Previewing The Summerslam 2017 Undercard Matches

A complaint I see from many fans recently is that the WWE was giving away too much of Summerslam this past week. They have had some matches that are supposed to also happen at the PPV. With the poor way a lot of the Summerslam matches have been developed, I am not too surprised that the WWE would try to shake things up in the final week before the PPV. That includes what happened to Baron Corbin on Smackdown.

New Day defend the Smackdown Tag Team Championships against The Usos. Nothing much to say here. New Day retain.

The Raw Tag Team Championships will be decided between Sheamus & Cesaro and the reunion of The Shield. Not only are the tag titles on the line, but there is a story here. I like that. I was just saying yesterday that some title feuds don't need a special story, while others can really use it. New Day vs. The Usos didn't need a special story. Just make it about the tag titles, let their gimmicks work, and then let them wrestle. With this Raw feud, there was potential for a story. Some might even say the story was necessary. Rollins betrayed The Shield years ago and Rollins and Ambrose had a heated feud. Could these two really come back together so easily? Should they win the tag titles? Some fans are already talking about the possibility of Ambrose turning on Seth. Too soon for that. Neither Rollins nor Ambrose have won a PPV match in a while, so I say they get the tag titles at Summerslam.

Akira Tozawa defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Neville. This was supposed to be Neville defending the title, but things got switched around when the WWE had the title match on Raw this week and allowed the title change. This was one of those matches that fans were scratching their heads about. This was a pretty dull feud. A lot of things about the cruiserweight division has been boring. If nothing else, having the unexpected title change shook things up. I would not be surprised at all if Neville wins it back at Summerslam. The WWE has shown they love this guy this year. They put a hold on tossing the title to random cruiserweights for his benefit. He has had a long reign. But he could very well become the first man to hold the title twice. Even though short reigns like this are rare, I will say Tozawa's reign does end.

Staying on Raw, Big Show vs. Cass. Enzo will be in a shark cage above the ring. They just did this with Jericho earlier in the year. I would say it is too soon to pull this trick out again. Prior to this year, it wasn't exactly used often in the WWE. Looking at parts of Cass's promo on Raw this week, he looks like he could be the next Edge. But he is missing something. I am not talking about his wrestling ability, even though that has not been that exciting. His promos just lack a certain intensity Edge had. And Big Show is tied into this situation. The WWE is already running a bit of an injury angle to make it look like Big Show is beatable. He should be losing this match. What will Enzo do? I think it would be for the best if he just turns heel and goes back with Cass. What else is there for Enzo to do?

Staying on the theme of Summerslam matches coming early, Bray Wyatt defeated Finn Balor on Raw this week. What happens at Summerslam? Demon Balor. This feud has been pretty dull, until this week. It started, then it got killed off. If they had done it smoothly, the match on Raw this week probably would have happened at the last Raw PPV. The WWE could then do a slower build to Balor going to his dark side to face Bray Wyatt. Things have definitely been rushed. But the WWE probably needed to do it. Balor wins here. Have to keep this gimmick looking strong.

Randy Orton vs. Rusev. This is one of those dry feuds. Not too interesting. I feel it could have been built up so much better. Even though signs point to Rusev possibly winning, I will say Orton wins. I will say why in a moment.

AJ Styles defends the United States Championship against Kevin Owens. Shane McMahon will ref. Is that really necessary? Well, it is what they are going with. These two have been feuding for a long time now. It should end here. AJ Styles retains.

Lastly, John Cena faces Baron Corbin. But the big news is that Baron Corbin cashed in the briefcase on Smackdown this week and lost. That's the end of that. This was one of those things that fans felt was wasted this week before Summerslam. Is Corbin in the doghouse? Is he suspended? No news of a suspension. And even if the WWE is not high on him, they could have still jobbed him out at Summerslam or a later date.

I was against Baron Corbin getting the briefcase in the first place. Needless to say, the WWE did not do that great of a job building him up since getting the briefcase. His feud development in the last month has been terrible. His feud against Shinsuke Nakamura should still be going on. This feud with Cena just lacked a great story. It just felt like both guys could have been doing something better. John Cena did have a small hand in Corbin failing to cash in, but the feud is still not that special. Pretty lackluster.

Who wins? I will say Baron Corbin. Unless he did do something wrong, he should get the win. John Cena has not done that well at Summerslam in recent years. Baron Corbin might even destroy Cena after the match to send him on his next hiatus. The reason I said Orton beats Rusev is because I do not see both Orton and Cena losing to midcard heels in the same night. If one of them has to bite the bullet, I will say it is Cena. Orton has not won a PPV match since Wrestlemania. Cena beat Rusev just last month.

