Previewing The Payback 2017 Undercard Matches

Even though this Raw PPV is missing the Universal Championship, there are still a lot of big matches on it. I am going to talk about the undercard today.

Enzo & Cass will take on Anderson & Gallows. Ideally, the tag titles would have been involved in this feud, whether it was Enzo & Cass defending the titles or finally winning them here. That isn't happening. The faces should at least win this match. Throw them a bone.

The tag titles will be defended when The Hardys face Sheamus & Cesaro. The Hardys just won the tag titles earlier this month. Is there a good reason for Sheamus & Cesaro to get another run? It might just be time for those two to split. The Hardys retain.

Moving out of the tag division, let's go to the cruiserweight division. Neville once again defends against Austin Aries. The WWE has been tossing this title all over the place since it was created last year. Austin Aries seems like someone likely to get it. Might as well happen here.

Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens is an interesting match. Not only is the United States Championship on the line, but these two will be switching brands if the title change happens. Will it? Probably not. Owens has a feud brewing with AJ Styles already. Jericho won't be here much longer. Owens wins.

Wrestlemania 33 Preview: Part 2

I will be talking about the Raw matches today. Goldberg vs. Lesnar will be saved for Friday.

Neville defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Austin Aries. Austin Aries can be seen as TNA's answer to CM Punk. He was definitely a poor man's CM Punk. He knows how to wrestle. In the WWE, he currently finds himself in the cruiserweight division. Even though I dislike too many multi-man matches, I wouldn't have minded a few more cruiserweights in this match. It just seems too soon to push Austin Aries. And yet, the WWE has shown that they will push men in this division too quickly, then pull the rug out from under them. Let's say the tradition continues. I'll say Austin Aries wins.

There will be a multi-man match for the tag titles. Anderson & Gallows defend against Sheamus & Cesaro and Enzo & Cass. Enzo & Cass should have won the titles since last year. This is the stage for them to do it. I will say they win.

The United States Championship match will not be a multi-man match. This is a personal feud. Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens has arguably been developed better than any other feud. It does not feel rushed. The development has not been inconsistent. Injuries have not screwed it over. This is what I had hoped for with the Jericho vs. Styles feud from last year. Owens and Jericho were friends for a good while. They both held titles at the same time, although not the tag titles. There were a few great elaborate segments. They just developed things well, building up to the obvious split and match coming up.

Who wins? It just seems obvious that Kevin Owens will win. Jericho doesn't need the title anymore. Moreover, he already got a Wrestlemania win he did not need last year against AJ Styles. No need for two in a row. I have seen some fans say Jericho will retain here and lose it to Samoa Joe after Wrestlemania, likely due to Owens interference. There is also the point of Owens eventually going back after the Universal Championship. But that will probably happen down the line. Right now, let Owens get his Wrestlemania moment. This feud is fit for a title change.

Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker was another feud that just felt thrown together in the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania. That might be because it was just thrown together in the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania. And it has been a pretty lame feud. The WWE is once again selling it like this can be Taker's last Wrestlemania. They did the same thing last year to try to draw in more fans. There are also dirtsheet rumors about it. As I have seen other fans point out, if this is Undertaker's last Wrestlemania, the WWE has done a terrible job making this feud feel more special. I do not think The Undertaker's career ends here. The WWE has been pretty mediocre with a ton of things these days, but I doubt they treat the end of The Undertaker's career with such mediocrity. A feud over whose yard it is? Passing the torch to Roman Reigns? No, I would expect something bigger. Then again, that feud leading to Lesnar ending Taker's Wrestlemania streak was also pretty mediocre.

Who wins? Reigns winning this could very well make him hated. Would they then turn him heel? I don't know if he can even carry beating The Undertaker, and possibly retiring him, like Lesnar could carry ending The Streak. I don't know how much that rub would do for him. But I will still say he wins. This can build up to Undertaker's last match next year.

Triple H faces Seth Rollins in an unsanctioned match. On paper, this should have been the best feud this Wrestlemania season. You can say it was years in the making. Triple H chooses Seth Rollins to be the next big star. Seth Rollins fails to deliver. Triple H betrays him. Wrestlemania match. But the WWE just did such a terrible job after Triple H screwed Seth Rollins last year. Triple H never showed up. Seth Rollins lost his edge. There was even a span where it seemed Seth Rollins had forgotten Triple H. What was the story? Triple H didn't want to fight Seth Rollins? If you don't want to fight him, why screw him out of the title? Because you don't want him as Champion? Okay, so why didn't you try to screw him those other times he got title shots? And you are still going to fight him now? They just took what could have been an amazing feud and ruined it, and for lame reasons. Seth Rollins getting injured also hurt things, but you can argue that it added some value back into the feud.

What can you expect in this match? Samoa Joe will likely get involved. He doesn't have anything else to do. Stephanie McMahon will also likely be around. She might take a bump, like she has at Wrestlemania recently. Mick Foley might even show up to stick a sock in her mouth. As for the winner, part of me believes Triple H should win here and this feud should continue to Summerslam, where Seth defeats his former mentor. But I'll go against that and say the WWE has Seth Rollins overcome the odds to win it.

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 Royal Rumble 2017 Undercard Matches

I talked about Raw's women's matches yesterday. Smackdown has since added a women's tag match, but it is really just filler, lumping together the various feuds they are developing there, so I'm not going to go back to talk about that. Today is about the men's matches at the Royal Rumble, outside of the actual Royal Rumble match. I will get to that on Friday.

Sheamus & Cesaro defend the Raw Tag Team Titles against Gallows & Anderson. And the WWE is highlighting that there will be two refs for this match. There are just times when the WWE tries to get too fancy. It is nice that they are trying to develop a storyline for a title feud that goes beyond just the titles, but this is a pretty dumb story. It is based on a story of clumsy officiating. You had an awkward ending to a match a few weeks ago between these two teams, and that has led to this rematch with two refs. The awkward ending you had to Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker at Summerslam a few years ago was one thing. But the WWE needs to realize that they didn't strike gold with angles like this.

If you can ignore the ref drama, there are two teams fighting for the tag titles. Sheamus and Cesaro just really got the reign started. Anderson & Gallows still don't feel like they deserve a title run. I will say the titles stay with Cesaro and Sheamus.

Not everyone that gets a title reign is being groomed to be a star. Some people are given title reigns so they can drop the belt to the person the WWE intends to be a star. Some people are given title reigns just for the sake of filler, such as when a star is injured and the WWE is just killing time until they return. When I look at the cruiserweight division, I don't think the WWE is trying to make stars at all. None of the three men that have held the title so far look like stars. It looks like the WWE is just going through the motions with everyone. I won't say too much about that here. Maybe another day.

