Previewing The Backlash 2017 Undercard

Let me continue previewing this lackluster PPV with Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin. Both of these guys should be doing better. Which one of them can afford to lose this feud? I can see this one lasting another few weeks. I will say Baron Corbin wins this encounter.

Luke Harper faces Erick Rowan. I remember some fans groaning when Rowan beat Harper a little while ago. Some fans defended it by saying Rowan needs momentum. Why? There are ways to build a feud without having the two sides involved actually pin each other. Harper is likely to win here.

The tag titles will be defended. The Usos defend against Breezango. I am all for new tag teams getting the spotlight. Breezango's current gimmick is just stupid. It is hard to take them seriously. The Usos have not done much since winning the tag titles a few months ago. I will say they retain against the comic relief and eventually defend them against New Day.

Kevin Owens defends the United States Championship against AJ Styles. This feud is still too young to feel as major as it should. You also had Owens having to finish his feud against Jericho. Those two juggled the title between themselves. I won't say it hurt Owens vs. Styles too much, but it was there as a distraction. AJ Styles should not win the title here. I would say he should not win it at all. He doesn't need it. Give the midcard titles back to the midcarders. AJ Styles does not need this to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, which is an excuse some of his fans might make for why he should get it. Sting got inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Sting never won a title in the WWE. Sting never even won a PPV match in the WWE. AJ Styles is already doing better in the WWE than him. I will say Owens retains here. It might be by DQ or by getting counted out.

Wrestlemania 33 Preview: Part 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Orton Vs. Wyatt Development

Now that I'm done previewing Fastlane and talking about Beth Phoenix, I can get to the big development on Smackdown last week. I am, of course, talking about Randy Orton officially stabbing Bray Wyatt in the back, something you just knew would happen.

Let me start with something I like. The segment with Randy Orton burning Bray Wyatt's compound was nice. They need more segments where they are doing more than just talking, especially just "shooting" against each other. And they need segments that take place in different places. One of the reasons TNA had success with the Matt & Jeff Hardy drama last year was because of this kind of thing. And one of the reasons I liked the Orton/Wyatt storyline when it started last year is because it had that potential to be more than just the regular storyline you see these days.

Now that Orton stabbed Bray in the back, was all this worth it? I am talking about having Randy Orton join The Wyatts. I had pointed out numerous times how poorly it was done. It was like Orton just randomly decided to do it. Bray Wyatt had not done anything to really "break" Randy Orton to make it believable that Wyatt had won him over. And this storyline direction was where I started disliking what they were doing.

I don't think it was worth it. First of all, Bray Wyatt just looks like a big idiot. How could he have trusted Randy Orton? He knows Orton has done this kind of thing before. He did it just a few years ago to Seth Rollins.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the WWE spent the Royal Rumble victory and the WWE Championship on this feud. Was that worth it? Fans sometimes discuss whether a certain feud needs a title to be involved. Some say Lesnar vs. Goldberg going on right now does not need the title. I would say Orton vs. Wyatt needs it even less. You have a great elaborate storyline here, even with the WWE trying to get too fancy. There is fire here (no pun intended) even without the title.

That Royal Rumble victory could have gone to some other feud to help develop that. The WWE Championship could have been kept on John Cena or given back to AJ Styles, or even given to Miz, who many say has regained a lot of credibility in the last few months. It could have really helped other feuds. This feud between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt did not need it. You now have certain individuals getting mediocre Wrestlemania feuds, while a feud that already had a lot invested in it gets the Royal Rumble winner involved and the WWE Championship.

I mentioned AJ Styles. He has to face Randy Orton to decide the #1 contender. It is obvious how this is going to end. Orton will win. This is just dumb booking. I know AJ Styles doesn't fit into this storyline, but you would usually expect in a situation like this for a triple threat to be made. And after Styles loses, what does he have left? A rumored feud against Shane McMahon? Why? Because a heel wrestler has issues with a face authority figure? This kind of thing happens all the time. You don't always get a match out of it. Even though Shane McMahon has stepped up in some matches in his years in the WWE, this is just a lackluster feud for AJ Styles for Wrestlemania season.