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.

The Hype Brothers Back In The Mix

If there is any team that stands a chance to take the tag titles off The Usos instead of New Day, it is Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley. These two had earned a title shot last year, but Zack Ryder suffered an injury that killed the push. Ryder recently returned. The Usos retained the tag titles against New Day by shady means. And here we are.

Ryder and Mojo will have to beat The Usos to get a title shot on Smackdown tonight. Just in terms of fairness, they should have just gotten the title shot. But this makes things more interesting and provides a match to get some hype on a stacked Smackdown tonight. The face team should be winning this.

What about New Day? Keep them in the title picture, as well. A triple threat would be nice. Both face teams have an argument for another title shot. Both are pretty over. Both can stand a good chance of getting the tag titles. This should be a solid feud.

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.

When Should New Day Break Up?

I was watching Let's Make A Deal last week and New Day popped up. They weren't too bad.

Obviously, a few days before that, New Day lost the tag titles to Sheamus and Cesaro. New Day is not finished yet, however. But they will eventually break up. The question is whether the WWE should do it quickly, like in the coming weeks, or let the group last a few more months.

As I have said many times in the last year during New Day's reign of terror, they don't need the tag titles to do their act. And their act obviously has entertainment value. They weren't parading around with tag titles on Let's Make A Deal last week. They were playing along for the Christmas episode. And they can still be a part of some great storylines and segments away from chasing the tag titles.

On the other side of that, why might the WWE want to break them up? Depth might be the issue. There are enough tag teams to run the tag division on Raw well enough for a while. New Day is not necessary there. But are there enough singles wrestlers to push? New Day is made up of at least two guys that can be very useful as singles wrestlers, Kofi Kingston and Big E. Xavier Woods is probably best suited as a manager, as I have seen many other fans point out. Kofi Kingston and Big E can be useful chasing after the United States Championship down the road or being used as jobbers to the stars.

How do I think the WWE should handle it? Let New Day last a few more months. They can start breaking them up after Wrestlemania. But there is no need to have them last another year together. And they definitely do not need the tag titles back so soon. They already made history and all that. Time to move on from that, although the group might still have some potential as entertainers.

Previewing The Roadblock: End Of The Line Midcard Matches

Can Sami Zayn survive 10 minutes against Braun Strowman? If nothing else, this feud has taken an interesting turn. How often do you get a match like this? But how good will the match really be? Will it just be Sami Zayn trying to avoid Strowman for most of the match? Will he actually take the fight to the big guy? Zayn will obviously have some kind of impressive showing. And even if he lasts 10 minutes, Strowman does not necessarily have to take a pinfall loss. Or will Zayn look weak and eventually end up on Smackdown? That is another issue, but I will say he does survive this Sunday.

There has been an interesting story playing out with Rusev, Lana, Enzo, and Cass. This Sunday, it is Cass facing Rusev. This feud won't end that easily. And this just seems like a feud where the faces should come out on top. Until then, however, Rusev should look strong. He should be beating Cass at Roadblock: End of the Line.

The Cruiserweight Championship will be on the line. Rich Swann defends against Brian Kendrick and TJ Perkins, the only other two people to have held the new title. I have said before that I don't think Rich Swann is really a long-term Champion. The WWE has not put proper work into him. But does the title go back to Kendrick or Perkins? I say Kendrick wins it back.

New Day have their record. Does that mean the reign of terror ends? Cesaro & Sheamus will get another shot at the titles this Sunday. On one hand, New Day really does not need the titles anymore. On the other hand, Cesaro & Sheamus don't feel like they really deserve it right now. Cesaro has held a title or accolade every year he has been on the main roster. He won the United States Championship in 2012 and held it into 2013. He won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal in 2014. He won the tag titles in 2015. Will 2016 be a dead year for him, as far as titles and accolades go? And Sheamus is Sheamus. The WWE loves giving him title pushes you would not think he actually deserves. I will say these two win the titles.

State Of The WWE Tag Team Division: December 2016

I talked about the cruiserweights. I talked about the women. I might as well talk about the tag teams.

Over on Raw, New Day is still dominating the tag division. If they retain the tag titles against Cesaro & Sheamus and Anderson & Gallows next week, the record is theirs. Will it happen? Probably. Neither of these other two teams really feel like they deserve it. I feel like they have both lost their momentum. The WWE didn't put the titles on them when it would have been best to do it. The WWE might as well let New Day retain.