The Cruiserweight Championship will be on the line between Rich Swann and Neville. Neville turned heel and is getting the best push he has gotten on the main roster. He was on the main roster before the cruiserweight division returned. He has had his ups and downs, including an injury and coming back to not much of a response from the fans. But he is at least refreshed by this heel turn. Given what I just said about the WWE not developing stars in this division, I don't think they will have a problem taking the title off Rich Swann and putting it on Neville. But will it happen here? I will say the title change happens.



Onto the World Championship matches. For Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens, the match will be No DQ. Oh, and Chris Jericho will be locked in a shark cage above the ring. Here is the WWE just going too goofy again. I'm surprised they are not forcing Chris Jericho to also dress up as La Luchadora. Why not? He wore a mask a couple months ago to screw Seth Rollins. I am sure they can work the angle in there somehow. The WWE definitely should do more to make the atmosphere more fun, but there are just some ideas that are really stupid. They can ruin a storyline or hurt the performers themselves. There was a serious, strong storyline with Seth Rollins for a while, and that was good. But then the WWE couldn't sustain it and Seth started acting goofy at points, losing his edge. That storyline between Seth Rollins and Triple H, which I will talk about another day, has definitely lost value. As for individuals not working out when they get a goofy angle, remember Gallows & Anderson trying to be comedians? That flopped.


Chris Jericho being locked in a cage is bad enough. And then suspending it above the ring? I know this kind of thing is not unheard of, but it still seems dumb. Why not just say Jericho will get fired if he gets involved in any way? He has a title now. Why not say he will be stripped of the title? Why not say Kevin Owens will be stripped of HIS title if Chris Jericho even thinks about getting involved? Face it, Jericho is still likely to find a way to get involved anyway. They just wanted to come up with a goofy angle for this feud. In some cases, it could be a distraction.




If people watching this Sunday can direct their attention a few feet below Chris Jericho, they might see a match going on for Raw's top title. I cannot picture Kevin Owens heading into Wrestlemania as Universal Champion. I can picture him facing Chris Jericho for the United States Championship, which will be a feud featuring their friendship finally coming to an end. For that to happen, Owens must lose the Universal Championship. Losing it to Reigns at the Royal Rumble just makes sense. They can have their rematch next month, where Jericho will inadvertently screw Owens and set their feud up. Roman Reigns then moves on to a bigger opponent for Wrestlemania.

John Cena faces AJ Styles for the WWE Championship. Cena needs one more World title win to tie Ric Flair's record. He has had multiple opportunities to do it over the last few years. It is going to happen sooner or later.

Before considering the match, look at the feud between AJ Styles and John Cena. It has been the same complaining and self-righteousness you have seen a lot over the years with John Cena. It caused some buzz when CM Punk did it. It didn't draw, but it created buzz with smarks. And smarks are once again eating this stuff up. They have done it multiple times now. It isn't fresh anymore. It isn't entertaining. It isn't helping the WWE's numbers. If anything, I am getting to the point where I am ready to say that all this is laziness on the part of the WWE. They cannot come up with entertaining storylines, so they just look at smarks and base their promos and storylines off of what they want to hear. And they keep rehashing the same thing. There might be a different variation here and there, but it is all pretty much the same thing. There is a reason the Nexus angle led to a better ratings bump than the summer angle of CM Punk dropping pipebombs and walking out on the company. The Nexus angle did not even lead to any of the members becoming as big a star as CM Punk ended up, ignoring Daniel Bryan, who was kicked out of the group early. The Nexus angle was pure kayfabe, rookies going crazy and trying to take over. CM Punk's angle was based on reality, his issues with not being pushed better. AJ Styles is definitely following in the path of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, another guy that got a big push involving real issues of the company not wanting to push him better. But the whole storyline just doesn't work as well here. AJ Styles has not been held back like other guys have been for years in the WWE. John Cena has not been pushed as annoyingly as he has in the past. A lot of these promos with Styles and Cena is just beating a dead horse. They are not really saying anything new to spark interest.

As for the match, the outcome might not matter. Smackdown has already announced an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship. I don't think John Cena will have to wait much longer for his next title run. But I think AJ Styles will retain at the Royal Rumble. Cena can then win it inside the Elimination Chamber.

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.

Previewing The Clash Of Champions 2016 Undercard Matches

There was a time for a while in the WWE where they just did a poor job building up their PPV cards. They would just put most of their focus on a handful of major matches. Everything else got mediocre development. You would even see random filler matches on these PPVs. The WWE then improved themselves a little bit. But it looks like they might be going back to their old ways with the brand split back. I can hardly believe Clash of Champions is already here, but it is.

Chris Jericho faces Sami Zayn. This is a feud they just threw together in recent weeks. You can say that the injury to Finn Balor shook things up. Chris Jericho cannot continue his tag-team run with Kevin Owens in the manner the WWE might have wanted to. Owens has Seth Rollins, so Jericho is left with Sami Zayn, who had been without direction for a few weeks before that. But this is a feud for Sami Zayn to win. Jericho doesn't need this win. Yes, I said the same kind of thing before Summerslam, where Jericho and Owens beat Enzo & Cass, but I am sure that feud would have continued to give the face team the win later on. I do not think Zayn/Jericho should be an extended feud, so let Zayn win here and move on.

Sheamus vs. Cesaro has been flavored filler. These guys will have the grand finale of their "Best of Seven" series at Clash of Champions. The winner gets a title shot, but it has still been a long feud. Even wrestling fans have been giving this feud mixed reviews. Some love it because these guys can go in the ring. Others hate it because of how stale it is. And I just hate the booking of these matches. Sheamus won 3 straight. The odds were against Cesaro. There was even an injury angle involved. And Cesaro bounces back to win 3 straight. Is Cesaro going to come out to John Cena's theme song this Sunday? The Swiss Cena probably should. That's how this feud is making him look, especially if he wins. I think Sheamus should win this just so he doesn't look pathetic. But I will say the WWE will have Cesaro win.

New Day vs. Anderson & Gallows is another feud that has been going on for a long time. The issue with this feud isn't really staleness. It is just terrible segments and the WWE not knowing what to do with Anderson & Gallows. Are they destructive monsters? Or are they comedians? Destructive monsters that moonlight as comedians? Whatever it is, it hasn't worked out very well. I have talked about them and this feud a lot in recent weeks. The WWE missed their chance to put the titles on these heels when the timing was better. But they will probably win it here. If Jericho/Owens was still a force in the tag division, I would say have New Day retain this Sunday and lose the titles to them. Not going to happen. No other great heel teams on the horizon. Give the titles to Anderson and Gallows. 

The Cruiserweight Championship will be defended at Clash of Champions. TJ Perkins defends against Brian Kendrick. And this just feels like something thrown together. Yes, there was hype for the cruiserweights for months, but this actual match just popped up the week before the PPV. People criticize the WWE for how they handled the debut of the division on Raw this week. Where's TJ Perkins? Where are all the other guys that will be in the division? Where is proper development for the guys that were there? It is like the WWE just tossed them out there to be wrestlers and is not putting in the work to make them stars. The WWE is obviously not planning to sell the PPV on this feud, but the cruiserweight division could have gotten off to a better start. As for the winner of this match, TJ Perkins. Why would they have him lose the title so soon after getting it?