Another supporting player in the Orton/Wyatt drama has been Luke Harper. Many might wish he was in the spot AJ Styles is in right now. Many might also wish it was a triple threat. Luke Harper looked like he legitimately won the battle royal a few weeks ago. He might be viewed as a sympathetic character for being pushed out the stable. Some might argue he has been screwed over by the WWE. If they WWE didn't try to get fancy with Orton/Wyatt feud, they might have avoided this problem.

What's wrong with AJ Styles vs. Luke Harper for Wrestlemania? Yes, these two already faced each other not to long ago, but the same can be said for Goldberg and Lesnar. But you would have two smark favorites in this feud, so those fans should be more than content with the Wrestlemania match these two can put together. As it stands now, Luke Harper does not have a match of his own for Wrestlemania. Instead of throwing him into a battle royal or having him just interfere in Orton/Wyatt, a feud with AJ Styles might be better.

I would like to see how the Wrestlemania audience reacts to Orton/Wyatt. Randy Orton is a popular guy, but let's not ignore that there have been times smarks did not love him that much. Daniel Bryan just buried his overness a couple years ago around this time. Will the Wrestlemania crowd be more sympathetic to Bray Wyatt for how he has been made to look? Will they be chanting for Luke Harper? The WWE still has a few more weeks to develop this feud and try to make it less likely fans react in a way the WWE might not want.

Who Won The Battle Royal?

Smackdown had a battle royal to decide who will face Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania for the WWE Championship. The match came down to AJ Styles and Luke Harper. Both men got eliminated at the same time. Things will be settled on Smackdown next week.

Or did both men really get eliminated at the same time? Fans are pointing out that it obviously looked like AJ Styles had to have gotten both feet down on the floor before Luke Harper. And judging by how the WWE were not eager to show a replay, it makes it even more likely that the ending was botched. Luke Harper should be the winner of the battle royal.

There have been some instances where a botched finish led to the WWE going in a direction they did not intend to go. A couple months ago, Bayley got added to a title match between Sasha Banks and Charlotte because of a botched finish. Of course, the idea here was for Luke Harper and AJ Styles to have a controversial finish and have a little mini-feud between the two. But if Harper obviously won the match, the WWE's plans look stupid. There is a controversy here, but it is over the fact that the WWE won't acknowledge what really happened. The kayfabe controversy is just overshadowed.

I will admit that I felt that the WWE was doing too much with the storyline between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. The development for what they were doing was also weak at times. But even I am starting to want to see Luke Harper stay involved in this feud to get in the title match at Wrestlemania. It looks like he legitimately won the battle royal. His character is starting to look strong. With how much smarks love him and the momentum he is getting, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a reaction at Wrestlemania that buries both Orton and Wyatt. It would probably be a mistake to take him out of that picture. I am not saying it would be as terrible as what the WWE tried to do with Daniel Bryan years ago, but it might upset certain vocal fans.

The Wildcard In The Wyatt Storyline

Bray Wyatt won the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber last Sunday. He retained it on Smackdown. Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble a few weeks ago. These two were feuding with each other a few months ago. The storyline then took a twist when Randy Orton just randomly decided to join The Wyatts. Everyone is waiting for that feud to finally resume, finish up, and have everyone involved just move on with their lives.

But there is a wildcard in all this. Luke Harper has been The Wyatt pushed out with Randy Orton joining the group. He is now a bit of a thorn in the side of Bray Wyatt. How will he factor in as the feud progresses?

There will be a battle royal on Smackdown next week to see who faces Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania. People are expecting Luke Harper to win that. Whether he does or doesn't, a lot of fans are thinking about a triple-threat match at Wrestlemania. Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper. The fact that Randy Orton said he doesn't want to face Bray is meaningless. It is not written in stone.

I am all for the WWE elevating talent with the brand split back. Seth Rollins just got too many title shots last year. And then Roman Reigns came in. Now a part-timer is going after Raw's top title. Elevate younger talent. Luke Harper is that kind of talent. And smarks love the guy.

