouldn't be quick to say he is bringing A+ overness, but that vocal audience is connecting well with him.

Is he a face or a heel? Paul Heyman, a known heel, is his manager. He is feuding against Jack Swagger, another known heel. He is getting face reactions, but that does not determine whether or not you are a heel or a face. Right now, he is in tweener territory. He should go complete face soon. It will be interesting to see how that works with Heyman.

Is this the kind of change CM Punk would love to see? What more will it take to bring that guy back? You have a lot of new talent and over talent getting pushed better now. Focus on new talent. Isn't that what TNA has been trying recently? WWE trying to follow TNA's lead? Whatever the motivation may be, this still may not work out for the WWE. TNA's focus on new talent will fail them. They couldn't take established stars and utilize them properly to help the company grow. They have not figured out how to handle stars as stars. What is all that new talent going to do for you if you can't feature them to connect with more than just wrestling fans and your core fanbase? The WWE's problem is still that their midcard is a mess. I saw a lot of filler matches on Raw last night. Cesaro vs. Swagger will be a breath of fresh air in comparison to all that, but can they keep the ball rolling after that? They didn't with either Damien Sandow or Cody Rhodes.

All this is nice. Cesaro getting a big push. Daniel Bryan finally gets a legitimate run with the title. Debuts coming. You have to keep in mind, it has to draw. There is a difference between being over and drawing. Ratings have been mediocre for a while now. If viewership sinks badly with the new direction the WWE might be heading in, they will have pretty much every right to move on to something else. That means possibly returning to the Cena quo. As long as the WWE gives these guys a fair, legitimate opportunity, it is up to them to prove that they can actually help the company grow, or at least stop sinking.

The WWE stock has been hit hard in the last two days. When the stock dropped the day after Donald Trump "bought" Raw, I said it was foolish to automatically blame it all on that. If you looked at how the market was that day and the WWE's own numbers throughout the day, it seemed more likely that overall market factors were the main reason for the WWE's decline on that day. The whole market took a hard it that day. The market isn't exactly amazing right now, but it does seem like this drop is happening independently of the overall market. There is an article explaining why that drop might be here.

Numbers are out for the WWE Network. They actually got more subscribers than I thought they would get. However, they seemed to have fallen short of some original estimates. Getting over 650,000 is still pretty good. I'll get to what that means for Wrestlemania in a minute.As for just expectations for the WWE Network, I keep on hearing that the magic number is a million subscribers by the end of the year. It is to be expected that the most subscribers would come before Wrestlemania. How many more can they really expect? How many international fans will get it? Moreover, I already see some fans wanting to cancel. Of course, you have a 6-month commitment. And it is the failure to get a better number that seems to be hurting the WWE stock right now the most. Hype for the WWE Network was one of the factors that helped boost the number a few weeks ago. It should be no shock that investors not seeing a number they like in terms of subscriptions will react. This is something that will appeal to the core fanbase of the WWE the most. The WWE better start pandering more to them. Daniel Bryan should hold the title for the rest of the year. Cesaro should be pushed to the moon. Give CM Punk anything he wants to get him back, even them ice cream bars. And if the content on the WWE Network gets stale, you can expect people to eventually cancel after the 6 months.

What does this mean for Wrestlemania XXX? I was saying that you should expect the WWE to want a lot of buys for a Wrestlemania so special. You had to give a little leeway for those watching it through the WWE Network. Given how many subscribers they have, do you automatically say that there should be about 350,000 in PPV buys from non-subscribers? Not so fast. As I said before, it is the core fanbase that is more likely to subscribe, not the casual fans. Wrestlemania is supposed to be a major success because of the casual audience it will draw in. How many of that 650,000 even would have bought Wrestlemania? Some of these WWE loyalists use illegal streams, watch it at a friend's house, simply read what is going on online, or other things like that. And just because someone subscribed, that does not mean that they were able to watch Wrestlemania on it. They might have had to work at that time, were having technical difficulties, or something like that. Point is, despite the number of subscribers, I would still have high expectations for the number of PPV buys. I will grant them a little more leeway. I would expect around 700,000 PPV buys. In terms of PPV buys, that might be horrible for a Wrestlemania in this age, but when you add in those that watched it on the WWE Network, it is a great number. The WWE pretty much roped in more of their regular fans to pay to watch Wrestlemania with the cheap price of the WWE Network, but was Wrestlemania good enough to get the casual audience?

