Wrestlemania 33 Preview: Part 2

I will be talking about the Raw matches today. Goldberg vs. Lesnar will be saved for Friday.

Neville defends the Cruiserweight Championship against Austin Aries. Austin Aries can be seen as TNA's answer to CM Punk. He was definitely a poor man's CM Punk. He knows how to wrestle. In the WWE, he currently finds himself in the cruiserweight division. Even though I dislike too many multi-man matches, I wouldn't have minded a few more cruiserweights in this match. It just seems too soon to push Austin Aries. And yet, the WWE has shown that they will push men in this division too quickly, then pull the rug out from under them. Let's say the tradition continues. I'll say Austin Aries wins.

There will be a multi-man match for the tag titles. Anderson & Gallows defend against Sheamus & Cesaro and Enzo & Cass. Enzo & Cass should have won the titles since last year. This is the stage for them to do it. I will say they win.

The United States Championship match will not be a multi-man match. This is a personal feud. Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens has arguably been developed better than any other feud. It does not feel rushed. The development has not been inconsistent. Injuries have not screwed it over. This is what I had hoped for with the Jericho vs. Styles feud from last year. Owens and Jericho were friends for a good while. They both held titles at the same time, although not the tag titles. There were a few great elaborate segments. They just developed things well, building up to the obvious split and match coming up.

Who wins? It just seems obvious that Kevin Owens will win. Jericho doesn't need the title anymore. Moreover, he already got a Wrestlemania win he did not need last year against AJ Styles. No need for two in a row. I have seen some fans say Jericho will retain here and lose it to Samoa Joe after Wrestlemania, likely due to Owens interference. There is also the point of Owens eventually going back after the Universal Championship. But that will probably happen down the line. Right now, let Owens get his Wrestlemania moment. This feud is fit for a title change.

Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker was another feud that just felt thrown together in the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania. That might be because it was just thrown together in the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania. And it has been a pretty lame feud. The WWE is once again selling it like this can be Taker's last Wrestlemania. They did the same thing last year to try to draw in more fans. There are also dirtsheet rumors about it. As I have seen other fans point out, if this is Undertaker's last Wrestlemania, the WWE has done a terrible job making this feud feel more special. I do not think The Undertaker's career ends here. The WWE has been pretty mediocre with a ton of things these days, but I doubt they treat the end of The Undertaker's career with such mediocrity. A feud over whose yard it is? Passing the torch to Roman Reigns? No, I would expect something bigger. Then again, that feud leading to Lesnar ending Taker's Wrestlemania streak was also pretty mediocre.

Who wins? Reigns winning this could very well make him hated. Would they then turn him heel? I don't know if he can even carry beating The Undertaker, and possibly retiring him, like Lesnar could carry ending The Streak. I don't know how much that rub would do for him. But I will still say he wins. This can build up to Undertaker's last match next year.

Triple H faces Seth Rollins in an unsanctioned match. On paper, this should have been the best feud this Wrestlemania season. You can say it was years in the making. Triple H chooses Seth Rollins to be the next big star. Seth Rollins fails to deliver. Triple H betrays him. Wrestlemania match. But the WWE just did such a terrible job after Triple H screwed Seth Rollins last year. Triple H never showed up. Seth Rollins lost his edge. There was even a span where it seemed Seth Rollins had forgotten Triple H. What was the story? Triple H didn't want to fight Seth Rollins? If you don't want to fight him, why screw him out of the title? Because you don't want him as Champion? Okay, so why didn't you try to screw him those other times he got title shots? And you are still going to fight him now? They just took what could have been an amazing feud and ruined it, and for lame reasons. Seth Rollins getting injured also hurt things, but you can argue that it added some value back into the feud.

What can you expect in this match? Samoa Joe will likely get involved. He doesn't have anything else to do. Stephanie McMahon will also likely be around. She might take a bump, like she has at Wrestlemania recently. Mick Foley might even show up to stick a sock in her mouth. As for the winner, part of me believes Triple H should win here and this feud should continue to Summerslam, where Seth defeats his former mentor. But I'll go against that and say the WWE has Seth Rollins overcome the odds to win it.

Should Triple H Vs. Seth Rollins Still Happen At Wrestlemania This Year?

When Triple H screwed Seth Rollins last year, it looked like the start of a very good feud. Triple H eventually turns on and feuds with pretty much all his stablemates. He feuded with Randy Orton. He feuded with Batista. He feuded with Ric Flair. And don't forget Shawn Michaels. Even though this feud with Seth Rollins was no shocker, it still had potential.

And then all that potential seemed to go to waste. Seth Rollins did start off with a good face character. Without Triple H around to do anything, however, that character really went nowhere and Rollins lost his edge. I would say it was also questionable that Triple H screwed Rollins out of the title that one time and never really directly screwed him again out of his other title shots that came after. It is kind of like Mickie James supposedly being this thorn in the side of Becky Lynch that Becky is seeking revenge against, despite the fact the writers did a terrible job making Mickie look like that. She never screwed Becky Lynch out of her match with Alexa Bliss for the title a few weeks ago. Bad booking like that ruins the feel of a feud.

It looked like things were going to pick up again back in January. Triple H finally showed up on Raw. He finally addressed Seth Rollins. Even having Samoa Joe debut to attack Seth Rollins was a nice touch. Problem is, Seth Rollins suffered a legit injury during that attack. Is this feud just cursed? Seth Rollins would have to miss time and his status for Wrestlemania was then thrown into question. Even if he was cleared by the time Wrestlemania came, should they still have the match?

The big development from Raw last week was Seth Rollins coming out at the end of the show to confront Triple H. He tossed aside his crutch and showed the world he was good to go. And then Triple H got his hands on the crutch and destroyed Rollins. Nevertheless, the feud is back on.

Should they still have the match? I would say there are two things to consider. One is the health of Seth Rollins, while the other is the feud development.

First, health. You don't want to rush Seth Rollins back too soon. He has had multiple injuries in recent years that have slowed him down. But he came back with weeks to spare before Wrestlemania. Moreover, if he was still seriously injured, they would not have had that attack they let Triple H do and risk further injury. I know wrestling is scripted and all that, but they still would have been careful, especially these days. And Rollins looked smooth in the little offense he got in last week.

The other thing is feud development. This feud has been butchered over the last few months. If Seth Rollins couldn't come back until the last week before Wrestlemania, I don't think it would be worth it to rush this feud. It would just look terrible. Just have Rollins and Triple H do a segment at Wrestlemania or have Triple H wrestle someone else, like Finn Balor, and have Rollins just interfere. Save the match for Summerslam. But Rollins came back in time to give the WWE adequate time to properly push this feud in the final weeks before Wrestlemania.

All things considered, I think it is the right decision to still have this match. Rollins looks good to go and the feud still has time to be built well in what time they have left. Would it have been nice for Rollins to have a mini-feud against Samoa Joe before Triple H? Yes, but that obviously cannot happen now. These two can feud after Wrestlemania. Until then, Seth Rollins getting to wrestle at Wrestlemania this year is good after he was forced to miss last year's event due to injury.

Let me do an aside. This is about all the Paige drama. When I talked about Paige on Friday, I had planned to do it even before that day, before the leaked photos and everything else. On Friday, I saw the talk about the photos. I just shrugged it off. Just a part of a lot of other celebrities having their privacy violated. Nothing to talk about. I just talked about what I intended to talk about. It wasn't until later that I saw that there was more than just photos. That is an understatement.

