Previewing The Battleground 2016 Undercard

Recently, the WWE has shown that they will go with certain things that wrestling fans might appreciate, but the general audience may not be able to. For the most part, I don't think they should do that. The feud between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn is a rare exception I am willing to make. They just have a heated rivalry and a chemistry. You pretty much have to add another chapter to their story on the main roster. The brawls and interactions can get that general audience interested.

Problem is, this match for Battleground seems like a disappointment. I said that Natalya vs. Becky Lynch might have deserved some kind of stipulation, and I will say the same thing for Owens vs. Zayn. How can it not have a stipulation? They are treating this like it is the final battle between the two. It won't be, but how can you not add to the match to make it feel like a bigger deal? Last Man Standing? I Quit? You don't need the Extreme Rules PPV to have these matches. As for the winner, I feel this can go either way, but I will say Sami Zayn.

The brand split may have messed up The Wyatts. Nevertheless, they still have New Day at Battleground. Tag titles are not on the line. People complained last year when the WWE did not have Nikki Bella defend the title at some PPVs, saying they just wanted to have her walk her way to the record for longest run with the Diva's Championship. I don't see anyone complaining about New Day not having to defend the titles here. I'm sure they are out there, I just don't see them. As for this feud, I think it has been rather disappointing so far. There is a storyline with some potential. But the fact that the tag titles are wasted here and the WWE arguably failed to beat TNA at their own game with that segment recently just hurts my interest in it. It annoys me more than it entertains me. Bray Wyatt needs wins more at this point than New Day, especially when their tag titles are not on the line. Wyatts win.

Darren Young gets a title shot against The Miz. These two were drafted to different shows. It seems this feud will end at Battleground. You might say that Miz obviously retains to keep the Intercontinental Championship on Smackdown, but the WWE could have Darren Young and Zack Ryder win their respective matches, switching what shows the United States and Intercontinental Championships are on. Not likely. Miz retains, but what happens to Darren's push after? I am not going to say he started at the top, but this push pretty much started as high as anyone would have expected him to go. Will he be pushed properly in the midcard? Or become a jobber? That would be a waste of Bob Backlund. Will Backlund even last the year in the WWE?

Rusev defends the United States Championship against Zack Ryder. I already said it is unlikely the two midcard titles switch shows by having two lower-midcarders win them on the same night. And Ryder won't beat Rusev just to bring the title over to Smackdown. I can picture Ryder losing this and going back after The Miz and the Intercontinental Championship.

John Cena and Enzo & Cass vs. The Club. AJ Styles will not have his buddies much longer due to the draft. But this match will still happen. Either Anderson and Gallows will likely eat the pin in this match. Face team wins.

What happens to the feud between Cena and Styles after that? Now the playing field is cleared up. Enzo & Cass are not on Smackdown with Cena and Styles. Anderson and Gallows aren't there, either. It will just be Cena vs. Styles. That might make Summerslam their final encounter.

Time To Make Darren Young Great Again?

The lower-midcard revolution continues. Another lower-midcarder, Darren Young, finds himself getting a title feud. He has been somewhat reinvented when the WWE brought back Bob Backlund to manage him a few weeks ago. They have been doing mostly vignettes. This week on Raw, Darren got a cheap win in a battle royal to get a shot at Miz's Intercontinental Championship.

Let me start with Bob Backlund. I am not going to put him in the same category of people over 40 the WWE has to bring back to try to draw for them. Why? Because he's just the manager of a guy that won't get too far. Until the end of this angle does come, there can be more fun segments and interactions involving Backlund. I doubt the WWE does expect Backlund to bring amazing results for them. He's just there as an interesting character.

What about Darren Young? Does he deserve the push he is getting? When they started to show interest in pushing him again, I figured he would just get some minor matches against some heel jobbers. Nothing wrong with that. See how things work out from there. That is how I would do it. The WWE, however, probably would have lost him in the shuffle after that. He is starting out in a title feud against Miz.