Years ago, it felt like the WWE was doing a great job in giving the tag titles to teams that had momentum on their side. The WWE then entered a stretch of putting the titles on teams that didn't really look like they were hot, became hot during the reign, but then lost it to another team that didn't look hot. That led to the reign of terror New Day has been on. As I have mentioned multiple times, so many other teams or angles could have used those tag titles, whether as a reward, to give them credibility, or create some freshness. The Dudleys could have used them. The League of Nations could have used them. There was even a time when The Club looked a lot more deserving. But the WWE never pulled the trigger. New Day did not need to hold the tag titles this long to do their act.

How long after they lose the tag titles will New Day last? Even though I just said New Day does not need the tag titles to do their act, I can picture the WWE breaking them up within a few weeks after losing the tag titles and losing their rematch. I don't think it will be such a tragedy. I will talk about it more when it happens.

The only other team I want to single out is Enzo & Cass. This is another hot face team that could have used the tag titles. New Day aren't the only popular face team on Raw. On the one hand, it is great that Enzo & Cass have still been getting storylines. Enzo has his storyline with Rusev and Lana. Cass was once a contender for the Universal Championship. On the other hand, these guys seem to lose more than they should. Not only would it be nice to see them win a meaningful feud, eventually getting the tag titles would be nice.

Switch to Smackdown. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt won the tag titles. This is Bray Wyatt's first title reign, but it seems more like a title reign to further a storyline, not a reward. This guy should eventually be a serious contender for a World Championship. As for Randy Orton, it is only a matter of time before he breaks out of the group. If the WWE doesn't go in that direction, this storyline was just dumb. Orton doesn't really fit in The Wyatts and The Wyatts didn't really do enough to "break" him to make him joining the group believable.

The first two titleholders for Smackdown's Tag Team Championships were not traditional teams. Heath Slater and Rhyno just got paired together. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt are only together because of this storyline. There are traditional teams on Smackdown, like The Usos and American Alpha. I am sure these teams will get the titles one day.

Overall, I do not like how traditional teams have been treated on Smackdown so far. The WWE just did not handle American Alpha well at all. This is the kind of team you would expect wrestling fans to like. But the WWE just dumped them on the main roster and acted like they expected them to be bigger deals than they were. You can't blame American Alpha not working out better so far all on them. The WWE didn't handle them right. They didn't give them a proper chance. As for The Usos, after becoming stale faces, they refreshed themselves with that heel turn. It would not have been terrible if The Usos had been the heels to get the tag titles off Rhyno & Slater.

Another issue is the WWE bringing back teams that were relevant decades ago and using them ahead of some of their full-time teams. That is not something they should be doing so soon after the brand split started. Get the ball rolling properly with what you have, then go to these other teams, if you have to. Some people are wondering if the WWE should re-sign The Headbangers or The Spirit Squad. I am going to say the same thing I said when talking about the women, no, do not bring anyone back. Not yet. It is kind of insulting to the teams you have on the roster now to just go so quickly to old teams. And these aren't even teams as legendary as The Dudleys. The Dudleys also didn't come back during the start of the brand split and get pushed ahead of guys that were just starting out on the main roster or had just been refreshed with a heel turn.

Something I have been talking about with the cruiserweights and women recently is how to follow up with workers booked to make history, like TJ Perkins and Becky Lynch. Heath Slater and Rhyno were booked to make history. They were the first Smackdown Tag Team Champions of this new brand split era. Should the WWE keep the ball rolling on them? No. That title win was more taking advantage of Heath Slater having so much momentum back then. He was arguably the hottest act in the WWE at one time. The WWE did not make a mistake in giving him that moment, but there is no need to make more of Heath Slater than they should. As for Rhyno, he is no young guy. He might be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame one day. Whether he is or isn't, it will be okay for him to just be a midcarder until he retires.

Both tag divisions seem to have a similar problem. A lot of teams are being underutilized. On Raw, New Day's reign has just smothered a lot of teams. On Smackdown, traditional tag teams have taken a backseat to singles wrestlers being thrown together, as well as old teams not even signed getting TV time. But I have more confidence in the tag division getting better without much worry than the women's division. New Day's reign will come to an end soon. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt will eventually break up. The tag titles will find their way to other teams on the roster and fresh feuds will start.

Previewing The Hell In A Cell 2016 Undercard

Enzo & Cass take on Gallows & Anderson. If the WWE had made a smart booking decision months ago, Gallows & Anderson would have won the tag titles back when they looked like they deserved it. This match would then be for the tag titles and Enzo & Cass would finally win some gold. Instead, this is just a filler match. Enzo & Cass are a popular team that should be winning more big matches than they have been. I would say they win here.