Elimination Chamber 2014 WWE Title Match Preview

Six men will enter the Chamber to decide who will be WWE Champion. The WWE has done a decent job of passing credibility around over the last few weeks. Not great, but decent. Nevertheless, I am still not too hyped for this match. I was really looking forward to Brock Lesnar getting in the title hunt in some way. Few things get me excited in pro wrestling anymore. Hyping up Lesnar going after the title was something I was starting to look forward to. You can complain about part-timers stealing the spotlight, but this is Wrestlemania season, so cut the WWE a little bit of slack. Besides, Brock Lesnar has the credibility. And it wasn't like he had to win the title or get a long reign. No point complaining about that any longer. Let's just run through the six guys in this match at Elimination Chamber.

In terms of title reigns, Cesaro has the least credibility of the six. But he has beaten Randy Orton. He is still not likely to win this match. How many times will he swing someone inside the Chamber? He can make for some good spots. After that, it is back to working with Jack Swagger, whether to team with him again or follow up with that angle about the team splitting up. Whatever the WWE has planned, Cesaro has the biggest push of his career right now.

In terms of just plain momentum, Christian is at the bottom of the list. Randy Orton did beat him. In terms of creative interest, Christian has turned heel for this match at Elimination Chamber. That might refresh his character a little. He is not going to win the title, but at least there is something to still talk about with him. How about beyond the PPV and into Wrestlemania? Can they develop a true feud between him and Sheamus?

Speaking of Sheamus, he just seems to be there. He is not at the top of the momentum ladder, but neither is he at the bottom. He has more title success than Cesaro, but not as much as guys like Cena and Orton. Creative interest? What creative interest? No interesting character development for him. They are not going to give him the title. What is he likely to do after the PPV? Seeing as he has nothing to really do, I say that feud with Christian would be best. Or another random match against The Shield, if they are still a team by then. There was talk that Sheamus would feud with Daniel Bryan. How could they have made that interesting?

I would say John Cena has the most momentum of the guys in this match. But will he win the title? John Cena vs. Batista at Wrestlemania. I believe they did that before. It is not unheard of to repeat matches at Wrestlemania, but I don't think this is a match fans want to see again. John Cena is not likely to win the title. If he is not in the title hunt or facing The Rock, what is John Cena left with for Wrestlemania? Ever since he became the centerpiece, that is all the guy has ever done at Wrestlemania. Will they follow through with that feud against The Wyatts? Or will they come up with better?

After the fans were so upset at what happened at the Royal Rumble, it became a legitimate possibility that Daniel Bryan might find his way into the title match for Wrestlemania. Problem is, that also happened to coincide with the CM Punk issue. Daniel Bryan now has two angles going for him heading into Elimination Chamber. Not only is he in the title match, he has issues with Kane, which was CM Punk's feud. If he is getting CM Punk's push, that means a match against Triple H is likely in his future. I wouldn't be surprised if he won the title, just to have Kane somehow screw him out of it. Or Triple H, himself. That would really propel this feud to another level. I really cannot imagine Daniel Bryan having a feud with Sheamus into Wrestlemania, even before what happened at the Royal Rumble. Such a waste of Daniel Bryan. Regardless of the outcome, a feud with Triple H is better.

That leaves Randy Orton. He is still likely to head into Wrestlemania as Champion. Looking at all the other guys, they either do not have the credibility or seem to have something else developing for them at Wrestlemania. Randy Orton vs. Batista. You go back to 2004 and you might think that a feud between these two in ten years would be epic. Right now, it really doesn't have that feel to it. And yet, that is your likely option.