I feel like I should be saying the same thing I said with Zack Ryder. There was a ring full of guys on Raw that have no great direction. Former World Champions were tossed out the ring and are not getting this push. Guys that debuted this year and are fresher than Darren Young are not getting this push. Likely Hall of Famers are not getting this push. If nothing else, however, Miz vs. Darren Young is a fresh feud. I will give the WWE that.

It is even less likely that Darren Young wins his title match than Zack Ryder wins his. There are just a lot of guys that can make for a more credible feud with Miz. The WWE should want to eventually go with one of those feuds. I don't think Darren's current angle really needs a title, especially so quickly. Get more out of the comedy potential of Bob Backlund.

Summerslam 2015 Preview: Part 1

The Lucha Dragons, New Day, Los Matadores, and Prime Time Players will meet for the tag titles. The tag division continues to feel like a playground for lower-midcarders. It is hard to really care for these teams when it is likely they will soon get lost in the shuffle again. As for which team wins, the Prime Time Players already had a successful title defense, so that must mean they will drop it. No team has held the title for too long this year. The New Day seems like a good choice to win it back. I do not think any of the other two teams matter too much. Not saying that wouldn't stop the WWE from putting the titles on them.

There will be a celebrity match at Summerslam. Neville teams up with Stephen Amell to face Stardust and King Barrett. It is likely the faces will win and it seems just as likely Barrett will take the pin. I understand the drama between Stardust and that actor. Stardust has had a little feud with Neville recently. Barrett being there just seems like something done out of necessity. Well, at least he's on the card.

Dolph Ziggler returned this week on Raw and he will face Rusev at Summerslam. Would it have been better to wait until after Summerslam? That would give the WWE plenty of time to develop things for the next PPV. I do not think that is necessary. Things are developed enough. These two have had a storyline going on for months now. Through injuries and not even being there, the storyline has been progressing. No need to drag it on. Have a singles match at Summerslam. I doubt it ends at Summerslam. Dolph Ziggler just returned. The right thing to do might be to let him win. I'll go with him winning.

Previewing Money In The Bank 2015: Part 1

The New Day defend the tag titles against The Prime Time Players. There was a time I felt The Prime Time Players definitely should win the tag titles. They have since split up, gotten back together, and are once again in the title scene. The WWE has started putting the titles on teams that lack a strong build to really deserve them. That might make a title change a strong possibility. But I am going to say New Day retains.

The Intercontinental Championship match is just between Ryback and Big Show. Miz has been involved in the storyline, but he is not in the match. They probably should put him in the match to make it more interesting. That is not to say he should win it. Same thing with Big Show. I do not picture him winning it. Ryback just won it. He should be retaining it.

The diva feud is just between Nikki Bella and Paige. The storyline has been all about #GiveDivasAChance, again. The WWE really just should stop it. They are not bringing in any legitimate change. They have even regressed to short matches. Fans are complaining on Twitter again, although I do not believe they have gotten #GiveDivasAChance trending again. The WWE is just taking advantage of it for storyline purposes. It is what many should have expected. I find it horrible when the WWE does this kind of thing. They mistreat their own workers, and even their fans at times, make storylines out of it, and don't bring about any real change. Zack Ryder's storyline led to nothing lasting for him. He was used in a bigger storyline involving Cena, then dumped. CM Punk did these promos about change. Nothing actually changed from the WWE. And they are doing it again with the divas. People have said that Total Divas makes it difficult to create storylines. I never bought that. You now have the entire diva division blanketed in a storyline that can last forever. Just bring up #GiveDivasAChance in every promo. Point to some face as a hero fighting for fair opportunities. Point to some heel as the one holding the diva division back. It would be nice if someone actually did a promo admitting it is the bosses in the back that are really holding back the diva division. Then again, a promo is all it would be. CM Punk knows all about that.

Paige is the face hero in this feud. She gave a promo about change. Nothing to take too seriously. I do notice some fans rolling their eyes at Paige frequently being in the title picture. I also feel the WWE should develop some fresh feuds, but I do not think #GiveDivasBesidesPaigeAChance is too fair. I prefer using #GiveOtherDivasAChance. Thing is, Paige isn't really getting a chance. She has been pushed as a credible jobber since debuting. I am not convinced that the WWE is developing her to be the next AJ Lee. They are not doing it until they are doing it. How they push Paige after this title feud will be telling. As for the diva that is next pushed in Paige's spot, she will likely just be used as a credible jobber, as well.

