Previewing The Summerslam 2017 Main Events

Speaking of lackluster feud development, how about that Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura feud? This is the WWE Championship match. The two don't even look like they are really feuding. This is terrible. The WWE should have put a lot more work into Nakamura.

Let me go back to another Summerslam title change. In 2004, Randy Orton defeated Chris Benoit for his first World title. I was a big Orton fan back then. I watched that PPV and was glad he won. Thing is, looking back, the feud development was not that great. Most would also say that Orton's reign flopped. There are many reasons why it was not better, including Triple H still being the centerpiece back then. Point is, many might argue Orton was not ready to be Champion back then. Keep in mind, however, that he did have a good run with the Intercontinental Championship prior to his bigger push. He also had a memorable feud with Mick Foley that included a great match that some might say helped him to break out.

What does Shinsuke Nakamura have to say for himself? Let's ignore NXT. Too much attention is often put on the WWE's developmental brand, which the general audience does not even watch. What has Nakamura done since coming to the main roster? No title reigns. His PPV performances and booking have not been that spectacular. He just doesn't look like a big deal. You can say his match with Cena a few weeks ago was supposed to be where he broke out. Even ignoring the terrible botch in that match and whose fault it was, it just didn't feel like that match accomplished what it was supposed to do. And there is a chance this guy might actually win the title this Sunday? It would be an even worse decision than Randy Orton in 2004.

Speaking of bad decisions when it comes to title wins, the alternative to Nakamura winning the title is Jinder Mahal retaining the title. I have seen fans get upset with the WWE having Mahal lose cleanly recently, and I'm not even talking Indian fans or Canadians. Why shouldn't Jinder Mahal lose cleanly to faces that are above him? He's a heel. He's a non-monster heel. There is no excuse not to have him lose now and then, especially cleanly. If that hurts his appeal and WWE Network subscriptions with certain demographics, so be it. It would have to happen eventually. That makes these kind of pushes even more questionable. They won't be sustained. And what happens then? The WWE is going to hope that the Mahal fans might get interested in something else, but when the whole product is so terrible and stars are not built and featured right, the WWE is still underachieving. And while the WWE is so busy pleasing these demographics, they are making bad decisions that turn away other fans.

This match is pretty much about appealing to Japanese and Indian fans. Who will win? Jinder Mahal to sell tickets for an Indian tour? Or Shinsuke Nakamura to help his merchandise sales? That seems to be the WWE's driving mentality these days. It sure isn't proper feud development and building stars properly. Jinder Mahal should retain the title. It could be by DQ or something like that.

Four big men will go at it for the Universal Championship. There was a time when smarks hated big men getting pushed so much. I don't see too many complaints for this feud. These fans love Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman, especially when he's killing Roman Reigns. And this is just a ripe situation for Brock Lesnar to drop the title. There is a good chance he will leave. Multi-man match, which means he does not have to be pinned. Which of the three challengers should get it?

Let me start with Braun Strowman. Since Summerslam last year, five men have won their first top title in the WWE. Finn Balor and Kevin Owens won the Universal Championship. AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, and Jinder Mahal won the WWE Championship. The WWE definitely needs to slow down. The only reason for Strowman to win the title would be to drop it to Reigns, which might make storyline sense. Reigns has gotten knocked around by Strowman for a while now. Not only can Reigns finally get a decisive win against him, but he might win the title in the process.

Samoa Joe is another guy that stands a chance to win his first top title in the WWE. I am not counting NXT. Once again, I will say the WWE needs to slow down. This guy just debuted a few months ago. I have heard the rumors that certain people in the WWE want Samoa Joe to get the title. Smarks would love it. It was one thing for AJ Styles to win the WWE Championship in his first year on the main roster, but not every smark favorite needs to do that. Samoa Joe could do it at Summerslam, as well as Nakamura. Bobby Roode might be rushed to a title reign when he debuts. It is all disgusting.

As I have pointed out before, Roman Reigns has not held a top title in over a year. All he has had is a midcard title run. Also take into account his PPV losing streak. Even before Wrestlemania, his year was not that great. He lost twice at the Royal Rumble, once to Kevin Owens and then losing the Royal Rumble. This guy does not look like a centerpiece at all. If you are going to hype him like he is the centerpiece, it would make sense to push him as the centerpiece. If not, move on to someone else. If this weak treatment is not working in shutting up his haters, many of whom seem ignorant to the fact that he hasn't been pushed that hard in the last few months and for most of the past year, then stop doing it.

I do feel like a title change will happen. I would say it should be Roman Reigns. I am not a fan of the guy. But if you are going to push him as the centerpiece, he needs to get back on track. They are just damaging him, even if it is unintentional. There are some fans, usually kids, who will buy into the hype, even if the booking does not match the hype. But there are a lot of other fans that will hear the WWE talk about how great Roman Reigns is, see Reigns put himself over, see other wrestlers put him over, and then see the guy just lose every big match he has had in the last few months and not hold a top title in over a year. What are they going to say? That this guy is overrated. I wouldn't be too surprised if the WWE gives the title to someone else in the match and Reigns wins it down the line, but the WWE should just stop the poor booking now and put the title back on him.

Samoa Joe Vs. Roman Reigns: Who Faces Lesnar At Summerslam?

What do Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns have in common? Both are on Raw. Both are Samoan. Both are in a match tonight to decide who faces Brock Lesnar at Summerslam for the Universal Championship. And both lost their respective matches at Great Balls Of Fire.

And yet, here we are. Wins and losses obviously do not matter. I have seen some fans say that it would make more sense for Bray Wyatt to get the title shot, or at least an opportunity to win the title shot. He didn't lose at the last PPV. What about Finn Balor? He surrendered the title due to injury and never got his rematch. And yet, this is the match they are going with.

