Previewing The Royal Rumble 2017 Undercard Matches

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

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

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

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

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



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


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




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

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

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

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

Previewing The 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 Cruiserweight Division: December 2016

The cruiserweight division is getting some momentum. 205 Live has kicked off. And it has kicked off with a title change. Rich Swann defeated Brian Kendrick for the Cruiserweight Championship.

Let me start off with this title change. I just feel like it is going to be one of those short title reigns. Kendrick will likely win it back this week or the next Raw PPV. The title change only really happened to create some buzz for the new show.

Onto the new show. 205 Live. They had it after Smackdown last week. And it may not have worked out the way the WWE would have hoped. A lot of fans left after Smackdown ended. They did not stick around for the cruiserweights. One of my favorite tweets from someone that was there that night mentioned the fans leaving, but also mentioned a lot of fans still there around him being drunk. Yeah, that's how I picture a lot of wrestling neckbeards. You can say that all the WWE has to do is schedule things better, but the problem may be deeper than that.

I mentioned that the cruiserweight division is getting some momentum, but is it organic? Or is the WWE kind of forcing this? Wrestling fans tend to love this style of wrestling. But has the WWE really done enough to get this thing over with the wider audience. A show on the WWE Network is not going to do it. The WWE is just preaching to the choir. Wrestling fans that have been subscribing already saw the Cruiserweight Classic. They are already invested. What does the WWE gain from 205 Live? This will likely not be a long-term show. It will be like Mick Foley's recent show on the WWE Network. It will be around for a few episodes, then get rotated out for something else.

This show is just not likely to draw in new subscribers for the WWE. Fans that would be interested in these cruiserweights are the same ones that are hooked on NXT. They are the ones that would want to be watching the main roster PPVs to see guys like AJ Styles and Kevin Owens. The WWE already has their $9.99. How much more are they really gaining? If someone is paying the WWE $9.99 to subscribe for a month, the WWE has their money whether they watch just the brand PPVs or everything else on it. They have their money whether they use the WWE Network once a month or several times a week. It is really just fan service.

I do not think the WWE even knows what a fair opportunity looks like. This is a company that is guilty of not giving their own workers fair opportunities in the past. There is no denying it. Workers have gotten over and found themselves in the same position they were in as if they never succeeded. Meanwhile, workers that were not connecting well with the audience have been forced down throats to make them look great. You sometimes see failing agendas continue to get pushed, not just individuals. To top it all off, you have had people that got over organically and not get the better push for themselves be used to put over the WWE-backed individuals not getting over. It is just a terrible situation that led to failure.

The WWE is taking things that smarks like and just treating them like they are big successes. I am not just talking about certain individuals, like AJ Styles. I mean agendas, like the women's revolution and the cruiserweight resurgence. Giving these things a chance doesn't just mean you treat it like it is established already. You have to give these cruiserweights a chance to get over with more than just smarks. If they do that, then you give them 205 Live. That way, they are more likely to draw in a wider audience for the WWE Network. It isn't about just rewarding them. It is about properly creating and utilizing draws.

The WWE needs to stop treating these cruiserweights like they are something different. Stop with the purple stuff. Yeah, it is great that the division is back, but just incorporate it into the show. Treat them in a more organic manner. They might have an easier time working out that way.

Let me close by just focusing on one specific cruiserweight. Where's TJ Perkins? This is the first Cruiserweight Champion of the new title. I have said in the past that having someone make history like this should be justified. Perkins was not a big name prior to the title win. He wasn't extraordinarily over. The only way you can justify his big moment is if the WWE legitimately put an effort in to get him over and make him into something great. I don't think they did a great job of that during his title reign. And they have not followed up with him properly since he lost the title. Would it have been so terrible if he was the one that got the title shot last week and won the title back. Since he is the first man to hold this title, he should be treated as the centerpiece of the division, until he flops, something better comes along, he does something terrible, or he leaves the company. The WWE just did not give him a good opportunity so far. He might be a good centerpiece. But the WWE isn't helping him.