Did Smackdown Accomplish Anything This Week?

In terms of drawing, Smackdown obviously did what it needed to do. Ratings aren't out yet, but they hyped big matches for this week's episode. Developing angles and promoting matches and segments will lead to people being interested. But that is not what I am talking about today. The booking last night, did that accomplish anything?

First, Lana got a rematch against Naomi for the Women's Championship. It was a short match. Lana hit her finisher and Naomi just kicked out and went on to win. That doesn't really make Lana look good. A lot of people have been critical of Lana's wrestling ability. I would be one of them to some degree. But there are fans that were hoping for competitive matches in this new era. The WWE definitely could have told a different story in that match.

And is it really over? Lana has had a lot to say on Twitter.

I obviously did NOT get pined! I want a FAIR title match! Clearly the ref & all of @WWE are cheaters & favor @NaomiWWE over me! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/puUUrbWIap

— CJ (Lana) Perry (@LanaWWE) June 28, 2017

Does this lead to Lana complaining next week and getting another rematch? Should it? On one hand, it would be nice to just move on already, especially if the WWE is not planning to give Lana the title right now. On the other hand, it is at least a real possibility that the WWE continues this, especially now that fans on social media have gotten wind of Lana not having both shoulders down.

Second, the briefcase ladder match. No Ellsworth this time. Of course, he still got involved. This time, however, Carmella took the briefcase down herself. Ignoring the Ellsworth ban and it being violated, this is how the match should have ended at the PPV a few weeks ago. Ellsworth tries to cheat. He gets taken out. Carmella gets the briefcase. The whole controversy of a man grabbing the briefcase in a match that is supposed to be about the women does not exist.

Once again, is this really the end of it? There was once again a controversial finish that might lead to another segment featuring the women complaining. And they would have a point. James Ellsworth was banned. He violated the rules. Shouldn't something happen?

This is exactly like what happened last year with Seth Rollins. Rollins was getting way too many title shots. On an episode of Raw, he got a shot against Kevin Owens, with Chris Jericho banned from ringside. Jericho ended up still finding his way to ringside and he interfered. Owens ended up retaining. As much as I hated Seth Rollins getting so many title shots, isn't this a situation they created where he should have gotten a rematch? There was a rule and that rule was broken, resulting in Rollins losing the match. It just seems like bad writing.

It seems like the WWE has once again written themselves into a bad situation. They obviously should not do the ladder match for a third time, but it does seem pretty stupid that they created this rule, the rule was broken, and Carmella ended up benefiting to win the match. The previous situation with Seth Rollins was not handled in the smoothest way, and I expect this situation to not be handled in the smoothest way.

I made a point last week that there would be no reason to redo these two matches if the outcome would be the same. And it seems the outcome was exactly the same. Not only did the same woman win both matches, but both matches ended in a possibly indecisive or controversial fashion that makes you wonder if it is all over yet. That is why I would say the booking of these matches did not accomplish anything. It was just a bunch of hype for no big developments in these storylines. They could have used the situation to give the briefcase to someone new, while Carmella carried her momentum from the whole controversy into a title feud with Naomi, who could have definitively been free from Lana, who is complaining on Twitter about how the match ended.

Moving on to the men, Zack Ryder & Mojo Rawley took on The Usos. If the faces won this match, they would have gotten a shot at the tag titles. I was all for this happening. But the WWE had The Usos win. A triple threat feud also involving New Day would have been good. It would have made things more interesting.

It just feels like everything is as it was coming off Money In The Bank. The women's ladder match ended with Carmella winning and controversy involving Ellsworth. That is where we are at right now. The women's title match ended with Naomi retaining and Lana having a complaint she believes warranted a rematch. That is where we are right now. The tag title match ended in a way in which it was obvious New Day was not finished with The Usos yet. And that is where we are right now. Nothing has changed. All Smackdown accomplished last night was maintaining the status quo. It remains to be seen what direction they will go with this, but last night's Smackdown didn't serve to progress anything in a fresh direction.

Redoing The Money In The Bank 2017 Women's Matches

The last few days have not been very smooth for the Smackdown women's division. Money In The Bank featured two women's matches. Carmella won the briefcase, thanks to a controversial assist to James Ellsworth. Lana failed to beat Naomi for the Women's Championship. This week on Smackdown, the outcomes of these two matches seem to have been voided. Carmella was stripped of the briefcase and there will be another ladder match next week to decide who gets it. Lana gets a rematch for the Women's Championship against Naomi.

First, let me start with the controversy. The controversy isn't really that Ellsworth grabbed the briefcase. He didn't go rogue and do anything he wasn't supposed to do. The controversy is that the WWE had this happen. A moment that should have been about the women ends up being about a man that got in the way. But the WWE is acting like mere interference is the issue. As Carmella mentioned in her promo and Daniel Bryan also brought up, these matches are No DQ and interference has happened before. But that was not what made how this match went down so annoying.

The WWE has done this kind of thing in the past. There is a kayfabe controversy that the WWE tries to push over the legitimate issue. Remember when Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble? He got an assist from The Rock. The fans gave that match a nuclear reaction. They hated it. The WWE tried to sell the controversy as The Rock getting involved. No, the issue was that fans hated how the match was booked, including Roman Reigns getting that big push over Daniel Bryan, besides the growing resentment against Reigns.

Mistakes are going to happen. The women will botch in the ring. The writers will come up with dumb ideas. Vince McMahon will want something done that fans just hate. But you should try to limit these things. As I have mentioned before, the women's revolution has not gotten over as well as it should. The WWE is not helping with some of these dumb things that they do, like having Ellsworth be the most talked about individual coming out of that women's ladder match. Fans have more of a reason to get excited for this guy doing something than the women doing anything. This is not the kind of controversy the WWE should be doing.

I mentioned that promo Carmella did. I went back to look at it. Fans were talking about how great it was. It was decent, but nothing that great. It was the typical self-righteous speech a person gives about being held back and slamming those people that are supposedly ahead of the individual. Smarks eat this stuff up, so I am not surprised they like this. Just talk about working your ass off and scream for respect. You don't even need to try to be entertaining. AJ Lee, Paige, and other women have done similar promos.

How about the decision to redo two PPV matches next week? Well, Smackdown's viewership was terrible last week. It got the second lowest number since the brand split came back. And there was no good reason for it to be so low. It did not go against any major sports competition. No huge political drama that night, even though news shows did well that night. And yet, Smackdown flopped in terms of viewership. I can see why they would try to drum up some controversy to draw for them this week, and then create some big matches for next week.

But does redoing these matches hurt the value of anything? I see a lot of fans complaining about all these rematches. Why bother watching PPVs? Were the matches meaningless? Does this hurt the value of the first-ever women's Money in the Bank ladder match? The second one is coming so soon. I can understand fans being annoyed by the situation. Some rematches are obviously going to happen, but redoing the ladder match, and on free TV, is kind of awkward. The WWE just better hope it draws.