I am not going to pretend to be excited for this match or either man potentially facing Brock Lesnar. Samoa Joe had a solid showing against Lesnar. Some say he looked impressive. Don't forget that Lesnar was protected in that match to some degree. And Roman Reigns has been in the ring with Lesnar before. He has not beaten him. You know it is coming sooner or later. But Roman Reigns has not won a PPV match since Wrestlemania. Unless this booking is to imply The Undertaker put a curse on him, it might make it hard for some fans to buy into Roman Reigns right now.

But what is likely to happen is that Braun Strowman comes out for revenge against Roman Reigns tonight. Instead of this leading to Strowman/Reigns and Lesnar/Joe for Summerslam, the same matches you just had at the last PPV, all four guys will fight at Summerslam for the title. Strowman was obviously being built for a match with Lesnar. Some fans might argue Joe deserves another match. Roman Reigns obviously needs something to do, even with his PPV losing streak. Fatal fourway just makes sense.

Previewing The Great Balls Of Fire 2017 Main Event Matches

If Brock Lesnar was not gracing us with his presence, Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman would be the main event of this PPV. This is an Ambulance match. This feud has been going on and off all year. It got started at the Royal Rumble in January when Strowman cost Roman Reigns the Universal Championship. It took a break for Reigns to face The Undertaker. It took another break when Strowman was injured. This should be where it ends.

If the WWE still wants Strowman to face Lesnar, you might think that they let him win this match to get momentum. That is not necessary. AJ Styles lost to Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania last year and went on to become #1 contender for the WWE Championship. A PPV loss would not hurt Braun Strowman. Moreover, this being a gimmick match might give some room for a finish that still keeps Strowman strong in a loss. Remember when he had that Dumpster match with Kalisto? Strowman lost that match. Did it matter? No. Reigns, who has not won a PPV match in a while, is likely winning here.

Brock Lesnar finally defends the Universal Championship. Samoa Joe was obviously not meant to have this push a couple weeks ago. He still had unfinished business with Seth Rollins. Due to injuries back then, this is the title feud we are getting.

How has the WWE done in developing this guy that the mainstream casual audience just saw debut a couple months ago? Wrestling fans know who Joe is. But a lot of people don't. And he has not had the greatest few months prior to this push. He debuted before Wrestlemania and didn't even get on the card. He lost to Seth Rollins. All of a sudden, big push against Brock Lesnar for Raw's top title.

Not surprisingly, they have booked him as a beast. They have to if they want people to buy into this match. Some fans are loving it. It is not hard to please these kind of fans. It's just booking. It helps that Lesnar has also looked weak to put over Joe. I am not saying Samoa Joe does not have a "tough guy" presence, but how the WWE has presented him has really helped.

On the other side of that, I have seen fans say that Lesnar looks like a wussy. Some have used more colorful language than that. That is obviously a side effect of how the WWE has booked this feud. But could this hurt some of Lesnar's luster? I think it is possible to create a feud without one side having to look weak for the benefit of the other. Just have Lesnar and Joe spend a few weeks attacking anyone but each other. Joe can go after Heyman, like he has. Joe can also wrestle regularly and pick up wins against top guys, like he has. Lesnar can come in and F5 someone that tries to confront him, like Big Show. Joe and Lesnar can then have a face off, but not actually get physical yet. On the last Raw before the PPV, they finally brawl and have to be pulled apart or brawl to the back, leaving no clear winner to the fight. This way, Lesnar does not have to look too weak.

Should Samoa Joe win? I am not talking about whether he is likely to win. Does he deserve to win the title from Brock Lesnar here? No. All those fans in love with how he looks need to realize it is mainly thanks to booking. If I felt like Samoa Joe was really breaking into his own here as something special, I would say he does deserve to be the guy that beats Brock Lesnar. Unlike the last time Lesnar lost the title, there is no briefcase that is going to come into play here to save him from taking the pin or submission himself. The guy that ends this title reign might just get a big rub. Samoa Joe does not look like he deserves that.

Will Joe win? Probably not. This is not a main PPV. This is Lesnar's first title defense. Samoa Joe was just filling in for Strowman. Signs just point to Lesnar retaining.

Last thing to consider, the story of this match. Some fans are dreading that Samoa Joe will get squashed. Considering that Lesnar has helped Joe look strong in this feud, I don't think it will be the worst thing in the world. This should not be a match where Samoa Joe dominates for 99% of the match and Lesnar hits a desperation F5 for the win. That would just kill Lesnar's mystique. He's not exactly a grand draw for the WWE, but if they make him look that bad in this match, he just becomes like Ronda Rousey. He just won't be that big of a deal anymore. The match should last about 5 minutes. Let Joe look good to start out, but then have Lesnar bounce back with his usual stuff and win it.  

Samoa Joe Gets Shot Against Brock Lesnar

Samoa Joe ended up winning the title shot last Sunday. I did not even bring him up. When you think about it, though, it does make sense for him to face Brock Lesnar.

Braun Stowman was the guy they were grooming to face Lesnar. What is Braun Strowman? He was a destructive monster. He was tossing people around and looking extreme. He even beat Roman Reigns. The injury killed what they were building him up for.

Of the 5 men in that #1 contender's match on Sunday, who matches Strowman the best? Who was that destructive monster? Obviously not Finn Balor. Not Seth Rollins. Bray Wyatt is more of a heel that plays mind games. Roman Reigns may be a powerhouse, but he is not really a destructive monster. Besides, the WWE wouldn't waste this match so soon. Samoa Joe is that destructive force. They sell him as a destroyer. They sell him as the guy that took out Seth Rollins. They portray him as this intimidating force that beats people up. He is the best replacement for Braun Strowman, if the WWE wants to sell that same kind of story.