Roman Reigns vs. Rusev for the United States Championship is the only undercard match to get great development. That is because it involves Roman Reigns. This match could be considered one of the top matches for Clash of Champions. It has gotten some main-event focus on Raw. I could have talked about it Friday. But I'll just talk about it here. The only flaw in the development of this feud was Rusev taking some time off. He just got married to Lana a few weeks ago, so I am not going to criticize him for taking time off. I am just saying that there was some time where the feud kind of got lost in the shuffle. That left time for Roman Reigns to be involved in the drama over the Universal Championship. Maybe that added a little to the feud. Rusev ran out last week to screw Roman Reigns out of a match that would have given him another shot at the Universal Championship. Overall, one of the better feuds on the card this Sunday.

Who wins? Rusev seems to have momentum. He attacked Roman Reigns after that cage match this week on Raw. Rollins ran out for the save, mostly to also take out Kevin Owens, not save Roman Reigns. The only way I can picture Reigns losing this match is so he can get involved with Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship after Clash of Champions. A main-eventer like Roman Reigns does not necessarily need a midcard title. He's not at that stage of his career that John Cena was when he won the United States Championship twice last year. And Reigns doesn't feel like one of those former World Champions that gets demoted back to the midcard to win titles there, like Miz. I know it looked like he would get demoted after his suspension and getting pinned cleanly a few times, but the WWE seems to be back to pushing him as a major player. If he does lose to Rusev, it won't be cleanly. And it would have to be in a way that still ends the feud to free him up to face Owens, if they want to go in that direction. I will just say Reigns wins this Sunday.

Anderson & Gallows Continue To Try To Find Their Groove

Anderson & Gallows have just been terrible since splitting from AJ Styles. I am not really talking about match quality. I am talking about their personalities and trying to actually get over. They were at their best when they were with AJ Styles and an actual stable. That is when they truly deserved the tag titles. They are now on their own and still hunting for the tag titles.

Since the brand split separated The Club, Anderson & Gallows have gone from being serious, but boring, threats to trying to be entertaining goofballs. Last week's "Old Day" segment seemed to be the last straw for that gimmick. Fans did not like it. The WWE is even acknowledging that the two heels are done trying to be entertaining and are now refocusing on being a serious threat.

The main problem with them as serious threats is that they really do not feel that dominant. They have been knocked around and sent running many times since they came to the WWE. Their is no mystery to what they are about. There is no intrigue. There is no cool vibe. They are just lame. Karl Anderson's hot Asian wife can debut and she would automatically be more over than either of these two guys.

A lot of people usually say when a wrestler isn't working out that he should turn heel. Heel characters usually get to do things that connect better with the audience. Here is an example where it is heel characters that are struggling. And the answer isn't to turn them face. Being serious heels out to beat people up was not enough to make these guys truly interesting. Giving them comedy gimmicks flopped. They are just mediocrities. As I said before, they were at their best when part of an actual stable. That might be the answer for them, although the WWE may not be able to make it happen. It just goes to show that heels don't always work out.

I also found it noteworthy that the WWE made this into a bit of an angle. They had the commentators just keep mentioning that Anderson & Gallows were ditching being entertaining and putting over that the new attitude is helping them. While admitting when something flops is good from the standpoint of accountability, it just felt a little awkward to hear it. It is not something that needed to be said, especially that much by commentary. Just let these guys go out there and be serious threats again, if that is the direction the WWE is once again settling on. The WWE is obviously being reactionary to fan criticism. If you are going to do it, you don't need to make angles out of it like this. It seems like the writers just cannot come up with great storylines and are just going with the flow of how fans are reacting on the Internet. How is that working out? Doesn't look good.

The Dudley Boys Leave The WWE

The Dudleys returned to the WWE last year. They had multiple title shots to take the tag titles from New Day, but the WWE never pulled the trigger. They soon entered a feud against The Wyatts, once again being used to put over another team. They were then treated very poorly for a while. They turned heel. It did not take long for them to be treated poorly again. It looked like they would stick around at least for another year, but they wanted out recently and the WWE granted their wish.

These two were underutilized. It is terrible how they were used. Some people say that these kind of workers should only be used to put over younger talent. There were points where The Dudleys were just jobbing to teams that were obviously not going anywhere on Superstars and Main Event. That was just dumb. Who really benefits from that? If you are going to bring back a legendary tag team like The Dudley Boys, you don't waste them like this. It reminds me of how the WWE brought RVD back a few years ago and failed to use him properly. At least he wasn't jobbing on Superstars to guys not likely going anywhere. The treatment with The Dudleys was even worse.

I can understand bringing back a veteran and using him as a jobber. Legends are more than just veterans. They are more than just guys that were around for a long time. They are guys that have stood out at a high level in a positive way for a long time. The Dudleys are a legendary tag team.

Let me just bring up a few names. Ignoring age and other such factors, just paying attention to the impact the workers have had, consider how the WWE would push these people if they returned. Would you expect the WWE to bring back Trish Stratus and just job her out to Summer Rae on Superstars? No. How about Jillian Hall returning and getting the jobber treatment? That is more believable. If Shawn Michaels came back for one more run, would you expect it to be for him to put over midcarders and lower-midcarders on Main Event? The WWE would not do that. How about Finlay coming back for one more run and being treated like that? Finlay is respected by wrestling fans, but he is more likely to be the guy being used to put over younger talent like that. Would it be hard to imagine The Bashams coming back and jobbing to jobbers in dark matches? I could imagine that. But The Dudleys? They are one of the most decorated tag teams ever. They have won titles all over the world, in various major promotions. They have had some degree of singles success, including Bubba winning the TNA Championship. They are popular. Jillian Hall, Finlay, and The Bashams can all be considered veterans at this point. Trish Stratus, Shawn Michaels, and The Dudleys have all had legendary careers. And yet, The Dudleys have not been treated as you would expect legends to be treated.

There were expectations that the WWE was heading towards Bubba turning on Devon and "Bully Ray" getting a run in the WWE. We'll never know how that might have worked out. But just going by how they have been pushed so far and other acts going on right now, the WWE probably would have had Bully Ray look good against Devon, then eventually fizzle out on him and leave him still jobbing on Superstars and Main Event to guys not likely going anywhere. He might get used as a jobber to the stars before sliding down the jobber hierarchy, but it would still not be what he deserved and what fans would enjoy, except those fans that enjoy chuckling at wrestlers being treated poorly that deserve better.

