Sheamus Vs. Christian: Why Bother?

Before Elimination Chamber, it seemed like a feud between Sheamus and Christian would be likely heading into Wrestlemania. These two guys had already faced each other in a singles match, but the WWE could still develop a great rivalry heading into the big PPV.

So far, how has the WWE been developing this feud? It just feels disappointing. The storyline seems so basic. A frustrated Christian once again goes heel. These two have also faced each other too much in singles matches recently. To top it all off, it doesn't help that there are much bigger things going on and fans have not reacted well to these two going at it. This is just coming off as filler. Wrestlemania filler.

Obviously, recent developments in the last few months have led to the WWE changing things. But can this feud be saved? Can it be made into more than filler? Saying it is filler may be unfair. It featured Christian going heel, so it served that purpose. But this Christian heel character has been done before. And Sheamus is Sheamus. No real character development for him. I cannot imagine how they can make this storyline better. Having Christian go even more intense than he already has would be nice. Would adding in a few guys and making this a tag match be good? I don't think so. I think the best thing to do would be to develop a Wrestlemania match between the two as some kind of special match. Cage? Hardcore? Tables? You have seen these guys going at it in regular matches already. Raise things to another level for Wrestlemania. Make it more worthy for Wrestlemania. Right now, this feud is not worthy for the big event.

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.

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.

Assorted Thoughts On Summerslam 2013

Christian gets one more match. Will he win the World Championship from Alberto Del Rio? If you look at how the WWE has developed this feud, Christian looks way too strong over Del Rio. Momentum is on his side. What does that mean? You usually see the person with so much momentum lose. Or is the WWE developing Christian's credibility so he can be a credible Champion when he wins the title? He didn't look too credible against Randy Orton a few years ago when they feuded over the title. Is the WWE trying to make up for that now? With the way they have been treating Christian, I wouldn't be surprised if he does win the title.

And what about Damien Sandow? His match against Cody Rhodes is just a grudge match. The briefcase will not be on the line. Will Sandow cash in and win the title, regardless of who wins between Christian and Alberto Del Rio? I don't think so. I just talked about how much the WWE is developing Christian's credibility recently, but the same cannot exactly be said for Damien Sandow. You go back to when Dolph Ziggler had the briefcase last year. They developed his credibility by having him feud with the likes of Chris Jericho and John Cena. Who has Sandow been feuding with since getting the briefcase? Just Cody Rhodes. Sandow had that feud against Sheamus prior to Money in the Bank, but I only remember him beating Sheamus in a 2-on-1 handicap match. Not too impressive. I can't imagine him cashing in at Summerslam. He may attempt to, but Cody Rhodes might spoil it again. I can't picture Sandow beating either Alberto Del Rio or Christian just yet. He is still being treated too much as a gimmick and a midcarder. The WWE will probably groom him better prior to cashing in. And having him cash in just to lose at Summerslam would be a waste.

Let me talk about something that may not be happening at Summerslam. No Kofi Kingston vs. Ryback? Kofi would have a reason to want to face Ryback, the man who took him out in terms of kayfabe. In terms of just booking, it isn't like either guy is doing anything right now. It is very stupid to not develop a feud between them. Ryback has been featured regularly at PPVs now for a long time. And he has had some big matches. A match with Kofi may be seen as a drop back into the midcard, but it is still better than no feud at all. Kofi Kingston would not have had to win this match, but a feud would help to make things interesting in the midcard. What are the odds it gets added during the show as a filler match?

Just a general note on the divas that doesn't even have too much to do with Summerslam. It seems they are developing Natalya. AJ is going to need a fresh challenger for Night of Champions. They are phasing Kaitlyn out and rotating in Natalya. It really isn't hard imagining that. What other faces are there in the diva division? Even though it is too early to say anything, should Natalya win the title? As I said, not a lot of face options. AJ dropping the title back to Kaitlyn is an option, but would they have a reason to do that? Natalya is fresher. Besides, that can potentially then lead to Natalya transitioning the title to one of The Bellas.

And one last thing that doesn't really have to do with the WWE at all. Recently, I brought up analyzing TNA's KO division in terms of what is getting primary focus, secondary focus, and minor focus. A while before that, I mentioned that TNA's agenda for the division may be forced to change if they don't bring in more women. How can they feature those women so much if they are so few of them? Bring those two ideas together. Pretty soon, if things don't change, you won't be talking about primary, secondary, and minor. You will only have major and minor. What is the top focus of the KO division and what is the other feud? They really need to integrate more women into the division. Integrate? What do I mean? Don't just debut them, use them scarcely over a few months, then release them. Bring them in and actually make them a part of the division. That is the only way to properly keep up the division you have had for so many years. And no matter how you choose to read the KO division, never forget the golden rule. They are always going to rotate everyone. What is in the major focus and minor focus will always be changing. But how well will it work with so few women?