Another thing to consider, what is the point of redoing these two matches if both end in the same way? Carmella wins the briefcase back and Naomi once again retains against Lana. Seems like a whole lot of trouble for nothing. There is a chance at least one match might end differently.

A lot of people are talking like Carmella was screwed. I don't feel that way at all. It isn't like she's lost a push. Focus is still on her. The only reason I was okay with Carmella winning the briefcase in the first place is because the WWE needs to develop a fresh heel that can go in the ring to work with the faces. Natalya is a veteran. Tamina is not that great and not fresh. Lana isn't great in the ring. Smackdown doesn't structure their women's division very well. They seem to try to push too many women and they can't do it. Raw's division is looking even more like a mess these days, but that is a different story. Carmella should just be built as a credible jobber. If attention is now on her for the cheap way she won the briefcase and she is starting to get a reaction and even smarks are feeling bad for her, she is set for a push, with or without the briefcase. I would have no problem with another woman getting the briefcase.

Getting down to it, if another woman is going to get it, it should be either Becky Lynch or Charlotte. Whether you like it or not, Charlotte has gotten the career of a star. Getting the briefcase is something you would expect the WWE to do for her. Personally, I do not think she has proven she deserves to be the centerpiece and some other woman should get a legitimate shot. I would go with Becky Lynch winning the briefcase next week. For all the talk about her being the first woman drafted to Smackdown and being the first Smackdown Women's Champion, her career has been mediocre. She lost a PPV match to Natalya. She had no proper focus heading into the match where she won the title. Her reign was short and mediocre. She won a feud with Mickie James and went nowhere from there. She has not regained the title. She has not won the briefcase. She has not done anything noteworthy. She should be the top female star of Smackdown. Some people can talk like she is, but she is not booked like it at all. Getting the briefcase can be a good start.

What about the other women's match? Lana gets another shot against Naomi. The fact that Lana is not great in the ring might not necessarily stop the WWE from giving her the title. You would think in an era that is supposed to be about women's wrestling, standards would make it unthinkable that Lana would get the title, but she could. And it just feels like Naomi has run out of steam in this title reign. They made her look untouchable when feuding with Alexa Bliss, but she has looked more human since Alexa Bliss left Smackdown and Charlotte came. I will say Naomi retains. If Carmella fails to get the briefcase back, she can get a title shot against Naomi.

Will the woman that wins the briefcase cash in that same night? Probably not. The ladder match will likely be the main event, not the women's title match.

Ellsworth Grabs The Briefcase

Carmella won the women's briefcase. That is not surprising. There are some complaints from fans, however. Let me talk about those.

First, I see some fans groaning that a woman that has failed to get a good reaction since debuting is suddenly getting a big push and made history. I have seen one person point out that the first man to win the briefcase was Edge, a legend and Hall-of-Famer. And Carmella being the first woman to accomplish a similar feat is just not the same. Yes, she will likely not get the storied career Edge had.

Something I have brought up in the past is that there are three scenarios where a person should be booked to win a major piece of history. They are either really over and deserve it, are already getting a legendary career, in which case this accolade will fit right in with their resume, or the company plans to build them to be something big, in which case this accolade is a launching point for that big career.

Carmella does not seem to fit into any of those categories. And yet, I don't have a problem with her winning. The Smackdown women's division is in a certain situation right now. They don't have any fresh, young heels to be a top credible jobber right now. Lana is not good in the ring. Tamina is neither young nor fresh. Natalya is a veteran. Carmella was just the best bet right now. They could have given Charlotte the win and turned her heel, but she just turned face a few months ago. It is too soon for her to turn again. You could also bring up Becky Lynch winning it and eventually turning heel by cashing in on a face. Whatever you want to bring up, Carmella was just the easiest option available without having to turn anyone.

And I don't even mind if she had to win in some shady way. Again, Edge won his first briefcase in a more respectable manner than Carmella did. But there is nothing wrong with a heel winning in a shady way.

Problem is, and this is the second complaint from fans, Ellsworth was the one that grabbed the briefcase and helped Carmella win it. Carmella may possibly not even keep the briefcase, but ignore that point for right now. Just stick with Ellsworth getting involved. Having Carmella win in a controversial fashion is one thing, but what do I make of James Ellsworth getting involved like this?

I think it is terrible. In an era where the WWE is trying to treat women's wrestling with more respect, this is not the kind of thing they should be doing, especially when the women's revolution has not been smooth at all and I would say is not at a truly successful place. If things were working out better, maybe then you would let some of this stuff go.

Look at TNA. They have established respectability in their women's division. They might sometimes have little things that go against that, like Velvet Sky, Maria Kanellis, and Eric Young, but these momentary angles and individuals have not strayed them from their main course. That is why it is important to establish that identity before you think about straying from it. Even if you stray, you know who you are.

The WWE has not established that identity for the women's revolution era. That identity was really still in limbo and needed a lot of work. You have had sloppiness from the writers and bookers that have hurt feuds and the development of characters. There have been some terrible botches and sloppy spots from the women last year that would make you wonder if the WWE should keep giving women so much freedom. The overall tone was sour and not entertaining. For all the fans that wanted a women's revolution and the women treated with more respect, terrible things like I just mentioned just sent many fans into the waiting arms of women like Lana and Alexa Bliss, women known for their looks and characters, not for being great wrestlers. And I see fans pointing out that Ellsworth got cheered last night, as if that justifies what the WWE did. No. Do it for the women. Help them get over and get cheered.

Something that I frequently say is that the women should be working more alongside the men in their angles. Even today, that can really help freshen things up. Moreover, the WWE can do angles there that go beyond comedy. Lita being with various men throughout her career was not just comedy angles. Same with Chyna. But when a man gets involved in the women's division, it usually is comedy. Remember Harvey Wippleman? He won the Women's Championship during the first dark age of the diva era. Remember Santino Marella? He dressed up in drag and won the Ms. Wrestlemania battle royal a couple years ago as the division was declining, stealing an honor that could have gone to a woman. There is precedence for what the WWE just did, even though Ellsworth did not actually win the briefcase. He sure got in the way and took the spotlight. Is this really the time that the WWE should be bringing men into the women's spotlight for the sake of comic relief? It was just a really stupid, crass idea.

How could the WWE have done it differently? Have Ellsworth pull Becky Lynch off the ladder. Have Becky suplex him, which she has done before. Then have Carmella take out Becky Lynch, then grab the briefcase. Ellsworth still does something out there, but the spotlight is at least more on Carmella than a man when the match ends.