In the retirement segment on Raw, the WWE had The Club attack The Dudleys. It might be meant to give them some heat, but I am a believer that an over or credible worker giving another worker a rub will fail if the person getting the rub cannot help themselves. Not to get religious, but "God helps those that help themselves" is a saying some people believe in. How many times has John Cena gotten rubs from other people more popular and even more legendary than him? What has finally helped him in recent years to win over some of his critics is wrestling better matches, particularly last year during his runs with the United States Championship. Roman Reigns has gone over guys more popular than him and more credible than him in the ring, but it is not enough to fix his issues connecting with the crowd. The Club just does not look interesting when it is just Anderson and Gallows. They do not look like Nexus or The Shield. They don't look that dominant. They just look like two bald guys that lack genuine charisma. If The Bullet Club wasn't so popular with wrestling fans prior to the WWE version being formed, these two guys would probably have even less supporters than they have. Since The Dudleys are not really retired, I am not going to say the WWE ruined their moment. But they might as well have had The Shining Stars be the ones to attack them. They at least have a gimmick that goes beyond referencing what they have done in other countries and other promotions. Depending on how the segment was done, they also might have gotten better heat.

And then there are those reports of The Dudleys getting an ovation backstage from workers and officials. Nice gesture, but it doesn't let you off the hook for how poorly you treated them. Being respectful to workers backstage does not take the place of giving workers fair opportunities and using them right. That backstage respect does not mean you are necessarily paying these wrestlers what they earn or giving them an opportunity to earn that better career that will get them more money. I have heard these kind of stories a lot over the years, and not just for guys like Edge and Daniel Bryan. I have heard of women getting pushed as credible jobbers getting that backstage praise. Meanwhile, I'm watching them get pushed in a way in which I know they are not treated as stars where it matters, in front of the fans, and are not getting the opportunity to get that for themselves. Seeing as how The Dudleys are not really done in the business, that makes the backstage respect they got this week even more questionable. Thanking them for allowing the company to misuse them? Again, nice gesture, but how the company utilizes their workers in front of the audience matters more than how the company makes them feel backstage. 

I want to do an aside. There were a few things concerning Sasha Banks that I did not get a chance to say. Specifically, there were two points I wanted to bring up even before she lost the title and took time off. Even though the ship might have sailed, I will still bring it up.

First, I noticed that the WWE was not really putting the work into Sasha Banks to develop her to be a star. Of course, it was something to just watch out for as her reign would continue. Her wanting to take a break and losing the title obviously changes that. Not only did her brief title run not feature her pushed in a big way to build her into a star, but the build up to her title win was not that grand. I have seen people saying for months that the fact that she was undefeated meant that the WWE was high on her. I have seen some people say before Wrestlemania that it was obvious Sasha was going to win. The only thing that is obvious is that Charlotte won, not Sasha. Sasha then became an afterthought for a while, eventually suffering a concussion at a house show. The push she got after returning from that injury eventually led to the title win, but her overall career on the main roster does not look like someone being groomed to be a star. Why is that? I would say there are three explanations.

First, she's a credible jobber. They don't want her over. Charlotte is the centerpiece of the Raw women's division. Sasha was just being pushed as a jobber to the centerpiece. The WWE does have a history of using women with wrestling credibility to put over the stars in title feuds.

Second, the WWE doesn't want to build stars anymore and are just going to rotate talented women's wrestlers. That is, at least on Raw. Smackdown's women's division looks like the diva era's last stronghold. There is all this hype over women's wrestling with some fans. Do you really need a centerpiece in this environment? Just rotate Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley, maybe Paige, Becky Lynch, when she eventually ends up on Raw again, and other such women. The WWE does not need to do too much work in this kind of system with any one woman.

Third explanation, the WWE does want a centerpiece and they do want to give Sasha Banks a fair opportunity to earn it, but she has failed to earn that career for herself. That is why they have not done more with her. How can Sasha Banks have failed? Well, she has had those dangerous spots over the last year. If the WWE does not think she can stay healthy why would they want to make a long-term investment in her? The fact that she had another dangerous spot at Summerslam and is taking a few weeks off might further make the WWE think twice about Sasha Banks being a long-term star.

So which is it? Is Sasha a credible jobber? Is she just in a system that is no longer about building stars? Or has she gotten a legitimate chance and failed to impress? The WWE doesn't have a history of giving female wrestlers fair opportunities during the diva era, but you would hope they are fairer in the new era. It is just too soon to tell why the WWE has not treated Sasha better. There are various reasons, which will also provide insight for what other women like her might be in for in this new system. But there is just not enough there to say.

The second thing I wanted to bring up is that it would be interesting to see how the WWE treated the person that didn't walk away with the title after the Sasha/Charlotte feud ended. Obviously, Sasha Banks wanting to take time off created a special situation. If she did not take time off, how would the WWE have handled things?

Why is that even important? Stars aren't just relevant during title feuds. They will be treated as stars even outside of that. Look at Brock Lesnar. He has held the WWE Championship and feuded for it, but he has also had big matches that did not even involve a title. He just main-evented Summerslam against Randy Orton in a non-title match, ahead of even a match to crown the inaugural Universal Champion. Credible jobbers, jobbers to the stars, or whatever you want to call them, will likely only be relevant in title matters. Outside of that, especially for the women, they are treated very mediocre.

Stop and look at the previous Champions in the women's division in recent years and you will notice something interesting. Charlotte obviously just won it back. Sasha is out with an injury. Charlotte had won the title last year from Nikki Bella, who was out for months with an injury and only just officially returned to Smackdown. Nikki won it from AJ Lee, who retired. AJ traded the Diva's Championship with Paige, who is injured/suspended. AJ originally won it for the first time from Kaitlyn, who left. She won it from Eve, who left. Eve won it from Layla, who retired last year. And Layla won it from Nikki Bella back when she won it for the first time prior to The Bellas leaving the WWE. If I had actually brought this up when I would have liked, I would be saying that NONE of the former Champions in the women's division to win it in the last four years or so are still around, outside of Charlotte, who was still in the midst of her title feud with Sasha, obviously.

If the WWE wanted to come up with an excuse to hold back any of these recent Champions, these women are making life very easy for them. Some women that get title pushes will obviously eventually be depushed. The WWE cannot push everyone. But it would be interesting to see how the WWE treats former Champions in the new era. Would they try to treat them better? Or will they get depushed like Paige has been? When someone gets pushed well for a while and then gets depushed like that, fans are usually left thinking she did something to screw herself. That is what has happened to Paige. I would have liked to have seen if that would happen to Charlotte. Or would she get an angle in the periphery? Or a secondary women's feud? I now have to wonder that for Sasha. You don't have to wonder with Nikki Bella. She looks like she's filling the centerpiece spot on Smackdown.

Again, this is important because it can give you an idea of what other women are in for in this era and what the status quo really is. But all these injuries and women not sticking around make it hard to get a sense of what the WWE would like to do. Instead, you are seeing what they are doing in response to injury issues and poor depth. Will women winning the title in this era still be treated well after they lose the title? Or will they take a break to recover from their aching backs?  