A Good Night For The Real Americans

No one said the man they call Cesaro had to beat Randy Orton. Nevertheless, that is what happened on Smackdown last week. The challenger in the Chamber match with the least credibility has beaten the World Champion.

I am glad that the title is finally regularly getting main-event attention. I have said before that it would be nice if they started doing that since they unified the titles. The guy holding the title losing so much? That is another issue. Obviously, Randy Orton losing so much might mean he will retain the title, but I will talk about that more another day. You also have the fact that Orton losing so much can be used to develop the storyline of The Authority losing confidence in him as the kayfabe face. I have seen people bring that up. My problem with that is that I have already lost interest in that story after all these months of teasing it endlessly. It is obvious it is going to happen, so just do it. Have the corporate heels pick a new guy and kick Orton to the side.

Not only did Cesaro win, but Jack Swagger also won a match on Smackdown to earn a shot at the Intercontinental Championship. Things are looking good for Zeb's guys. Should Jack Swagger win the Intercontinental Championship? It isn't like Big E has done a lot with the title in a while. Of course, you should blame booking for that, not him. If Swagger did win the title, that could set up an interesting title feud between him and Cesaro for Wrestlemania, assuming the WWE pulls the trigger on the team splitting up. They can still feud if there is no title involved, but I think the feud will mean more if one of the two wins at Elimination Chamber. Swagger stands a better chance of winning his title match than Cesaro does.

Since I mentioned Wrestlemania, I came across a graph that illustrates the buyrates for the big event over the years. I am not going to analyze it all. Let me just say that the last three Wrestlemanias all had over a million buys. All three featured The Rock in some way. He obviously helped. If you want to do some speculating, let's ask the obvious question. Over or under? Will this year's Wrestlemania score over or under a million buys? You would hope that Wrestlemania XXX would draw well. The Rock is not here this year, but it can still be possible to do it without him. But who do you have to really help you? I do not believe Batista can deliver well right now. The Undertaker is always a big deal around now. That doesn't mean he will draw big for over a million buys. Brock Lesnar is still around. He might face The Undertaker. Even though this was a match many people would have loved to see at Wrestlemania, and still do, I do not feel it will have the hype to it that it could have earlier. Is Hulk Hogan going to do anything there? Regardless of who is performing at the big event, it really comes down to how well they are hyped and how much hype in general the WWE can create for the PPV. As of now, things feel dry and I do not feel they will get a million buys this year. I might talk about this again in a month, if I remember. By then, hopefully, they would have created major hype for their top feuds.

Tag Teams Splitting Up

You have had some teams either splitting up or on the verge of splitting up recently. Why not talk about those teams a little?

The Prime Time Players are no more. Titus O'Neil turned on Darren Young. There is a little bit of a push there for Titus, as well as Darren Young. But I would not expect too much to come of this. These guys are still just lower-midcarders. Remember when Brodus Clay turned heel and broke up Tons of Funk? Where's Tensai now? I would expect pretty much the same thing to happen with Titus O'Neil and Darren Young.

The Real Americans may not have much time left as a team. They teased friction a while ago between Swagger and Zeb. Cesaro may end up sticking with Zeb Colter and Swagger will be left on his own. It would have been better if they had developed these two better as a team. They could have been a good choice to win the tag titles at one time.

Friction is being teased even more in The Shield. The WWE is developing Roman Reigns to be the breakout star. Dean Ambrose seems to be starting some issues. Seth Rollins is trying to keep the peace. The end seems pretty much near. You don't see internal tension being a story for The Wyatts, who will face The Shield at Extreme Rules. Will The Shield become a 2-man group? That is another issue.

The Rhodes have not split up and are not on the verge of doing that, but if you think about it, it is only a matter of time. They are not feuding against The Authority anymore, they are no longer in the hunt for the tag titles, and what else is there for them? People sometimes bring up Cody Rhodes facing Goldust for Wrestlemania. I don't know if the WWE is thinking that as a big enough match for the PPV, but Wrestlemania is coming up. Splitting them up around now can lead up to that match.