Problem is, now is not the time I would be doing this kind of thing. This Wrestlemania season already feels disappointing when you think of the great feuds they could potentially have built. As I have said before, the feud between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt did not need the Royal Rumble win and WWE Championship to be involved. But now that you are at that point, just go with that. There is enough to work with right there. Luke Harper does not need to be in this Wrestlemania match. Save his involvement in the Smackdown title matches for after Wrestlemania.

Previewing The 2017 Elimination Chamber Men's Matches

First match to talk about will be Dolph Ziggler vs. both Apollo Crews and Kalisto. This might be another instance of the WWE trying to get too fancy with a feud. This match could easily have been just Ziggler vs. Crews. It might not be too interesting, but this PPV is featuring an Elimination Chamber match. That is the big selling point right there.

Or is the WWE planning something more with this match? The odds are against the heel. They could pull a swerve and have Apollo Crews turn heel and help Ziggler win. Ziggler is no stranger to having some muscle at his side. You can also say this heel turn for him has been a bit forced or that he might be trying too hard. Maybe the WWE will give him a sidekick to help him. As for Crews, he hasn't really done anything important in the longest while. A heel turn might at least give him a chance to show a different personality, which might help him.

Who wins this? There are a lot of possibilities and a lot of things to consider. I just brought up the heel turn option. Ziggler is the one being pushed, so he should win. At the same time, two faces would look bad if they lost this match without major shenanigans, although Apollo Crews and Kalisto aren't exactly too important. I will say Ziggler wins.

Randy Orton faces Luke Harper. Forgetting the Royal Rumble win for Orton, this match was just the logical step in the storyline Orton has with Bray Wyatt. Randy Orton drives away Bray's top disciple, then the path is cleared for Orton to turn on Bray. Randy Orton seriously did not need that Royal Rumble win.

Who wins this? I don't see Luke Harper in line to get a huge push moving forward. If he was, I might say he wins this. Since that is not the case, Orton wins.

American Alpha defend the tag titles against The Usos, The Ascension, The Vaudevillains, Breezango, and Heath Slater & Rhyno. Did I miss anyone? The tag division is probably something else I should try to take time out to talk about in this hectic Wrestlemania season. A lot has been going on in the last few weeks, including title changes. Is the WWE making good booking decisions? Are they developing teams properly? Well, there are a bunch of jobbers in this match. The WWE might have done better by just building a feud between American Alpha and The Usos.

I think this match might just come down to those two teams. One of them will win. The title reign of American Alpha is still young, so they should retain here. However, the WWE has had some questionable title changes in the last few months. It's not just with the Cruiserweight Championship. It would be nice to let more of these title reigns develop more. No need for reigns of doom, but a few months and successful title defenses would be nice. I will say American Alpha retain.

And the main event will be John Cena defending the WWE Championship inside the Elimination Chamber against Bray Wyatt, AJ Styles, Miz, Dean Ambrose, and Baron Corbin. There is a lot I would have liked to have said about this match, including running down each of these guys, but I've already talked about a lot today and I'll just save time by talking about three guys. Keep in mind, the winner of this match likely faces the Royal Rumble winner, Randy Orton, unless some huge swerve happens.

If you're going by what Dave Meltzer's sources are telling him, Bray Wyatt is winning the title and facing Randy Orton. I can just end it right here and go make a sandwich. Whether the WWE does it or not, this is a terrible booking decision. It is amazing how the WWE could take what was my favorite storyline going on at one time and ruin it by just trying to do too much. I thought the way they had Randy Orton just join The Wyatts was bad enough, but this was just not a feud that needed to involve Randy Orton winning the Royal Rumble and Bray Wyatt winning the WWE Championship. I am not against Bray Wyatt finally winning a top title, but now is not the time for it.

Look at the incumbent. Look at the guy holding the title heading into the PPV. That would be John Cena. He just won the title a few short weeks ago. I wouldn't be too shocked if he lost it so soon. Moreover, Cena retaining would mean Randy Orton vs. John Cena. They just faced each other in a singles match this week. These two have never faced each other in a singles match at Wrestlemania, but I think a lot of fans can live with not seeing it. Going in this direction would also put the Orton/Wyatt angle in an interesting position. What happens there?