Some fans seem to want every diva to get an opportunity at the title. The WWE obviously does not operate like that. They like developing a centerpiece. But I actually think they should break the division down. Enter the preseason. I have said that TNA is always stuck in the preseason. They rotate everyone, give everyone pushes all over, but never commit to whom they want their top stars to be. The WWE should rotate their women, but to assess who is their best and give these women a chance to get very over. Once they pick the absolute best of the best, push that woman as centerpiece. Periphery divas and credible jobbers will fall into place around her. Not only is doing this a fair way to rebuild, it might please those fans that want to see Paige and The Bellas out of the title scene.

As for this match at Money in the Bank, I would say Nikki retains. If Paige wins, that would just prolong this feud longer. I do not think fans would like that. I also think the WWE wants Nikki to hold the title for about 300 days. I would say the title stays where it is and the WWE starts going in a new direction.

Previewing The Elimination Chamber Match For The Tag Team Championships

For the first time ever, the tag titles will be defended inside the Elimination Chamber. The New Day defends against Cesaro & Kidd, Lucha Dragons, Los Matadores, Prime Time Players, and The Ascension.

The issue with the tag division, as I have brought up before, is that a lot of these guys feel like jobbers that are getting a sudden push. It is hard to buy into them. And before you even get a chance to buy into some of them as getting a legitimate push, the WWE hands the titles off to someone else. I wasn't buying into Cesaro & Kidd. They won the titles. They held it a little while before dropping it to another team I wasn't buying into. You now have a bunch of teams it is hard to buy into in this one match. Instead of listing the teams I do not think are worthy of being in this match, it will be simpler to talk about the ones that are. The guys currently holding the titles are obviously worthy. Cesaro & Kidd also belong for the simple fact that they have been pushed rather well recently. And that's it. All the other teams feel like extra bodies.

Yesterday, I talked about adding Neville in the other Elimination Chamber match. Any teams I would add in this match? I have one. What about Rowan & Harper? They just got back together a few weeks ago. This is a team I felt should have won the titles a year ago. They just put them back together, but I still feel they have that credibility. Which team would I take out to put Rowan and Harper in? Any of the four I do not think should be in the match. I have seen some fans predict Rowan and Harper will attack one of the other teams and take their spot. I don't know if that will happen, but this is the team I would have liked to have seen in the match. They are also the team I would have had win it.

Out of the teams that are in this match, who wins? It seems likely that The New Day holds onto the titles. If Darren Young and Titus O'Neil were pushed better, I wouldn't mind them winning. Is there any good reason for Cesaro & Kidd to regain the titles? The other teams are not worth talking about. Going by how the WWE has been handling the tag division recently, I would not be surprised if one of these jobber teams do take the titles.

Tag Division Developments

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

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

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

Tag Teams Splitting Up

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friendship Prevails

Daniel Bryan and Kane have beaten Kofi Kingston and R-Truth for the tag titles at Night of Champions. That was not a shocking outcome at all. There are a few things to say about this.

First, what does this mean for the tag division revival? Legitimate interest was being put into the tag division for months now. The Prime Time Players looked to be the chief benefactors of it. It looked like they would finally win the titles. Had this storyline between Kane and Bryan not have come about, I think they would have won it. Kane and Bryan did not win the titles to improve the revival. The proper way to do that would be to bring in more legitimate teams. Do more with the teams you have. People can say that Young and O'Neil are not over, but how can you expect them to get over if you do not follow through with how you are pushing them? The titles were put on Kane and Daniel Bryan to further their storyline. The revival, if you ask me, is done.

Is Daniel Bryan face or heel? Kane seems to always be a tweener. Daniel Bryan seems to be in that zone again. He has been so entertaining with his current heel character, the fans are cheering for him. A true face turn should be coming for him very soon. Keep him heel by having him eventually turn on Kane? That is the other option, but you might as well just run this storyline to it's eventual finish and have them finally be "friends" in the end.