Alberto Del Rio Vs. Christian At Summerslam

Christian gets one more match. He won a match to become #1 contender for the World's Heavyweight Championship. He will face Alberto Del Rio at Summerslam.

Even though I am not against Christian getting a title shot and even winning back the title, I don't like this match. It doesn't seem big enough for Summerslam. The WWE Championship match will be John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan, with Mr. McMahon hovering in the background, without even mentioning Randy Orton. John Cena is the top guy of the company. Daniel Bryan is the most over guy right now. Throw in the McMahons into the feud and you have something worthy of the biggest PPV of the summer. Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian doesn't have a big feel to it. Yes, Christian has won the title before, twice. But they were pathetic reigns. Yes, Christian has been on win streak as of late. How many credible jobbers in the diva division have been on win streaks, jobbed to a star above them, then fell into mediocrity? I am not denying Christian's ability in the ring. But for the sake of a big match for the World's Heavyweight Championship at Summerslam, they could do better.

How would I do better? Seeing as it may not be possible to add a great storyline into the feud they have now between Christian and Del Rio, I would throw in a few more bodies. Fatal four-way would be nice. RVD is still a guy I think should be in there. Who gets the final spot? Seeing as how Orton has the briefcase, I wouldn't pick him. Besides, I would still like to see him sell an injury angle. Dolph Ziggler is busy with his own feud. Mark Henry? Sheamus? Big Show? Jack Swagger?  Even Miz? Take any guy with nothing major to do and who has held a major title before. That guy, RVD, and Christian would challenge Alberto Del Rio. If it is an elimination-style match, have it come down to Del Rio and Christian. Alberto sneaks out the win, but Christian is able to earn a singles match for the title at Night of Champions, where he does win the title. There is more build that way and Summerslam gets a bigger match.

2013 WWE Championship Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Rob Van Dam, Sheamus, Christian, and CM Punk. I would consider that overkill. Those are the guys who will be in the ladder match at Money in the Bank for the briefcase for the WWE Championship title shot. All of these guys are top stars who have held a World title before in the WWE. And all these guys happen to be faces. The WWE has really piled it on with this match.

Should Chris Jericho be in this match? He is a face who has been World Champion before, so he fits in with the rest. I understand he is now feuding with Ryback, but could they have shuffled things a little differently so Jericho was in this match and someone else faced Ryback? Jericho fits Money in the Bank matches well. If I had to reshuffle the booking, I would let Jericho and Sheamus trade spots. Jericho does not have to win the briefcase, but he would fit in this match. And Ryback definitely does not deserve to have all the air let out of him after feuding with John Cena. A feud with Sheamus may not have been a demotion. Jericho is more of a jobber these days than Sheamus, but I don't think it is a lock that Ryback would be winning whatever feud he gets now. Just having Ryback work with top stars is a good thing for him.

Who wins this briefcase? Many think Daniel Bryan is the favorite to win. He has had this "weak link" storyline and having him win it might have made sense based on that. Problem is, the WWE hasn't booked that storyline very well. He picked up big wins the week before Payback. That storyline could have ended right there. They continued it. He beat Randy Orton is decisive fashion this week. That has to be it for that storyline. If they were going to have this storyline lead up to him winning the briefcase, they should have continued booking him to lose and get fluke wins. The frustration leads to him eventually winning the briefcase. That's his big moment. Whether or not he wins the title, that would be a different story. As of now, that should not be the story of this ladder match. But who wins? Let's see how they develop things further.

This match really shows that the WWE lacks depth when it comes to main-event heels. Without bringing up the possibility of turning one of these faces heel, you have very few top heels doing anything right now. Mark Henry is feuding with Cena, but he will have to retire sooner or later. He has been in the WWE for over a decade. Alberto Del Rio is currently World Champion. Brock Lesnar isn't here full-time. Guys like Ryback and the members of The Shield aren't at the level of these other guys. The Shield has been losing momentum. Should they keep Dolph Ziggler heel? I would say he has not fully turned face yet. He did attack Jericho this week. Retaliation for Jericho attacking him? Okay, but he still attacked him. It depends on how well the fans are connecting with him, but it would be worth thinking about to keep him heel just so you have more top heels. Turning to the faces in this match, who should turn heel, if anyone? I would say Randy Orton. He has been having issues with faces recently, mainly Daniel Bryan. Shouldn't be too hard to turn him.