You have a bit of a downgrade in the tag division. People can list all the teams that are still in the division, but how relevant are all these teams? How likely is it that Los Matadores get a serious push? And with more legitimate teams breaking up, that will hurt things even more. Another issue for these teams on the verge of splitting is doing it at a good pace. Do not take too long to do it. It might get as annoying as the friction between Randy Orton and The Authority. Either decide to do it and follow through or decide not to and keep the team together. Don't get fans excited about something happening and then not do it. And to replace some of these teams, a few more teams might need to be created or debut.

The Messy Road To Elimination Chamber 2014

To say that things are "messy" might be a bit of an understatement. The WWE did some sloppy development last week, and things might get worse. You can understand that CM Punk walking away and Daniel Bryan's continued insane overness might lead to some changes, but was what the WWE has done so far good for Elimination Chamber and beyond?

Let's start with CM Punk walking out. At this point, it doesn't really matter whether or not this is a work or whether or not they can get him back quickly. What has gone down will definitely change his storyline. He was being developed to go against Kane. If CM Punk came back now, that feud with Kane would just seem so irrelevant against all the hype created around CM Punk walking out. So far, the WWE has not developed anything else for Kane. Another feud between him and Big Show coming up?

Of course, the CM Punk drama does not warrant the WWE's crazy decisions outside that feud with Kane and The Authority. Specifically, I am talking about the title matters. The issue of Daniel Bryan getting so over does provide a good reason for the WWE to rethink things. They hyped that Brock Lesnar was hovering around the title picture. They even mentioned it in promos. All of a sudden, not happening. What is happening? An Elimination Chamber match for the title.

Randy Orton will defend the title against John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Christian, and Antonio Cesaro. The former three won the right last week on Raw in a tag match, while the latter two won singles matches on Smackdown. That match on Raw ended in a DQ when The Wyatts attacked Cena. That is how Daniel Bryan, the hottest guy right now, earns himself a title match? That was poor. Christian's back. He is no replacement for CM Punk, but it is good that they have someone to involve in big matches. And Cesaro? It is good to give midcarders these pushes, but I was hoping they would continue the hype over unifying the titles by making some big matches the first few months after TLC. Not happening. Would have been better if a former World Champion got that spot Cesaro has. In general, if they had to defend the title inside the Chamber, it would have been better if they spread out the qualifying matches better. You have time until the PPV. Why rush things so horrible? Because of the horrible week they just had? Okay, that's an excuse, but showing more calm would have been nice. Spreading out the qualifying matches would have made things more interesting by developing a few guys that have shots to get in the match. More importantly, I think it would have led to a better moment for Daniel Bryan when he got his spot.

The Shield are not happy with The Wyatts. You have a feud between them now. Heel vs. heel. And you couldn't go with Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar for the title? Of course, this tag match could be where The Shield splits. That is an issue for another day. Is this feud the best decision for this time? Obviously, I would have The Wyatts continue with John Cena now, then have Cena move onto better things for Wrestlemania. Where would that leave The Shield? You can't come up with another way to tease their breakup? You can't find 3 top faces for them to feud against? You can't develop a title feud for the U.S. Championship? There were other options.

What about Brock Lesnar and Batista? Are they going to face each other now? I would have rather Batista feud with Alberto Del Rio, since that feud was already there. Batista will probably just go over Del Rio on Raw somewhere between now and Elimination Chamber. As for Lesnar, I would rather he gets a 1-on-1 title shot. Save the Elimination Chamber match to decide a third contender for the title match at Wrestlemania.