In less than one year, Kane goes from being a monster to being a comedy character. Aside from going from heel to face rather easily, that is something else you see the WWE do with Kane a lot. He can destroy multiple people is a single segment. When that's over, he can be involved in a comedy segment with Santino. I know a lot of people prefer the monster, but it is good to have that versatility. If nothing else, he's winning titles.

Finally, what happens to R-Truth and Kofi Kingston? After the rematch, assuming they do not win the titles back, where do they go? As I have pointed out before, if they were not paired together and holding the titles these last few months, they would have gotten lost in the shuffle. Good thing is, since the U.S. Championship and Intercontinental Championship are both held by heels, R-Truth and Kofi can eventually be challengers for that. How about both at the same time in a triple threat? Turn one of these guys heel? I don't think that's necessary. Point is, the WWE will either have to work something out for these two midcarders or they will be on Superstars more often in the coming weeks.

Prime Time Push Not Canned

The Prime Time Players may have lost AW, and still may have failed to win the tag titles a few weeks ago, but they are still getting pushed. Moreover, they are still getting the chance to push their gimmick. That is what will really help them get over. Just tossing them the titles and not featuring them properly would have been just a waste of time.

Are they better off without AW? Worse? The same? AW wasn't exactly the one who started this team. They were working together before AW joined them. But does that mean they are better off without him? They definitely can go on without him. Even though I didn't think too much of AW while he was out there, he really did add to the group. While Darren Young and Titus O'Neil did their thing in the ring, AW did his part to connect with the crowd and add more for the two guys he managed. That is what a good manager is supposed to do in pro wrestling. Nevertheless, I would not say these two guys are worse off without him.

Question is, will the WWE still feel the need to push them as hard now that it is just the two of them again? So far, so good. However, there will definitely be some kind of multi-team feud coming up for the tag titles. A lot of teams can use the attention that only 3 or 4 teams have been getting over the last few months. And what if the WWE decides to put the titles on one of those random teams consisting of a combination of midcarders and/or upper-midcarders? Can you imagine AJ forcing Kane to team with Zack Ryder, then having those two eventually win the tag titles? The current Tag Team Champions are two midcarders that didn't really have anything clear to do in singles action. Instead of getting lost in the shuffle, they were paired together and got the tag titles. It has been a long, good reign. It is about time they did get the titles on another team. I think it should go on Young and O'Neil, but I would not be surprised to see them passed over for a random team.

Tag Division Continues, Despite AW Drama

Even though Kofi Kingston and R-Truth retained the tag titles against Darren Young and Titus O'Neil a few weeks ago, the feud is not over. That is good. Abraham Washington (AW) has also been very vocal to help keep this feud interesting, but I will get to him in another respect in a second. They are also having the heels still interact with Rosa and her two guys. None of these three teams are really being buried. They are still getting attention. What about The Usos? Once the titles get on a heel team, I am sure they will be getting a little more attention in time. The fact is, it seems like there are too many face teams and not enough major heel teams. I am aware of Reks & Hawkins and Hunico & Camacho, but these are jobber teams. They need more development. That might not be happening anytime soon. If the titles are going on Young and O'Neil, it may not be very likely that the WWE would develop more heel teams at the same time. Focus would already be on a heel team that is still in the process of being developed.

And what about that AW? There was some controversy this week about the comments he made on Raw. I don't blame him. I can understand where some people may be offended, but I don't blame him. The WWE has been pushing the boundaries of what they can get away with within the PG realm for a while. I mentioned that idea back a few months ago when talking about Eve. The WWE wants to have the best of both worlds. When you try to do that, it seems you sometimes might do something in one world that causes trouble in the other world. And I have no reason to doubt the WWE will continue to push the envelope. How much trouble will they get in next time?