Should Paige get fired for the sex tape? Keep in mind that Hulk Hogan didn't get fired for his sex tape. It was racist comments that got him fired from the WWE. Also keep in mind that Paige wasn't the only wrestler involved in this. The WWE should show some consistency in their policy. I don't think she will get fired for this.

I would say, however, that maybe the WWE should release Paige. It really isn't about recent developments. It just seems like a bad relationship is there or might be there. I already talked about the Cm Punk & AJ Lee comparison to Paige and Alberto Del Rio. The WWE obviously does not need her that badly. They have plenty of women to push. Paige can be more useful in other promotions. Separating from the WWE might even help her clear her head.

Might recent developments hurt her overness? Well, I see a lot of perverts and morons enjoying all this. I haven't seen any of the nude pics or the video. I'm not into that kind of thing, and I also think this is a violation of privacy. I don't feel the need to pry into the personal lives of celebrities. I am as interested in seeing all these scandalous celebrity pics as I am interested in seeing NXT. Not at all. Overall, it doesn't hurt how I view Paige. Younger fans might be turned off, or their parents will make them get turned off. Most of Paige's fans will remain supportive of her. Her critics and trolls will be enjoying all the drama. I don't think this will destroy her, unless she lets it destroy her. I do not think the WWE will handle this situation in a crass way to make it worse for Paige or anyone else involved.

Last thing to bring up, this is the double-edged sword of Triple H wanting to hire all these people. Yes, you get their talent, but you also get their baggage. In recent years, there has been a lot of drama. Hogan got fired two years ago for his racist comments. Last year, Brock Lesnar got suspended by the UFC for a drug issue. The WWE did not hold him accountable, despite their own drug policy and a few wrestlers being suspended around that time. They didn't have to, but some people definitely did view them as hypocrites. You now have the Paige drama, and the year isn't even halfway done yet.

You just have a lot of humiliating situations for the WWE and situations that put them on the spot. How are you going to discipline your workers? In what situations should you? Are you going to be consistent with the discipline? The WWE very much does care about their image. And their image always takes a hit with situations like this. And the more people they have associated with their company, the more they have to worry about these kind of situations popping up.

Time For Another Authority Stable?

The Authority has not been a true stable for a while. Even before Triple H turned on Seth Rollins, Rollins was out with an injury for a long time and it was really just Triple H and Stephanie feuding against Roman Reigns without a real group around them.

Fans are anticipating a new Authority. Triple H has been working with Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens in recent weeks. That could be a new stable right there, or the start of one. Of course, Stephanie McMahon would also be included.

Is it a good idea? On the one hand, a strong heel stable can make for some interesting storylines and feuds. On the other hand, the WWE has not exactly done a great job with most of the things they have tried to do these days. They are very inefficient.

It has been so long since The Authority was a group, I am a little rusty on why it flopped the first time around. I do remember that they just teased friction within the group way too much. It is one thing to do that when one of the members is likely splitting from the group. But the WWE did it way too much. They did it with Randy Orton. They did it with Seth Rollins. This internal drama made it hard to build the stable into something great for faces to eventually overcome and get a great rub off of. If the WWE is going to try again with a heel authority stable, they should cut this friction out.

Another issue to consider is that both Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens are not young guys. This wouldn't be really building the future, like how the WWE could sell that Seth Rollins was being groomed to be the next top guy when he was in The Authority. Seth Rollins is still younger than both Owens and Samoa Joe. The WWE could still try hyping it like these two are the future of the WWE, but it would be pretty laughable with Samoa Joe being 37, the same age as Mickie James. When you reach this age range, your time is now. You're not being groomed for the future. You are either being pushed as a top star or not. Look at how fast they pushed AJ Styles. I don't think they should have rushed like that, but I can understand why they did it. There are organic ways to build all these guys properly. Nevertheless, putting Owns and Samoa Joe in a top stable would be a big step to get something out of them now.

Is it likely the WWE pulls the trigger on this? Probably. What else is Triple H supposed to do in between feuds? Just hide in the background? And Stephanie McMahon might look better with some henchmen to go after whomever she dislikes. I think this can benefit multiple individuals. The WWE just needs to handle it better than they did The Authority the first time around.

Owens And Jericho Break Up

Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens have been partners for a few months. Their partnership included both winning some titles. They have had their ups and downs. Friction has been teased. Overall, there were a lot of good segments and most fans will call this a successful partnership. I wish the storyline between Chris Jericho and AJ Styles lasted this well. Anyway, it looks like it is over now. Owens turned on Jericho on Raw this week.

Did it need to happen now? I am not raising the question because I worshiped this partnership like some fans did. Just in terms of storylines, did it need to happen now? Kevin Owens has Goldberg as the next challenger for the Universal Championship. Shouldn't the WWE be trying to really put over that feud? After Owens loses to Goldberg, he can turn on Jericho the next night on Raw. Jericho was the one that put him in the position to face Goldberg. The two could then feud for the United States Championship for Wrestlemania. The way the WWE handled it, this could be viewed as a bit of a distraction.

Let me bring up another "distraction" so you can see what I mean. Go back a few months to when Seth Rollins was feuding with Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship. This was coming off of Rollins looking so heated off of Triple H screwing him. Pretty soon, that emotion just died. I will never forget Rollins goofing around with Jericho's list. It just ruined his character. Not all faces need to be pandering for laughs. And I have seen many fans say that The List of Jericho was burying Owens. It was more over than Owens. It just became a distraction. Yes, fans loved it, but it was one of the reasons the development of certain things back then got hurt. There were other factors, like the WWE just not pushing guys right, but it was part of the problem.

Of course, you probably need a distraction right now. You have a feud involving a part-timer, and those people tend to not be used every week to help further whatever they are involved in. What is Kevin Owens supposed to do? Just beat up Gillberg? They could have continued to tease the issues between Owens and Jericho, but just not pull the trigger on the break up yet. You now have more people interested in that this week than the actual feud between Owens and Goldberg. It is just not smooth feud development. It wasn't that necessary to have the betrayal happen now.

You also have Triple H involved in this. He is in the ear of Kevin Owens. There you see another part of the problem. With Seth Rollins injured for at least a few weeks, Triple H has nothing to really do. They have to come up with something for him. And this is what they decided to do. I still think they could have waited. But I will admit the WWE is in a tough spot with what happened to Seth Rollins.

Proper feud development matters. That is why I spent yesterday talking about Smackdown's women's feuds. You have a feud between Nikki Bella and Natalya that just needs to end already. You have a feud between Becky Lynch and Mickie James that could have been booked to be a lot better than it is. You have Alexa Bliss losing the title when it looked like they could have built her to be a great heel character. You have them rushing the title onto Naomi when they could have built up to it better. The wider audience are not going to tune in for a match just because it is stealing the show. As far as matches go, people will tune in based on how well it has been hyped and the development of the feud/storyline leading up to the match. The feud between Goldberg and Owens has not had great development. It is getting buried by the distraction of Owens turning on Jericho. The WWE is just going to run on the hype of Goldberg + Title Match = $$$. Okay, but it seems like Goldberg has already lost some of his luster in terms of drawing in viewers. Let's see what he does in terms of selling tickets and getting WWE Network subscriptions.