I spoke before about the identity of the women's division. In a way, the problem is that the WWE cannot move away from their previous identity, the diva era. They may seem to stray from that with all this talk and hype about women's wrestling, but you still have divas around, you still have a diva being pushed as centerpiece on Raw, you have a man hurting the respectability of the division, and it just feels like a lot of the respectability is going away fast, especially on Raw. Smackdown has always had the weaker of the two women's divisions since the brand split came back. I shouldn't be too surprised by the stupid way they handled the women's ladder match last night. I heard the title match involving Lana was also not something to get women's wrestling fans excited. If the WWE had properly established a new identity that works, then these little things might be overlooked. But old habits die hard for this company. This is more than just a storyline getting in the way of respectability. This is the WWE showing more signs that they are not heading in the right direction with their women.

Lastly, what do you do with Ellsworth? Everyone was fine when Becky Lynch was knocking him around all over the place. When he takes the attention away from the women with the controversial finish, a lot of these same fans are annoyed. And there is no good place to put him. He was a hindrance in the main-event scene. Only thing he was good for was getting squashed by AJ Styles. Creative has not had anything for him since. Sticking him with Carmella just put him out of the way. But he is now in the way of women's angles, and at a time when the WWE needs to improve how these women are being handled. He becomes a distraction. If they cannot find a way to push him in the midcard in the men's division, he should be released. Sadly, the WWE does not typically do mass releases anymore, and you cannot expect him to do anything that will get him fired. He will continue to be in the way somewhere.

Previewing The Money In The Bank 2017 Men's Ladder Match

Whether the WWE puts the men's briefcase match in the main-event slot or Orton/Mahal, this is the main match of Money In The Bank. It features two guys that were WWE/Universal Champions just a few months ago. It features guys that may very well be on their way up to main-event status. AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler.

AJ Styles has already been WWE Champion. But there is more for him to do in the WWE. Will he one day win the Royal Rumble? How about that United States Championship he was going after a few weeks ago? Right now, he has the chance to win the briefcase, which is certainly a pretty big accolade. Some might say he does not need the briefcase to chase after the title because he has already been WWE Champion. That didn't stop John Cena, Kane, Sheamus, and other former World Champions from winning the briefcase. AJ Styles definitely stands a chance.

Kevin Owens has had more title success in the WWE than AJ Styles. He is holding a title right now. He has never won the briefcase. Would the WWE let him hold a title and the briefcase? It could happen. But I just don't think he needs it at all. He was Universal Champion just a few months ago. He won the United States Championship shortly after that. He lost it and won it back. There is no need to always keep this guy in the title scene.

Shinsuke Nakamura just debuted a few months ago to a lot of hype. His debut match was not as great as some would have liked. But he is finding his place. One thing I hate about the WWE these days is that they just rush certain people. They don't give them a proper chance to get established and they do not work out. American Alpha is an example of that. They just handled them the wrong way when they first debuted, killed their push for a while, still gave them a title run, and they have not been featured that well since losing the titles. Go slow with these new guys. Help establish their characters. Pro wrestling should be more about entertaining, not overrating. Will giving Nakamura the briefcase be going too fast with him? Well, it isn't like he will have to cash in immediately. They would still have time to build him, while he holds the briefcase.

I see a lot of people thinking Baron Corbin is a favorite to win. I think that would be a terrible idea. This guy is a midcarder. He is a midcarder that deserves a good push in the midcard, including a midcard title. The problem with giving him the briefcase, and possibly the title, is that they would be rushing too many first-time World Champions. Jinder Mahal just became a first-time WWE Champion a few weeks ago. Nakamura will eventually be a World Champion on the main roster. You are going to end up with main-eventers all over the card. That means less good opportunities for the pure midcarders. And because it often looks pathetic to have a former World Champion hanging around with nothing to do, the WWE will have pressure to give these guys things to do. The WWE needs to slow down on giving titles to new guys and be more selective.

I can repeat a lot of what I just said now for Sami Zayn. He does not need the briefcase and a big main-event push. Give him a midcard title. Worry about a main-event title next year and beyond.

Dolph Ziggler has been a World Champion before and he has won the briefcase before. I would say he is least likely to win here, but at least giving him the push would not be creating a new World Champion. He already has some credibility. Maybe if his storyline about him being a loser had worked out better, this would be the point where they turn things around and started pushing him well again. But I don't think it would be right to do it now.

I will say Shinsuke Nakamura wins. He is not the person I would want to win, but the WWE does have that recent history of rushing people, so I would not be surprised to see him get the briefcase this quickly and eventually cash it in down the road.

One last thing to consider, will the winner of the ladder match cash in that same night? Why bring this up? The card is so thin, the WWE might try something special to take up space. The ladder match would obviously not close the show in this situation. But I don't think it will happen. The WWE will wait a while.

Previewing The Money In The Bank 2017 Undercard Matches

This Smackdown PPV has a pretty thin card. You can't blame that on injuries. Injuries put Raw on the spot a couple weeks ago, but that is not the issue for Smackdown right now. It is all because of the Money in the Bank ladder match taking so many individuals. I will talk about that on Friday. But this is a sign that there is still a depth issue. And that depth issue becomes more troublesome when they still insist on doing these matches that pull away so many singles feuds. Maybe this should have been a multi-brand PPV.

The Usos defend the tag titles against New Day. New Day have an act that actually got popular. I think the WWE got carried away by having them hold the tag titles as long as they did last year. I also have seen some people question whether New Day have just gotten stale. They will break up sooner or later. And you might question if splitting them up might be a good thing. It will provide more midcard depth. But that might not be happening anytime soon.

Will New Day win the tag titles? There aren't many credible, fresh tag teams that look like they deserve to take the titles of The Usos. It might as well be the New Day that take the tag titles. After that, Jinder Mahal's lackeys might get some title shots. Helping them look more credible might help Jinder Mahal even more.

Speaking of Jinder Mahal, he defends the WWE Championship against Randy Orton. I pointed out a while back that the main-event titles have been changing hands too much this year. Kevin Owens retaining against Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble is the only instance of a main-event title being retained so far in 2017. It is about time the WWE develop a good reign that includes successful PPV title defenses.

That being said, Jinder Mahal retains here. You can talk about the possibility of the WWE trying to hand Randy Orton enough title reigns so he gets to 16 and makes it some kind of race between him and John Cena to see who beats Ric Flair's record first. That might be interesting, but I doubt the WWE does it. Just let Mahal retain and build a fresh feud going forward.

Previewing The Money In The Bank 2017 Women's Matches

Of all the women to get a shot at the Smackdown Women's Championship at Money In The Bank, it is going to be Lana. It would be easy to write her off. She's a diva. She's not that experienced in the ring. She just debuted last week on Smackdown. There is no way the WWE will have her beat Naomi for the title.

