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.

Previewing The Backlash 2017 Undercard

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

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

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

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

The Usos Win The Tag Titles

The major development for Smackdown this week was The Usos winning the brand's tag titles. They defeated American Alpha. It just seemed like The Usos would eventually get the titles, so that's not an issue. There are still a few things to bring up.

First, why not have the title change happen at Wrestlemania? There are some people talking like The Hardys will return and win the titles at Wrestlemania from The Usos, but ignore that. As it stands, there are a couple titles likely to change hands at Wrestlemania this year already. Because of that, I don't see a problem with having this title change happen outside the event. As it stands, The Usos vs. American Alpha is hardly worthy of Wrestlemania, But that doesn't seem to stop the WWE these days.

The WWE had a moment on Smackdown. There are a lot of moments on Smackdown. Whether you are talking about title changes, returns, gimmick matches, or whatever, Smackdown delivers when it comes to moments. Where they fail is properly building up to moments. They did not build up well to the 2 out of 3 falls match between Mickie James and Becky Lynch. They did not build Becky Lynch up well prior to her title win last year. American Alpha was not built up well to their title win. I have seen fans talk like the tag division was dead on Smackdown until just recently. The journey is sometimes more fun than the destination. Smackdown needs to do a better job making the journey matter for the audience. I would even question the journey for The Usos to their recent title win.

What about American Alpha? As I said, these guys were not built well. Was the title reign that great? No. These guys are flops. Giving them the tag titles does not change that. They are talented in-ring performers, but that is really all they have shown. The WWE should have done better with them. And if they still couldn't properly get over, depush them. There is still room for much improvement in Smackdown's tag division.

Previewing The 2017 Elimination Chamber Men's Matches

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final No Mercy 2016 Preview

Jack Swagger jumped ship to Smackdown and finds himself in a feud with Baron Corbin. This will be the pre-show match for No Mercy. Both of these guys have potential, but Corbin really needs to look a little better in his rookie year. Let him win this.

The tag titles will be defended when Heath Slater & Rhyno face The Usos. Normally, I would say that the person or team that just won a title will obviously retain so soon after the win. But the smart thing to do would be to give the titles to The Usos. Giving the titles to Slater & Rhyno was not a mistake. That angle involving Heath Slater was the best thing going for a while. It deserved the tag titles. But the WWE should not make the same mistake here that they have made with New Day. A lot of teams that had momentum and could have used the tag titles for their own credibility and to create fresher feuds were passed up so New Day can still hold the titles. Heath Slater had his moment. Rhyno is over 40 and got to make history in the wrestling business one more time. The Usos were stale as faces for a while, but have been refreshed since turning heel. There is also the fact that American Alpha is a project the WWE is working on and a feud between them and The Usos might just be a better title feud. It's not like Slater & Rhyno just won the titles and are dropping them immediately. Not even counting house shows, they had a successful title defense on Smackdown against The Ascension. It would be no tragedy if The Usos won, especially while they still had the freshness.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Miz has everyone guessing. I have seen speculation and rumors for every possibility. Some say this feud is obviously building up to Ziggler getting his moment and winning the Intercontinental Championship. Some say Ziggler is really leaving the WWE. Some say he is just taking a break and will be repackaged when he returns. Remember when there was all this speculation and excitement for CM Punk when he got his big push? Would he win the title? Would he leave the WWE with it? That was for the WWE Championship. This is for the Intercontinental Championship. I still feel it is a waste to spend all this emotion just for a midcard title Ziggler has held multiple times. He's not breaking the glass ceiling here. But this has still become a very heated feud. Many fans might say that this is classic booking. You build a heel up to look terrible, the face gets his revenge, and everyone is happy. I would rather see Ziggler lose. I don't hate Ziggler. I don't love Miz. But I just feel Ziggler winning would be kind of dull, and for the same reason I just gave. This is just a midcard version of what they did with CM Punk. It is not as exciting. The WWE has tried to make it heated with these big segments, all the emotion, and everything else, but I just don't care for it as much as others. I would have Miz retain. The WWE, however, might have Ziggler win.

Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt has been one of the more enjoyable feuds for me. That is obviously not the popular smark opinion. Them fans love them some complainin'! If you are a smark and love those "Reality Era" storylines that feature all that complaining and drama based off real events, that's you. Don't mean to offend anyone, but I even joke about myself sometimes, so people should know I am not just being a jerk. I have seen some fans irritated by this feud because it doesn't make sense. They are trying too hard to read into the segments. Why does it need to make sense? The Hardys have been having success these last few months off of a gimmick leading to matches that don't always make sense. Some fans want Bray Wyatt to bring up the history he and Randy Orton have. Orton had punted Bray Wyatt back when he was still Husky Harris. Those fans seem to want this feud to just be Wyatt complaining about Orton doing that to him. I am glad the writers have not gone in that direction. Just feed off of Bray's gimmick. I love that they are having Orton play the same games. Is it possible to still have an intriguing storyline that is not tied to some real-life drama? Here's one that has been doing a pretty good job. As for who wins, Randy Orton has still not won a PPV match in a year. Bray Wyatt has also not had the best win-loss record this year, but he has been on the winning side of some PPV matches. Let Orton finally win a PPV match here. Either way, the feud might likely continue. And smarks might finally see the storyline turn more real and Bray mention getting that punt years ago. Until then, it has been my favorite current storyline.

The WWE Championship will be on the line when AJ Styles defends against John Cena and Dean Ambrose. This feud seems pretty routine. There have been some heated promos. You've seen that a lot these days. I already pointed out that these kind of storylines and segments just don't do it for me. Cena has stuff to do outside the WWE. I hear Ambrose is taking time off to make another movie for the WWE. AJ Styles just won the title a few weeks ago. No need to take it off him so soon. Just to keep talking about this match a little more, who takes the pin? A lot of people are saying Ambrose is just in the match to get pinned. It just seems like this feud will not end with AJ Styles looking so good against Cena. I would say Ambrose does take the pin, leaving Styles/Cena to eventually continue their feud. Cena might be the guy to win the title from Styles at Wrestlemania next year.

Previewing The Backlash 2016 Undercard

The tag tournament to crown the inaugural Smackdown Tag Team Champions has gotten a bit muddled. It looked like it would be American Alpha vs. Rhyno and Heath Slater at Backlash to crown the new Champions. The Usos turned heel and attacked American Alpha. Due to an injury angle, American Alpha is out and a new match will occur this Sunday to see who faces Rhyno and Slater. The Usos and Hype Bros now get another shot at the titles.

Let me start with this new match. Who wins between The Usos and Ryder & Mojo? This tournament just felt too face-friendly in the final rounds. I am glad that The Usos turned heel. And since Rhyno and Slater are faces, why wouldn't The Usos win this match?

Who wins the tag titles? A contract for Heath Slater is also on the line. It is obvious Rhyno and Slater should win. This is one of the most entertaining acts in the WWE right now. I talked about last time what kind of person should be the first to hold a new title. You have to either be very over, have already been getting a great career, or be someone the company is likely to follow up with properly and give that great career to after the big win. A lot of fans have been enjoying Heath Slater. A guy that has been mostly a lower-midcarder is usually not a good choice to make history like this, but he is pretty over now and it would make for a good storyline. Speaking of storylines, the only way I can see the face team losing is if Rhyno turns on Slater and the story turns to Heath Slater having to beat Rhyno for a contract, which he eventually does. It could happen, but I would rather it didn't. If Rhyno does win the tag titles, even if it is just a short reign, wouldn't that be something? He wins it, but The Dudleys never did in their recent run?

Onto the Intercontinental Championship feud between Miz and Dolph Ziggler. The big story for Miz these last few weeks has been what he said to Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack. The WWE has just been selling this idea this week that Miz is a coward. That is just terrible. After Miz stood up for himself and gave Daniel Bryan a verbal stomping, this all just looks bad. This has nothing to do with disliking Daniel Bryan, liking Miz, or any combination of that. I am not a huge fan of either of the two guys, although I can respect them. But why should Miz be made to look so pathetic? If you don't want this story to be about Daniel Bryan being bullied, that's fine. If the WWE won't let Daniel Bryan get in the ring to shut Miz up that way, it shouldn't be about pushing around Daniel Bryan. But Miz's character looked so strong two weeks ago. People speculated if this could be his ticket back into the main-event scene. And the WWE has let it all crumble to Miz being afraid to fight. That's no better than the angle Kevin Owens had last year where he walked out of matches. Given the hype Miz had around him, this is a poor way to follow up.

Onto the actual match, Miz should retain. Attention is still on him. Dolph Ziggler is just there. He is another guy I think they dropped the ball on, in terms of storylines. He had a heated storyline with Dean Ambrose, failed to win the title, failed to beat AJ Styles after that, and just keeps on coasting on. They should have done some kind of angle where he snapped and turned heel. I am not even sure it will happen if he loses to Miz this Sunday. He will probably just keep coasting on to something else.