Triple H Vs. Seth Rollins Gets Revitalized

When Triple H first screwed Seth Rollins last year, everyone knew the two of them would start a feud. And that wasn't necessarily bad. A face turn might be fresh for Seth Rollins. His character definitely looked like it had an edge for a while. He was going to burn Raw to the ground. He wanted answers. He didn't trust Stephanie McMahon, even though she initially denied knowing why her husband did what he did. He just felt like he was on his own and stronger than he had ever been since going solo.

Things soon went south. Triple H never showed up. Seth Rollins seemed more focused on getting the Universal Championship. He then wanted revenge on Chris Jericho for screwing him out of the title multiple times. He wanted Braun Strowman for a while. I still remember watching that night Seth Rollins was goofing around with Chris Jericho's list. What happened to his edge? What happened to that serious character that this feud actually called for? I also think they ended the grey area involving whether Stephanie McMahon was aware her husband wanted to screw Seth and was on Triple H's side too soon.

And then the edge came back to the feud. Seth Rollins showed up at the NXT special a few days ago. NXT is, of course, Triple H's brainchild. And on Raw, Seth gave an edgy promo about showing up at WWE headquarters next. Or maybe at Triple H and Stephanie's house, implying he might do not nice things of their kids answered the door. None of that will be necessary, as Triple H came out later than night on Raw to answer Seth Rollins.

This feud has not been handled well. You can say that they are back on track now, but you can't just mess around like the WWE has and think you can keep your audience captivated the whole time. They should have handled things more decisively and smarter.

Oh, and Samoa Joe debuted by attacking Seth Rollins on Raw when he tried to get at Triple H. He had been stuck in NXT for ages. This is the kind of thing that revitalizes this feud more. Seth Rollins has to deal with Triple H's henchmen before he can get to him. I wish they had done this kind of thing more these last few months. The Authority isn't really a stable anymore. They really don't have anyone on their side to put against Seth. They could have tried using Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho as more "Triple H Guys" than they did, but they didn't. That whole feud was more Seth going after the title, then wanting revenge against Chris Jericho for screwing him. Triple H wasn't really a factor after that night on Raw he screwed Seth himself. It was more about the bromance between Owens and Jericho, the list, and all these other things that just killed the feel of the storyline. But Seth having to go through Samoa Joe will help this feud.


***EDIT***

I almost never edit anything. As soon as I finished writing my thoughts to the developments of the feud between Seth Rollins and Triple H, I read he was injured this weeks on Raw. Now that I have some time, I will talk about it.

This is likely a legitimate injury. Not only are sites reporting that it is, but it would just be an awkward angle. They never teased a knee injury angle on Raw. And you would think they would have announced a kayfabe injury sooner. There was a moment on Raw during Samoa Joe's attack on Rollins where it looked like Seth's knees buckled. I did not think it injured him, but that might have been it.

Assuming the worst for the sake of discussion, this kills a feud that had so much potential. It was one thing for the WWE to handle it sloppily for a while, but it looked like it could really pick up again.

What about the loss of Seth Rollins for potentially a long amount of time? That will hurt. I would not say Seth Rollins was a draw, but he was pushed as a top star and that depth will be tested. How long until Finn Balor returns? But even he never got around to truly being established before his own injury last year. You might have to prepare yourself to see a lot more Roman Reigns. There are those part-timers, but they rarely wrestle on Raw. I can say the brand split hurts things, but the WWE can get away with doing some interesting things during Wrestlemania season. And they probably should. How about Randy Orton appearing on Raw? He won the Royal Rumble. Treat him as a face on Raw. What about the WWE considering moving away from Seth Rollins given his history of injuries, both to himself and others? I will save that for another day, if this injury is severe.

What about Triple H? This was his feud for Wrestlemania. He has consistently wrestled at Wrestlemania these last few years. What will they have for him? A returning Finn Balor? Problem is, there might not be a storyline to really push with him right now. He can mock Seth Rollins, but if Seth is out for months, that won't help Triple H for this year's Wrestlemania. It also leaves Triple H's henchman, Samoa Joe, without anything to do right now. Will these two feud with each other? Probably way too early for that. Needless to say, this injury sucks. 

Previewing Seth Rollins Vs. Kevin Owens For Hell In A Cell 2016

This is the match that should be the main event. The Universal Championship is on the line. This feud is part of the bigger storyline between Rollins and Triple H. It has just gotten the main attention for a while now. Even then, there have been some issues that have ruined the feel for this feud. That is what I am going to start out talking about.

There are just some guys that do not have the ability to play serious characters and more comedic characters. Anderson & Gallows flopped as the WWE tried to figure out what kind of characters these guys should be. What about Roman Reigns? His issues over the last few years have been talked about very much. The WWE tried to take a guy that got over in a badass stable and turn him into this more witty character that he really couldn't handle. He doesn't have the mic skills. He's not The Rock, a guy that does have the ability to play various characters in an entertaining way, which is why he is so successful in Hollywood. I am not saying these other guys can never expand themselves to have that depth, but they just don't have it.

Even if someone does have that acting depth, there are just certain storylines where you should not want that person to drop a serious character and start acting like a bit of a clown. Pro wrestling is supposed to be about entertaining, but you don't need to be funny all the time to entertain people. Look at the heated feud Randy Orton and Triple H had a few years ago. Orton had attacked Triple H's wife, Stephanie. There was a storyline reason for Triple H to be intense and vengeful. If he started acting goofy, like he has proven he can over the years, especially with DX, that would have ruined the feel of the storyline.

What is the issue here in Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens? Specifically, look at Rollins. Some people don't like him as a face, but that happens a lot. A lot of smarks prefer heels over faces. This new face character for Seth may have some flaws, but I think the real issue is that the character he is showing recently is just inappropriate for this storyline. He's been goofing around a little, stealing The List of Jericho. Chris Jericho's list is probably the most popular thing in this storyline, but it really doesn't need to take over like it has.

Seth Rollins was screwed by Triple H a few weeks ago. He was intense about it. He was getting in Stephanie's face, even though there was no clear reason why Stephanie McMahon should be blamed for what Triple H did. He was attacking Kevin Owens. There was entertainment value in this intense character. And now, he just seems to have lost some of his edge. Without even considering whether his attempt to be more entertaining in a comedic way leans more towards The Rock's side or that of Roman Reigns, it just doesn't fit with what has been going on for all those weeks before that. That intensity over Triple H screwing him is gone. One of the issues is obviously that the WWE is dragging this on and Triple H has not given his motive yet, but I think the WWE could have done better.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with testing Seth Rollins by seeing if he can play this kind of face character. He has never been a solo face on the main roster. Challenge him a little. But doing it now hurts the feel of the storyline and the feud with Owens takes a bit of a hit because of it.

Onto the match. Who wins? Seth Rollins has failed to regain the title for months now. He needs to take a vacation from the title scene. I am expecting shenanigans in this match. It might not just be Chris Jericho, again. Triple H, himself, might once again pop up to give Seth Rollins a reason to intensely hate him again. The only way I can picture Seth winning is if he gets screwed again soon after. Think back to Daniel Bryan winning the WWE Championship a few times three years ago. All those reigns were short, The Authority screwing him out of the title multiple times. It would be better to just get Rollins out of the picture. Kevin Owens wins by shenanigans and something happens to add more fuel to Rollins vs. Triple H. That is what I am expecting. 