There were obviously other stories they could have gone with. I would have gone with Finn Balor finally getting his rematch for the title he never lost. Bray Wyatt and Lesnar have unfinished business. You can talk about the rest. But this is the story they are going with.

Samoa Joe will have to be protected in the weeks to come and made to look very strong. He will likely beat Roman Reigns in the weeks to come. It might even be a clean win. The same kind of push Strowman was getting, that is what you might expect for Samoa Joe. They have to sell him as a huge threat to Brock Lesnar.

Does this all mean that Samoa Joe will stand a fighting chance against Brock Lesnar? The WWE loves having Lesnar just mow people over. Rarely does Lesnar look bad, like when he faced Goldberg. Strowman was obviously someone they were building to feed to Lesnar. And Samoa Joe is just filling in for the injured Strowman. It would be easy to say Samoa Joe will be on the receiving end of a whole bunch of suplexes and an F5. Let's see how the WWE builds things.

The Impact Of Injuries On Extreme Rules

Extreme Rules, a Raw PPV, is coming up this weekend. I will do the normal 3-day preview starting tomorrow. Before that, there is a topic that is definitely having an impact on this PPV. That would be injuries. Since April, there have been a few critical injuries. Not a lot, but ones that have definitely impacted things very much.

Let me start right at the top. Braun Strowman getting injured was huge. This guy has never held a WWE/Universal Championship. He has never held any titles in the WWE. I don't even consider him a long-term A-tier player. And yet, his injury really led to a shake up. He was feuding with Roman Reigns, and looked likely to move on to feud with Brock Lesnar. His likely Ambulance match against Roman Reigns this Sunday would have been one of the extreme matches to look forward to.

With his injury, however, the WWE has gone with a 5-man match to determine a number 1 contender for the Universal Championship. The first criticism for this match is obvious. Doesn't feel extreme enough, does it? That is a little disappointing.

The other issue is that the WWE has to take various feuds and essentially muddy them for the sake of throwing all these guys together. Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe were still feuding. Bray Wyatt looked like he would get a feud with Finn Balor. You now have all that in one match.

The storyline/feud issue is only part of it. This takes a number of matches off the card. This leaves the WWE with more time to kill for the PPV. One thing to do is obviously make some matches longer. I can definitely see the main event lasting at least half an hour. But they still need more matches than they have announced so far.

Will the answer come in the women's division? The key injury here has been Emma. Again, she never held a title in the WWE and is not someone I consider an A-tier player. She likely will get a title run down the road as a credible jobber. Right now, however, if she was healthy, she would be getting her storyline with Dana Brooke. Not a feud that would have led to a great match, but still something with some creative interest, and something that could have taken up some time at the PPV.

With that off the table, has the WWE done a good job creating other women's feuds on Raw to fill that spot? No. Sasha Banks has a "feud" with Alicia Fox where they are really just trading wins. It is not that interesting and some fans are annoyed by it. They want better for Sasha Banks. Mickie James and Nia Jax could have had a legitimate feud going on. A couple weeks ago, there seemed to be a partnership created between Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax. Nia Jax helped to distract Mickie James in a match to allow Alexa to win. Nia then attacked Mickie James after the match. And the WWE has just not followed up with this. Alexa Bliss is back on her own, including her beating Mickie James cleanly this week, then attacking her with a kendo stick. What the WWE has done here has just not helped the partnership potential between Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax and the feud potential between Mickie James and Nia Jax. Needless to say, it has really hurt Mickie James the most. Her last two Raw matches have been losses and her getting beaten up more after the match. And the failure to properly follow up with Nia Jax attacking her just leaves her looking buried.

And yet, I would not be surprised to see another women's match added to the card. Aside from being a non-title match, it will be a match between credible jobbers. Whether it is Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox or Nia Jax vs. Mickie James, none of these women are pushed as stars. And that makes whatever the WWE chooses to do just a pure filler match.

That is actually something you never really saw in the diva era. How often did you see two credible jobbers have a feud that led to them facing each other in a PPV non-title match? You can bring up Melina vs. Jillian when both were on Smackdown, but Smackdown didn't have a women's title back then. Everything was non-title. Moreover, Melina and Jillian had gotten some periphery angles on Smackdown. They were not yet getting the filler and jobber pushes that credible jobbers get. We are now at a point where the WWE is willing to put two women against each other that don't have anything going for them besides wrestling credibility, and are getting lackluster, sloppy feuds. Some people might consider women getting this treatment progress. It's filler. Melina vs. Jillian was a more meaningful PPV match back at Judgment Day 2006 than whatever non-title filler match the WWE chooses for the women at Extreme Rules, if they choose anything.

The last injury to bring up is Dash Wilder, a member of The Revival. Once again, someone that had no title success on the main roster. The team hardly got a chance to do much since debuting. And yet, the WWE was obviously interested in pushing them. They would definitely have been getting another PPV match this weekend.

The WWE still has something for The Hardys to do, defending the titles against heel Sheamus and Cesaro. But what about the other teams? The WWE might be able to throw something together. Once again, much like I said with the women's division, whatever the WWE chooses to throw together will be filler. This PPV feels like it will have a lot of filler. Most of the blame cannot go on the WWE. Injuries happen. But they do deserve some of the blame for not building up these other feuds and storylines better.

On Braun Strowman's Injury

Another injury to talk about. This time, it's Braun Strowman. It seems his injury is legit and he could miss up to two months.

Braun Strowman was getting a monster push for the last few months. Some fans have said he was the best part of Raw, although ratings haven't exactly been rising these last few weeks. But was all that work to build him to put over Roman Reigns? Or Brock Lesnar?