I remember when Alexa Bliss was feuding with Becky Lynch for this same title. I remember some fans saying that it was obvious that Alexa Bliss was just there to be a successful title defense for Becky Lynch. Alexa Bliss ended up winning the title. Even I wanted to give the WWE a fair chance back then. I wasn't a fan of the self-righteous tone of the new era in women's wrestling, but I thought the WWE was more serious about it than it seems now. Smackdown was a throwback to the diva era in some ways, but it still does not seem right to give the title to eye-candy divas in the manner the WWE has been doing since the brand split returned.

How about Naomi? She steamrolled Alexa Bliss for the title. I hated that booking. She won every match and never looked weak even in brawls. It is not that I like Alexa Bliss. I just hate the booking. And I don't recall any other fans criticizing it back then or even making a topic out of it. Recently, the WWE pulled the same kind of booking on Bayley, having Alexa Bliss pretty much steamroll her. Now I see fans asking if Bayley has been buried. Some are upset about how she was booked. Some are chuckling at it. There are always people like that. It is nothing new or weird. They did it to Alexa Bliss. But back to Naomi. After making her look so good for a couple months, including ignoring her injury history, she now looks mediocre. I am not surprised. It makes the big push she got even more irritating. If they were doing this to make a star or create someone to put over someone in a big way, it would be different. It doesn't feel like either of those two things are true. Naomi looks very beatable right now.

Should Lana win the title? On the one hand, it would seem bad to have her lose so soon, like how she lost her first main-roster match at Wrestlemania last year. On the other hand, she shouldn't win the title so soon. I don't care if she is good in the ring, have her prove it to the main audience first, then worry about giving her the title. But the WWE has shown that they don't have proper standards. They dumped title reigns into the lap of Naomi, despite her issues staying healthy. Lana should lose here, but I will say that she wins.

Onto the match fans probably are more interested in. The women are getting a briefcase ladder match. Charlotte vs. Natalya vs. Carmella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Tamina. I will say a little about each woman.

Charlotte seems like the popular choice to win. The WWE has already shown a desire to push her hard and hand her a ton of history. Since coming to Smackdown, however, she has not looked as glorious. Alexa Bliss made history by being the first woman to hold the two Women's Championships that were recently created. I am sure Charlotte will make history again by being the first woman to have held those two titles and the NXT Women's Championship, for whatever that is worth. But I don't think it is a guarantee she makes history on Sunday.

Natalya is a veteran heel. It just seems like a heel should win the briefcase. Natalya has been featured better since the women's revolution really got rolling than she was prior to that. But when it comes to winning titles or anything major, she hasn't gotten anything in the last year.

Carmella seems like a good choice as the next fresh heel credible jobber. Charlotte can eventually win the title from whichever heel and Carmella can immediately cash in on her. That would give Charlotte a fresh singles feud and inflate her title history even more when she wins the title back from Carmella.

Becky Lynch has not really been pushed that well. She won the Smackdown Women's Championship when it was first created, despite not having any proper focus on her. After losing it to Alexa Bliss, the only thing Becky accomplished was winning a feud against Mickie James. And Becky went nowhere after that. The fact that she doesn't seem like a favorite to win this match doesn't mean she should be counted out. Winning the briefcase might revitalize her.

And Tamina is Tamina.

Of the five women, I am going with Carmella. What the WWE has a history of doing with Charlotte does not mean anything. Everyone knows Nikki Bella was someone the WWE was serious about pushing very well. She had more focus on her prior to the match to crown the first Smackdown Women's Champion than Becky Lynch. She did not win it and has never won it. Charlotte has not been buried on Smackdown, but she is not getting the same push she got on Raw. I can see Smackdown spreading out some of the accolades. Carmella winning would just help to set her up as a fresh heel to push that can go in the ring. Lana does not have any credibility, yet. And Natalya, as I said, is a veteran. The WWE needs to aim to build someone young. I just feel that person is Carmella. And needless to say, Tamina is not young. She is 39, the oldest female wrestler on the main roster. Carmella just seems like the best choice. She was the person I was going with before the WWE had Lana pop up last week and get a title shot. We will see how that influences things.

Smackdown Women's Money In The Bank

The WWE is going back to hyping history for their women. Money in the Bank, a Smackdown-exclusive PPV this year, will feature a women's ladder match for a briefcase. It will be Charlotte vs. Natalya vs. Carmella vs. Becky Lynch vs. Tamina.

The "cookie cutter" response would be to say how great this is for the women. They're getting to do something only men have been allowed to do in the past. History. Historic. Amazing. Yeah. That's nice.

I am not impressed. This is once again a situation where all the Smackdown women are tossed into the same picture. There is no creative depth and the booking is lazy. I have pointed out numerous times that Smackdown has a tendency to do this ever since the brand split returned.

You want to talk about being treated as equals to the men? Do you see all the men that have nothing else to do being tossed into the Money in the Bank Ladder Match for the men's briefcase? No. That's not the way it works. That has never been the way it works.

My issue is that the WWE is relying on hype and not properly developing any of these individual women to be stars. Where's the proper character development? Where are the great personal feuds?

The WWE can release every woman on the main roster and nothing of value would be lost. I honestly believe that. Just replace them with women from NXT and the indies. Tessa Blanchard can replace Charlotte. Melina can replace Mickie James. Mandy Rose can replace Alexa Bliss. The replacements might not come in all at the same time, obviously, but the WWE can just phase all these women currently there out and keep doing what they are doing. That is because they are just relying on hype to draw for them. They are relying on quantity over quality. In the case of Alexa Bliss, they are relying on sex appeal with character. Just help Mandy Rose develop a character. Or Lana can get some time being pushed as the new Alexa Bliss. There is a lot of underachieving in the women's division these days and no one is bringing A+ results. And a lot of the blame has to go on the poor way the WWE is handling these women. The WWE can just bring in these new women and start handing them whatever history is left to be had.

I have nothing against a ladder match. Women in TNA have had them all the time. And if the WWE had done a better job creating personal feuds for the Smackdown women prior to this, I would probably be all for it. But they have not, so I cannot get excited for more of the same that I have come to expect from Smackdown.

Lana made her Smackdown debut this week. She tried to get in the match. She ended up attacking Naomi. She will face Naomi in a singles match for the title. Will she win? Whatever way they go, they are putting her in the same picture with everyone else. Moving forward, there will obviously be some separation, but I hope it comes sooner rather than later.

What do you make of Lana? I would say she fits right in with the brand that is keeping the diva era alive. Of course, Alexa Bliss is bringing a diva revival over on Raw. How far will Lana go? She has been training to wrestle. She's beautiful. She has charisma and a great character. She can be another Alexa Bliss. That will appeal to many fans, but also annoy wrestling fans. I do see fans annoyed by how Alexa Bliss has been pushed on Raw. They feel the quality of the women's division there has been slipping in the last few months. The WWE switched a centerpiece that was very good and respected in the ring, Charotte, for one that just isn't, Alexa Bliss. And it shows. Smackdown isn't really as centerpiece-driven, so Lana will not have the same impact here as Alexa Bliss is having on Raw. That is, unless certain backstage officials love Lana so much that they start having everything revolve around her.