Previewing The Extreme Rules 2016 Main Event

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Previewing Royal Rumble 2016 Undercard Title Matches

There was a title change at TLC last month. I feel like there will be another one at the Royal Rumble this year. And I don't mean just the WWE Championship. Every title is on the line this Sunday. I already talked about the Diva's Championship match. I will talk about the Rumble match, where the WWE Championship will be on the line, on Friday. How about those other titles?

The Usos get another shot at the tag titles. They were my pick to win the titles from New Day at TLC. That didn't happen. I will stick with them. New Day has held the tag titles for a long time now. It looked like Sin Cara and Kalisto would have gotten the push The Usos are getting. Sin Cara got injured. Kalisto recently ended up winning the United States Championship briefly. How likely is it that the original plan would have been for him to get his hands on the tag titles? Circumstances led to him getting a different push. If the WWE still feels it is time to get the titles off New Day, The Usos are right there.

Speaking of Kalisto and the United States Championship, he gets a rematch against Alberto Del Rio. Would the title really go from Alberto Del Rio to Kalisto to Alberto Del Rio to Kalisto in the span of a few weeks? You don't see that kind of booking often. I do not expect to see it here. If the WWE wants to groom Kalisto to be the new Rey Mysterio, like many fans believe, they need to treat him as a better priority than they have. It goes beyond title reigns. I will say Alberto Del Rio retains.

And then there's Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens. Dean Ambrose was the one that ended up winning a title at TLC last month. He won the Intercontinental Championship. The fact that this match is "Last Man Standing" rules just makes it better. These two can go. This seems like the type of match that can bring out the best in them. As for the winner, I did not expect them to end the title run of Kevin Owens so soon. Will they end the title run of Dean Ambrose so soon? If you are a believer of the "momentum rule" of the WWE, the person looking good heading into a PPV usually ends up losing. Dean Ambrose has the momentum after what you will see happen on Smackdown. I do not feel the WWE follows that rule as much as they used to. Dean Ambrose should retain here.

Previewing The TLC 2015 Undercard Title Matches

All the titles will be on the line at TLC this Sunday. I will talk about the WWE Championship match next time. Right now, I will look at the matches for the Intercontinental, United States, Tag Team, and Diva's Championships.

A common theme in the matches I am about to talk about will be multiple angles going on for some of these wrestlers possibly holding back the potential of the title feuds. I talked about that recently. The League of Nations was just formed, with some of those guys already having something going on prior to the stable becoming official. Then The Usos and Dean Ambrose came out to help Roman Reigns, bringing up the possibility of a stable there. The diva division is a mess, as usual.

Let me start with the Intercontinental Championship match. Dean Ambrose goes against Kevin Owens. I said that this was a feud that did not really need a fancy storyline to it. I did not imagine when I said that that things would work out like they have. Owens was not able to get involved as best as he could for a while. Dean Ambrose got involved with Roman Reigns against The League of Nations. The feud just became an afterthought. They will have a contract signing on Smackdown this week. My initial reaction was that this feud does not really need that, but it is probably a good way to give this match some hype prior to TLC. I still feel Owens retains. Given how things have worked out, extending the feud a few more weeks after TLC would not be too horrible.

Jack Swagger goes after the United States Championship held by Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio retains, but it is really a shame what has happened to this feud. This was the midcard title feud that had potential for a good story. But putting Del Rio into The League of Nations has ruined the storyline they could have had here. It will be a chairs match, but the feud could have been better.

The tag titles will be decided in a triple-threat ladder match. Considering the men involved, it should be a great match and give the main event some competition for match of the night. The New Day defend against The Usos and Lucha Dragons. The Lucha Dragons are probably just there to make the match more exciting. It is unlikely they win. But it is a shame that they have not been featured better in the feud. Winning a match here and there isn't enough. It is all about how you are actually featured. The New Day have been associating with Sheamus and his group. The Usos have obviously sided with Roman Reigns. If Sin Cara & Kalisto were not involved in this title match, there would be no problem. As it stands, it feels like they are getting the short end of the stick. It seems like a lot of these title feuds have gotten the short end of the stick for a while for the benefit of furthering Reigns vs. Sheamus. Do The Usos win the titles here? It is only a matter of time before they do. I will say they do win them.