Before looking down the road, what is lost right now? Braun Strowman is someone I would consider an upper-midcarder. Yes, he was main-eventing a bit in recent weeks, but he doesn't feel like a long-term main-eventer, so I call him an upper-midcarder. Whatever you want to call him, I don't think his loss for a few months would hurt the depth too badly. Raw has a ton of guys they can push as main-eventers, and raiding Smackdown of some of their stars last month helped. They have Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Miz, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, and a few other guys that can be promoted to a bigger push rather easily, like Sheamus or one of The Hardys. It probably won't even come to pushing Sheamus as a top heel prior to Strowman coming back. This is not an emergency situation right now.

Now, look down the road. A collision between Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman just seemed likely. It can still happen down the line, but what does Lesnar do for his first title defense in a few months? Strowman will likely not be back in time for it to make it a proper feud. This seems like a bigger issue than the main-event depth losing Strowman. It is too soon for Reigns to once again go against Lesnar. The WWE would save that for a bigger PPV. Of course, since this is a throwaway PPV, the WWE might just get lazy with it and do whatever. Pick any of the other guys I recently mentioned and toss them against Lesnar. Dean Ambrose? Finn Balor? Bray Wyatt and Lesnar have unfinished business. Still a few options to go with and lots of time to plan. It will be interesting to see what the WWE chooses to do.

Aside from Lesnar, you have to wonder what Roman Reigns will do. He was feuding with Strowman right now. That feud was certainly not over. Maybe the WWE should have just had him stay away for a little while longer and come back to start a fresh feud. Instead, the WWE had Reigns and Strowman go at it again on Raw this week. Strowman should probably not try to work through the injury for a hardcore-style match that this feud was obviously leading to, likely an Ambulance Match. You have to wonder if all the stunts they are having him do might be a little responsible for his injury issues. In any case, Roman Reigns is in an even worse position than Brock Lesnar. The WWE has less time to react for him before the next Raw PPV he will likely be performing at.

Previewing The Payback 2017 Main Event Matches

I would consider Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe one of the main matches of Payback. It is an extension of that big feud you had between Rollins and Triple H. That feud had its ups and downs. Samoa Joe being inserted looked like it would revitalize the feud. Of course, the injury to Seth Rollins happened. All that is in the past, but this feud still remains.

It just feels like this feud isn't as great as it could have been. It might have been better if Triple H was still around to help it. It just feels too routine right now. Samoa Joe lacks a major feel that he should be having.

Who wins this match? I can see Seth Rollins win this in a cheap fashion, like a roll up. Samoa Joe then destroys him after. They can always run with the injury angle. That keeps the feud going for a few more weeks.

Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns continue their feud. And these last few weeks have been pretty intense. Braun Strowman has been made to look like a monster. On the one hand, I can understand if the WWE wants to be a little more edgy. On the other hand, they have to be careful of not looking crass. Moreover, they have to be careful not to look stupid.

Braun Strowman flipping the ambulance a few weeks ago was a spectacle. Many fans ate that up. It helps that they hate Roman Reigns. It just reminded me of a certain angle TNA did with Mickie James during her last run there. That was Wrestlecrap to many fans. Isn't this the same kind of thing?

If that wasn't Wrestlecrap, maybe this week is. That whole Dumpster Match between Strowman and Kalisto was garbage. The way Strowman lost was trash. Wasting so much time just for the anti-climactic short fall off the stage was junk. How many more words can I come up with to fit this Dumpster Match? It just was poorly done. It wasn't botched. What they planned was just not good. The WWE's PG attempt to do something that would have gone over better in the Attitude Era just flopped.

And after all that, how can Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman have a regular match at Payback? This feud is obviously not ending here. But are they making Strowman look strong just for Reigns? Or for Lesnar down the line? Either way, I can see this match ending without a winner. Both of them might get counted out. They might take each other out outside the ring. They might brawl to the back. In the end, this feud will continue to a gimmick match.

House of Horrors. Randy Orton faces Bray Wyatt in a match that will finally end this elaborate feud that has gone on for months. I was a fan of this feud when it first started. But then it felt like they just tried to do too much. Involving the WWE Championship was one of those things they did not need to do. Since they did, I felt Bray Wyatt should have retained it against Orton. That didn't happen. Okay, I would have said that Bray Wyatt should win it back.

Problem is, the title isn't even on the line in this match. Bray Wyatt has gone to Raw and they have decided not to work any angle to make this a title rematch. I think that is just terrible. Randy Orton did not need a title reign right now. But let's move on from the title.

On the one hand, given everything that has happened in this feud, I am glad it is a unique gimmick match. And the WWE has not been 100% clear on what fans will see in this match. That should interest some fans to see what it is all about. That should make it a draw.

On the other hand, given everything that has happened in this feud, the way they have been treating it in the last few weeks is terrible. Randy Orton has moved on to Jinder Mahal. Bray Wyatt got into the groove of things on Raw this week. That is what happens when you separate the two. This feud had so much put into it. For it to just lose momentum like this heading into the big final encounter is terrible. While the unique match type might interest some fans, the poor feud development might also disinterest some other fans.

Who wins? Bray Wyatt. If the title is not on the line, Bray Wyatt might as well win to give him a ton of momentum. This can be a step towards properly building him to be the next Undertaker. Undertaker had a couple specialty matches to his name. House of Horrors can be Bray Wyatt's match. But it would suck if he lost the first one.

Wrestlemania 33 Preview: Part 3

Today goes to the Smackdown matches. I will talk about Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt on Friday.

Let me start with the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. It is not Smackdown exclusive, but I will include it here. Big Show is in this. His match with Shaq is not happening. That is sad for Big Show and too bad for the WWE. This match would have been a draw. Even if the actual match was terrible, the hype would get mainstream attention, especially during NBA season, and it would draw. The WWE really has no great feuds likely to draw big this year. As for who wins this, it should be either Braun Strowman or Luke Harper. Both these guys had a lot of interest on them this Wrestlemania season. Many fans might see it as a little disappointing that neither are doing anything more important, I will say Braun Strowman wins.