Let me do an aside about the WWE Network. The WWE recently revealed that they had close to 1.46 million subscribers for the last quarter. That is more than I was expecting, but still less than the WWE's own projections of 1.49 million subscribers. I had said a few months ago that the WWE should not be too confident to retain that much of the 1.52 million they had for Wrestlemania. This quarter, the return of Goldberg is something they will be leaning on to sell Survivor Series. Let's see if that investment leads to a gain in subscribers this time.

Previewing The Clash Of Champions 2016 Main Event

This match seems pretty straightforward. The winner seems obvious. But I will also take this time to look ahead to what the WWE should do with the Raw main-eventers after Clash of Champions.

First, you have Seth Rollins. He obviously has his drama with Triple H. Rollins is slowly turning into a full face. What some people might not be thinking about is the fact that Seth Rollins has been in every World title PPV match for about a year and a half now that he could possibly be in, not counting the time off he took for being injured and the recent Smackdown-only PPV. It made sense when he was WWE Champion last year, but he has just gotten title shot after title shot this year. He has even gotten some non-PPV title matches in recent months. It is just too much Seth Rollins. Even if they have decided to groom him as the centerpiece over Roman Reigns, it is too much.

In the other corner, you have the Universal Champion, Kevin Owens. He just won the title a few weeks ago. He won it in a cheap way, Triple H pretty much handing him the title. Kayfabe aside, he has not been built up for this big push like certain other guys are prior to a World title win, like Rollins and Reigns. But there is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with a surprise big title win like this. The WWE shouldn't telegraph everything they are going to do. Fans will complain about them being predictable.

When these two come together this Sunday, who wins? It makes sense for it to be Kevin Owens. If Triple H screwed Rollins on Raw a few weeks ago, he's not going to let him get the title at Clash of Champions. The WWE should keep the angle going of Rollins being screwed. But will Triple H show up and do the same thing he did on Raw a few weeks ago? Will he Pedigree Rollins and hand Owens the title? Some variation of that? Will Stephanie McMahon be the one to screw Rollins? He has been taking out his anger verbally on her. Whether the story is about Stephanie legitimately not knowing her husband would screw Rollins or not, Rollins is giving her a reason to screw him herself. No matter how exactly it goes down, Kevin Owens will end up retaining the title thanks to shenanigans.

What happens after that? Seth Rollins really should move on from the title for now. He would want to get revenge on Triple H, or Triple H and Stephanie, depending on how the WWE handles the story. The WWE might try to drag this all the way to Wrestlemania, so don't expect Triple H vs. Seth Rollins for Survivor Series. What does Seth do in the meantime? What about Roman Reigns? He was also screwed by Triple H a few weeks ago out of the title. Moreover, he just beat Kevin Owens in a cage match on Raw this week. Does that create an argument for him getting a shot at the Universal Championship?

Let me start with Roman Reigns. Let him win the United States Championship from Rusev and continue that feud for a little while longer. No need to put him in a feud for the Universal Championship. Wrestling fans would dislike that even more than the endless title shots Rollins has been getting.

Speaking of Rollins, he should not be getting another shot at Kevin Owens so soon after Clash of Champions. Enough of Seth Rollins in the title scene. But if you cross that out and are not giving him Triple H immediately, what's left? How about a feud with Chris Jericho? He is friends with Owens. He might even be the one to screw Rollins this Sunday, which would make that feud even more obvious. Even if he doesn't screw Rollins, he can come out and rub it in that Rollins lost to Owens. He can mock Rollins for getting screwed. There is no real stable around Triple H and Stephanie McMahon anymore. If there was, Seth Rollins could just feud with their henchmen. He's not going to wrestle Mick Foley. The next best thing is feuding with another top heel outside the title picture. That's Chris Jericho.

Where does that leave Kevin Owens? Roman Reigns is busy with Rusev. Seth Rollins is busy with Chris Jericho. Have Owens face Cesaro. Remember him? He should be winning that series against Sheamus, and the winner gets a title shot. I have seen fans come up with some interesting scenarios with that Sheamus/Cesaro match. The WWE has been a little vague with what "title shot" actually means. Which title? I have seen one fan bring up that Cesaro will take his title shot and use it for Smackdown's World title. I have seen some fans talk about one of the two men winning the series, then being informed by Mick Foley that the title opportunity that he won was for the tag titles and his partner will be the guy he just beat at Clash of Champions. There is some room to get fancy with this angle, but I don't think there is any need for that. Give Cesaro a shot at Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship.

Wrestling fans have been wanting Cesaro to get that big push for years. I am not against him winning the series and getting this big push. I just hate the booking of the series. I can understand a face overcoming the odds, but the odds were just annoyingly against Cesaro in the series. And I would say this is the perfect time to give someone like Cesaro the push. It obviously wouldn't be the biggest story going on Raw. That would still involve Seth Rollins, but he does not need to be involved in the title chase for that story. Even Roman Reigns might still be featured better than Cesaro, but people would be happy that Reigns is out of the Universal Championship hunt. There is enough going on to still keep things going. And with the WWE Network, it's not like the WWE really needs to work hard to sell each individual PPV. For $9.99, just in terms of PPVs, you get one for Raw and one for Smackdown in a given month. The WWE's success in October does not have to hang entirely on Cesaro. But this will be a push wrestling fans can enjoy. And the WWE does seem to be interested in feeding those fans these days. 

New WWE Universal Champion: Kevin Owens

Around this time last year, many people seemed to be writing the career eulogy of Kevin Owens. He lost a feud to John Cena and some people acted like he was buried. He went on to win a feud against Cesaro and get a few midcard title runs. He has been featured consistently. He lost his feud against Sami Zayn, but has ended up being featured better than Zayn since then. And to top it all off, he won the Universal Championship on Raw last night.

He did have a lot of help. Not from Chris Jericho, his partner. Nor from Rusev, who had issues with Roman Reigns recently. Enzo Amore didn't do anything. Triple H made his return and screwed Roman Reigns. It then came down to Seth Rollins and Owens. Triple H teased helping Rollins, then screwed him, handing the title to Kevin Owens.

It is probably for the best that Finn Balor got injured, as for as creating excitement goes. The WWE created an exciting moment last night and now have people wondering why Triple H did what he did and what will happen to the various people involved in this drama, including Reigns, Rollins, and even Jericho. The "Demon King" gimmick had potential, but the WWE didn't handle it well. They didn't treat it dominantly enough. If Finn was around now, they probably would have had a very mediocre angle going for him.

Some might say that the reason they cannot book Demon Balor as something dominant is because they will book themselves into a corner. Why wouldn't Finn just use it all the time? Just have him explain in an interview that it takes a lot out of him or that he's afraid of what he might do when he goes into that zone. By doing something like that, the WWE provides a reason for Balor not going into his dominant side more often and makes that side look more intriguing. It's not like the WWE is afraid of dominant characters. Look at Brock Lesnar.