Nice Tag Division Development

When you look back at last night's Money in the Bank PPV, you will see that the tag-team division got featured pretty well. Not only did R-Truth and Kofi Kingston win a pre-show match, but the actual PPV featured a tag match, as well. Primo and Epico took on Darren Young and Titus O'Neil. You can say it is weird that the Tag Champions didn't get on the actual PPV card for their match, but the challengers did. However, this is good to get the focus on other teams that need it.

There is something that is even more surprising than good focus on the tag division last night and the Champions performing on the pre-show. The challengers to the tag titles actually lost. Epico and Primo are not being buried, yet. I like that. That means that you have a lot of potential here for a good feud in the tag division.

Go back to last year, when the WWE hyped that there was going to be some kind of revival of the tag division when Kofi and Bourne won the titles. I didn't buy it. They didn't have enough resources for a proper revival. More importantly, they didn't really push a proper revival. Even before Bourne had his issues, possibilities were running dry. Now, however, I see some kind of proper revival happening. Actions are speaking louder than words. How long will it last? Unless they create more teams when the time comes or start signing more teams, it will run dry sooner or later. Until then, the WWE is continuing to push the tag division better. And it isn't just hype.

Jobbers Take Over Tag Division

The direction the tag division has taken recently is kind of funny. In the last few weeks, you had Ziggler and Swagger, who are arguably the top heel team, split up for the benefit of Ziggler getting more of a singles push. As far as R-Truth and Kofi Kingston went, they were obviously the top tag team of the division and held the titles. Problem is, R-Truth got injured. That pretty much leaves your two major teams broken.

What does the WWE do? With the tag division showing even fewer resources to run optimally than the diva division, they pulled in four tag teams for a #1 contenders match at No Way Out. There were actually four other teams other than Ziggler/Swagger and Truth/Kingston? Yes. They were hidden away in the lower-midcard. These teams would be lucky if they even got to job on Raw in recent weeks.

Darren Young and Titus O'Neil have been getting some good exposure lately. They are the ones who ended up winning the title shot. They also have developed a little feud with Epico, Primo, and Rosa, after A.W. betrayed his former clients. An actual storyline in the tag division? Epico and Primo have held the titles before, so it is good that the WWE is still giving them attention. I did find having them win on Raw this week stupid. If you are going to build up Darren Young and Titus O'Neil, they will need some wins to build up their credibility. Even a cheap win would do. Instead, Epico and Primo get the cheap win. But I do realize that the WWE pretty much needs to do this. Even if the current Tag Champs were at 100%, they would have to break up eventually. And then what? You start building up new teams? Why not start now, especially when R-Truth is not ready to go? Overall, I have to give the WWE credit for their recent interest in the tag division. It's too bad it took the possible short-term collapse of the division for them to do it, but still good.

Young Out

On Raw, Darren Young was the only member of Nexus to lose a match. His loss to Cena led to him being destroyed and kicked out of Nexus by the 6 still in the group.

By my count, that is two days in a row that Nexus is weakened. They lose to Team Cena at Summerslam. The way it was being treated in some promos, this match was for the good of the WWE and the WWE Universe. Livelihoods and family was on the line. Overhype, I know. Why? The good guys won. The bad guys did not go away. The bad guys were not really even taken back that much at all from what happened at the PPV. They all still had their jobs. Barrett had lost to Cena before the match. Nothing was put up to limit Nexus from further attacks. Aside from the return of Daniel Bryan and making Cena look like a hero, it was pretty much useless. It did not hurt Nexus that much at all. The fans can chant that Barrett tapped out all they want. Big deal! That doesn't hurt the group.

What does hurt the group? How about losing members? Darren Young may not have been a centerpiece in the faction, but he was a member still. Now they are down to six. They can easily replace him with someone who just lost NXT2, but how does that really bring the group to a new level? It was a group of rookies who made a name by attacking those with credibility and anything else they wanted. None of these guys had any great hook to them. The closest thing was Daniel Bryan, who the internet loved before he even debuted in the WWE, but was struggling to get that monster overness, despite the WWE singling him out, until the release made him look like a martyr. Nexus needs to be taken to another level through associating with an established star. Losing rookies is a trivial loss, but still a step in the wrong direction.