Dean Ambrose defends the Intercontinental Championship against Baron Corbin. An actual singles match for the Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania? I never thought I would see that again. I am not surprised to see Corbin getting this push, and I expect him to win. But I just feel it should have been Dolph Ziggler in the position Dean Ambrose is currently in. Ziggler had so much momentum when he won the title a few months ago. The WWE ruined that for no good reason and Ziggler is stuck with mediocrity for Wrestlemania. They ruined him. I am not saying it was intentional. They had planted the seeds for a heel turn since his WWE Championship feud with Dean Ambrose, but they should not have gone through with it. Fans have just not reacted to it very well. It should be Ziggler dropping the title to Baron Corbin. Free up Dean Ambrose for a better feud.

John Cena and Nikki Bella take on Miz and Maryse. Before I talk about what this match means for some of the performers, there is speculation that Cena might propose to Nikki after they win. I never thought this would be something I would preview for a match. It would be a huge Wrestlemania moment, but I will just leave that alone. If it happens, it happens.

What does this feud mean for Nikki Bella? This is a periphery angle. It is on the periphery of the title scene. The WWE created all their successful stars during the diva era through the periphery. The only woman during the previous era to get very over without proper periphery angles was Mickie James, and that was not because the WWE wanted it. But I would say this push is once again showing why so many women became stars in the periphery back in the day. Nikki Bella is looking good. She is getting a rub from one of the top stars in the company. She is knocking men around, even if they are jobbers. She is guaranteed a spot on the Wrestlemania card that is not on the pre-show. All these elaborate segments. Big Wrestlemania moment. This is how you push a woman as something special. I wish Mickie James had gotten these type of pushes back in the day, or even now.

Compare it to the mess that is the Smackdown Women's Championship match. It's Alexa Bliss vs. everyone. Naomi just returned. There might still be more women in this match. No one has gotten proper development here. It is just a cluster. This match is on the pre-show and it deserves to be on the pre-show. That is not an insult to these women. That is an insult towards how the WWE has handled the title picture here. No one should feel bad for Nikki Bella not being in this match. She is in a better place.

Does she deserve it? I think so. The WWE put a lot of work into her to make her into a star. She is not absolutely terrible in the ring. She is more over than some fans seem to want to admit. And since the WWE needs more women properly pushed as stars that can get over beyond just the wrestling fans, they should push her well.

What does this feud mean for John Cena? I will say that I feel Cena deserves better than this. When you think of all the big feuds they could have had this Wrestlemania season, Cena vs. The Undertaker was one. Or Cena could have continued his feud with AJ Styles to some sort of gimmick match at Wrestlemania. Or turn Ambrose heel and have him feud with Cena. I already said Dolph Ziggler should be in the spot Ambrose is in. Or a feud with Miz that isn't also about the women in their corner. John Cena will likely win this match, but I feel the feud is better for Nikki Bella than John Cena.

Lastly, AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon. This is another match that really does not need to happen. AJ Styles should be doing better than this. And Shane McMahon does not need to be wrestling every year. Yes, welcome back. You've been gone a long time. That doesn't mean you need to wrestle every Wrestlemania. Whether it is the WWE wanting Shane to wrestle because they think it would draw or it is an ego thing for Shane wanting to go out there and sacrifice his body for cheers and respect, just ease it down. Save it for special occasions, which will hopefully not be forced.

And that is what this feud is, forced. Someone has issues with an authority figure, so they have a match. Stephanie McMahon has had issues with Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Bayley in recent years. No matches ever came of it. You can run down the list of times a wrestler and authority figure have had issues and not wrestled each other. The WWE tried to force this feud through clumsy booking to make it seem like AJ Styles had a heated reason to want to destroy Shane McMahon. Yeah, some nice segments here and there, but it was still forced and not organic. Ignoring the botched battle royal result, AJ Styles wins a match to get a title shot at Wrestlemania, but then the WWE makes him put it on the line against Orton? How often does this happen? Usually, they just make a triple threat or some other situation where both guys get title shots. You would think that is what face authority figures would do. No, the WWE went with clumsy booking to sell this feud. The development has not been smooth.

What should AJ Styles be doing? As I said, he could still be feuding with Cena. And maybe it should have been for the WWE Championship. I have said before that I don't think Orton/Wyatt needs to be for the title. Why not send one of the best feuds of the last few months to Wrestlemania? Or they could have done Styles vs. The Undertaker.  Even Styles vs. Luke Harper might have been good, since it would have given Harper something meaningful and would have been a very good match. There were options.

Who wins? AJ Styles has still yet to win at Wrestlemania. He should have won last year. This should be the year. Shane McMahon does not need the win. As for match quality, Shane McMahon does have a history of going big in big matches. Let's just hope he doesn't injure himself.

Braun Strowman Takes A Hit

Braun Strowman did indeed lose to Roman Reigns at Fastlane. But he didn't want things to end there. He called Roman Reigns out at the end of Raw this week. Instead of Reigns, The Undertaker came out. Strowman then just backed off and left without any altercation. Roman Reigns then came out to confront The Undertaker, setting up their Wrestlemania feud.

How does this make Strowman look? The loss to Roman Reigns is one thing, but backing down from The Undertaker? The Undertaker is indeed a figure to be respected and feared. I am not arguing that. I agree with that. But it doesn't make the monster that Braun Strowman is supposed to be look good to back down from any other wrestler.

People might say the WWE is doing a terrible job building stars for the future. They have to rely too heavily on part-timers, like Goldberg. I am not saying Braun Strowman could have been the next Undertaker. I knew very well this guy was a jobber to the stars. But they could have done a better job with him right now to at least give him a better chance to stay strong.