The last name I will bring up is AJ Styles. He held the title prior to Cena. A feud and match between Randy Orton and AJ Styles would be fresh and something I have seen some fans interested in. The main problem here is that it would ruin the Orton/Wyatt feud. I can have an easier time imagining Orton vs. Cena with Bray Wyatt hovering in the background than Orton vs. Styles with Bray Wyatt hovering in the background.

Who wins this? Because of all the crappy possibilities, I am not even going to take this seriously. I'll say Jinder Mahal beats up Baron Corbin before the match, takes his spot, and wins the title. Randy Orton just should not have won the Royal Rumble. I am a fan of Randy Orton. I don't own a lot of wrestling merchandise, but Randy Orton is one of the guys I have bought merchandise of. But it is just hard to get excited for this push for him when so many epic feuds could have been built with someone else winning the Royal Rumble. I would rather see John Cena vs. The Undertaker at Wrestlemania for the title. The feud between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton just didn't need all this.

Does Orton Deserve Better? (2015)

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose Search For A Partner

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

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

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

Summerslam 2015 Preview: Part 2

Even though I felt even adding some kind of gimmick to the Summerslam match between Randy Orton and Sheamus could not save it, I still think it is a bad decision to not even do that much. This is a boring feud that should have ended last month. The highlight since then was probably the two men costing each other the WWE Championship on Raw recently, but even that must have seemed a bit telegraphed to many fans. They knew it was coming. As far as who wins this, I will go with Sheamus this time. Why continue the feud if he never wins a match? Regardless of the outcome, how likely is it this feud continues?

Ryback is back and will defend the title against Miz and Big Show. Going by how much the WWE loves giving Miz title reigns, I would not be surprised if he won this. It is like they can't think of anything else for him. Big Show should be in The Authority. What does he really have going for him?

The Wyatts vs. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Could they pull a swerve with this match? Dean Ambrose turning heel? Not only have him turn on Reigns, but how about having him join The Wyattts? That would be an interesting twist to things. If nothing like that happens, the faces should win. This was a feud for Roman Reigns to win when it first got started. The WWE extended it by adding in Luke Harper and Dean Ambrose. The only good thing that could come from ruining the personal feud between Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt is Dean Ambrose turning heel.

I would say the Cesaro/Owens feud is the best midcard feud they have going. Not only does it feature two guys that can go in the ring, it has been fresh. Cesaro has been looking pretty good. Kevin Owens has been broken down a little, but that was to be expected. Who wins? Owens has looked so weak at times recently, I think he will get the win at Summerslam. Cesaro can survive a loss in a great match. He has had some great matches with John Cena last month, came up short, and still has his momentum.

Bray Wyatt And Roman Reigns Gain Allies

Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns at Battleground had a screwy finish, but no one seems to be making a big deal out of that, as compared to certain other matches I have talked about recently. Luke Harper got involved to help Bray Wyatt. Roman Reigns is also not alone. Dean Ambrose is there to help him.

There are rumors of Sting getting involved, but I am not even going to bring that up further. Just focus on this now turning into a tag feud. I do not like it. There was a personal, heated feud between Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns at one point. It did start to get stale in the last few weeks, but the WWE had an opportunity to try to make it fresh again. They inserted one of Bray's former henchmen. Okay. They still could have kept this a personal feud. Just treat Luke Harper as another obstacle Reigns has to get through to get to Bray Wyatt. Instead, they are going the route of a tag feud. The Shield and The Wyatts had a big rivalry years ago. This is a little taste of that. Some fans might like that, but I still feel they are ruining the feud between Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt. This is still a feud for the faces to win, but they could have had a great gimmick match between the two at Summerslam.

I always say Dean Ambrose is a guy that should not get lost in the shuffle. He has a purpose now. Nevertheless, I think they could have found something else for him to do. Now that Orton/Sheamus might be over, they could have developed some kind of feud between Sheamus and Ambrose. Ryback is out for a while. How about putting Ambrose against Miz or Big Show? Make the feud for the Intercontinental Championship a four-way feud. There were options.

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.