Christian Returns, Mark Henry "Retires"

That was a very good Raw last night. Many good segments. A lot to talk about, but I will only cover two things today.

Christian finally returned. Injuries have been a real issue for him in recent years. And when that isn't the issue, how to use him properly is the issue. He had a good return by beating Wade Barrett, but what will they do with him as the weeks go on? Intercontinental title feud? It looks like Curtis Axel has others in line to feud with him. The U.S. title? Dean Ambrose has been feuding with Kane. There has not been a proper finish to any of the title matches they have had. There should be proper closure to that feud, regardless of who wins. If Ambrose does win, have him feud with Christian. What does Christian do until then? Let's see if the WWE can have a good midcard feud without a title involved.

My favorite segment was Mark Henry's "retirement" promo. He teased it on Twitter. It got people talking. Most fans bought it. It's not out of the question that a guy who has been in the WWE as long as Mark Henry and has his history with injuries would finally hang it up. Swerve! He laid out Cena. He wants the one World title he has not held in the WWE. Mark Henry definitely pulled off that promo well. I hope this feud is good.

As good as the last two days have been, the real issue will be how they can keep it going. The last two days featured a lot of turns and returns. Are they going to keep that going every single week? They can't. They have to find other ways to keep the momentum going in realistic ways. How many face or heel turns can you possibly have? How many people are waiting to return? They can't rely on those things regularly. Let's see what happens.

Christian/Orton: One Year Later

Since I talked about the big CM Punk angle that happened last year, I figured I should look back at the controversial Smackdown summer angle they had last year. To be fair, it probably was not supposed to be as controversial as it was. Randy Orton defeated Christian for the World's Heavyweight Championship just days after Christian won it. This upset a lot of fans. It led to an elaborate feud between the two men, including a heel turn for Christian. Christian regained the title, but Orton won it back soon after, again.

One year later, things have changed a lot. Going back to that Punk angle, one year after that, CM Punk is still doing pretty well for himself. Orton is suspended. If he had not gotten suspended, he would most likely have still been involved in an upper-midcard matter. He might have been involved in the WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match, but even he would have been overshadowed by Cena. Christian fell even further, which is not shocking. He is holding a title, but it is a midcard title. And he is face again. Not a bad thing. To map it all out further, Christian started off being used to put over the centerpiece of Smackdown in an elaborate feud. After that, he got demoted to feuding with Sheamus, who had not yet won the World's Heavyweight Championship. He then got a series of injuries that kept him away. During that time, I believe it was teased that he may return as a main-eventer. Instead, he returns in the midcard. Be thankful Christian isn't a diva. After being used to put over a centerpiece, he would have most likely fallen off the face of television.

Did the WWE mess up the storyline? It wasn't really that much of a storyline. I still think they should have just given Christian a good 2 or 3 months with the title when he first won it. You look at title reigns Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan, and Sheamus have gotten in the last year. When I had faith that Christian would get a good run on Smackdown, I was basing that off the fact that the WWE usually passes the ball better on that show. Those three men I just mentioned prove my point with the reigns they received. It looks like it was just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Christian won the title when Randy Orton first moved to Smackdown to be the centerpiece there. I'm still sure Christian will win the title again down road, providing he doesn't get another serious injury.

Christian: Smackdown's Midcard Hero?

Christian survived a week as Intercontinental Champion on Smackdown. That is a lot better than his first World's Heavyweight Championship run a year ago. However, losing the title fast last year did not exactly lead to a rapid depush. It did lead to an elaborate angle. I just still don't think that elaborate angle was good for Christian or was that great for a lot of his fans out there. You just had to settle for what it was.

And now? IC Champion. He is holding a title, but you obviously do not have him in as much focus as you did last year. He has had two televised matches since winning the title. Neither were really connected to a larger feud or storyline. Cody Rhodes is still getting a rematch, but it makes me wonder if the WWE will even bother trying to be creative here. They should. This is Christian. He is very over and is a good worker. Just give him the mic. Just watching him come out on Raw last week, he just seemed to be missing some character to him. Was that long introduction really that necessary? Seeing that he was facing Jinder Mahal didn't make things any better. They really need to find a real storyline for this guy. That is how he will work best. As it stands right now, the return of Christian is not leading to the WWE putting more interest into the midcard, as I had hoped.

Christian Back And With Gold

Christian returned at Over The Limit, won the right to go after one of the midcard titles, and then defeated Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship. Three major things to keep in mind there. Christian returned, he won a title, and he turned face.

Layla pulled off something similar at the last PPV, so does that mean the WWE would like this to become a regular deal for a while? Returning star wins title on a PPV? Having squash filler has become a regular deal for PPVs recently.