What could they have done to set up Reigns vs. Undertaker without making Strowman look like a coward? How about let Roman Reigns come out and actually brawl with Strowman? Reigns wins the brawl. He can then proclaim that this is his yard. Cue The Undertaker. Or wait until the following week for Undertaker to show up and take exception to what Reigns said. Or cue The Undertaker's gong this week on Raw, which would symbolize he would show up next week to confront Reigns. I know some people are saying the third hour of Raw did poor ratings this week because Undertaker was not advertised. That's no excuse. It's Wrestlemania season, the time of year fans are supposed to expect big things to happen. Anyway, doing things this way would have set up the same story they are going with now for Reigns and The Undertaker, without making Strowman look like a coward. In terms of his image, it would be better to lose a fight than be afraid to get into one.

What can Strowman look forward to for Wrestlemania season? Probably nothing personal. I am not saying they should have protected him so well that he should be forced into the match between Reigns and Undertaker. But they could have protected his image a little better than this, even if no big push is immediately on the plate for him.

Previewing The Fastlane 2017 Undercard Matches

The Raw Tag Team Championships will be decided between Anderson & Gallows and Enzo & Cass. Enzo & Cass deserve an eventual title win. Last year might have been a good time for it, but New Day happened. Anderson & Gallows just won the titles not too long ago, however, so they should win here. Build up the feud to make the eventual title change mean something more.

Neville defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Jack Gallagher. This is another title where they have just been tossing it around in recent months. I will say Neville manages to hold onto it for a little longer.

Samoa Joe faces Sami Zayn. This is obviously not the first feud the WWE would have liked for Samoa Joe on the main roster. He had a feud with Seth Rollins right in front of him. That would have been a bigger deal than this feud with Sami Zayn. No offense to Sami Zayn. These two can put on a great match, unless the WWE just wants to sell Samoa Joe as a destroyer and have him wreck Zayn. Either way, Joe is going to look strong. I will say he wins.

The feud between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman is the top Raw feud outside of the Universal Championship feud. Some might say it has been treated even better than that feud. The contract signing for this match closed Raw this week, the last Raw before Fastlane. And it's not like this is football season, where they sometimes do some questionable booking. They could have ended the show with an angle to hype Goldberg/Owens. Even Seth Rollins could have closed Raw. There was a nice brawl between Reigns and Strowman that saw a bit of destruction, but I don't think that meant the segment had to go on last.

It seems like it is a sign that Reigns is still the centerpiece. John Cena frequently went on last even when he was not involved with the main title matters, and sometimes at the expense of CM Punk. But I don't think the WWE should be doing this with Reigns right now. His push has obviously hit multiple snags. Even Cena's rise to the top was smoother than what has been going on with Reigns. I would keep him in the midcard, especially when he is only feuding with Braun Strowman. Wait until he has a bigger feud, like what might be coming for Wrestlemania.

Some fans are dreading that Braun Strowman will lose to Reigns and get buried. They point to Rusev, who has lost to the likes of Cena and Reigns and suffered depushes after. He has now been stuck with Jinder Mahal, a fate worse than being fired. Some guys only get great pushes because they are being built to put someone else over. And after that push, they typically will get some kind of depush. It is just the way things are. It happens all the time in the women's division. It is one of the reasons most female wrestlers did not become very over in the diva era. Once they were done being pushed to serve whatever purpose, they got depushed and lost their momentum. There is more space for men to be featured, so don't cry too much for a depush that Strowman will eventually be getting one day. He can at least get something to do elsewhere.

Who wins this match? Let it be Reigns. If Strowman gets this big win, where would he go after? Would he be the one feuding against The Undertaker? Will he be added to Lesnar vs. Goldberg? Does he have any great possibilities? If not, what's the point in giving him this kind of win? He would have all that momentum and nothing to do with it. Let Strowman just be a jobber to the stars in this feud. If there was a good storyline reason for Reigns losing, then I would say he would lose. I just can't picture it. Reigns wins.

Previewing The Roadblock: End Of The Line Midcard Matches

Can Sami Zayn survive 10 minutes against Braun Strowman? If nothing else, this feud has taken an interesting turn. How often do you get a match like this? But how good will the match really be? Will it just be Sami Zayn trying to avoid Strowman for most of the match? Will he actually take the fight to the big guy? Zayn will obviously have some kind of impressive showing. And even if he lasts 10 minutes, Strowman does not necessarily have to take a pinfall loss. Or will Zayn look weak and eventually end up on Smackdown? That is another issue, but I will say he does survive this Sunday.

There has been an interesting story playing out with Rusev, Lana, Enzo, and Cass. This Sunday, it is Cass facing Rusev. This feud won't end that easily. And this just seems like a feud where the faces should come out on top. Until then, however, Rusev should look strong. He should be beating Cass at Roadblock: End of the Line.

The Cruiserweight Championship will be on the line. Rich Swann defends against Brian Kendrick and TJ Perkins, the only other two people to have held the new title. I have said before that I don't think Rich Swann is really a long-term Champion. The WWE has not put proper work into him. But does the title go back to Kendrick or Perkins? I say Kendrick wins it back.

New Day have their record. Does that mean the reign of terror ends? Cesaro & Sheamus will get another shot at the titles this Sunday. On one hand, New Day really does not need the titles anymore. On the other hand, Cesaro & Sheamus don't feel like they really deserve it right now. Cesaro has held a title or accolade every year he has been on the main roster. He won the United States Championship in 2012 and held it into 2013. He won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal in 2014. He won the tag titles in 2015. Will 2016 be a dead year for him, as far as titles and accolades go? And Sheamus is Sheamus. The WWE loves giving him title pushes you would not think he actually deserves. I will say these two win the titles.