Speaking of the tag titles, New Day defend against Cesaro and Sheamus. This comes down to whether this Cesaro/Sheamus angle has really gotten hot. If it has, those two have a better chance of being booked to win the titles. If it has not, New Day continues to hold the tag titles hostage and every record known to mankind will fall at their feet. Cesaro and Sheamus have not looked that interesting. They will likely lose here. And what will the payoff of this storyline end up being? It might just end up being a feud the WWE tried too hard with.

TJ Perkins defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Brian Kendrick. This feud has been rather enjoyable. I might usually say that the WWE needs to stop taking advantage of real-life drama for storylines. But Kendrick acting like this is his last chance in the WWE and that he needs to win the title has led to a good midcard feud. I think he should win it. If he loses, I can imagine a face turn, but does that really seem necessary? Keep him heel and give him the title.

Even though it has not been made official, I can imagine Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman getting put somewhere on Sunday. I doubt Sami is being pushed to overcome Strowman. If this match happens, Strowman wins.

For a match that is supposed to be one of the main events of Hell in a Cell, Roman Reigns vs. Rusev is least likely to close the show. But you can never tell in this era. Roman Reigns just won the title a few weeks ago. Has the WWE gotten what they wanted out of this title reign for Reigns? And if Rusev does regain the title, it will likely be by some shenanigans. I can't imagine Reigns losing cleanly here. Will Lana get involved? I can't really see Rusev winning. The WWE might have someone else interfere to screw Reigns, which would then mean Reigns can move on to feuding with that person and the feud with Rusev would not have to drag on. But I don't see anyone on the horizon that would want to interfere to screw Reigns that he could feud with after Hell in a Cell. I'll say he retains.

Sheamus And Cesaro Team Up

When I was previewing the final match in the series between Sheamus and Cesaro for Clash of Champions, I said that there were a few ways the WWE could get fancy with this angle. I felt they should not have done anything like that. Just let one guy win the title shot and go for a title on Raw. I went with Cesaro going for the Universal Championship.

The WWE decided to get fancy. The match at Clash of Champions ended up a draw. Both men complained about it on Raw. Mick Foley said they will now be teaming together and going after the tag titles.

I think this is just a terrible turn of events. It is not the first time this kind of angle has happened. A face and a heel have a rivalry, they end up teaming together, and they eventually get the tag titles. Problem is, this rivalry between Sheamus and Cesaro was never that great to begin with. Some loved seeing two hard-hitting guys going at it, but there were also some that found this feud stale. They had faced each other numerous times before the "Best of Seven" series started. There is no real rich story between these guys. This whole feud has just been forced. And now the angle continues with them teaming up.

Should they win the tag titles? New Day's reign of terror continues. If there are any records left in the tag division, the WWE might just hand it to them. I feel like the WWE is wishing that Sheamus/Cesaro captures some of that same magic Rhyno/Heath Slater has. There are not a lot of great true tag teams around. The WWE is just throwing together two guys getting singles pushes and trying to run on their momentum. It would be nice to try to do a better job building the true tag teams. As for whether Sheamus and Cesaro will win the tag titles, let's wait and see if they do capture some of that magic. If not, if they are viewed as flops, New Day will hold it for another few weeks. Anderson & Gallows are flops. The WWE still could have forced the tag titles on them. They didn't. I think the WWE will hold those same standards for Sheamus and Cesaro. If they do fail, they will just go back to feuding with each other.

Previewing The Clash Of Champions 2016 Undercard Matches

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Previewing The Sumerslam 2016 Undercard Matches

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is The End Near For New Day?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Previewing The Battleground 2016 Undercard

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shades Of TNA's Matt Vs. Jeff Feud In WWE's New Day Vs. Wyatts Feud?

The outrageous feud between Matt and Jeff Hardy in TNA went to another level last week. There have been some fans that have compared that feud to what the WWE is doing with New Day and The Wyatts. The two major promotions often do take ideas from each other. But there is one minor difference that I want to bring up here.

There was no title involved in that crazy match Matt and Jeff had last week. This is a non-title feud. Matt did hold the TNA Championship a few months ago, but he lost it to Drew Galloway as the feud between Matt and his brother continued. I actually would have kept the title involved in the feud between Matt and Jeff. This was obviously the biggest feud they had going. I just felt that the title would make it feel even bigger. Instead, Drew got one of those title reigns that falls in the category of title reigns that make you wonder why TNA even bothered. They could have built him up more to eventually win the title down the line and get a better run than he did. But that's another issue. Point is, no title was involved in that match last week.