Back to Kevin Owens. I would say giving him the title is a good choice, beyond just creating drama. He can wrestle. He is charismatic. He has credibility. His only real negative is his look. They say Vince McMahon likes big men. They don't mean guys like Kevin Owens. It's not like Vince McMahon has never allowed a top title to go to a fat guy. Mick Foley held it a few times. But one hasn't held it in a while. Of course, this is a new era. Vince McMahon is more open to giving big pushes to men that would usually only get it if the fans complained heavily on their behalf or there was a whole bunch of backstage complaining.

Is he the centerpiece? Holding the top title does not always automatically make you the top star of a company, brand, or division. Let's face it, Finn Balor was supposed to be holding the title right now. If that was the case, I would be asking if he was the centerpiece. Is Kevin Owens the centerpiece? Is he interim centerpiece? Is it Seth Rollins, who will likely be turning face? Is it still meant to be Roman Reigns, who was dominating last night when Triple H came out and screwed him? Despite his title win, I would say there are too many other top guys ahead of Owens to say right away that he is the centerpiece. Nevertheless, he is going to be the longest-reigning Universal Champion so far. He is going to get some credibility. His son is going to have a new title belt to play with.

What about Seth Rollins? This will be his first face run since going solo. More importantly, he now officially gets separated from The Authority. That will be good for his development. Making him look like a weasel for so long just hurt his character. More importantly, he can finally drop the Pedigree as his finisher. A guy that talented should be able to come up with his own finisher, and hopefully one that isn't too dangerous.

And Roman Reigns? As I said, he was starting to look dominant in that match before Triple H cut him off. And it wasn't Rusev that screwed Reigns? A lot of fans were expecting that. What happens to that feud? Both Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have a reason to want some of Triple H. Both have an argument that they were screwed out of the title. There are a couple possibilities for Roman Reigns. You can say the WWE has overbooked things, but that's what they chose to do off Finn Balor's injury. A lot of angles they had planned will have to get changed.

I am not going to leave out Big Cass. I noticed he was getting a pretty good reaction. Should the WWE accelerate his push? Should he be a WWE/Universal Champion by this time next year? No. Slow down. I remember when John Cena was getting a pretty good reaction as a midcarder and the WWE eventually gave him a big push. The fans turned on him. The WWE turned him into something that the fans hated. I can picture that happening to Cass. He is not really that great on the mic. His wrestling ability is not that amazing. Take away his gimmick, he is pretty much exposed. Start by giving Enzo & Cass the tag titles. If it wasn't for Owens winning the Universal Championship, I would say New Day should retain the tag titles against The Club, drop them to Jericho and Owens, and have them eventually drop them to Enzo & Cass. I am sure they will be holding titles one day. The wait will make the moment mean more. But as far as Cass getting a big solo push, not yet.

Shane Keeps Rolling

Wins and losses really don't matter. Shane McMahon lost his Wrestlemania match to The Undertaker, losing the chance to run Raw. Vince McMahon still let his son run Raw, giving in rather easily last week. Shane was pretty much an afterthought. Shane did such an amazing job at that, they let him do it again this week.

This week, at least, he looked more like the guy running the show. That is an improvement from last week. But it has been a little bit boring. The show just feels too face-friendly. The WWE is putting emphasis on wrestling and letting new talent shine. But things just don't feel that exciting. It might be heaven for wrestling fans, aside from Roman Reigns being pushed, but I do not feel the WWE is doing what they need to do to excite the wider audience.

So far, has Shane been better or worse than The Authority? It's always good to shake things up a little now and then to break the monotony. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with giving fans a break from Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. I wouldn't say those two really became just boring. They became irritating. Shane is at least fresh. There hasn't really been any big change with him that will blow you away, but he isn't as annoying as The Authority became. Because of that, I would say Shane being in control is better than The Authority.

I don't think the problem with either Triple H or Stephanie McMahon is that they were terrible performers. The WWE just portrayed them in a terrible way. And because Triple H and Stephanie do have backstage power, perhaps they do deserve some of the blame for this. Their characters are just inconsistent. Back when there was a legitimate stable around them, they were frequently teasing tension with guys on their side. They often looked like they were making the kind of decisions or announcements that a face authority figure would make, even though they were heels. Example? How about when Stephanie McMahon was a part of the debut of Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks? Are fans supposed to like her for caring about the women's division? Are they supposed to view her as just feeding her own ego? It was just until these last few months that they really started to embrace the heel characters they should have been playing all along. Don't tease being heels. Be heels. And just throw in regularly getting their comeuppance, these two could have been better heel authority figures.

The angle many fans are expecting is for Triple H and Stephanie to come back and feud with Shane over control of Raw. Sounds like the makings of a good summer angle. Thing is, why didn't they just have Shane win at Wrestlemania? They are working around the fact that he lost. They could have had him win and work around the fact that Undertaker can never compete at Wrestlemania again. It could have made for a big angle for Undertaker to somehow get another Wrestlemania match later on. It would have been better than the mediocre way they had Vince let Shane run Raw. I have seen someone suggest that Vince just decided to let Shane run things a few hours before Raw last week. Whatever the case, the WWE needs to plan things better than this.

Two New Champions At Wrestlemania 2016

Zack Ryder won the ladder match to become the Intercontinental Champion. Who saw that coming a month ago? Ryder wasn't even featured on the main roster back then. To state the obvious, his push came out of nowhere. He is a popular guy. This is his second run with a singles title, his first coming off a fan uproar twisting the WWE's arm a bit. Nevertheless, the WWE did not give him a legitimate push and his run with the United States Championship was short. How will this current push go? It is a possibility he is just a transitional Champion. Some fans wouldn't be surprised if he lost it tonight on Raw. Regardless, Zack Ryder got a Wrestlemania moment.

What does this mean for Kevin Owens, the former Champion? It looked like he had a feud going with Sami Zayn. Assuming the WWE doesn't shoot the title back to Owens, this is now a non-title feud, if the WWE even cares to continue it. I don't like that. The WWE has not always been good with non-title feuds for midcarders. And these two are midcarders. These two could have had a great rivalry. Even before Zayn officially debuted on the main roster, this was a feud that had been given a few moments here and there on the main roster. A lot of times, the WWE just continues something from NXT without proper development. It is hard for a lot of casual fans to connect with that. But this is a feud that looked like it could have been something good. With the title momentarily out of the picture, I am not too confident in how it will go.

The other title to change hands is the WWE Championship. Roman Reigns did it. A lot of fans expected it. A lot of fans did not want it. It was also the main event of the show. It wasn't the greatest match. Fans in attendance, as expected, did not like Roman Reigns too much. In the end, I am glad the WWE actually did it. Some of these fans are just not giving the WWE a chance to build stars to draw in other types of fans. Not everything the WWE does is meant to appeal to one type of vocal fans. If Daniel Bryan was still around, or someone as hot as he was, then I would side with fans complaining about Roman Reigns being pushed ahead of the other guy. No one is that hot. That being the case, let the WWE build some new stars.

Of course, I do think the WWE shot themselves in the foot last night. They made a few mistakes that made things worse. First, why did they make this the main event? Shane McMahon lost to The Undertaker, but that match was huge. Not only was so much on the line, but it featured some big spots and carnage. Match of the night will probably go to the divas, but the Hell in a Cell match should have closed the show. Second mistake, why did they drag Wrestlemania on like they did? The show did not end when WWE PPVs typically end. They had The Rock go out there and kill time, including involvement from The Wyatts and John Cena. I know they had to do something with these guys, but I am sure some fans were getting antsy with how long everything was taking. Finally, the match itself was longer than it really needed to be. The WWE should not expose Roman Reigns like that. Spearing Stephanie got him cheered for a while, but he did not win fans over. Some fans were probably just happy the match ended, even if Reigns won. The WWE just should have managed the card better.