Previewing The Hell In A Cell 2016 Undercard

Enzo & Cass take on Gallows & Anderson. If the WWE had made a smart booking decision months ago, Gallows & Anderson would have won the tag titles back when they looked like they deserved it. This match would then be for the tag titles and Enzo & Cass would finally win some gold. Instead, this is just a filler match. Enzo & Cass are a popular team that should be winning more big matches than they have been. I would say they win here.

Speaking of the tag titles, New Day defend against Cesaro and Sheamus. This comes down to whether this Cesaro/Sheamus angle has really gotten hot. If it has, those two have a better chance of being booked to win the titles. If it has not, New Day continues to hold the tag titles hostage and every record known to mankind will fall at their feet. Cesaro and Sheamus have not looked that interesting. They will likely lose here. And what will the payoff of this storyline end up being? It might just end up being a feud the WWE tried too hard with.

TJ Perkins defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Brian Kendrick. This feud has been rather enjoyable. I might usually say that the WWE needs to stop taking advantage of real-life drama for storylines. But Kendrick acting like this is his last chance in the WWE and that he needs to win the title has led to a good midcard feud. I think he should win it. If he loses, I can imagine a face turn, but does that really seem necessary? Keep him heel and give him the title.

Even though it has not been made official, I can imagine Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman getting put somewhere on Sunday. I doubt Sami is being pushed to overcome Strowman. If this match happens, Strowman wins.

For a match that is supposed to be one of the main events of Hell in a Cell, Roman Reigns vs. Rusev is least likely to close the show. But you can never tell in this era. Roman Reigns just won the title a few weeks ago. Has the WWE gotten what they wanted out of this title reign for Reigns? And if Rusev does regain the title, it will likely be by some shenanigans. I can't imagine Reigns losing cleanly here. Will Lana get involved? I can't really see Rusev winning. The WWE might have someone else interfere to screw Reigns, which would then mean Reigns can move on to feuding with that person and the feud with Rusev would not have to drag on. But I don't see anyone on the horizon that would want to interfere to screw Reigns that he could feud with after Hell in a Cell. I'll say he retains.

Does Orton Deserve Better? (2015)

 

Last year around this same time of year, I talked about how Randy Orton was being pushed and whether he deserved better. A few weeks ago, I thought about writing the 2015 version of that. After seeing the WWE was still pushing Orton against The Wyatts, I decided not to. After seeing that he will be in the kickoff match, I decided to go through with it.

Randy Orton and Dean Ambrose will face Braun Strowman and Luke Harper in the Hell in a Cell kickoff match. In recent years, the kickoff match has involved people that were not being push well. A Wrestlemania pre-show match might sometimes feature something more important, but the pre-show for the smaller PPVs might feature something like El Torito vs. Hornswoggle.

Dean Ambrose is also in this match. Despite never holding a World Championship in the WWE, he has been in the main event of some WWE PPVs. He was in the main event of Hell in a Cell last year. This year, he's in the kickoff match. At least he is getting a match and has some sort of direction. There have been times when he was lost in the shuffle.

But for Randy Orton to be in this situation is something else. For the last decade, he has arguably been the #2 guy. It might have been CM Punk at one time, but he left. It could have been Daniel Bryan, but he has injury issues. Roman Reigns is being groomed to be a top guy. Orton has won multiple World titles. He has main-evented Wrestlemania. And he's now in the kickoff match of a minor PPV.

Is it really that insulting to be in the kickoff match? If the WWE had done a better job of mixing the guys used there and the feuds featured there, it wouldn't be. As I have said, a lot of the matches there have been unimportant. You would expect Neville, Barrett, Stardust, or Cesaro to be featured in the Hell in a Cell kickoff match. Even Sheamus, given that he has been pushed in a mediocre manner recently. But this Wyatts vs. Orton/Ambrose match seems too important for that.

I would say Orton does deserve to be featured better. Hopefully, this is not an indicator that the WWE will continue to give him mediocre treatment for any long period of time. He has gone through stretches of that. I don't think any of those instances have resulted in a kickoff match.

Who wins this match? They can go two ways. Either give the faces the win or continue to make Braun Strowman look strong. If the faces win, Luke Harper will likely be the one taking the pin. The WWE could use this match to make Orton look good and have him feud with Bray Wyatt next. If they want to keep Strowman strong, he can go over either face in this match to look impressive. But what are they building him up for? Given that this has been made a kickoff match, I am saying the faces win. One of those faces is Randy Orton, so that might make it easier to bet on the faces. Or will they have a top star lose in a kickoff match?

Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose Search For A Partner

When it comes to the feud between Ambrose/Reigns and The Wyatts, I would have either ended it at Summerslam or just turned it back into a personal feud between Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt again. The WWE debuted Braun Strowman and had him join The Wyatts. He and the rest of the group have been on a rampage since. There will be a 6-man tag at Night of Champions. Will Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose find a partner?

I like recent developments. If it looks like Reigns and Ambrose might find a partner, The Wyatts attack him. Who will be crazy enough to team with these two faces? There are a lot of rumors and speculation about who it will be. That is a good thing. Will it be Randy Orton, the man attacked by The Wyatts on Raw? Rowan, the former member of the group? Will it be someone from NXT, like Baron Corbin? Some fans think it has to be someone big to match Braun Strowman. I do not think that has to be the case. There are a lot of possibilities.

Is there a chance the WWE just goes with a 3 vs. 2 match? I think that would be a wasted opportunity. This angle is leading up to someone being a hero. Let someone get that spot. If it is just Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose going against all three members of The Wyatts, it would just look bad if they won. Braun Strowman is enough to handle those two. When you add in Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper, you have a situation that the two faces should not be able to overcome.

A New Wyatt Debuts

Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose picked up the win at Summerslam, but things are not over yet. There was a rematch on Raw. A new Wyatt debuted to take out Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. This is a big guy. It's Braun Stowman.