Did Christian really deserve the title? I know he is over and a great worker, but he just won a midcard title. This guy was getting a much larger push a year ago. Pushing him in the main-event scene of either show might have been a better choice. Just make the feud between Daniel Bryan and CM Punk last one month. Or have Christian go after Sheamus. Those two had an endless feud a few months ago, before Christian got injured the first time. If Christian is going to hold a midcard title, the only good thing is that the WWE may invest better in the midcard.

Christian could have been booked to face Santino. Beating Santino would have kept Christian as a heel. Is Christian being a face right now bad? I don't think so. You just had heel Alberto Del Rio return last month. You could use a top face returning about now.

And what about Cody Rhodes? That reign was crap. I know the popular idea would be to blame Big Show for ruining the reign. That is stupid. The WWE could easily have still treated Cody better in the last few weeks. More importantly, they did not have to end his reign just yet. Did they screw him? No. Depends on where they go with him next. A good feud with Christian would be nice.

Team Long Vs. Team Laurinaitis Preview

When I got up on Tuesday, I expected to log onto my favorite pro wrestling message board and see a topic with over 100 posts about Christian being suspended for violating the WWE Wellness Policy. Why else would the WWE write him off the huge tag match to decide the boss of both shows? That stupid hairstyle he now has? He has been out with an injury for a while, but if he was healthy enough to take a beating at the hands of CM Punk, I don't see what the problem would have been in having him involved in a large match featuring a dozen wrestlers, not to mention mascots and GMs that will be at ringside to eat up some time. Christian could have definitely have done a little bit and taken a little bit.

Who did they replace him with? Drew McIntyre. That makes this even more awkward. They take out a former World Champion, and one of the heels to first side with John Laurinaitis, and replace him with a guy who is barely finding a place in the midcard recently? In terms of the storyline, McIntyre makes sense. He has had issues with Teddy Long. But they announced him joining the heel team only in passing. Could they maybe have done a backstage segment for it? What would that really have ruined? Two less minutes for the closing promo between The Rock and Cena, or have the overrun last a little longer? Obviously, it's not like there were a ton of other credible heels with nothing else to do for Wrestlemania on the active roster. If they had not gone with McIntyre, it probably would have been Jinder Mahal. I think we dodged the bullet on that one.

Aside from the switch with Christian and McIntyre, the final two members for both sides seems pretty strong. Miz is on the heel team. That is not shocking. He saved Laurinaitis from Santino. In a reversal of what happened there, Booker T saved Long from Mark Henry to get a spot on the face team. Wasn't expecting him at all before Raw. Nice surprise. Not a shocking surprise, but nice. Both Miz and Booker T have that credibility.

I'm not going to run through all the members of the team. I just wanted to mention the recent additions and changes. Moving on, who will win? Not only do I want John Laurinaitis to be GM of both shows, I think it is heading in that direction. Things would be pretty flat if Teddy Long were to run both shows. There is more potential with a heel GM that a lot of people despise, while a lot of other people are finding funny. Laurinaitis is fresher than Teddy Long right now. Obviously, there will be some shady happenings. The GMs arguing with the ref and fighting each other are almost guaranteed. Will there be someone betraying his team? Not necessary, but it could make things more interesting for what happens after Wrestlemania. In the end, I think it is a good idea to have just one GM. And Laurinaitis would not be a horrible choice.

Roode/Storm And Orton/Christian

This feud between Robert Roode and James Storm in TNA has this Orton/Christian-like vibe to it. Since I spent so much time talking about Orton/Christian earlier this year, I pretty much have to look at Roode/Storm.

Roode was the one who won the opportunity to face Kurt Angle for the World title. Even though Angle was hurting, he still retained the title there. Next thing you know, James Storm, the other half of Beer Money, is the one getting the title shot. He beats Kurt Angle for the title. Angle is off to heal, but that is another story. What about Roode? TNA had spent so long building up his title match against Kurt Angle. He was the face, the TNA Original, who was finally going to get the opportunity he deserved. He failed to win, but his partner didn't. Roode gets the opportunity against Storm, cheats, wins the title, and is now heel. James Storm's title reign ends abruptly.

Sound familiar? It is not an exact clone of what happened with Orton/Christian, but it is similar. Christian was a face who had just won his first major World title in the WWE. Fans were excited. The WWE books him to lose the title a few weeks after he loses it to Smackdown's new centerpiece, Randy Orton. This leads to a long, elaborate storyline that involves Christian turning heel and eventually regaining the title for a few weeks, only to lose it back to Orton.