The diva division is a mess. The feud between Charlotte and Paige has been horrible. I have said that they probably should have ended it already. Move on to something else. They have continued it and only seem to make it worse. Already teasing friction between Charlotte and Becky Lynch before the feud between Paige and Charlotte is done just takes away from the feud. If Paige was the one forcing the wedge, that would be one thing. She's not. Even Team Bella has stirred the pot.

And the WWE brings back Ric Flair to get involved even more regularly. I do not think that is fair. How many wrestlers have a legendary father at the level of Ric Flair to give them a rub? It wouldn't be right for The Rock to carry a certain family member of his that has issues connecting with the fans, so I do not think the WWE should do too much with Ric Flair for Charlotte's benefit. She needs to do it on her own. If they wanted to bring Ric Flair in to work with Charlotte in a certain storyline that really deserved it, that would be great. That is not what they are doing here. This is just trying to give Charlotte a rub. I am still not convinced they really want to make her a star or are just pushing filler right now and creating the impression they really want her over. Either way, Charlotte has still not proven that she should be pushed as a top star.

As for Paige, I have brought up before that this push she has been getting may not necessarily be to make her into the new AJ Lee. It could be more similar to what happened to Melina when she turned heel for the last time to feud with Natalya over the title. The feud got treated poorly. Melina was not built up well, she lost to Natalya, and the WWE just moved on. I read Paige loses to Becky Lynch on Smackdown this week. The last show before the PPV and she loses. It has happened before that credible jobbers lose like that and go on to lose when they get their title shot soon after.

I would expect Paige to lose at TLC. The WWE has already started to tease Becky vs. Charlotte. Unless Becky is the one that costs Charlotte the title, the title will still be involved for the storyline between Becky and Charlotte. Why put the title on Paige? She is a heel. Sasha Banks is a heel. Nikki Bella, whenever she returns, will likely be a heel. Are there any faces that Paige can genuinely feud with? I doubt the WWE would dig Natalya back up to go against Paige. No, I say the title stays on Charlotte as she goes against Becky Lynch.

Roman Reigns & The Family

The League of Nations was officially formed this week. I already talked about them. Four heels obviously creates a situation where you can have four faces to take them on. The four faces that have been going against these heels this week are Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and The Usos. Roman Reigns is related to The Usos. Dean Ambrose is like a brother to him. The Family is formed.

I just got done saying I dislike affiliations you just have a feeling will not last long being given team names and whatever else over-development. Why get worked up over something that might end very easily and quickly? The Family is not a group that should even be allowed to last long. Sheamus needs a group to help his credibility. A group will not do the same for Roman Reigns and his issues with smarks.

This group just seems like a loose affiliation that came together to stand against The League of Nations. Roman Reigns needed some backup. That just seems like something short-term. Why even bother treating it like it will be an official stable? Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose have been teaming now and then ever since The Shield broke up. Did the WWE come up with a fancy team name for them? No. No reason to add in The Usos and start treating this as a stable.

Another issue I have with recent developments is that The Usos and Dean Ambrose have their own separate title feuds going. And those title feuds are not with any of the four members in The League of Nations. It is possible to have one wrestler or team have two angles at one time. It can be done well. It should not be done often. One angle might get the short end of the stick. You might not get the most out of either angle. That is one of the issues with the diva division right now. While Charlotte is still having issues with Paige, the WWE is already teasing friction between Charlotte and Becky Lynch. With recent issues, you can understand Dean Ambrose not being able to properly further his feud with Kevin Owens. And The New Day have been feuding with The Usos and have been aligned with The League of Nations. Right now, everything seems fine. But if the WWE does continue this stable, it better not become a Roman Reigns support group. I can picture the personal feuds The Usos and Dean Ambrose get down the line getting the short end of the stick for the benefit of pushing Roman Reigns. Not only might that hold back The Usos and Ambrose, it might hold back whomever they are feuding with and hurt feud and storyline development in those angles.

The Usos Pop Back Up

I usually do not talk about the tag division two times in a row. The Usos returned to Raw this week to take part in the main event. Jey Uso was injured a few months ago and Jimmy Uso has not really done anything too important since then. But they are back as a team.

The tag division does not have a centerpiece in the same way the overall men's division or women's division in the WWE has. Despite that, many fans viewed The Usos as the faces of the tag division at one point prior to that injury to Jey Uso. What does their return mean to the tag division?

First off, you have the obvious feud between the heel Tag Team Champions and The Usos, who are still faces. This should be a good feud. It would be a fresh feud. I will not speculate right now whether or not The Usos will win the titles from New Day.