And the misery does not end there for the WWE. John Cena suffered an eye injury recently. How much will that change plans for Elimination Chamber? Cena was booked to be in the title match. If he really cannot go for that match, he will have to be replaced. Can Brock Lesnar get in there? They can always still do Batista vs. Del Rio for the PPV. You also have other former World Champions hovering around. If the WWE is not afraid to put in midcarders like Cesaro, that opens up even more options. Kofi Kingston got a win over Randy Orton a few weeks ago. He can get in the title picture easily. Regardless, Cena's injury will lead to some changes in how Raw is developed for a while, even if he does still work at the PPV.

A very bad week for the WWE has ended. A top star walks away, another top star has fans very upset about his misuse, and another top star gets injured. As bad as things were developed last week and what the current card is shaping up to be, I would expect the WWE to change things and not follow through with everything as it is. It just seems bad and they still have a lot of time to make changes. Will making these changes make things look even worse? Probably. But if a better PPV card is developed, it might be worth it.

Who Should Get A Feud For The Tag Titles Against The Rhodes?

Cody Rhodes and Goldust entered a feud against The Shield a few months ago. They got some big wins over them, including winning the tag titles off them. Months later, these two teams are still feuding against each other. You have other heel teams and it would be nice if they eventually got legitimate feuds against The Rhodes for the tag titles. The Shield can serve other purposes as The Authority's henchmen. They do not also need to always be stuck against the Tag Team Champions.

How about The Rhodes feud against Swagger and Cesaro? I know they started a feud a few weeks ago, but it was never properly developed. Keep them chasing after the titles. This can be a strong heel team and they are the ones I would want to see get the titles.

Bray Wyatt's group is also in the mix. As it seems CM Punk is moving on to feud with The Shield, that leaves The Wyatts with only whatever they end up doing with Daniel Bryan. If they are going to have him join the family, what better way to do it than have him return when they are getting a shot at the tag titles to screw The Rhodes out of the titles? Aside from The Shield, The Wyatts are your top heel tag team. They have been getting some development in the main-event scene. I don't think you need to have that kind of credibility to get these titles, but the WWE has been building them well, so a title reign is not out of the question.

Whichever team gets chosen for a legitimate feud for the tag titles, just don't let it be The Shield. I know they have put on great matches with The Rhodes, but this is getting really stale and there is no reason for it. You have other options to push. The Shield feuding with CM Punk is not a burial. Have CM Punk team with The Usos or Rey Mysterio and Mark Henry. Leave The Rhodes to something else.

On Swagger/Cesaro and Cryback

I'm going to lay off on the talk about percentages and statistics and go back to the usual critiquing and personal opinions on what the WWE is currently doing. Will I also lay off on mentioning Jinder Mahal for no good reason? No guarantees.

First, Jack Swagger returned and the duo of Swagger and Antonio is now official. Zeb is the manager of both heels. For Jack Swagger, some might say this is a step back for him. Wasn't he a part of a team with Dolph Ziggler for a while? You can argue that Swagger was in Ziggler's shadow back then. With this current team, Swagger is the one with a better list of title reigns than Cesaro. Hopefully, this team will help Swagger shine more. Cesaro won't exactly be lost in the shuffle. He actually seems more interesting with this current gimmick he now has. He has potential to connect better with the fans now than he did during that long title run he had. You can book someone very well, but that does not mean he is entertaining. Cesaro was being booked well before his mistreatment started. That didn't get him over. Now, he has a good chance of getting over. It would be nice to see these two eventually get the tag titles.

Ryback seems to be going in the opposite direction of the two heels I just mentioned. A depush was obvious for him after being used to put over Cena, but the storyline they are running with him is a little much. They actually had him give up during a match with The Miz. After that, Jericho once again had the last word. Ryback had beaten The Great Khali on Raw just last week. I know Khali is a jobber, but they were still having Ryback look good up to last week. They have really made his character look bad. Crying? If Ryback was having trouble connecting with the fans, I can understand trying something different to get fans interested. If this storyline was actually intriguing character development, then it would be worth it. So far, it's just breaking him down. They need to do something good to have Ryback turn things around against Jericho. Jericho was getting kicked around by Fandango just a few months ago, and now he's owning Ryback like this?