Previewing The Sumerslam 2016 Undercard Matches

Cesaro and Sheamus are going to have a "Best of Seven" series, the first match happening at Summerslam. These two have already faced each other multiple times. This is a boring feud that did not need to be extended this long. I would have expected this feud to end at Summerslam and both men to move on to other things. This was not even a feud that felt heated enough to need a gimmick to it, like I have said about certain other feuds, like Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn. There is a feud where a "Best of Seven" might have been more appealing. In any case, who wins this Sunday? Doesn't matter. I will say Sheamus. Let Cesaro have to come from behind. This is flavored filler for a few weeks, I'll give the WWE that.

Enzo & Cass take on Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. I am not going to call the heels by their team name. These kind of teams never last long and there is no point getting hooked. Enzo & Cass are a hot act and I will say they win here. The heels have the momentum heading into Sunday. I will also say that the feud continues past Summerslam. There is more potential for good promos here than with Cesaro vs.Sheamus, one of the things that makes extended feuds more bearable and even enjoyable.

New Day defend the tag titles against The Club. No Big E in this match. New Day already has the record, so the WWE might as well take the titles off them. I just don't think Anderson & Gallows look that great right now. I have talked about it before. Are they destructive badasses, which helped groups like The Shield be successful? Or are they a new kind of DX? I see some fans a little unhappy with how they are now being featured. Other fans like the humor. Either way, most wrestling fans would probably like them getting the titles, and they probably will.

Miz defends the Intercontinental Championship against Apollo Crews. I just don't feel like Crews has really broken out yet. He probably will win the Intercontinental Championship one day, which won't help him break out, but I will say Miz retains here. Make it a journey for Apollo Crews. Maybe that will help fans buy into him more.

Outside of the title feud between Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler, Smackdown's big feud is AJ Styles vs. John Cena. And it has been pretty routine. It feels like a weaker version of Cena vs. CM Punk. Styles is following in the path of workers like Punk and Daniel Bryan. But those two workers just had pushes that helped them to break out, whether the WWE wanted it or not. AJ Styles just feels like a guy that has gone with the flow of wherever the WWE had taken him this year. Although they have treated him pretty well, Styles does not look like an A+ player. As for who wins this match, AJ seems likely to win. Cena destroyed him on Smackdown this week. Besides that, Cena will eventually take time off again. Will Styles be the one to write him off eventually? If that is the case, maybe they will let Cena win at Summerslam and let AJ Styles look even more impressive down the line against Cena when they do give him time off. For now, I will stick with AJ Styles winning at Summerslam.

Raw's big match, outside of Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor, is Roman Reigns vs. Rusev for the United States Championship. It has even gotten the main-event slot the last two weeks. Is that because the WWE still wants Roman Reigns as the centerpiece? Or do they just realize the third hour is doing poorly most of the time and will stick their #2 feud there? Whatever the case, Roman Reigns is still being pushed better than some fans might have expected.

He might even be getting pushed better than some fans actually want. I see some fans talking about how it would send a terrible message if they let him win the United States Championship. What do some fans want? Reigns fired? He served his time for what he did. He did not win back the WWE Championship. He is not in the main event of Summerslam. William Regal screwed up when he got suspended in 2008, but they still gave him a run with the Intercontinental Championship a few months later. Some fans are just not being fair. Yes, a lot of fans hate Roman Reigns, but that doesn't mean the WWE needs to punish him even more than they have.

Back to the feud with Rusev, the WWE had them go at it on Raw this week. That match will probably be better than PPV match this Sunday. And they had Reigns win on Raw. Does that mean he loses at Summerslam? It might. Prior to this week, it just seemed like giving him a midcard title run might be likely. Cena gained some points with smarks last year when he was depushed and defending the United States Champion. A depush has eased the hatred towards Reigns in the past. It just made sense that a depush and a solid run with the U.S. title would do him some good.

The other story the WWE might want to tell is that Roman Reigns is having the worst year of his life. Remember when Cena lost to The Rock at Wrestlemania and the year he had that followed? The WWE sold it like Cena needed to redeem himself, and he obviously did it when he beat The Rock one year later for the WWE Championship. Roman Reigns lost the WWE Championship. He got suspended, something the WWE acknowledged even in kayfabe, and has been moving downwards ever since. Failing to win the title this Sunday would just further drive that point. Will they keep holding him down for a whole year? Or just until Wrestlemania next year where he might regain the the top title, likely the Universal Championship, and be the top guy again? The WWE might hope fans are sympathetic towards Reigns and it helps him get over better. Tricky plan, but the WWE might try something like that.

Which way will the WWE go? Solid midcard push? Or the redemption story? Going by how they let Reigns win the non-title match on Monday, I will say he loses to Rusev and they go with some kind of redemption story. Whether it lasts a year, a couple months, or a few weeks, the WWE might want to try the sympathy route. Let fans believe he is being punished and try to make him earn his spot back. Might not work, but they still might try it.

Is The End Near For New Day?

The New Day's current reign with the tag titles has lasted longer than any other reign with the titles in WWE history. But The Club is back on their trail. Big E has been neutralized. It does appear the title reign will come to an end.

There have been a lot of teams with potential or momentum in the span New Day have held the titles that could have used them. It could have brought some freshness to them and whatever feuds they were involved with. The Dudleys could have won them. The League of Nations could have used them. The Club could have won them a few months ago, then continued feuding with Enzo and Cass, another hot face team, for the titles. None of that happened.

Do Anderson and Gallows really deserve them now? When they were with AJ Styles, they looked more like a stable and had potential. That is when they really deserved the titles. On their own, they just don't look that interesting. They are just two bald guys. One is Festus. The other has a hot Asian wife. I can give him a few points for that, but still not enough to make me believe they really deserve the titles now. The commentators are hyping them up. Wrestling fans are high on The Bullet Club. With all due respect, these two are overrated. They just are not doing anything too impressive.

Nexus was great. They just went out there and destroyed people. There was this air of mystery there for a while. Why were they doing it? What were their goals? And the WWE sold it like they were trying to take over. John Cena was forced to join them. It was just an impressive angle. The future incarnations were lackluster. They were weaker.

The Shield was great. They had various styles that just mixed together so well. Reigns was the powerhouse. Seth Rollins was the flyer of the group and showcased his agility. Ambrose was more the brawler, and had the mic skills. They were just cool. They have all lost some of their edge since breaking up, but it was still great.

Kharma was great. She was a one-woman Nexus. Wrestling fans loved seeing her destroy eye-candy divas. Some fans probably made the mistake of thinking the diva division was coming to an end back then. It wasn't. Moreover, Kharma got pregnant and never got back her spot. Nevertheless, they pushed her as something unique and let her destroy people.