Previewing Wrestlemania 2016: The Main Events

There are two big matches at Wrestlemania this year. Two matches with high stakes. One of them is obviously the WWE Championship match between Triple H and Roman Reigns. The other match is even bigger. Shane McMahon faces The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell. If Shane wins, he gets control of Raw. If Undertaker loses, moreover, no more Wrestlemania for him. It is obvious which match should go on last and be the true main event.

Let me start with Triple H and Roman Reigns. A few months ago, Roman Reigns seemed to be getting over with the fans. He attacked Triple H, the hated face of The Authority. He went on to win the WWE Championship from Sheamus. A little while after that, Roman Reigns lost the title at the Royal Rumble to Triple H. Triple H has attacked Reigns and took him out for a few weeks. He has done the typical heel promos against Reigns. And Triple H, the beloved mastermind behind NXT, has gotten cheered for it. What is going on here? Fickle fans? I would not say that. Many fans hate The Authority. Even smarks hate the group. But these same smarks love NXT. They love what Triple H has done to it. You can say Triple H is in a polarizing position. And this does not make it easy for Roman Reigns, the guy they actually want as the new centerpiece.

I have read some crazy reports that fans might walk out during this match. They hate Roman Reigns that much. I would expect boos if he won, but walking out is dumb. The hate towards Reigns is one of the reasons this match should not go on last. The WWE usually tries to not end Wrestlemania on a sour note. That sometimes might mean a heel winning, like last year when fans were against Roman Reigns winning and Seth Rollins ended up with the title. Heel Triple H retained the title at Wrestlemania 2000. Fans were not happy about that, but they got the consolation prize of The Rock taking out the heel McMahons, including a People's Elbow to Stephanie. There might not be a consolation prize if Reigns wins this year. More fans would rather heel Triple H won.

This whole feud seems to be going in the direction of Roman Reigns winning. He has been having issues with The Authority for months. He attacked Triple H. Triple H came back and took the title from Reigns. Triple H took Roman Reigns out for a few weeks. This should culminate with the face getting back his title at Wrestlemania. This is the kind of story fans expected with Daniel Bryan a few years ago. They probably do not want to see it here, but I am thinking the WWE will pull the trigger and make Roman Reigns a 3-time WWE Champion.

The show should end with the match where so much is on the line. Some people might even be confused by what is exactly on the line in Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker. If Shane wins, he gets control of Raw. But the WWE has sometimes made it seem like control of the entire WWE is on the line. Vince McMahon has talked like he would be gone, as well as the rest of The Authority, if Shane wins. If Undertaker loses, this will be his last Wrestlemania. But some fans are reading that as meaning he will be fired. No, that is not the stipulation. The WWE has been rather unclear and shifty with what is on the line, I will give you that. If control of the entire WWE was on the line, they should have said that. If Undertaker's career would end if he lost, they should have said that. Since they didn't, I wouldn't expect things to actually be handled like that.

Can you blame them for making things seem more dramatic than they really are? There are so many injuries, including to top stars. The quality of the product is poor. Ratings are poor. Checking Ticketmaster just a little while ago, I still see Wrestlemania tickets available. The WWE might be able to handle that, but they definitely can't say Wrestlemania sold out in record time. They have to generate hype to make this Wrestlemania seem like a big deal. Looking at the entire card, this is the match that really stands the best chance to draw for them.

It isn't even a question of who should win this match. If Shane loses, things just fall flat. The status quo continues. The excitement that something new might happen takes a hit. The WWE would be dumb to do this. They can always work around the stipulation that Undertaker can never wrestle at Wrestlemania again. But Shane should win. As for what happens if he wins, I'll talk about that on Monday, if he wins.

The question you should consider is how Shane will win. He's not going to go in there and dominate The Undertaker. Will it come down to an extreme spot? Shane has done that kind of thing before. He gave a taste of it on Raw this week. Or will it come down to some kind of outside interference? Might the Bullet Club get involved? Some fans have been talking about that possibility. If Shane does cheat to win like that, that might make him look like a heel and influence the direction things can go. That's another reason I want to wait until Monday to talk about the direction things can go. Let's just wait to see how the WWE handles this match.

Previewing Roadblock's Two Main Matches

The WWE is having a special event this Saturday. These are the things they need to do to help sell the WWE Network. A few mini-feuds will be featured at Roadblock. Some might wonder if doing this takes away from the main feuds heading into Wrestlemania. Maybe, but a little change might help to freshen things up at times. I will only look at the top two matches of the event.

First, Brock Lesnar takes on Bray Wyatt. Lesnar faces a heel, Bray Wyatt, at Roadblock, then faces a face, Dean Ambrose, for Wrestlemania a few weeks after. Lesnar is a tweener. Does that hurt his ability to connect with the audience? I sometimes say that switching alignments of divas frequently might hurt their ability to connect with the audience. Are fans supposed to cheer them? Boo them? What? Brock Lesnar does not face that problem. People just want to see him be that destructive force. It doesn't matter whether he's going against heels or faces. What is more likely to hurt him is showing up and not doing anything. He can't destroy people all the time, but that is what helps him to be valuable.

The feud between Bray Wyatt and Lesnar looked like something they could have developed for Wrestlemania. Lesnar was starting to have issues with The Wyatts around the Royal Rumble. Putting that on hold so Lesnar can face Reigns and Ambrose for Fastlane kind of ruined the momentum of that feud. While that got ruined, the potential for a better feud between Lesnar and Ambrose grew. It is a good thing the WWE is going in that direction.

I cannot imagine how the WWE could build a proper feud between Lesnar and Bray Wyatt for Wrestlemania. Lesnar is a part-timer. Bray faced a part-timer, The Undertaker, last year. He pretty much had to carry the feud through promos. Lesnar would obviously show up more than Taker did last year, but I don't think the WWE could drag this out well. Would Roadblock feature Lesnar facing one of the other Wyatts? Or would he have a mini-feud against someone else, which definitely would have ruined the feel of his feud with Bray? The story with Ambrose and Lesnar just feels better.

Who wins? If this match was happening at Wrestlemania, some fans might be hopeful that Bray Wyatt would win so he could finally accomplish something big. At a special event, however, there is pretty much no chance Lesnar loses. The WWE has been putting Lesnar in matches at these kind of events just so he could destroy people. He's going to have a lot of bodies to destroy at Roadblock, but he will likely win and move on to Dean Ambrose.

Speaking of Ambrose, he faces Triple H for the WWE Championship. This mini-feud has been getting some solid build in the last two weeks. Roman Reigns not being around probably helps that. Dean Ambrose is allowed to be the interim centerpiece. Roman Reigns still has a title shot coming, but Triple H getting in a title defense before that is a good move.

I had said a while ago that there were no reports of Reigns being legitimately injured. Not too long after I said it, reports popped up that he was dealing with a slight injury that required him to take time off. Some fans are still complaining about Reigns taking time off. He could still have shown up to be a part of the show in a non-wrestling capacity. Rusev was in crutches and still showing up last year. I still say it is a good idea for him to not be around, mainly because it allows Ambrose to get his push without looking too much like a sidekick to Reigns.