First, let me talk about the feud between Reigns/Ambrose and The Wyatts. There are two ways I would have went with it after Summerslam. First, end it. It had already lost the personal feel it had to it when it was just Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt. The other option, if they had to continue it, just break it back down to Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt. Have Dean Ambrose do something else. Have him return to his singles feud against Luke Harper. Have the two of them take each other out for a few weeks to finish the Reigns/Wyatt feud. Go back to that personal feud.

Instead of ending it or removing some of the players, the WWE went the route of adding someone into the feud. The Shield and The Wyatts had some matches a few years ago that were very good. Does that mean the WWE needs to run that rivalry for all it is worth? I doubt this will break down to a 3-on-2 feud. The new guy they just debuted seems too dominant. Who joins Reigns and Ambrose? Let's just see how the WWE plays this out.

What does this mean for Bray Wyatt? The guy really has gone in a circle. When he debuted, he had two henchmen with him. He currently once again has two henchmen. If Rowan had not gotten injured, he probably would have been right in there already. They cannot handle this guy properly. After he debuted, they protected him until he put over Cena. After that, he has just gone all over the place. He wins a feud against Chris Jericho and gets lost in the shuffle for a while after. He loses his henchmen. He comes back strong again to put over The Undertaker. He has a random feud against Ryback. He wins that and once again gets lost in the shuffle. He has been feuding with Reigns since then. The fact that he is invested in again only makes me wonder one thing.  Who is he jobbing to next? Reigns? Is that why they debuted that brute? For Reigns to overcome him? I would not be surprised to once again see Cena feud with The Wyatts just to overcome Braun.

How about Braun Stowman? There are certain individuals in wrestling that are just there for their presence. They aren't great in the ring. They will likely not get very over. But they can destroy some people to look dominant and eventually be someone to overcome. They are intimidating. I have seen some fans complain that this guy is too green. Well, he's here to add to the storyline and just be an intimidating presence. As long as he does not become a botch machine and starts injuring people, he can serve the role. Not everyone that debuts from NXT is going to be a Kevin Owens or Sasha Banks.

Let me do an aside on Nikki's title reign. She is closing in on the record for longest reign. I will talk more about that another day, but there are rumors that John Cena is the one that has her holding the title for so long. I am not denying that Cena has backstage swing and does sometimes take advantage of it. But you can't blame this guy for everything. I have read reports that The Bellas themselves have influence. Many say it is because they are on Total Divas. I have read reports in the past that Vince McMahon is high on them. Looking around, I don't see anyone else being pushed as the centerpiece. If anyone is going to break AJ Lee's record, I would expect it would be someone the WWE wants to push as a star, not a credible jobber. That eliminates a ton of women. Lana is not a wrestler. Eva Marie is busy training. You also have the fact that Nikki was holding the title when AJ left. It is just easier to take away the record with her. Is there any need to bring Cena into this?

Another part of the rumor was that Cena doing this ruined Charlottes's debut push, which included her already winning the title. First of all, back when Charlotte lost to Natalya on Raw and people were upset about that, the report was Vince McMahon made the call to do that. No one wants to speculate Vince McMahon is making the call to hold off on giving Charlotte the title now? Regardless, what kind of push do people really think they would have seen? This is a diva division and the WWE is not showing any signs of stopping. That means The Bellas, two models, are the likely top stars. Charlotte does not have the look. She has wrestling ability. That means she is a likely credible jobber. You are not likely to see her pushed well. I read a rumor that they would have debuted her and some of the other NXT divas as some kind of dominant force. Yeah? Like the Divas of Doom? Or like Kharma? The Divas of Doom was a tag team featuring Beth Phoenix and Natalya. They were not as dominant as the name might imply and the group started to fizzle out even before Beth suffered an injury during that run. They were credible jobbers. They eventually got demoted. And Kharma? She went out there and destroyed all the eye-candy divas. Except Kelly Kelly. That storyline would have gone in favor of Kelly Kelly, the woman being groomed as the new centerpiece. And that is how you should expect this supposed feud between the NXT women and the WWE divas to go. The WWE would have taken advantage of it to put over whom they wanted to put over. It would have eventually have fizzled out. Don't assume the WWE really had amazing things planned for Charlotte.

One last aside. This one on ratings. Raw got a 2.72 this week. Viewership was 3.72 million. That is down from the previous week. Just consider that this was a Raw after a PPV, which usually sees an increase. The best number all year came for the Raw after Wrestlemania. This Summerslam was featured like the biggest PPV of the year, aside from Wrestlemania. It featured The Undertaker wrestling in a PPV besides Wrestlemania, a rarity these days. It featured a celebrity match. It featured a celebrity host, who also got involved in a major angle. It featured a World title match where another title was also defended. They hyped it well and developed all the matches on the card. The controversy over how the Lesnar/Taker match ended and what Jon Stewart did, which did get picked up by the general media, should have been enough to draw. You don't even need to bring up the returns and debuts that happened on Raw. And yet, there was a drop.

Yes, Raw did go against a football game. I don't really see that as a big excuse. It was a preseason game. It featured teams that are not that great. The game was not even that competitive. The point? It could have been much worse. And it will get worse in a few weeks when the regular season starts.

Ratings have been bad all year. I brought up how January was mediocre. That translated to a mediocre Wrestlemania season. Raw after Wrestlemania getting over 5 million viewers was huge. I see that as a sign that they still have potential to be better than they are. But they continued to be horrible since then, without even any real competition. NFL season should bring some interesting numbers. They won't drop all the way to TNA's level, but it could get horrible. And I don't want to hear that no one watches TV anymore. Fear The Walking Dead broke the record for highest-rated debut for a cable series just one night before Raw. The WWE is lucky Raw doesn't have to go against football and zombies every Monday.