First of all, you have short title reigns involved. A lot of people viewed WWE's booking of Christian as an insult. Especially when you consider the guy he was feuding with, it was clear who mattered more in the WWE's book. Storm's reign was short, but that is something TNA is known to do a lot. They have given short title reigns to Sting, Anderson, Jeff Hardy, Mickie James, Winter, and other such names. Obviously, these people are not being screwed over for the benefit of one centerpiece.

That is the second thing. Orton mattered more to the WWE in the Orton/Christian saga. Who matters more in Roode/Storm? Is there really a centerpiece involved? TNA is usually better at passing the ball around. Had the WWE been more like that, Christian's first reign, as well as his second, would have been better booked. In what has been going on in TNA right now, I don't feel you have one person unfairly treated for the benefit of the other guy. I don't feel you have one person being built up to put over another who is truly meant to surpass him by far. While the WWE screws over the booking of some individuals to let a centerpiece shine, TNA is once again showing that it is a little more fair than that. That does not mean they are necessarily entertaining, pushing the right people the right way, or build things up properly, but they are not trying to create a WWE-like centerpiece in what is going on.

You also have a heel turn. Christian's heel turn was drawn out over weeks and weeks after his first title reign ended on Smackdown. They developed it to the point where he attacked Orton and officially turned heel, then kept feuding for the title. TNA did something a little different. The heel turn for Roode came a short time after he failed to win the title from Angle, and it came at the very moment when he actually did win his first TNA World Championship. But there was development for that turn as well. It came while Roode was feuding with Angle. TNA did a good job of building up Roode to win the title, including having other wrestlers put him over. When he failed to beat Angle, you could almost feel his disappointment. A lot of TNA fans definitely did. And then his own partner and friend, James Storm, wins the title? There is your reason to have him turn heel. The WWE really did not do a great job building Christian up in this same way prior to beat Alberto Del Rio to win the title for the first time earlier this year. How could they? It was supposed to be Edge's push, but he was retiring. Nevertheless, that was still Christian's moment. If the WWE really did care about taking advantage of the situation to create the type of storyline Roode/Storm have now, they would not have had Christian win the title back from Orton in the crappy way he did and still screw over the booking of the second reign. Roode's character looks much stronger than Christian's.

Which feud do I prefer? Not that I am a huge TNA fan or big fan of any of these guys, except Orton, but I prefer how TNA has handled their storyline over how the WWE handled Orton/Christian. Again, I am not saying it is entertaining or TNA is flawless in how they are handling every aspect of this, but I like how it seems to be going so far. I am sure TNA hardcore fans love that TNA Originals are now holding the World title again.

Leaning Towards That Orton/Cody Feud?

Another sign that Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes may be entering a feud soon. Cody ran in during Orton's match on Smackdown to attack him. He didn't look too strong before Sheamus ran in to get some of Christian, while taking Cody out too, but it is a sign that the WWE will not have Cody blow off what Orton did to him before. Mark Henry then came down to further the feud between him and Orton, but that is another issue.

Will Cody Rhodes have a hand in costing Orton the title this Sunday? Once again, I do not believe it would be a good idea to end Mark Henry's reign so soon. Smackdown has not had a heel with a good World title reign all year. Does that mean Mark Henry needs to go over Orton clean? No. Mark Henry, the heel, has already proven he can dominate Orton, the face and Smackdown centerpiece. There is no need to have Orton lose clean again, especially when having him lose through Rhodes interference can lead to a real feud between the two. In fact, I think it would have been smarter to leave Cody off TV this week. Have him pop back up during Orton's rematch. Would have had more shock value to it, even though a lot of smarter wrestling fans would have been expecting it. The way they have done things, many more fans are now expecting Rhodes to get involved for payback. Having him not follow through will be more of a letdown, not a positive shock to intrigue fans and interest them in the feud.

The WWE did not do what I think would have been the smarter move. They not only featured Cody on both Raw and Smackdown, they had him defend his title defenses on both nights. I like title defenses. I remember the good old days where title defenses were a mix of feuds with a storyline not connected to the title and occasional random title defenses. Over the past few weeks, you have definitely gotten that mix out of how they are booking Cody Rhodes. His title match with Ted DiBiase had a storyline to it. His defenses on Raw and Smackdown were more random and an extension of another feud. What I mean is, Sheamus is really feuding with Christian right now, not Cody Rhodes.All that being said, something still does not sit right with me about the recent booking of Cody Rhodes. The main part of it definitely is that I would have left him off for a while to sell his injury and build his return to screw Orton. But I am also thinking more could have been done with his storyline feud with DiBiase to make that interesting. Overall, still good use of him. Just because I think it is good use, does that mean it will draw? You cannot overdo title defenses, but I do not think that is the problem here. The problem is the lack of build in the title defenses. This does not apply to the defenses that happened this week. Putting the title on the line in a battle royal was a good idea. Would Rhodes retain? Not only is there that question, but who would win the title if not him? Not just one challenger there. There was some excitement to that. But not putting much creative energy into his title feuds outside of this week is not good. A midcard title cannot be a huge draw by itself. You have to allow the person who is holding it and the main guy going after it to do some interesting things over a few weeks to build intrigue. That is lacking. Many fans will say Cody Rhodes is one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions in a while because of all these title defenses, but is the WWE using him as best as they could they draw fans who want a little more? I doubt it.