Roman Reigns has two issues, if the injury reports are true. Aside from the injury, he still has that overness issue. Negative fan reactions have seemed to impact the WWE's Wrestlemania plans these last two years. The plan for this year's Wrestlemania just seems obvious. Reigns beats Triple H to regain the title. Will issues change that plan? How can you have a centerpiece of the company that never gets any big Wrestlemania moments? Last year was supposed to be the first big Wrestlemania for Roman Reigns. The moment ended up going to Seth Rollins. If the WWE is once again planning to take the moment away, whether because of injury issues or overness issues, Roadblock could be their last chance to change things. There is no Money in the Bank briefcase to use this time.

It just seems unlikely that Dean Ambrose would win. That would mess up the Wrestlemania card. What would happen to his match with Lesnar? What about Reigns and his title shot? What about Triple H's rematch? The easy answer might be to make a four-way match. Problem is, that takes away one match from the card. What do you do? The roster is already limited due to injuries. It is doubtful the WWE just starts tossing together random filler matches for a PPV as big as Wrestlemania. How long can you really drag out the matches they do have planned? Will The Undertaker's entrance have to last 30 minutes alone? Not to mention the personal feel being ruined in the feud between Roman Reigns and Triple H. Dean Ambrose will one day win the WWE Championship. I just do not think it will be right now.

No Roman Reigns On The Road To Wrestlemania

Roman Reigns won the right to face Triple H at Wrestlemania. One night after that, Triple H came out on Raw and destroyed Roman Reigns. They have created an injury angle and Reigns has not been used since.

The popular opinion with many fans is that Roman Reigns was taken off the road to Wrestlemania because he would get destroyed by fans that dislike him. The WWE is visiting some rowdy crowds around this time, including Chicago for Raw next week. Roman Reigns succeeded in winning over his critics for a brief time, but they still hate him. Not only is he likely to be booed on the road to Wrestlemania, but he might get a terrible reaction at Wrestlemania.

Just for the sake of fairness, let me bring up some other possibilities for why the WWE would take Roman Reigns out for a brief period. The injury was not real. There are no reports of Reigns taking time off for a real injury. But how about doing this to further the storyline? Roman Reigns took Triple H out for a couple of weeks with a brutal attack. It is not unusual for the WWE to turn the tables on someone to further a storyline. The Undertaker got an advantage over Brock Lesnar last year with some low blows. A low blow from Lesnar to Taker eventually led to Taker's downfall in their final encounter. The WWE could just be trying to add some heat to the story between Roman Reigns and Triple H.

How about taking Roman Reigns out of the picture briefly so Dean Ambrose can have this mini-feud against Triple H? Dean Ambrose will get a title shot at Roadblock against Triple H. Is there a possibility that the WWE doesn't want Roman Reigns involved in this mini-feud and just decided to take him out a few weeks to let Ambrose get the spotlight? They might not want to congest things too much.

I am not denying that they could have done it to avoid rowdy crowds. Of course, they can't dodge these fans forever. If they do not have confidence in Roman Reigns going out there, he should not be their centerpiece. It is one thing to want to protect your centerpiece in terms of not putting him in a position where he'll look bad, but not having the confidence to use him during your biggest time of the year? The centerpiece is like a star quarterback. You might rest him in meaningless games, but you want him to be prepared heading into the Super Bowl. If this was done for the sake of adding heat to the feud between Reigns and Triple H, fine. If this was done just to have Reigns avoid crowds that would shred him, the WWE might want to reconsider what they are doing. Roman Reigns hasn't even been the new top guy for long. And a top guy like this can become a distraction for the WWE. Time and energy is going to be put into protecting Roman Reigns that could have been put into other workers on the roster.

Some people might say Roman Reigns is looking worse than John Cena, another centerpiece that has been bringing questionable results. I do see some fans being hypocrites. They were upset when John Cena got "fired" during the Nexus angle and took no time off. When Roman Reigns takes some time off to sell a brutal beating from Triple H, they are upset over that. People wanted a break from Cena for the longest while. They don't have to wait long to get a break from Reigns. I do think some fans are being unfair to Roman Reigns. He's not the greatest performer, but it is seems like people will criticize him and what the WWE is doing with him whether he is there or not. If some fans eased up their criticism, maybe the WWE would not need to protect Roman Reigns so much. Or just stop watching, coming to the events, and spending money on the WWE. If the WWE dislikes that, maybe that will motivate them to change.

Roman Reigns Takes A Huge Step Back

At TLC a few months ago, Roman Reigns was screwed out of regaining the WWE Championship. But what happened after seemed to matter more for his success. He went on a rampage. One of the guys he attacked, and destroyed, was Triple H. And that got a great reaction from the fans. These weren't fans that were already cheering Roman Reigns. These were fans that were negative towards him. Roman Reigns seemed to win over his haters. The WWE wasted no time in getting the title back on Reigns. It seemed like things might start working out the way the WWE wanted.

Not so fast. Triple H, the very man Roman Reigns attacked and got cheered for attacking, returned to win the WWE Championship. And he got cheered for it. You cannot consider that a one-night fluke. On Raw this week, Triple H was the one that destroyed Roman Reigns. Once again, he got cheered for it. The heel is getting cheered over the face. The man being used to put over the centerpiece is getting cheered over the centerpiece.

This is an example of why you cannot jump to the conclusion that someone has A+ overness just because of the reaction he got one night. Roman Reigns is being pushed to be an A+ player and seemed to get a great reaction for a while, but that was not enough. He did not really solidify his connection with the fans.

Part of the blame has to go to the WWE. They knew what got Roman Reigns cheered. It was being aggressive and attacking a heel authority figure. Even though some fans are cheering Triple H now, he still gets booed now and then for being a part of The Authority. Even after TLC, they kept that aggression going for a while, but it obviously would not last forever. Roman Reigns was going to get booed at the Royal Rumble anyway, but how they handled him there was not smart. I felt that they would have him be absent from the match for a while. They did. I felt they should come up with some reason that makes him look aggressive. They didn't. They ran an injury angle. And he ran back out later in the match. There are a lot of wrestlers that can do this kind of thing and get cheered for it, like Dean Ambrose. Roman Reigns isn't Dean Ambrose.

The WWE obviously has a story to develop. They cannot have Roman Reigns just destroy Triple H and every obstacle The Authority puts in front of him every week. It is not even surprising that the WWE would have Triple H destroy Roman Reigns like he did, payback from TLC. That kind of thing happens a lot. But it would seem the WWE needs to protect Roman Reigns more than they are. Once he truly solidifies A+ overness, if he ever does, then he can be pushed like he is now.

Previewing The Fastlane 2016 Main Event

For the second year in a row, the WWE Championship will not be on the line at Fastlane. Instead, once again, the main event will decide the #1 contender for the title at Wrestlemania. Roman Reigns was in this same position last year and won, defeating Daniel Bryan. This time, it is a triple-threat match with Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar also involved. Who wins? I'll go from least likely to most likely.