And look what TNA accomplished last week. They had 410,000 viewers, easily the highest number on their new network. I doubt fans were tuning in to see Lashley. They wanted to see what was going to happen with Matt and Jeff. TNA created hype with a match where no title was on the line. Control of the company was not on the line. No one's career was on the line. It is just a heated grudge feud. It is a blood feud.

Onto the WWE. People want to compare what TNA is doing to New Day vs. The Wyatts. There is an interesting storyline developing there. It is not as heated as Matt vs. Jeff, but there is a good storyline. Thing is, the tag titles are also there. Do they need to be there? You can have this storyline without the tag titles. It would be a great non-title storyline.

I have been saying for months that keeping the titles on New Day for so long was not a good move. There were a number of other teams and feuds that could have benefited from the tag titles. I think right now is pretty much the limit. The tag titles are completely unnecessary for this storyline. New Day will break the record for longest run with the tag titles, but what does it matter in the long run? The WWE could have given the titles to The Club. While AJ Styles feuded with Cena, Anderson and Gallows could be defending the tag titles against Cass & Enzo, another hot face team. It's not really about praising or rewarding Anderson and Gallows. It is about creating interesting feuds. And New Day vs. The Wyatts can be interesting without the tag titles. There are other feuds that could be more interesting with those titles involved right now.

Fans sometimes debate whether there should be more titles. Especially for the women recently, they have thought about a second title for them and even tag titles. No, they don't need it. Not only would the WWE not handle it efficiently, it is just missing the point. The point is to entertain the fans and create hype to get more people interested and interested enough to spend money to come see the stars, watch PPVs, buy merchandise, and so on. Title reigns are only a small part of it. TNA was able to generate enough hype to get over 400,000 viewers last week for a match where no title was on the line. Fans may be interested in New Day vs. The Wyatts, but don't expect it to create a ratings boost for the WWE like what TNA got last week with The Hardys. The WWE has not hyped it and built it up that big. Meanwhile, the tag titles are just being held hostage in that feud. Nothing is added. 

Previewing The Money In The Bank 2016 Undercard Matches

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

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

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

Previewing The Extreme Rules 2016 Undercard Title Matches

New Day defend the tag titles against The Vaudevillains. I have said before that New Day should have lost the titles already to other teams that had the momentum. I do not think they should lose it here. The Vaudevillains don't look like they are ready. Have New Day retain here and eventually drop it to Anderson & Gallows to give The Club some credibility. 

Kalisto defends the United States Championship against Rusev. Rusev looks monstrous again. They are even running an injury angle with Kalisto. Or is he really hurt? Can't even tell these days. Are they doing all this to make Rusev look dominant and give Kalisto a bit of an excuse when he loses the title? Or is this just to stack the odds against Kalisto so he can overcome them? Speaking of overcoming the odds, I see some fans dreading that the only reason Rusev looks strong again and might win the title is to drop it to Cena when he returns. That doesn't really make sense to me. Cena does not need a title to be pushed well. Beyond that, Alberto Del Rio was the guy that beat Cena cleanly for the title last year and retained it again against Cena prior to Cena's injury. Wouldn't it make more sense to give the title back to Alberto Del Rio so he can drop it to Cena, if the plan is for another United States Championship run for Cena? In any case, I will say Rusev wins the title at Extreme Rules.

The Intercontinental Championship will be decided in a fatal fourway. Miz defends against Cesaro, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn. Cesaro just felt like he had the momentum when he returned last month. It felt like he would eventually win the title from Miz. Inserting Owens and Zayn certainly confuses things. These two could have had their own gimmick match at Extreme Rules. Make it a Last Man Standing match, or something like that. Owens and Zayn do have that history together. Leave the title to be decided between Miz and Cesaro, where Cesaro would win it. The WWE can still have Cesaro win it, then feud with Miz, while Owens and Zayn go back to killing each other, but I think a lot of Cesaro's momentum is hurt. I will say Miz retains.

No title is on the line, but I want to talk about Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose. This is an Asylum match. WWE must like Dean Ambrose a lot to let him have his own match. He might just be the new Mick Foley. Foley got a few runs with the WWE Championship, but he was never the centerpiece. That will be the story with Ambrose. He will eventually win the WWE Championship, but he will not take the true top spot. Until any of that happens, he has Chris Jericho. They have been murdering the other guy's favorite inanimate object. Might as well try to murder each other in an extreme environment. Logic might say that Ambrose wins this match since it is his match, but he seems to have too much of the momentum. I can see Jericho winning this to make the rivalry more interesting and extending it.