Extreme Rules 2015: Final Preview

I have already said all I want to say about John Cena vs. Rusev and Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton. I will talk about the other matches today.

Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper. If Dean Ambrose can't win this feud, there has to be some kind of running gag here. There is no reason to bury him. He is over, but there is no heavy protest to see him get pushed. Luke Harper is not going anywhere. Give the win to Ambrose.

Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston. The tag division is looking almost as sloppy as the diva division. I am talking about how it is managed, not the quality of matches. I would expect Kidd and Cesaro to retain. If the WWE is serious about developing The New Day as something credible, and I mean really SERIOUS, I can picture them giving them the titles. I do not think they care. It does not matter whether they are heels or faces. They have been mediocre too long.

Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett. Why don't I ever call him Bad News Barrett? Anyway, Daniel Bryan's health continues to be an issue. Is he badly hurt? If he is not that hurt, he will retain. If he is hurt but can still go, he will work the match and Barrett will regain the Intercontinental Championship. If he is too hurt for even that, you are going to have a repeat of what happened last year. Regardless of Daniel Bryan's health, I still feel he could have been utilized better in the last few weeks. There are some guys that are so over that just being out there is enough for the fans. They do not need to wrestle every night. The product has felt a little weak lately. Daniel Bryan could have helped fix that to some degree.

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler. Sheamus just made his return a few weeks ago. They seem more interested in pushing him right now than Ziggler. Ziggler just seems to be in the position to put Sheamus over. I do not see them hurting the momentum Sheamus is developing. He likely wins this match. I do not want to imagine what will happen with the "kiss me arse" aspect of this match. Crass.That's the word I'll give it.

Roman Reigns vs. Big Show. There will be rowdy Chicago fans at Extreme Rules. You can imagine some of what they will do. They will love Cesaro and Kidd. Cena will get booed. As far as this match goes, you have two guys that smarks do not like. "Please Retire" chants for Big Show? Will Roman get mugged as he tries to make his entrance through the crowd? I usually get excited for Last Man Standing matches, but a lot of hardcore-style matches have been weak in recent years. The WWE is trying to be more edgy again. There is also no reason to be too interested in who wins. Roman Reigns is the guy they are developing to be a star. Big Show is a jobber to the stars. It will be more interesting to see how fans treat this match than anything else.

I have saved the diva match for last. Nikki Bella vs. Naomi for the Diva's Championship. Naomi is the heel and Nikki is the face. Paige had won a battle royal to get a title shot. Naomi turned heel that same night and took her out. Paige is out filming a movie. The WWE pretty much took out their top face right now. They fix it by turning The Bellas face. This is sloppy, inconsistent booking. I do not think you can put all the blame on AJ Lee retiring. They could have kept all the alignments the same and developed face Naomi to take on heel Nikki for the title. Have The Bellas take Paige out if she has to take time off.

How about the decision to turn The Bellas face? Given the hole the WWE dug for themselves, this is an okay move. You have two faces with one turn. There are still other divas they can treat as faces. More faces will eventually debut. The main issue is how randomly they did it. Not developed well. In one year, The Bellas have gone from being faces to being heels to being faces. Paige has gone from being a face to a heel to a face. AJ Lee was a heel, turned face, and if she had not left, would have turned heel again. Some people complain about how long John Cena has been face, but you can bring up the opposite complaint about the diva division. Stop turning them so much. A lot of these turns are done because of depth issues, not for the sake of good creative investment.

I would not make too much out of Paige starring in a movie for the WWE. Extracurricular activities do not determine your place on the roster. Brodus Clay also starred in a movie for the WWE. Where is he now? TNA. Things like movies and Total Divas usually do not do the most for helping you to get over. Not everyone can get over through extracurricular activities like Zack Ryder did. It comes down to how you are actually pushed. Let's see how Paige is pushed when she returns.

Who wins between Nikki and Naomi? I would say Nikki. After that, you will probably eventually get a triple threat involving those two and Paige. Paige will still have a title shot coming and Nikki will probably still be face. Face vs. face? Insert heel Naomi. I would not be surprised if the WWE books Nikki to hold the title long enough to break AJ Lee's record. She's almost halfway there.