What does this mean for The Dudleys? I just got finished saying the WWE should have given them the tag titles by now. Not long after they returned, I imagined them eventually feuding with The Usos. I felt this could even be a face vs. face feud. Or turn The Dudleys heel. Or The Usos. Or add in a third team, like New Day, and make it a 3-way feud. This could have been a great feud. The WWE might still go there, but I do not feel the same freshness will be there. The WWE ruined the momentum The Dudleys had. I do not think the returning Usos have the same hype to them that the returning Dudleys had. The Dudleys are legends. The Usos come from a wrestling family and a lot of fans do like them, but they are not at the level of The Dudleys. It isn't good to ruin the momentum of The Dudleys, even if The Usos are the ones being pushed in their place.

Wrestlemania 31 Preview: Part 1

I'm going to spend the rest of the week previewing Wrestlemania. I will start with the least important matches first.

The diva match is the least important match on the card. That is not a shot at the women in the match. The WWE has just not made a great match here. Nothing is on the line. No legends are involved. It just hasn't been treated as anything too important. They have tried to tie in #GiveDivasAChance into it, but that protest has lost momentum, not gained it. I would say the faces should win. Let me take it one step further. While surveying #GiveDivasAChance last week, I saw a fan say she hoped AJ Lee got her Wrestlemania moment this year. I told her AJ already got her moment last year. She said AJ should have another one. Okay. That's nice. Not that it matters at all, but I would let Paige get the pinfall/submission for her team, if they are winning. Just a nice gesture.

The tag titles are on the line in the pre-show. Tyson Kidd & Cesaro defend against Los Matadores, New Day, and The Usos. The Champions just won it last month. No need to shoot it back to The Usos, who are the only team I think has the credibility to win it. The Prime Time Players and The Ascension should have been in this match. Not that it matters. A lot of sloppy development in the last few weeks.

The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal is in its second year. Winning this isn't anything too major, but things like this can still be fun. Who wins? A lot of possibilities. Axel? Sandow? Mark Henry? Miz? These are the guys I think have a good shot to win it. I would like to see Mark Henry win it. Of course, I can also see him being the last guy eliminated. Axel or Sandow would get a big pop for winning. Let's see if this year's winner ends up with a better push after Wrestlemania than last year's winner.

Tag Division Developments

I did not think the WWE should put the tag titles on Kidd and Cesaro. They just did not have the momentum that so many teams have had in recent years that won them. The WWE gave them the tag titles. They aren't as bad as McGillicutty and Otunga, but they were not the best options. Of course, wrestling fans will rejoice at these two holding the titles. Great in-ring workers. And people want to say that the WWE hates those fans because of what they did to Daniel Bryan recently? The WWE toss these fans a bone now and then. And you have also gotten some fresh diva action between Natalya and Naomi as this team feuds against The Usos.

Let me talk about the other teams in the division. The Ascension have tasted defeat. The Prime Time Players are back. The Rhodes have split. Miz and Sandow are having issues. Even though you do have some teams, you have to realize that the WWE does not treat all their workers equally and give them equal opportunities. I would agree that workers have to earn those top-tier positions, but just for the sake of freshness, you should treat your workers better in certain areas, like the tag division. Right now, I do not see any team worthy of winning the titles off Kidd and Cesaro, except for the team they beat to win the titles. I would like to see Titus O'Neil and Darren Young get them, but I do not think the WWE will develop them properly to deserve it. What's the point of giving someone a title reign if the fans aren't too interested? The tag division is not as hot as it once was. Tossing together two lower-midcarders for a short push will not help.

Just focus on Cesaro for a moment. There are still some fans out there chanting for the WWE to push him. They are pushing him. He's holding the tag titles. Those fan obviously mean a solo push. Some fans are just too demanding. Cesaro does not have the overness that Daniel Bryan has. In time, there might be some controversy that propels Cesaro to become a legend. Maybe. Until then, he's featured on a consistent basis and at least he is not jobbing as regularly as he did a few months ago. And did I mention he's holding the tag titles?

Tag Division Developments

Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns ran through a portion of the tag division on Smackdown this week. I will use that as an excuse to discuss the division. The Usos are still Tag Team Champions. I am just going to look at three heel teams that could be taking the titles off them.