And just one aside to end the day. One thing really bothered me on Raw. Mickie James and Dana Brooke went out there to get some of Alexa Bliss. What happened after was Nia Jax just pushed them aside to get some of Alexa Bliss for herself. She then pushed them down again after when they confronted her about shoving them aside. And what does the WWE have Mickie James and Dana Brooke do? Just go and stand in the ring with Nia Jax as Alexa Bliss is walking away. And Nia Jax beat them up, again. Why would Mickie and Dana do that? It is just incredibly stupid. A woman that is not your friend and was just knocking you around is standing in the ring. What do you do? Go stand with her! What else would you do? How about just stare down Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax from ringside? How about get in the ring and at least try to fight back against Nia Jax for shoving you around? It was just incredibly stupid.

That is one of the reasons it is hard for many fans to care about Mickie James during her current run in the WWE. Her character is terrible. It was terrible on Smackdown and it might be even worse on Raw. Having her job so much is one thing. But putting her out there to be knocked around and do stupid things like what happened on Raw is not helping her. I would say it is doing even more damage than having her lose. She just looks terrible.

Natalya Turns Heel

The heel team won at Money in the Bank. But the story did not end there. Natalya turned heel and attacked Becky Lynch.

The big question is, did they really need to turn Natalya heel? The WWE has been known to do turns all over the place with their women's division. Does this fall into that category? Is it one of those heel turns that should leave you scratching your head?

I do not think so. There is a lack of heels in the women's division. Emma got injured. Dana Brooke was paired with Charlotte, but Dana is not that great in the ring. Naomi and Tamina are injured. Maryse and Lana are eye-candy periphery divas. They won't be pushed seriously in the ring. Yes, Maryse is a former Diva's Champion and Lana has gotten in the ring recently, but they do not have the credibility to be pushed seriously and are better off in the periphery.

There is Summer Rae. She may not be great in the ring, but I don't really see anyone bashing her as hard as Eva Marie gets bashed. I think Summer Rae is underutilized. She should be getting a secondary women's feud. While Charlotte feuds with whichever women over the title, let another face have a minor feud with Summer Rae.

All things considered, I can understand the heel turn for Natalya and will not bash it. It is a little creative depth in the women's division. That is something they need. It will probably not go far for Natalya. She will probably just be used to put over Becky Lynch. But it is still something for her to do and something else to talk about in the women's division.

Dean Ambrose Wins It All

Dean Ambrose won Money in the Bank. Seth Rollins would win the WWE Championship back later in the night. Dean Ambrose would then follow up by taking the title from Rollins. All three members of The Shield held the title in one night.

I usually criticize the WWE for taking too long to pull the trigger on certain things. This is obviously not one of those situations. If anything, I would have waited a little while. Build it up and tease it a little more. They had that one segment last week on Raw, but it might have meant more if they had those kind of segments after Dean Ambrose had won the briefcase. I am not saying they should drag it on all the way to Wrestlemania next year. I am definitely not saying take it beyond Wrestlemania. But they could have had Dean Ambrose cash in and win next month. That would still leave time to have The Shield triple threat for Summerslam. And even before he won the title, they would have been building up the this feud the whole time for Summerslam.

The Money in the Bank briefcase is one of the most interesting angles the WWE runs every year. When will the guy with the briefcase cash it in? Will he be successful? There is potential there for some drama and anticipation. No drama right now. Ambrose won it and successfully cashed it in the same night.

It is true that Kane won the briefcase and successfully used it that same night in 2010. Thing is, they had two winners of a briefcase that night. Miz still held on to his for a few more months. There was only one briefcase on the line last night.

In the end, it is no big deal. All three members of The Shield have won the WWE Championship. Fans will soon see the triple threat they want so bad. All these guys will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. They might even be inducted again as a stable. But how long until Roman Reigns gets the title back?

Final Money In The Bank 2016 Preview

The WWE is hyping up this year's Money in the Bank like it has a few big matches worthy of headlining Wrestlemania. Most of it really is more hype than anything else, but that is what you would expect from a pro wrestling promotion.

Let me start with the Money in the Bank match. Not much more has happened since the last time I talked about this match. They did tease what Dean Ambrose being added to Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns might look like on Raw this week. Many fans have been wanting to see this match for years now. Besides that, it is obvious that the WWE can use the briefcase to develop a new star for the coming brand split. That means it is unlikely Chris Jericho or Alberto Del Rio wins it. Both have held World Championships before and both are not young guys any more.

Taking all that into consideration, who wins? I still think Ambrose would be a good choice. There is a lot of storyline value there. It can help him get to the next level. Everyone is still saying Kevin Owens. I must have missed the dirtsheet report guaranteeing him the win. I don't spend my days reading every item those sites put out. Owens just doesn't feel like he is ready to be a main-eventer yet. If he wins it, he might end up like Sandow or Sheamus. He should just remain as an upper-midcarder right now. I will stick with Ambrose.

No titles are on the line, but the WWE is hyping AJ Styles vs. John Cena as a match 15 years in the making. Really? Where was John Cena 15 years ago? Where was AJ Styles 15 years ago? Neither of them were anything to get too hyped over back then. They talk about this like it is a dream match. Undertaker vs. Sting is a dream match I have seen fans really eager to see for many years. The WWE may never be able to give fans that match now. AJ Styles vs. John Cena? I am sure some fans were looking forward to it, but it isn't one of the top matches I see pop up often. It is the face of TNA going against the face of the WWE. First of all, AJ Styles was never the true face of TNA. He should have been, but TNA never pushed him as the true face. But if fans want to view him as the face, okay. Second, the WWE isn't even giving TNA proper respect. They have been taking a lot of their guys recently, but how often does the WWE actually mention their closest competition? Aren't they afraid fans might Google "AJ Styles" and see TNA pop up? Wrestling fans are viewing it as TNA vs. WWE, but the WWE not embracing the existence of TNA more might be hurting the potential of the feud.

There is the kind of vibe here that you had between CM Punk and John Cena. That is to say, that is what the WWE is going for. AJ Styles is not CM Punk. He might be more amazing in the ring that Punk. But he does not have his mic skills and he has not broken out like Punk eventually did. The WWE is treating AJ Styles like he is already there. They are trying too hard with him. They are trying to add some reality to the story of this feud, but it is really just pandering to smarks. Why should AJ Styles really have an issue with John Cena? Styles just debuted earlier this year. He traded wins with Chris Jericho. He became #1 contender. He has had a few title shots. He is not being held down. He is being pushed too fast. Yes, even without winning the title, I would say he is being pushed too fast. This feud is overrated. The WWE is talking about how great the feud is. They are putting over AJ Styles as something so amazing. But the WWE is just trying to make something happen here that only wrestling fans will appreciate. The wider audience will not be that into it.