The Wyatts Vs. The League Of Nations: Really?

The League of Nations won their Wrestlemania match against New Day. They got a title shot the very next night on Raw. I would have had them win the titles. The WWE had other plans. New Day retained and Barrett was kicked out of the group.

The Wyatts had an eventful Wrestlemania. Despite not having an official match heading into Sunday, they were used to put over The Rock and John Cena. The next night on Raw, they attacked the remains of The League of Nations.

Is the WWE really going with this feud? I talked about how Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles seemed like a suspicious feud to create right now. Should I have the same feeling for this heel stable vs. heel stable feud? This just feels like lazy booking. With the WWE running with Reigns vs. Styles, for whatever reason they might have, that takes away two top faces. Ambrose looks like he is going in another direction. And even if the WWE had pushed one of these other top faces against one of the heel stables, they would likely need a few partners to even things out. Even if one stable is able to get a proper feud, what about the other? Having the two groups feud is just an easy answer.

There were still other options. How about continuing New Day vs. The League of Nations for one more PPV? Or how about having The Wyatts feud with New Day? Have Roman Reigns feud against The League of Nations. Have him feud against one member, two members, or possibly all three guys left in the group in a four-way match for the title.

Some people might wonder if the WWE is thinking face turn for one of these groups. I don't think that is necessary. The Shield vs. The Wyatts happened when both teams were heels. The Shield would eventually turn face, but it did not happen immediately with that feud. Besides that, the WWE just officially turned New Day face not too long ago. Do they really need to turn another team face? If a team does turn, the WWE will probably turn The Wyatts. The League of Nations just seem less likeable right now.

I honestly do not remember any fans being excited for a feud between these two groups prior to last week. Even since then, I don't feel the hype. Go back to The Shield vs. The Wyatts. Even before that feud got started, I remember fans wanting it. The Shield is the best 3-man group in recent WWE history. The Wyatts were hot back then. Many fans consider the 2014 Elimination Chamber match between these two groups the match of the year back then. Those expectations are not here. Sheamus and his crew are not The Shield. The Wyatts have been broken down and built back up a few times since that feud against The Shield. They have lost their edge. Moreover, Braun Strowman is not Luke Harper. Wrestling fans love Luke Harper. They are not so crazy about Braun Strowman. I do not expect this heel stable vs. heel stable feud you have right now to be as good as The Shield vs. The Wyatts. And I would be shocked if a 3 vs. 3 match between The League of Nations and The Wyatts gets match of the year for 2016.  

Previewing Wrestlemania 2016: The Undercard

The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal has never led to a serious push for either of the first two winners. Big Show, last year's winner, certainly already has his career made. He's going to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. Cesaro, the first winner, has had his career go up and down. He has gotten a number of titles and accolades in between depushes. I know about the rumors about Braun Strowman winning and getting a big push later on. Since that might hinge on what the WWE does with Roman Reigns and injury issues, I am not picking him to win. I could imagine someone in The Social Outcasts winning. Would that be an insult to Andre? A jobber winning this? Well, is putting this match on the pre-show insulting? The WWE might do some funny things with someone from the group winning. And I do not think anyone else currently in the match can really benefit from this. I'll go with Heath Slater.

The Dudley Boys face The Usos. This match does not feel big enough for Wrestlemania, but at least there are some feuds going on in the tag division that go beyond the tag titles. Since The Dudleys turned heel just a few weeks ago, logic might say they win this match and continue their push. I am going to go against logic and say The Usos win. The WWE has not pushed The Dudleys well since they returned. At the same time, The Usos have not won anything major since they reunited. I'll go with them.

Kalisto defends the United States Championship against Ryback. Ryback went a few years without ever winning a title. There was a time when he seemed credible enough to win the WWE Championship. That never happened, bu he did win the Intercontinental Championship last year. I would say he does not really need another title reign again so soon. On the other hand, how serious is the WWE in pushing Kalisto as the new Mysterio? Having him bring this up in interviews and talking about him like he is the next Mysterio doesn't mean as much as booking him consistently. If his title reign ends this Sunday and he gets sent back to the tag division with Sin Cara, I doubt he will end up as the new Mysterio. I will say he retains the title.

Another multi-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. Kevin Owens faces Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder, Sin Cara, Miz, and Stardust. Some of these guys are just extra bodies. This match should have just been between Owens and Zayn. I would say those are the two favorites to win. I would have Owens retain and lose the title later to Zayn in a singles feud.