All that out of the way, I am still hoping for a good feud between Rhodes and Orton. They made Rhodes look good against Rey Mysterio this year already. Doing it again could please a lot of the regular fan base and help to develop Rhodes into a regular star to draw fans in down the line.

Path Cleared For Mark Henry And Average August 2011 Raw Rating

Randy Orton defeated Christian inside a cage to retain his title. That is not surprising. Christian had a rematch coming, they utilized it for this special Smackdown, and I hope that really is the end of this Orton/Christian thing for a while. Mark Henry came out after the match for some of Orton, which is also not surprising. Not to sound harsh, but I don't want to see Christian in Mark Henry's main-event push for the next few weeks. I don't believe that is what the WWE is going for, but I just want Mark Henry to get a fair chance with what is coming, not be used again if the WWE still plans on going on with Orton/Christian is some other elaborate, indirect way. They are building Henry so strong, I doubt it is not for his benefit against centerpiece Orton. I would not be surprised if he did win the title eventually from Orton.

This week's Raw, which is the final Raw of the month, scored a 3.15. Ever since this CM Punk thing got a heavy push and Triple H took control, I have been very interested in how pathetic the ratings for Raw have been. The average Raw rating for August 2011 is around a 3.15. Little bit above that. "The Summer of Punk 2011", to be fair, should include ratings from July too, but if you actually take a look at some of those ratings, those numbers would not help increase things. Raw was unlucky enough to fall on Independence Day this year. "The Summer of Nexus", on the other hand, did much stronger in the ratings. Average Raw rating for August 2010 was 3.32. July of that year brought even slightly higher ratings, which would increase the average if I did want to discuss July/August. Just looking at August, which features one of the WWE's biggest PPVs, Summerslam, and also features the seeds of football season being planted, you would expect things to be hot before some heavy competition on Monday nights arrive. 3.15 is hot? Last year's 3.32 was nothing like the 4.0+ the WWE used to get for Raw, but it seems a bunch of rookies getting a mega storyline brought better ratings than the walking pipe bomb. Ratings typically slip after this month. The WWE should be very concerned if things are going to slip below a 3.15. Is it that the overall product is weakening or that what they are specifically pushing now is weak? The weeks around Wrestlemania this year were actually higher in ratings than that of 2010. Thank The Rock. Things have been slipping since then to where we are now. 2010, on the other hand, seemed to have received a saving boost from Nexus. If the WWE's plan was that CM Punk would work the same kind of magic, it flopped. Then again, I'm sure everyone is buying that shirt of his.

Major Push For Mark Henry

They have been putting great attention on Mark Henry for months now. Not surprisingly, this seems to be culminating in him getting a title shot against Randy Orton. Excellent decision, in my opinion. Henry may not be one of the young guys, but he is easy to buy as a credible threat and can make for a good feud when going for the World title. I am not saying they need to put the title on him, but just treat the push good.

What about Christian? Speaking honestly, after so many months of Orton and Christian, I welcome a change. I hope they do not screw over Mark Henry for the benefit of furthering this feud between Orton and Christian any longer. If they are finally going to focus on pushing Christian as a strong heel, fine, but wait until Orton and Mark Henry get some build for their feud. Make it a real feud.

How You Feel, Christian Fans? Good?

Christian's second World title reign in the WWE is over. When you compare this reign to his previous one, you might think it was heaven on Earth. Are Christian fans happy now?

He lost the title back to the same man he "defeated" to win it, Randy Orton, centerpiece of Smackdown. Looking at it another way, Randy Orton just gained two title reigns at the expense of Christian alone in the span of a few months. Honestly, I don't think Randy Orton really looked too weak at all throughout the entire feud. He may have gotten pinned here or there, but when it came to major matches, he always looked better than Christian, in terms of booking, not necessarily match quality. In terms of match quality, both of these guys put on some great work. But go back to that match where Orton lost the title last month. He was not pinned and he destroyed Christian after.