Who wins this encounter? Because I am sure these two will be facing each other more down the line. If the WWE wants to cause some shock, leave the crowd with a stunned impression on their face, and have a sea of Internet fans celebrating like Cena's reign of terror is over and AJ Styles is the new face of the company, they will have AJ Styles win. They might also let him win clean. I have seen fans overreact before to Cena losing. Of course, it is likely AJ's buddies help him. Even a cheap win would get many fans excited. I will say AJ Styles wins this encounter.

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship is also a match the WWE is hyping as worthy of headlining Wrestlemania. It was just last year at Wrestlemania when these two men were involved in the main event, along with Brock Lesnar. It would be easy to say that Reigns vs. Rollins can headline Wrestlemania. They have the credibility. Problem is, neither of these two guys have really broken out and reached their full potential. The issues with Roman Reigns have been talked about for years now. Seth Rollins has also not broken out. Contrary to what smarks might think, and they can make all the noise for Seth Rollins they want, he isn't an A+ player. Yeah, the WWE can put this match as the main event of a Wrestlemania, but they will still be leaning on The Undertaker to draw for them, as well as the hype usually surrounding Wrestlemania and probably once again pretending control of the WWE is on the line somewhere on the card.

Will Seth Rollins regain the title he never really lost? I am sure it will happen one day. But this Sunday? I don't feel like this feud has been built up properly yet. I will say Roman Reigns retains here and the feud continues on. I would be be more surprised to see Rollins win it back now than to see someone cash in this Sunday and win the title.

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 Money In The Bank 2016 Women's Match

 

The women's match for this year's Money in the Bank PPV is probably not much to talk about, but I'll still talk about. It will be Natalya and Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte and Dana Brooke.

 Why is this match probably not much to talk about? It's just a tag match. Nothing is on the line. You had a tag match at Fastlane earlier this year. Difference is, you also had a separate match for the Diva's Championship, as well. The creative depth right now is terrible. That will obviously change when the brand split happens. It is not impossible for tag feuds to be exciting for the women, but this just isn't one of those exciting feuds.

Who wins? It is a tag match. Nothing is on the line. Obviously, this is a situation for the faces to win. Thing is, what happens after? Does either Natalya or Becky Lynch get the push against Charlotte? Natalya was just there, so it would probably be Becky Lynch getting the push now. It would be kind of a waste for the face team to win and neither of them to get the title feud after. But there are fans eager to see Sasha Banks get the push. I see fans questioning whether Paige should be getting a title shot. If the WWE does want to push either of those two women against Charlotte next, the heels should win this Sunday to help give Charlotte the momentum and clear the way for that fresh challenger. I will say the faces win this Sunday and Becky Lynch gets the push next.

What would fans have rather seen for Money in the Bank for the women? How about a Money in the Bank ladder match? Personally, I would not have wanted to see it. Other promotions have had ladder matches with women, but this is the WWE. The diva division may be dead, supposedly, but the WWE would still hold their women back to some degree. More over, you have a lot of injury issues for the women recently. Sasha Banks might just be crazy enough to try some crazy spot that would take her out for at least another few weeks. Maybe next year. Improve the depth in the division and hope the best workers can stay healthy.

Money In The Bank 2016

Six men are already in this year's Money in the Bank ladder match. Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, and Alberto Del Rio are all in the match. Why not do an early preview?

I see a lot of fans talking like Kevin Owens wins this. I don't see why he should. Of course, it is not unusual for someone that you would not expect to win the briefcase to end up winning it. Did Sheamus really deserve it last year? Kevin Owens can win it and continue his singles feud with Sami Zayn.

Chris Jericho was in the first Money in the Bank ladder match. He has never won one. Even though he is a part-timer, would having him win be so terrible? Imagine him winning it, taking a few months off, then returning out of nowhere to successfully cash in. I'm not saying it will work out like that, but it would be a fun idea.

Alberto Del Rio has won the briefcase before. He wouldn't be the first guy to win it twice, but I do not see him winning this.

How about Cesaro? Wrestling fans love the guy and would love to see him get pushed. Sadly, he was not able to get the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz. Having him win Money in the Bank would be huge for him. I think he is as likely as Kevin Owens to win it.

What can I say about Sami Zayn? He is the newest guy on the roster of the six men here. That is why I doubt he wins. He has his feud with Kevin Owens. He can win a midcard title after that. No need to give him this big of a push at all by having him win the briefcase.

Of the six men in this match so far, Dean Ambrose just seems like the best option. Fans are always eager to see that Shield triple threat. You can have it very easily right now. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are feuding for the title. That feud can last a few months. Let Dean Ambrose win the briefcase and eventually insert himself into this feud. I think Ambrose deserves it. And if it can add to the current title feud in a way fans actually want to see, why not?

Sheamus Wins The Briefcase

If you were to list all the current top guys in the WWE or guys currently being groomed to be top guys in the WWE, you probably would not list Sheamus. And yet, he was the one that won the Money in the Bank ladder match for the briefcase.

I do not like the decision. It's one thing to give Sheamus a midcard title run. A briefcase that guarantees you a World title shot whenever you want is something else. That is something they should have given to someone they were grooming to be a star or someone that could win it and have it be interesting from a storyline standpoint. Roman Reigns was the favorite to win it because they have been grooming him to be a star. How about if Kane had won it? He has had some storyline tension with Seth Rollins. Sheamus winning it just does not make sense. He is not being groomed to be a top star. He is not being pushed as a top star. He was not involved in any big storyline that winning this will add to it. This just seems like a wasted opportunity.

It is too early to say whether or not Sheamus should win the title. He obviously didn't cash it in the same night he won it. This better be a part of actually raising Sheamus back up to the main-event scene. If they just push him as a midcarder, I can picture his briefcase run ending up like Damien Sandow's. I don't like him winning, but if they are going to give it to him, they might as well do this right.

Roman Reigns, the guy I figured would win, looks to be feuding with Bray Wyatt. That would have been a nice feud to start like 2 months ago. It would have been over by now. I do not think they have given up on grooming him to be a top star. But they are really going about things in a sloppy way. They might just be hurting themselves.

Previewing Money In The Bank 2015: Part 2

There hasn't been much time since the last encounter between John Cena and Kevin Owens. No big deal. The feud is still fine. The United States Championship is also once again not on the line. I do not see that as a problem. I felt forcing these title defenses might not be practical. What's the point of Cena holding the title if he doesn't defend it at PPVs? Relax, it isn't as bad as Lesnar holding the WWE Championship a few months ago. This feud between Cena and Owens isn't about winning titles.