What do Anderson and Gallows have going for them? All they have going for them is what they were doing prior to signing with the WWE. That is what the WWE is hyping and that is why a lot of fans are hyped for them. But there is no mystery with them. The WWE did a poor job with their storyline with AJ Styles. Their matches aren't that amazing. They are not consistently destroying people smarks hate. Yeah, #BeatUpJohnCena, but what have they really been doing around that? They aren't undefeated. Moreover, Nexus beat up John Cena. The Shield beat up John Cena. If Kharma was still around, she probably would have beaten up John Cena at least once. You can't sell someone on this idea that he wants to beat up John Cena. It's overdone. Moreover, these guys just look like watered-down versions of other stables the WWE has featured this decade.

I am not going to go into the topic of how the WWE used to be good with handing the tag titles off to teams that had momentum and how they have stopped doing that in recent years. But I will say giving the titles to The Club will fall in the category of failing to strike when the time was right. They should have done it when there was an actual stable there. How long until Finn Balor embraces these guys? The way the WWE is just running through angles like water, it will happen soon. If not, how impressive will these two look holding the titles?

Cena Vs. Styles Rolls On

Not surprisingly, the feud between John Cena and AJ Styles continues. This week, the WWE teased that both men could possibly be added to the WWE Championship match at Battleground. All they had to do was win their respective matches. They screwed each other and the title match remains a triple threat.

Some fans were hoping for Cena and Styles to be added to the match. I even noticed some people talking on Twitter about adding a sixth man into the match and having an Elimination Chamber match. The WWE has weeks to kill before Battleground. Last night's Raw was just them killing time in an interesting way that might get fans talking. It put interest in both the title feud and Cena/Styles.

As far as The Club goes, this group continues to look very mediocre. Yeah, they distracted Cena to cost him his match and proved they can leave him laying. A lot of people have done that. Anderson and Gallows just don't look that interesting. They look like pure henchmen. The guy they are henchmen for, AJ Styles, also never really broke out big in the WWE. The WWE is treating him like he's already a big deal. The WWE is coasting on what AJ Styles was before the WWE and what The Club was in Japan and wherever else. In the WWE, they just look watered down. Nexus looked better than them. The Shield looked better than them. The Social Outcasts look better than them! Okay, maybe not. Nevertheless, this is a top-tier stable that doesn't look like it. If wrestling fans could forget about their pre-WWE stuff while looking at them now, they might feel the same way.

What could the WWE have done differently? Maybe they shouldn't have bothered teasing that AJ Styles didn't want to fully embrace Anderson and Gallows and go heel. The WWE didn't really handle that angle well. Styles said he wanted to go on his own, then he quickly ends up turning heel and teaming with the other two. There were ways to handle that heel turn that could have made the group seem more impactful. In comparison to what could have been, the storyline was just flat.

The WWE also could have let Anderson and Gallows get the tag titles. The WWE will probably let New Day break the record with the tag titles at this point, but there were so many other teams and angles that could have benefited from the tag titles. The Club is one of them. While New Day goofs around with The Wyatts, the titles could have been used to help The Club look a little more credible. Does New Day really need the titles for what they are doing now? Both Nexus and The Shield destroyed people and held titles. The Club may have attacked some people here and there, but they have not looked as dominant as those two groups. And they also have yet to hold titles. If the WWE can't let them go on a real rampage right now, the least they can do is give them some titles.

Let me do an aside on the feud that crossed paths with Cena/Styles this week. Roman Reigns is obviously not around to help further the title feud. The WWE had Seth Rollins go out there and bring up the drug suspension. That's the kind of thing you would expect from Edge or CM Punk. Rollins seems to be the guy following in their path. Not surprising that they would have him do it. Might help him connect with fans more as that type of character.

But I'm not looking at what Seth Rollins is saying. I'm looking at the WWE having Seth Rollins say it. I don't think the WWE should let that be a part of the storyline. I am not a Roman Reigns fan, but you shouldn't make it even more clear to people that he took drugs. Yes, Reigns handled it professionally and the WWE might lean on that to try to help his character, but this isn't the kind of thing that should be brought up like this. Of course, this is a company that frequently exploits death for the sake of making storylines more edgy, so it is no real shock that they would do this. Moreover, they put themselves in this position by not writing Roman Reigns off in a smoother manner.

Some fans still accuse the WWE of being too kiddie. Is admitting in a storyline that the new face of your company took drugs something directed towards kids? Isn't the WWE afraid kids might Google this stuff and read some other interesting stories of drugs in pro wrestling? This seems more like the Reality Era. The Reality Era and the PG Era just do not mix. The WWE does things at times that fans hate because it seems catered to little kids. The WWE then turns around and does something that seems like it might be too edgy for little kids. This kind of atmosphere is just going to be sour to one group or the other. It isn't having mass appeal and drawing big. Numbers support that. More than likely, the WWE's inability to develop a proper tone that they want is one of the reasons numbers are so bad, along with lack of stars, bad writing, and whatever else.

Previewing The Money In The Bank 2016 Undercard Matches

Titus O'Neil gets a shot at the United States Championship. Some people might question whether or not he even deserves this push against Rusev. It is likely he is just being used as fodder for Rusev. Nevertheless, it is nice to see Titus still getting something meaningful to do on TV after that incident a few months ago. Rusev retains here.

The tag titles match seems interesting. New Day defends against The Club, The Vaudevillains, and Enzo & Cass. But this should really boil down to two teams. It will either be New Day retaining or The Club getting the titles. If New Day retains here, the WWE might as well head towards these guys breaking the record for longest reign with the tag titles, or at least make an angle out of them possibly doing it. The Club, however, can really use that credibility from winning the titles. The commentators keep on putting over how dominant these guys are and whatever else. Show it, don't just say it. So far, these guys have not looked as impactful as Nexus, The Shield, and other such groups. They don't really take over the show like the NWO did in WCW. Honestly, it is pretty lame. Wrestling fans are eating these guys up because they are familiar with their work prior to the WWE. I would like to see more from them in the WWE, and I think there are a lot of other viewers that share that same belief. I would give them the titles.

I am going to lump Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus and Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler together. The new guys should be beating the veterans. Neither of the two new guys have been too stellar so far, but they have potential and bad feud development could hurt them. At least they are getting feuds. It is better than the WWE just giving a new debut a random win streak without an actual feud. Crews and Corbin win their respective matches.

Previewing The Extreme Rules 2016 Main Event

Roman Reigns & his bloodline and AJ Styles & his club have seen a lot of each other these last few weeks. Maybe a little too much of each other. And they will be seeing even more of each other at Extreme Rules.

First, The Usos will face Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows. This is a match for Anderson & Gallows to obviously win. They just debuted a little while ago. Give them the momentum. The WWE has not booked these guys as completely unbeatable, but a win here would be good.

There is only one way I can picture them losing. The WWE can have them lose to sell the idea that they turn on AJ Styles later in the night due to frustration. AJ Styles wasn't there for them during their match, so Anderson & Gallows decide they are done with AJ. I would rather a swerve happen.