What followed for Christian after that? A mediocre title reign. There was some big talk at times, but it went nowhere. Christian does not look like a top heel. He looks like a creepy little bastard who got put into a main-event feud, put over someone the WWE values more than him, and now he can follow the path of Kane.

Honestly, there is no shock value in what the WWE just pulled. After the way the WWE put the title back on Christian, you could tell Orton was the one who really mattered in this whole thing. I simply shrug my shoulders at his reign and recent title loss. What could you expect? Christian fans, what is really going through your minds? Rhetorical question. Christian's fans, even casual fans, were very upset at his first title reign. There was a lot of protest and bitterness. Do you really think that led to Christian regaining the title? Does the 2nd crap reign appease you? The WWE did a good job of damaging Christian's character and not making the 2nd win seem that much for him, as well as the reign. I keep hearing that Christian is the kind of heel who doesn't win cleanly and isn't meant to look too credible. Two problems with that idea. First, taking all that as the truth, why couldn't the WWE just have Christian defeat Orton at Summerslam by interference? Christian would not look too credible and Orton would not lose cleanly. Second, what makes Christian the kind of heel that is not meant to look too credible? The WWE. It is their writing and booking that really makes the role Christian must play. And this is not a great role to play.

Christian fans cannot really take credit for Christian regaining the title. The WWE did it on their terms and Orton seems to be the main benefactor. What did Christian do wrong to get treated like this? Nothing. What did CM Punk do wrong for his recent epic push to slowly start turning back southward? Nothing. What did Zack Ryder do wrong for his recent glimpse of attention on both shows to start to fizzle out? Nothing. All of these guys have fan support, but it does not really matter. Let me go back to 2010. Mickie James, another person with fan support, gets released. What did she do wrong to get treated like she did? Honestly, nothing. I have analyzed her entire WWE career multiple times. In a diva division, there was no good way for her career to end. Fan support did not bring her back. Why would it? She was released to ensure that same fan support would no longer be in the way and that she could never touch the record in the WWE made by the WWE for a former diva centerpiece. But assume that fan support did lead to her coming back. Tie this in to what the WWE just pulled with Christian. The WWE would bring back a person with strong fan support who they really only intended to be used to put over centerpieces. Is it hard to imagine that the WWE would try to do what they did with Christian with Mickie James? Except, they would not hand her another title reign. They will neither book nor acknowledge 7 title reigns for her. They would turn her heel. They would make her a weak heel. They will push a strong diva face, assuming they have one, against her. When it is all said and done, the goal would be to turn Mickie James into Melina. Do you remember how that story ended?

Christian, CM Punk, Zack Ryder, and Mickie James, among others. Is this some kind of cult of personality? Nope, just people who are not centerpieces, yet they all managed to connect with fans. And that is exactly why you see the problems coming up. The WWE has their own agenda, and it is not to simply treat what the fans like in the best way possible. Fans have to take their wins as they get them, but the WWE still controls what's going on.

No Tears Necessary For Rey

I will keep this short. I just want to explain why I, and possibly a lot of other fans, are not going to complain about what happened to Rey Mysterio last night. Rey wins the WWE Championship, his first time holding that WWE World title, and goes on to lose it to John Cena later that same night. That is even worse than what happened to Christian, isn't it?

Many fans were enraged about the WWE ending Christian's first World title run on Smackdown so fast. I spent weeks and weeks talking about the storyline. But it is not exactly the same with Rey. I want to explain that distinction. Rey Mysterio had already been World Champion twice before his WWE title win this week. He won it at Wrestlemania. Either one of his previous two reigns lasted a lot longer than Christian's first. Moreover, Rey was given at least better focus for some of his last two reigns, which both occurred on Smackdown as well. Moreover, Rey just had a title reign last year. He did not have to wait long to regain it. Not as long, that is, as Christian had to wait in the WWE to finally get his first major World title reign from them. And they treated him like Randy Orton's punching bag. Even after he has regained it, he still remains under Orton. Cena and Orton are both centerpieces. At least Rey had a chance in the past.

Christian/Orton: The End

When Christian lost his first World's Heavyweight Championship just days after winning it to Randy Orton, I started talking about how the storyline would progress between these two every week. Now that Christian has regained the title, I am going to stop the weekly updates on this feud and just look back on it all. The feud is definitely not over, but I think I have seen enough.

Christian won the title by disqualification. Lame. Pathetic. The very next night on Raw, they were having Michael Cole hype that all the tournament matches were just like title matches, saying that you could only win by pinfall or submission. Except when you're Christian? But having him win it like that was not the end. They had Randy Orton destroy him after the match. I can understand creating a situation where they may tease Daniel Bryan cashing in, but was all that really necessary?