But is it about developing Owens to be a star? That is what some fans are thinking. Others are saying he will end up like Rusev and Bray Wyatt. There is talk about some in the WWE not wanting Owens to lose so soon to Cena. Regardless of whether he wins or loses this feud, how will you follow up with the guy? If you can't follow up with him properly, it doesn't really matter who wins this feud. Cena will definitely continue to be featured well. Owens still has his NXT Championship. But people should not jump to the conclusion that he is being groomed to be a main-eventer right now. The main-event scene is full. You have guys being groomed to be top stars. You have former World Champions that could potentially find their way back in the title picture, if only to put over someone else. Cena isn't done in the main-event scene. Daniel Bryan will one day return. Will fans want to see him back as a top star? Yes? At best, Kevin Owens will be an upper-midcarder. He might get some undercard matches against other great wrestlers, but don't expect too much.

Who wins this match? Regardless of the winner of this encounter, this feud is likely to continue. If Cena wins, you need the rubber match. If Cena loses, the odds are even more against Cena. Can Cena beat Kevin Owens? I would have Cena lose this one. Have him lose cleanly. If fans were legitimately stunned by Cena losing clean before, build on that further. If they bought that, maybe they will buy Cena really has lost his touch or Owens is that great. Either way, it will build to the third encounter.

Onto a match that does involve someone the WWE is building to be a star. The Money in the Bank ladder match features Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Kane, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, and Neville. You have a nice array to put on a great match. You have a few guys that have won it before. But the guy being developed to be a star is Roman Reigns. The WWE has put much of this story on him. He had to overcome the odds just to get in the match. He is the one likely to win.

The WWE Championship will be defended in a ladder match between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Some fans complain when you see the same guys feuding against each other. Rollins and Ambrose were feuding less than a year ago. I see no one complaining about them feuding again. Having Ambrose steal the title is also a nice touch. You can complain about how you had title theft with the Intercontinental Championship for Wrestlemania. Once again, I do not see anyone complaining. It is a good feud.

There are a few different scenarios you can have, especially when you bring in Roman Reigns likely winning the briefcase. The main one is Dean Ambrose winning the title in a grueling match, then Roman Reigns cashing in on his friend right after. That can then lead to a heel turn for somebody.

Problem is, Brock Lesnar is looming. He never got his rematch. Keeping the title on Rollins might make the best sense. Have Roman Reigns cash in during or after that match. Get some payback on Rollins for doing that to him at Wrestlemania. Dean Ambrose winning the title might just make the whole storyline messy. The Shield vs. Brock Lesnar? All of them would have a reason to be in the title picture.

What scenario will I go with? I think Rollins retains through some shady means and Roman Reigns does not cash in yet. No need to rush it.

Previewing Money In The Bank 2015: Part 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Bellas Are Heels Again?

Nikki Bella faced Paige on Raw with her Diva's Championship on the line. She cheated to win. They did the old twin switch. How does that work when Nikki and Brie aren't that identical anymore? That is a stupid move by the WWE.

The Bellas are heels again? They had just turned face a few weeks ago after AJ Lee left, Paige took time off to make a movie, and the face depth in the division was horrible. With Paige back, I guess the WWE decided to turn The Bellas again. That is sloppy. It just shows that a lot of turns in the diva division are not done for the good of character development. It is done to cover depth issues.

I would have kept The Bellas as faces. I think they were doing a good job connecting with the fans. What will a sudden, needless heel turn do to that? This is not a situation where a diva not being pushed to be a star gets over and the WWE does something to try to hurt her overness. This is a situation where a diva being pushed to be a star might be unintentionally screwed by the WWE's sloppiness. Nikki Bella is someone they want to be a star. They are already hyping how long she's held the title. But overness is more important than how long you hold a title. This is not even a issue of depushing her. This is bad character development.

What would I be doing right now in the diva division? There are only two weeks between Elimination Chamber and Money in the Bank. No need to run with heel Nikki vs. face Paige. Let Naomi vs. Paige get strong closure. Look back at 2008. While Mickie James held the Women's Championship, Melina and Beth Phoenix had a minor feud going on. No title involved. It led to an I Quit match. Mickie James did not have a feud for those few weeks. She had an angle with John Cena, which never went anywhere. Point is, all three divas had something to do. And none of them were even pushed as the centerpiece. The centerpiece was injured at the time. The WWE should do that kind of thing now. While Naomi vs. Paige gets the attention for Money in the Bank, The Bellas can have a periphery angle, start building up their next feud, or just be on the backburner for two weeks. It is just two weeks. For the sake of more creative depth, it would have been nice.

The WWE needs to debut someone. I am not talking about debuting another Emma. I am talking about debuting a diva they are willing to push properly. There are women on the roster Nikki can feud with, regardless of whether she is heel or face. But because the WWE does not utilize their roster efficiently, it feels like they have no one and Paige is the only option. If that is the way they are going to play it, debut someone new. I cannot imagine them continuing like this for the rest of the year. Someone has to debut.

Cena And Owens Will Do It Again

Kevin Owens defeated John Cena at Elimination Chamber. It was a good match and an outcome many fans loved seeing.

They will do it again at Money in the Bank. The way some fans reacted to Owens beating Cena, it was like they saw it as a changing of the guard. They talked about it like this was officially the end of Cena. What does it mean that you will have a rematch again so soon? Will they have Cena lose twice in a row to this guy? Will Cena get his win back? I am thinking the latter is more likely.

Was this loss really that shocking and devastating? I would say Cena's destruction at the hands of Brock Lesnar last year was much worse. That did not stop Cena. I do not think fans should read too much into this one match outcome last night. Is the WWE starting to groom new stars? Yes. They were doing that even before Owens beat Cena.

I felt this feud could be the start of a bigger storyline. They are extending the feud. That is a good sign. But I still feel this thing can be more elaborate. Get more people involved. Make this seem like a bigger deal. Going by fan reactions on the Internet and in the crowd, it seems like this is already a big deal to them. I still feel they can do more. Do something to draw in more than just the regular marks and smarks. I think is is the feud that has the potential to lead to that.

Money In The Bank 2014: Previewing The World Title Ladder Match

Eight men will go after the vacant WWE World's Heavyweight Championship. Three of them stand a chance to become a first-time World Champion in the WWE. The company has not had one of those in a few years. You can also have the scenario of one person taking down one title and another person taking down the other, splitting the Championships again. A lot of fans are talking about that. I don't see the need for that, so I am not going to say more on that possibility. I'll talk about the eight guys in the order I think they are likely to win. Nothing fancy this time.