The New Day take on The League of Nations in a handicap match. Just a few weeks ago, The League of Nations destroyed New Day and actually looked like great heels. They actually looked like a group the WWE was serious in pushing again. Since then, it feels like they have lost some of that intensity. I still hope the group ends up winning the tag titles. Until then, I will say they beat New Day. They should. 

AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho is a match that I do not think needed to happen again. This is the fourth match in a rivalry that is only two months old. This is a rivalry that featured them teaming up and eventually becoming contenders for the tag titles. This is a rivalry that featured the team splitting and one guy turning on the other. All in two months. You would think this kind of story takes a lot longer than this to develop. And yet, here we are.

I want to say a few things about how this feud has been developed since Chris Jericho turned heel. I have seen some fans criticize the WWE for taking so long to make this match official. They waited until the final Raw before Wrestlemania. I do not have a problem with that. The story is that Jericho was trying to avoid facing Styles again. Styles had to get Jericho to agree to it. This isn't bad storyline development.

The other part of this storyline that I want to bring up is the WWE bringing up "AJ Styles" chants. That supposedly annoyed Jericho. The issue I have isn't really the fact that Jericho is pretty over in his own right, even as a heel.This is about Styles. They obviously want the guy over. They are not burying his popularity. But how about they stop pointing out that fans like him and actually take advantage of what makes him phenomenal and develop his character better. Push him better. Fact is, I am not impressed by those chants. Maybe my memory is going bad, but I am sure I remember times when fans have reacted to wrestlers better. Those "AJ Styles" chants can be better. The WWE needs to put more work into AJ Styles. Smarks will cheer for him because he is great wrestler. Marks will cheer for him because he is pushed as a face. Beyond those fans that are either always criticizing the product or buying into it rather easily, how about the general audience? AJ needs to win those fans over. The WWE needs to do more than run a storyline about people chanting for him. He's not Daniel Bryan.

As far as the winner, it has to be Styles. Jericho is a jobber to the stars.

Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar is a big match, but not one of the likely two candidates to close the show, despite the presence of Brock Lesnar. Not to knock Ambrose, but this feels like the weakest Wrestlemania opponent Lesnar has had yet. It is a great push for Ambrose and will help elevate him, but Lesnar has faced guys with more star power or where there was something on the line in his other Wrestlemania matches. This is still a match many wrestling fans will look forward to.

And it is going to be a street fight. On the one hand, I like that the WWE has really made a storyline out of the match type. Hardcore legends have been utilized to push this feud. On the other hand, I think the WWE could have told a better story. Brock got mad at Ambrose for getting in the way of Brock getting a title shot. He attacked Ambrose in the parking lot the night after that. Just build on that intensity that was there. I feel how the WWE has handled the story these last few weeks has highlighted the match type more than the intense emotion that was there. Either way, should be a fun match.

The wildcard in this match will be The Wyatts. Dean Ambrose obviously has a history with Bray Wyatt. Brock Lesnar, moreover, was supposed to have a mini-feud with Bray. Bray was injured and that match got ruined. I doubt the WWE will have it end like that. They will go at it down the road. Will the WWE use this match at Wrestlemania to build up to that future match? The Wyatts don't have anything else going for them right now. Because there will be no disqualifications in this match, you can definitely imagine The Wyatts getting involved. Will it be a poor way for Dean Ambrose's feud with Brock Lesnar to end to just use this match as a stepping stone for another feud for Lesnar? That's another issue. Let's see how the WWE actually handles the match and what comes after.

Who wins? How often does Lesnar lose? Network specials aside, Brock Lesnar has not had a PPV win in a while. He lost at Fast Lane. He lost at the Royal Rumble. Is Vince McMahon going to be worried about Lesnar possibly starting to look weak? Some fans say that they cannot imagine Ambrose beating Lesnar cleanly. Well, can you imagine it with weapons involved? An extreme spot? It could happen. Of course, as I said, interference is likely. Cleanly or not, Lesnar has not won a big match in a while and I think he will win one here.

The Tag Division Heading Into Wrestlemania 2016

There was a time a few years ago when the WWE was good with handing the tag titles off to teams that had momentum and actually looked like they deserved them. That changed within the last year or so. The WWE would shoot the titles to a team that lacked momentum, then have a title change just when it started to look like that team was really starting to look good. That booking practice came to an end when the WWE allowed New Day to put a stranglehold on the division.