Then on Raw, they hype Smackdown's main event. Randy Orton vs. Kane. The centerpiece, even though he lost the title, is still in the main event. That does not surprise me. What I do not like is that they hyped how Orton had snapped and gone crazy on Christian, then just turn it over to Orton and Kane. What about Christian? I know he ends up facing Zeke, Champion vs. Champion. My issue is that he ends up buried quite a bit, even though he won the title. I think you can see why I do not even want to go on talking about this feud every week.

I never really doubted that Christian would eventually win back the title. My concern was whether they would be successful in making the next title win mean as much for him as the first should have and whether they would do a good job to make it all entertaining. Well, the title win definitely meant something. Sadly, it looks like it meant more for Randy Orton than the punching bag who now holds the title. As far as entertainment goes, I do not feel they delivered in how they handled the storyline. Sure, Christian and Orton put on some great matches at times, but the feud itself did not feel like as much of an draw as it should have been. Again, it is not over, but I have no faith in the WWE after what they did this week.

When all this first happened, fans were very upset. Chris Jericho said to relax. This might all just be part of a bigger storyline. I never really doubted that a bigger storyline would come, just like I did not doubt that Christian may regain the title. Just like I said about two months ago, for whose benefit was all this? The WWE failed to make Christian's second moment very meaningful for him, making his first title reign ending so soon look not that worth it in retrospect, and Orton is still centerpiece. The two things I did not want to happen did happen. Are Christian fans jumping for joy now? He won the title because Orton low-blowed him, then got beaten up some more. Truly a proud moment for Christian and his fans. No, not really.

Christian/Orton: Week 11

Hopefully, it ends at Money in the Bank or it gets taken to a whole lot more interesting level than it has been for the last few weeks. I am talking about the top feud of Smackdown at the moment, Randy Orton vs. Christian.

Christian never got to do anything with the World title between winning it and dropping it to Orton a few days later. Since Orton has won it, everything has still revolved around Christian and Orton. Orton has not really feuded with anyone else. It is true that he defended the title against Sheamus, but that title defense was more of an extension of his feud with Christian, who was ref for the match, rather than a good attempt to start a fresh feud. If it was actually intriguing, I would be excited to see what would happen next. That is how I felt back in the first few weeks of this thing. Since then, it has broken down into a centerpiece defending his title against a face who has turned heel during the feud. The WWE is trying to do things to make this feud elaborate, but I do not think it is working out.

They have definitely not built up the next title win to be epic for Christian, assuming he does win at Money in the Bank. I'm even starting to hope he does not win right now. If that happens, Orton gets a rematch and the feud still continues. Have Orton retain and don't bother following up with the idea that Christian will challenge again. Move Orton on to feud with someone new. Do the same with Christian. Build Christian up well. Put him back in the title feud in the future. Then have him win it back. Had a more proper development of Christian been made, I would say he should win it back. Since it has not, the WWE might as well get more worth out of centerpiece Orton holding the title.

Christian/Orton: Week 10 - Now With Added Sheamus

They sure are putting a lot more attention on Sheamus again recently. When they first pushed him in this feud between Randy Orton and Christian, Sheamus was just a pawn in their feud, much like Mark Henry. The WWE may have pushed Mark Henry away from that recently, but he is looking a lot stronger now. Sheamus is once again looking strong again as well, but there is a difference between Sheamus and Mark Henry. Sheamus seems very much involved in the main Smackdown storyline still. Why would that be? Assuming things do not fall flat for whatever reason, I see two possibilities. He may be turning face. After Orton, Kane is the only top face near the main event. You can talk about Sin Cara and Daniel Bryan all you want, but they are in the midcard. Other than Christian, Mark Henry and Wade Barrett are two guys with some main-event credibility. If you include Sheamus and add in Khali, you have five heels on Smackdown for Orton to feud with in the main event. Turning Sheamus may not be a bad idea. They may also be building Sheamus up to win Money in the Bank. By keeping him near Orton and Sheamus, they are building a storyline reason to carry his potentially winning the briefcase. They may also play that into Christian winning the title, only to lose it right after.

The worst thing that could happen out of this is if this is the WWE's way of setting up a new opponent for Orton before his feud with Christian ends properly. That would just be another insult to how they are pushing Christian. It is true that ratings are weak. It is true that the storyline between just Orton and Christian is a getting dry. But it would not be very fair to already start looking for greener pastures before you have really tried with what you have now. I am not saying the WWE is doing that to Christian. Just hoping it does not happen.