John Cena could get his 15th World title reign. And it is very likely to happen. He has not won the title this year, yet. The WWE has given the fans a little break from Cena being in the title hunt. Heading into Summerslam, they might want their top star to hold the title. There are rumors of the WWE aiming for John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar again. If that is the case, why would Lesnar want to face Cena if Cena is not the World Champion? The reason Brock came back earlier this year was because he wanted the title. It didn't work out. He ended up facing The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. He got a nice consolation prize, to say the least. If he is going to come back again, it would make sense for it to be for the title. This could be a big title match. You also have the possibility of the Summerslam rematch between John Cena and Daniel Bryan. If Cena does not win the title, what does he end up doing? I doubt he goes back to Bray Wyatt. And Rusev has not been developed properly to face Cena. Cena seems like the best bet to win the title.

In terms of momentum, Roman Reigns might seem like the best bet. He seems untouchable. Of the three men that could become first-time World Champion in this match, Reigns seems most likely. They want to build this guy into a star. Unlike Cesaro and Bray Wyatt, the WWE is actually showing it through how well they are pushing him. The talk has been about him feuding with Triple H. Does the title really need to be there? I don't think so. Let Reigns be built up more before they toss the title on him.

Kane was just added in the match on Raw this week. He should have been put into the match the same time they put Randy Orton into the match. Kane was booked to face Daniel Bryan in a title match at Money in the Bank, if Bryan was cleared to compete. But if Daniel Bryan is not cleared to compete, Kane suddenly does not still get his title shot? He has to earn his way into the match by beating Cena? He fails to do that and still gets put in the match one week later? You will probably fry your brain trying to make kayfabe sense of all this. This was just sloppy booking. Does the fact that they put Kane in this week mean they plan to hand him the title? Not necessarily. In terms of storyline sense, Kane might be there to ensure Randy Orton wins and stop Roman Reigns from winning. Why am I putting Kane above Orton on the list? I have seen some fans bring up the idea of Kane winning the title to continue his feud with Daniel Bryan and dropping the title back to Bryan. I like that idea. It probably won't happen, but Kane winning could lead to something.

Randy Orton has held these unified titles before. He was Champion just earlier this year. He never got his official rematch. He's getting it now. I don't think he is likely to win, but he is more credible than those guys I have not gotten to yet. His run with the title earlier this year was not that great and I cannot think of a reason why it would be better if they put it back on him.

Big Poppa Wyatt and his freaks can walk out with all the gold this Sunday. That is to say, Bray Wyatt can win the World title, while his sidekicks win the tag titles. Bray Wyatt has lost a little bit of focus and momentum since his feud with Cena. That's not surprising. He has not been completely buried. Speaking as a fan, forgetting all about the fact that the WWE likes making stars, having a centerpiece, and all that stuff, I would like to see Wyatt  win the title. I am not even a fan of the guy or the stable. I just like the idea of the cult leader winning the title and being pushed as the top guy of the company for a while. I don't think the WWE would do it. Even if they put the title on him, they would probably bury him under some other angle or just develop him to put over Cena in a title feud. TNA would probably pull the trigger on this idea. The WWE wouldn't or wouldn't do it right.

Cesaro is the third guy that could become a first-time World Champion. After his big win at Wrestlemania and pairing him up with Paul Heyman, it might have seemed likely that they would groom him to be a World Champion. It looks more like he's just a step or two ahead of being as bad as Curtis Axel. There were talks earlier in the year of this guy facing Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. I had my doubts about that. And it seems like it won't be happening. Paul Heyman said Cesaro would be winning this Sunday. Spoiler alert?

Remember that time Sheamus won the Royal Rumble? How many people really expected that? It is not likely that the United States Champion will be winning even more title belts this Sunday. Then again, the WWE might do it, just like they did with that Royal Rumble win.

And at the bottom of the list? Alberto Del Rio. I like Alberto Del Rio. I just cannot think of any reason why they would give him the title. He just seems to have been lost in the shuffle for the longest while worse than anyone else in the match. Sheamus has a title. Cesaro has Paul Heyman as a manager. Bray Wyatt has a stable and has been pushed well. Randy Orton is a top star. Kane has been feuding over the title. Roman Reigns has the momentum. John Cena is John Cena. Del Rio is just there.

Money In The Bank 2014: Previewing The Briefcase Ladder Match

When they first announced that there would still be a ladder match for the briefcase, I didn't like the idea that much. They had already put in so much top talent in the other ladder match. They were going to end up tossing in guys in this ladder match that should be facing each other in singles matches. They were not going to have enough guys left over for other matches to fill up the card. Now that all the participants have been named, I am not going to complain about it. Aside from Rollins and Ambrose, none of these other guys really had anything going for them. And there are still other matches to fill up the card. I am going to talk about the participants in the order I think they stand a chance of winning.

Remember that time I said I was going to talk about the participants in the order I thought they stood a chance of winning? I lied. I have to start with Bad News Barrett. Yes, there is bad news for Bad News Barrett. He got injured on Smackdown. There is a very good chance he will not compete in the ladder match this Sunday. Where would he have landed on my list had he not gotten injured? He would have come in second. Yes, I think he stood a good chance of winning. He has talent and has seemed to be on the fringes of a major push at times in his career. He shouldn't be stuck rotating around the midcard forever. Who takes his place? I'm not going to speculate on that. The WWE may not even need to replace him. There are still a lot of guys in the match.

Seth Rollins seems like the likely choice to win. He is in the midst of a great turn in his career. He is aligned with Triple H and being groomed to be the future golden boy. I almost want to say that he does not need the briefcase. His feud with Ambrose will obviously last beyond Money in the Bank. The type of treatment he is getting now pretty much guarantees he will be featured well. Nevertheless, he seems like the most credible option to get the briefcase.

Dean Ambrose is also hot. But he seems to just be there for the benefit of Rollins. Rollins is the one being developed to be a future star. Ambrose is likely just the one there to feud with him for the moment. Rollins will continue to be groomed well in the future, assuming he does not flop, but Ambrose is likely the one that will get lost in the shuffle. The only reason I could picture him winning the briefcase is to further the feud between him and Rollins even more.

Dolph Ziggler is very popular. But does he need another briefcase win? He has won it before and successfully cashed it in. It is not unheard of for someone to win the briefcase twice, but I don't see the need for Ziggler to win this. There are so many other names to push to be future main-eventers. Assuming Barrett is not injured for long, Ziggler could eventually regain the Intercontinental Championship by beating him. They had a great match on Raw. If the WWE ever does get serious about pushing Ziggler in the main-event again, it shouldn't be difficult since he held the World title before. He does not need the briefcase.

Rob Van Dam returned at Money in the Bank last year. What has he really done? He seems to be just enhancement talent. Why in the world would they book him to get the briefcase? He is likely just there to pull off some cool spots.

Jack Swagger. The only reason I am not putting him at the bottom of the list is because he has won the briefcase before and won the World title once.

Kofi Kingston, much like RVD, is likely just there to pull off some fancy spots. He has done nothing important for months.