Wrestlemania 31 Preview: Part 2

The feud development between Randy Orton and Seth Rollins could have been better. I can picture this feud going beyond Wrestlemania. I can also picture Orton beating Seth and Seth going on to cash in his briefcase to win the title. I know no dirtsheets are reporting that, but if the WWE is starting to realize that the main event is horrible, they might pull some kind of swerve to create some drama.

The Undertaker lost his streak last year, but he is still coming back for more. Bray Wyatt has been pestering him with promos for weeks and weeks. Match quality will most likely not be amazing here, but you have a legend fans love seeing and two guys with unique gimmicks. It would have been better if Taker was around to help push the feud. I will say The Undertaker wins.

You have a 7-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. This is the match many predict will steal the show. Barrett vs. R-Truth vs. Ambrose vs. Ziggler vs. Harper vs. Stardust vs. Bryan. I wouldn't mind Ambrose winning the title from Barrett, but then they added in all these other guys. I think it will be either Ziggler or Bryan.

There is a chance a main-eventer might also be winning the other midcard title. John Cena vs. Rusev for the United Stated Championship. Rusev has the momentum. He already beat Cena last month. This one seems obvious. Cena regains the title. 

Dean Ambrose Goes After The Intercontinental Championship

Dean Ambrose seems to be a very popular guy. For 2015 so far, I have more visitors to my blog searching for Dean Ambrose than any other one person. He reminds me of a mix between Steve Austin and Mick Foley. You can probably throw in a few other guys in there. I am not really a fan of the guy, but I can understand why people like him.

There is no need to question whether he deserves a title reign. He is feuding with Barrett over the Intercontinental Championship. The only thing that might make you hesitate is that Barrett just regained the title a few weeks ago. Should he lose it so soon? Personally, I would still have Luke Harper holding the title. He dropped it back to Ziggler too soon. Ziggler dropped it back to Wade Barrett, who should be above it right now. And now you are just going to drop it to someone else? If Harper was still holding the title, would a feud between him and Dean Ambrose have worked? I think so. Ambrose is coming off a feud with Bray Wyatt. Luke Harper was one of Wyatt's henchmen. There is a story there you can work with to transition to this feud to make it more than just a title feud. Too late for that.

Again, I am not against Dean Ambrose getting the title. How do you handle this feud? I would have Wade Barrett retain when these two go at it. The feud continues. Ambrose wins in a rematch. It does not have to happen at Wrestlemania. It can happen in the weeks leading up to it. Not all title changes need to happen on PPV. Hopefully, he will have a title reign that actually lasts a few months. It does not have to be as long as his reign as United States Champion, but it should be longer than some of the title reigns you have gotten recently with the Intercontinental Championship.

Luke Harper Wins The Intercontinental Championship

Luke Harper won the Intercontinental Championship from Dolph Ziggler on Raw this week. Luke Harper is definitely deserving of a good push and title reign. Moreover, this title change adds some fuel to the feud between Team Authority and Team Cena.

Even though I have nothing against Luke Harper winning the title from Ziggler, did they have to do it now? Couldn't they wait for after Survivor Series? They could have had an actual feud develop between the two before Harper won it. You need good midcard feuds. The way they handled it, this was more of an extension of the main-event feud going on, not a true midcard feud. Did they do this to make Harper look more credible for the main event at Survivor Series? I wouldn't say that. His size and dangerous character give him credibility. As I mentioned before, this serves more to add some fuel to the storyline. You can let the lack of feud development slide, but the WWE better not make a habit out of it. They did this kind of thing when Dean Ambrose dropped the United States title to Sheamus. That was also more of an extension of another feud than an actual feud between Sheamus and Ambrose.

Should they toss the title back to Ziggler? Ziggler lost the title to Miz a little while ago and won it right back. Should Harper's title reign be that short, or close to it? I don't think so. I don't think fans should be upset about Ziggler not getting title reigns for a while. He had some title runs this year. Besides, this is a guy that should not need a title to be relevant. Keep him revolving near the main spotlight. Push him as an A player. With all the injuries and other issues, he should be promoted. Let Harper enter a midcard feud with some other face.