First, the team they are actually feuding against. That would be Kidd & Cesaro. These are obviously two jobbers. The WWE has paired them up and given them a push. Should they win the titles? I don't think so. This would be a step down. They need more momentum I just do not think the WWE is willing to give them. Even should they win the titles, I cannot imagine the WWE doing anything great with them. Right now, Kidd & Cesaro seem to be there just so The Usos can go over them in this feud. There are more legitimate and credible teams deserving of the titles.

How about The Ascension? This is a legitimate tag team. This is not two guys in the midcard with nothing to do being tossed together. As far as credibility goes, the WWE is still protecting them. It might not really mean anything. Most guys that debut from developmental or guys on the main roster that get repackaged with a new gimmick get a little win streak. The WWE usually fails to develop proper feuds or runs out of guys for them to beat in a lot of these situations. The Ascension has still not had one great feud since debuting. And yet, they are undefeated. Are they being protected to eventually feud for the tag titles? Or to be fed to Cena next year as the undefeated act used to put him over? No, probably not that. With a team like this hanging around, it makes me believe even more that The Usos will keep the tag titles to eventually feud against them. I don't think they will win the titles, but it should be a fresh feud.

The last team Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns had to face on Smackdown was Big Show and Kane. Tension was teased between the two heels, which led to their downfall. I do not think this was a sign of a split coming anytime soon. This was just for the sake of the story of this one match. Regardless, Big Show and Kane should not be forced against Bryan and Reigns so much. I'll get into that more next week. And I also hate even teasing tension between Big Show and Kane like this. I didn't complain about it at the Royal Rumble. I can let that go. But again? So soon? They did this with Randy Orton and The Authority back when the stable was being formed. They just had this on-and-off relationship that didn't lead to that split they were teasing until what happened in 2014 with Orton and Seth Rollins. After a while, it just gets annoying. Instead of keeping your heel stable strong and feuding against all these faces out to run them out of power, the heel stable is having trouble from within. How can you strengthen the group? How about give them more titles? How about give Big Show and Kane the tag titles? Back in the day, The Corporation held a lot of titles. It wasn't just their main guy holding the World title. Present day, The Authority just does not compare. Outside of hounding after the World title at times, the group has not done a good job trying to get titles for their other members. It is like all those guys around Seth Rollins are there just for his benefit and he is the only one meant to be pushed in the group. That is probably the point, but for the sake of making the group look better and creating better feuds, you cannot be that limited. Big Show and Kane have held the tag titles before. I know a lot of fans despise seeing these guys these days, but putting the titles on them could be good. Not only does it help the stable look better, but it can really put over the team that beats them. It is the same idea as The Rhodes beating The Shield for the tag titles. It leads to a big moment. I am not saying it is likely to happen, but I think it would be a better option than what you have going on currently.

The Dust Brothers Have The Tag Titles

Goldust and Stardust took the tag titles from The Usos. It was about time The Usos lost it. Nothing against them, but they had lost so much momentum and were getting stale. Of course, the team they lost it to didn't exactly feel very fresh. Having Goldust and Stardust win the titles closer to when Cody picked up this new gimmick might have been smarter.

And what has been going on since Goldust and Stardust won the titles? The feud with The Usos is dragging on. It is a dull feud. You have guys that can go in the ring and the heels have a weird gimmick, but there is only so much you can do with these guys every week before it gets boring. Push some fresh guys.

Of course, there really aren't too many credible teams to push. You have some lower-midcard teams that you could imagine them pushing. Problem is, those feuds would probably be mediocre. The best option might be to either call up a tag team from NXT or create some random pairing with guys already on the roster they are willing to push. I am usually against the latter option, but the WWE has not had that kind of team win the titles in a while, so I won't complain about it. You have the team of Miz and Sandow. They could get into a title feud eventually. Of course, they are currently heels. If there was not the possibility of Big Show and Mark Henry breaking up and feuding with each other, I would say they could chase after the titles. Point is, there are other people to push against the Tag Champions.

The tag division had shown improvement in recent years. It was not as amazing as it was over a decade ago, but it was better than when Otunga and McGillicutty were holding it. It feels like the division has taken a step back. It is not as bad as it was back then, but it is still in a drier place than it has been in recent years. If things do not pick up, I can easily imagine it turning back to being as bad as it was back then. You don't need to have TLC matches for the tag titles and develop those kind of epic feuds like you had back in the day, but I think it is possible to build a few good tag teams and develop some fresh feuds. Get back to doing a good job of developing momentum and dropping the tag titles to those teams that are hot. That can help keep the division fresh.