Back to the main feud. It has been getting a little lackluster recently. Having Roman Reigns and his group facing AJ Styles and his group might have been exciting the first time the WWE booked it. Even the rematch might have had wrestling fans excited. But the WWE has had these guys face each other in some form every week. They should have thrown in some other supporting characters or rely more on segments and not just matches. We have seen AJ Styles face Roman Reigns already. We have even seen The Usos vs. Anderson & Gallows already. Gimmick matches may make things a little fresher at Extreme Rules, but this rivalry is pretty much spent. The WWE cannot keep it going as it is after Extreme Rules.

So what happens at Extreme Rules? How does the WWE handle this storyline to take it to another level? Or do they just have Reigns retain and end the feud? I can talk about all the possible turns and debuts you can have, but I already brought that up for the previous PPV. The WWE went nowhere then. There is something to be said for developing a storyline, but I already brought up how the WWE hasn't really done anything too interesting with this storyline in recent weeks. It is just more of the same. They should have done something more at Payback. Smarks are still eager for whatever happens at Extreme Rules, but I am not that excited for what might happen. And as far as exciting and drawing in that wider audience, I think the WWE dropped the ball in creating a situation that could deliver for them sooner.

Since anything goes in this match, Anderson & Gallows can get involved without the match ending in a DQ. Of the many possibilities, I will say they turn on AJ Styles and screw him out of the title. Finn Balor eventually debuts, whether at Extreme Rules, the Raw after, or a few weeks later. "The Club" can then get a better name and AJ Styles feuds with them. Does Roman Reigns stick with this storyline or move on to something else? Or does a returning John Cena get involved with this? Let's wait to see what happens with AJ and his friends, then worry about all that.

AJ Styles Vs. Roman Reigns Continues

Aside from the drama with Shane and Stephanie McMahon, the Payback match between Roman Reigns and AJ Styles was more of what you were getting prior to the PPV. Anderson and Gallows showed up to help AJ. The Usos got involved. Reigns ended up winning. No heel turns. No debuts. No big swerves in this storyline.

The following night on Raw was once again more of the same. Roman Reigns & The Usos teamed up to face AJ Styles & friends. Styles won this time, but you once again had no heel turns or debuts. Styles is still being conflicted about embracing being a heel. He didn't want to attack Reigns with a chair. There was a brawl and some table action to help sell their match at Extreme Rules.

The fact that the feud is going on still is not surprising or something to complain about. What is a little disappointing is that the WWE did not really further the storyline at Payback. It was the same thing you were getting prior to Payback. It was the same thing you were getting on Raw last night. This will eventually go somewhere, but I feel they are just dragging it on. I do feel they could have developed this feud better to get more out of it between Wrestlemania and Payback, but I would still say they did enough to make the overall point that Anderson and Gallows are trying to be on AJ's side against Roman Reigns, but Styles is not willing to fully become evil.

There is something to be said for solid storyline development. That is important. But you also have to entertain. The entertainment value of this story rests mainly in whatever swerve the WWE is going to pull. If they don't pull any swerve at all, this whole thing falls flat. Will it be a heel turn? Debut? Whatever it is,wrestling fans were anticipating it even before Payback. The WWE didn't give them anything to get worked up for. I also think this is important in intriguing the wider audience. It will help to create some real buzz that should benefit the guys involved. Right now, the buzz isn't there as much as it could be.

Just look at this storyline for a moment and think about one of the simplest ways it can go. AJ Styles is not fully on the same side as his two friends. He's face, while they are clear heels. What if the WWE has Anderson and Gallows accidentally cost AJ the title match at Extreme Rules? AJ tells his friends to go their own way. He doesn't turn on them. He tries to be respectable about it. Anderson and Gallows get upset about Styles not wanting their help and attack him. Obviously, it is a 2-on-1 fight, so AJ needs a friend. It will probably be Roman Reigns. Or a debut. Either way, it is a linear storyline. No big swerves. And it would be flat.

Why did I bring that scenario up? Because it is the kind of story you had with Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus. Mickie James was the psychotic fan of Trish Stratus. She became a little too pushy and was starting to irritate Trish. Trish tried to be respectable and just have them go their separate ways. Mickie was the one that turned on Trish. She turned heel. The rest is history that no one ever talks about. Mickie James became the most over credible jobber the diva era ever had. And I frequently praise this storyline as the best pure women's storyline the diva division ever had.

This was a pretty linear storyline. It did not have any big swerves and it did not need any big swerves. It involved the debut of Beth Phoenix. In terms of the storyline, it was no huge thing fans were looking forward to. In terms of roster depth, Beth Phoenix became the only face credible jobber on Raw at a time even Trish was injured. Mickie turning heel wasn't a swerve. Given the story, it was obvious it was coming.

What made this elaborate storyline that never even saw a proper finish so good even without big swerves? They had big segments that were actually fun to watch. Mickie James has a great charisma. The development was playing out for everyone to see. It was easy to become invested in it.

How does this storyline between AJ Styles and Roman Reigns compare to that? First of all, not everything is playing out in the WWE. A lot of it is based on what happened in Japan with the Bullet Club. The WWE is using it and referencing it, but it isn't the same as seeing AJ Styles actually build that relationship with Anderson and Gallows. Wrestling fans may know all about it, but the casual audience can't appreciate it.

Second, the big segments here aren't that entertaining. It is mostly Anderson and Gallows attacking The Usos or Reigns and AJ Styles being hesitant to embrace the dark side. Yeah, people going through tables is always fun to watch, but you see this kind of stuff a lot whenever the WWE is developing a hardcore-style match for a feud. And I don't think the WWE having Anderson and Gallows kiss each other would suddenly take this storyline to a better place.

Lastly, you don't have anyone in this storyline that is as charismatic as Mickie James. AJ Styles is a great wrestler. He is a better wrestler than any other guy involved in his current storyline. He is better than any of the women that were involved in the Mickie/Trish storyline. But when it comes to charisma, he lacks that. Wrestling fans are not going to care too much for that, but it makes it harder to enjoy this extended storyline until it develops in a bigger way.

I would say the only thing that can make this feud great is whatever swerve the WWE has planned. They need that to create true buzz. As I have said, wrestling fans may be sold on this because they know about the Bullet Club and they love AJ Styles for his wrestling ability, but this storyline is missing mass appeal. A lot of fans have not seen much of its development, the segments aren't that entertaining, and you don't have performers that are very charismatic. You have a struggling centerpiece in Roman Reigns, a great wrestler that has not yet broken out on his own in the WWE in AJ Styles, Festus, and Karl Anderson. Once this story gets taken to another level, then it should get really good. And I would have done it already.

Roman Reigns Vs. AJ Styles At Payback 2016: Final Preview

The situation is just ripe for something to happen. The WWE went with the face vs. face WWE Championship feud of Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles. What could they have been planning? Heel turn? Debut? Something to elevate one of these guys further? Something to silence the critics of Roman Reigns?