In my opinion, the tag division recently has been pretty poor. It's been, well, booty. During this time when New Day has been holding the titles for months and months, there were several teams that had some freshness or momentum to them that were not booked to get the tag titles. The Dudleys returned and looked hot. They have lost all their feuds so far. The Usos came back together again and could have been a choice to get the tag titles. Nope. The Lucha Dragons looked like they might go somewhere. Injuries led to a solo push for Kalisto. If the WWE had put the tag titles on a face team, that would have opened up the possibility for some fresh feuds with other heel teams. The League of Nations could have used the tag titles. The Wyatts could have used the tag titles, especially with Bray Wyatt not wrestling right now. Simply sticking so long with New Day all these months is not fair to other teams. This has not been a situation where depth was poor. I know New Day sells merchandise, but you should be able to push people well without titles. Titles are not just accolades. They are used to tell stories and add to feuds. And there are other stories and feuds that can use those tag titles that do not need New Day involved.

At Wrestlemania, all three members of New Day will face all four members of The League of Nations. The League of Nations have already had two shots to win the titles and failed. Backing up for a second, this started out as a heel vs. heel feud. After that beating on Raw New Day received, they seem to be the ones going face. I can very well imagine the WWE having New Day retain again and continuing their run as faces. They are pushed too much. This should be the feud where they lose the tag titles. The League of Nations have been built up again to look strong. There was a time not too long ago where they just looked pathetic. Injuries played a role in that. Don't just hand them this momentum to feed them to New Day.

There is another tag feud being developed for Wrestlemania. The Usos will face The Dudleys. It is not unusual to sometimes see things get lost in the shuffle around Wrestlemania season. And this would have been a feud you might expect to see get lost in the shuffle. The Dudleys have been pretty mediocre heels. After a lot of initial excitement and dirtsheets stirring the pot with reports saying the WWE saw the great heel potential in Bubba, this whole feud with The Usos and storyline about no more tables is just not that great. If the WWE wasn't so ravaged by injuries, this feud probably would be lost in the shuffle. The only good thing I can say about this feud is that it shows you can have some kind of feud in the tag division away from the tag titles. And it did have potential to be better than it is. The WWE just is not going in that direction.

What would I rather see for Wrestlemania this year from the tag division? I think they should have gone with a multi-team match for the tag titles. The main problem with that is that the WWE might struggle to create enough matches with the limited roster. Let's say injuries were not an issue. You can have New Day defend the tag titles against The League of Nations, The Usos, and The Dudleyz. Throw in The Wyatts? Make this the match R-Truth and Goldust officially become a team? Social Outcasts? You might have a gauntlet match here. Tag Team Turmoil. There are a lot of angles going on in the tag division. More of them need to be featured better. And New Day cannot continue to be featured so much better than the rest of them. I don't care how many unicorn horns and boxes of cereal they sell.

Should Y2AJ Win The Tag Titles?

Chris Jericho and AJ Styles seem to be done feuding. But they are now officially partners (Y2AJ). After getting a few wins against New Day, they now seem to be on the path to possibly winning the tag titles. They will get a title shot next week.

Should they win the tag titles? Chris Jericho is obviously a part-timer, but a short run with the tag titles isn't out of the question. It would be the first title reign in the WWE for AJ Styles. I am sure there will be many more to come for him. He'll probably end up winning every title available to him before it is all over. I do not see anything wrong with getting him started now. I think they should win the tag titles.

Or could this be a way of setting up another encounter between AJ Styles and Chris Jericho for Wrestlemania? I think these two have faced each other enough times in one month. I wouldn't be surprised to see them go at it again, but give it a rest for now. There isn't any strong tension between the two right now. There is no need to have a heel turn. It would likely be Jericho turning on Styles. I do not see that as necessary. They can go back to feuding after they lose the tag titles. And after AJ Styles once again beats Jericho, Jericho can take another break from the WWE.

I will say that it would have been nice if there were a few more teams involved in the title match. Y2AJ could still win the tag titles in a four-way match. There are so many teams around. The Usos and Dudley Boys are feuding. The Lucha Dragons are around. I still say Kalisto should have lost his United States Championship back to Del Rio. There is nothing interesting going on with the title on him now. On Del Rio, it would at least give The League of Nations some credibility. And two members of The League of Nations also could have been involved in a match for the tag titles. How about The Wyatts? Some fans were looking forward to Enzo & Cass debuting from NXT to go after the tag titles. A lot of teams around. Hopefully, some kind of multi-team match happens for Wrestlemania. They can have a good one this year.