We have already seen two guys debut recently and get involved in this storyline. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson debuted and have been trying to side with AJ. He has stayed face, while the two goons have been obvious heels. It creates some drama. Will AJ embrace his old friends? Or will he continue to politely keep them out of his business? That might likely end with them having enough and beating him up.

The WWE could go the route of an even bigger swerve and have Roman Reigns be the guy that turns heel. Have him form a stable with Gallows and Anderson. Why would the WWE do such a thing? Fans are booing Roman Reigns. A lot of fans say they should just turn him heel. If a face is getting a negative reaction or just a mediocre reaction, an easy answer is usually to turn him heel. That would at least explain the boos or the dead reaction he is getting. Fans aren't reacting because the guy is a heel and they hate him. Heels often also play cooler characters that might help them get over. Roman Reigns played a heel back in The Shield. The group got over. They stayed over as faces. But it looks like the WWE might want to make Reigns a heel again. With John Cena coming back in a few weeks, the WWE might want to change up their top guys. Cena and Styles could be the top faces, as well as Ambrose and the possibility of Seth Rollins being face when he returns. There aren't a lot of great heels around. Reigns is feuding with a face now. He was feuding with a part-timer before that. Sheamus isn't pushed that well. Jericho is a part-timer. Owens is a midcarder. Can Roman Reigns be that top heel?

I would like to see a heel turn. If not that, debut someone else to be the leader of the stable. I do not want to see Gallows and Anderson just get tired of Styles not wanting their help and attacking him. That would be the simple story to tell. Things are already heading in that direction. Do a swerve. The WWE can create drama with whose side these guys are on and they should take advantage of it.

Who walks out of Payback with the title? Roman Reigns is a 3-time WWE Champion. Let that sink in. In less than six months, he has won the title that many times. He will eventually have a title reign that lasts a while. To have him lose the title so soon just seems ridiculous. Whether he turns heel or not, I say he retains here. There are a lot of different scenarios the WWE could have to have him retain the title, while still doing whatever turn or debut they might be planning to do. Just have the match end by DQ, then let the drama really unfold.

It might not be a match, but another big angle playing out at Payback will be Vince McMahon deciding who gets Raw, Shane or Stephanie. I am not going to complain about Shane losing at Wrestlemania and still running Raw. I won't talk too much about why I think segments like this should be on Raw, not pay-per-views. Fact is, the WWE is doing it.

How will this likely play out? I can see Triple H also coming back and some kind of match is made to decide things. But the WWE should drag this on a little to create drama. Shane gets Raw, while Stephanie and Triple H get Smackdown.

Return of the brand split? No. There is a lack of star power and the injury issue right now is just crazy. Bray Wyatt got injured recently. The WWE shouldn't tie their hands by committing to splitting up the rosters again. On the one hand, it should help them to make more stars by getting some guys away from Cena and Reigns, but the WWE is so inefficient right now, they would probably still mismanage it. Shane can run Raw and Stephanie and Triple H can run Smackdown without rosters being split. It could create some interesting tension and be a hot summer angle. It might even lead all the way to Survivor Series. Could they take it all the way to Wrestlemania next year? Let's not get too far ahead just yet. Right now, I do not think Vince will just give an easy answer at Payback and give control of Raw to either Shane or Stephanie and end it there.

Speaking of Raw, let me talk about ratings for a little. Raw last week was a taped episode as part of their European tour. A lot of fans read spoilers and decide not to watch. Ratings for these Raws are usually bad, as last week's was. You then get a bounce back the following week.

There was no bounce back. Viewership was 3,336,000, down about 6%. The rating came in at 2.2, down about 5%. That is pretty bad for a Raw that should have done better than a taped episode just one week ago. The WWE went against NBA playoffs, but they also had that excuse the week before and the games this week on Monday didn't have that much hype to them. Ratings aren't going to continue to sink forever, but this is an indicator that things can be pretty bad during football season in a few months. Will Raw drop below a 2.0? 

Roman Reigns Vs. AJ Styles: The Plot Thickens

Ever since the WWE went with AJ Styles as the #1 contender for the WWE Championship, there just felt like the WWE might be aiming for more than just a title defense for Roman Reigns. The first two weeks have been pretty lackluster for the feud development here, but business picked up this week. AJ Styles actually interacted with two men he knows very well, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. They looked like they would be on his side. They even attacked Roman Reigns on Raw. AJ Styles has not turned heel and is saying he had nothing to do with all that.

It is not surprising that these three men would interact. Wrestling fans are excited for the Bullet Club. Should the WWE have handled things differently? How about have Gallows and Anderson debut at Payback by getting involved in the title match? There is something to be said for foreshadowing. Plant the seeds of things to come. Should the WWE have handled their debut last week better? Have them interact with AJ Styles sooner? I would let it go. No big deal.

What might be a bigger deal is the WWE relying on a stable that doesn't have that mass exposure. Over a decade ago, the WWE brought in the NWO, a legendary stable born in WCW. They took a group from a promotion that was actually beating them in the ratings for a while. It also helps that Hall, Nash & Hogan had a history in the WWE before the NWO. But just focusing on the stable, that was a WCW thing. The Bullet Club is not the NWO. They are not coming from a promotion that can say they are a legitimate rival for the WWE. Wrestling fans may be excited for this and getting Twitter flooded with Bullet Club stuff, but there might also be some fans wondering why they should get excited for Festus.

One of the reasons fans have said in the past that the WWE is awful these days is because they don't have any real competition. If they did, that would motivate them to work harder. That would also provide them with ideas to take from their rivals. You have still seen the WWE and TNA seem to work off of each other at times during the years, but how much of that has really been successful for the WWE? It sure hasn't helped TNA. And now, the WWE is aiming even further down, taking ideas from promotions that have even less notoriety in the American market than TNA did in it's peak. The WWE has to be careful with this. You are appealing heavily to a certain type of fans, but there are a lot of viewers out there that won't know what to make of this. They might feel left out.

All that aside, who turns heel in this situation? You can have AJ Styles embrace his former comrades and screw Roman Reigns. The WWE can pull the swerve and have Roman Reigns turn heel and align with Gallows and Anderson. Fans won't let up on Roman Reigns. The WWE might as well turn him heel eventually. Cena can continue to be portrayed as an eternal face for the rest of his career. No one else needs to be treated like that.

Another option I see fans bringing up is Finn Balor debuting and leading Gallows and Anderson. They all have that common bond. Even if they don't debut him now, it seems likely Balor will eventually get involved with this group, since the WWE is embracing the Bullet Club. They can't hide his involvement with that.

There is an option I have not come across anyone else bringing up. It is probably the weakest option. Both AJ Styles and Roman Reigns stay face and both just feud against Gallows and Anderson. No turns. No debuts. The whole situation is just used to put over the two faces in the end, with Roman Reigns also being paired with someone rowdy smarks love in an attempt to help him get over with those fans. Sounds like something the WWE might do, but I am hoping for better.