How often is Brock Lesnar the least likely to win anything? And yet, he seems to be in this situation. The story just doesn't fit him winning. Moreover, there are seeds there for him to face The Wyatts. Many fans have gotten excited over the interactions between Lesnar and Dean Ambrose in recent weeks. The WWE might decide to continue that as a singles feud for Wrestlemania. Last thing to keep in mind, Triple H and Brock Lesnar already faced each other at Wrestlemania a few years ago. No match is necessarily once in a lifetime, even those promoted as being once in a lifetime, but I just don't feel the hype is truly there to do that feud again.

How about Dean Ambrose? He was the last man eliminated in the Royal Rumble. He was that close to winning the WWE Championship. He is the only member of The Shield not to win it. And he just lost his Intercontinental Championship. Holding that title was one of the reasons it didn't seem likely he would win this match. Well, he lost it. With another debacle over Roman Reigns possible, the WWE might want to go with an opponent for Triple H that rowdy smarks might actually like. Would that leave Roman Reigns out in the cold? He could feud with Lesnar in a rematch from last year's Wrestlemania.

Roman Reigns is still the favorite to win. Some people have said that it would have been stupid for the WWE not to want to go with Daniel Bryan conquering The Authority at Wrestlemania a few years ago because they had been building that story for months. Well, here is another storyline that has been developed for months. Roman Reigns finally wins the WWE Championship. Triple H screws him out of it. Reigns eventually snaps and attacks Triple H. He regains the title again, but it is Triple H, the man he attacked and took out for a few weeks, that returns to take the title from Reigns in a match where the odds were against him from the start. It would make storyline sense for Roman Reigns to win the title back from Triple H, especially since he is the new centerpiece. If the WWE shrugged off angry fans last year to have Roman Reigns go over Daniel Bryan, I would imagine they would have no problem having Roman Reigns win this match. Despite Roman Reigns still having some fans that dislike him,  I do not feel things are as bad as last year.

How about this triple-threat match leads to a triple-threat match at Wrestlemania? Some fans have suggested that two of the wrestlers involved in this match can pin the third and both move on to Wrestlemania against Triple H. The popular outcome would be Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose both pinning Lesnar. I do not expect that to happen. I would hope it does not happen. You ended up with a triple-threat match last year, even though it was not advertised as one, when Seth Rollins cashed in to put himself in the match between Lesnar and Reigns. Before that, it was the Daniel Bryan saga. How about a singles match that stays a singles match for this year's Wrestlemania title match? I have nothing against multiple challengers in a title match, but there just seems to be too many triple-threat main events at Wrestlemania recently.

Any heel turns expected? I am not talking about Lesnar. It doesn't really matter whether he is feel or face. He just beats people up. The WWE has teased that tension between Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. The fact that they are facing each other does not mean a heel turn has to happen. They faced each other at Survivor Series last year and no heel turn happened off of that. The storyline here seems rather simple. No heel turn is necessary. Roman Reigns is trying to get revenge on Triple H and get his title back. A heel turn from either Reigns or Ambrose might make things complicated. You can say the WWE might make the predictable decision and be bored with that, but can they create a good storyline if they do decide to do something different?

Any other shenanigans expected? Specifically, interference? If the WWE is still set on Lesnar feuding with The Wyatts, you can expect them to cost him the match. How about Triple H or Vince McMahon doing something to screw Roman Reigns? I do not expect that. This seems like a situation where the heels can just sit back and watch some of their enemies kill each other. No need to make it seem like the odds are that stacked against Roman Reigns.

Putting it all together, I would say Roman Reigns does win. No heel turns from anybody. I would say the WWE could go either way with Brock Lesnar when it comes to him entering a feud with The Wyatts or Dean Ambrose for Wrestlemania. If he gets The Wyatts, they will likely interfere in this match. If the WWE does do that, however, what is left for Dean Ambrose? It would be a shame for him to be stuck in some multi-man match for a midcard title, again. As for fan reactions, I would hope some of them just relax. I don't think the situation right now is as terrible as it was in recent years for Wrestlemania, in terms of the WWE not being eager to push someone more over at the proper level. Let Roman Reigns get this push.

Roman Reigns Vs. Dean Ambrose Vs. Brock Lesnar For Fast Lane 2016

The WWE didn't waste any time in making the main event for their next PPV this month. It will be Brock Lesnar going against Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns in a triple-threat match at Fast Lane.

Some fans immediately rolled their eyes at The Authority giving Roman Reigns this opportunity. Don't they hate the guy? Why would they do this? I don't think this is so bad. I've seen worse. Ever since The Authority was created, they have consistently teased tension within their own group. And not always to set up an angle where someone was leaving the group. It was just dumb. It made the group look bad and it took away from feud development at times. What are fans supposed to make of this inconsistency with the group? I found that more annoying than recent developments.

Can you make sense of what the heel authority figures want to do? Could they be trying to drive a wedge between Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns? The two are as close as brothers. Can the opportunity to headline Wrestlemania cause a split? Don't forget Brock Lesnar is in there. Could they want the mercenary to destroy both Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose in one match? And don't forget, it isn't like The Authority is just handing Roman Reigns his rematch. They are forcing him to win this match if he wants a shot at Triple H for the title.

Will Roman Reigns even win this match? In terms of the storyline, it would be obvious to have Roman Reigns win here and face Triple H at Wrestlemania. Lesnar can move on to something else, like The Wyatts. Dean Ambrose has the Intercontinental Championship. Roman Reigns would be the one left with no real direction if he does not get to continue his feud with Triple H. But fans still do not like him as much as the WWE would like. Roman Reigns was in a similar position last year, where he faced Daniel Bryan with a shot at headlining Wrestlemania on the line. Reigns won that match at Fast Lane. Is the WWE ready to give up on Roman Reigns? Or will he get the likely win? Time will tell.

Let me do an aside. The WWE took some heat last week for certain angles involving the divas. Ric Flair kissed Becky Lynch and The Rock made some comments towards Lana in his return segment that have led some to say the WWE is sexist towards their women.

I did not have a problem with anything that happened last week. Did Ric Flair do anything that crossed the line? This kind of thing happens all the time. Chris Jericho kissed Stephanie McMahon. Jeff Hardy kissed Stacy Keibler. Brie Bella kissed AJ Lee. You have instances of men spanking women in wrestling. There are a lot of interactions of women being handled like this. Happens all the time.

As for what The Rock said to Lana, implying she cheated on Rusev with him, that was also no big deal. I know dirtsheets tried to spin things like Lana is in the doghouse. The Rock referred to Lana as a "Russian Streetwalker" during his first segment with Lana and Rusev a few years ago. Any reports of Lana in trouble back then? The Rock is walking backstage, verbally owning people along the way. He owned Miz. He owned Big Show. He left Lana and Rusev in a sticky situation. His whole return segment on Raw was filled with things that probably pushed the limits of what the WWE would normally allow. His exchange with Lana was the least of it.

Is it all sexist? You can make the argument that it is. Thing is, is it really worth condemning to the point that the WWE has to issue a statement about it? I don't think so. I am a fan of horror movies. There are definitely sexist things that happen in a lot of horror movies I have seen. You get gratuitous nude shots of women. You sometimes see the "airhead" slut character. You see some girls portrayed like sex, drugs, and other such things are all they have on their mind. I am sure there are a lot of people that dislike this stuff, but I have never come across anyone in the horror business have to justify what they do. These kind of things are still featured in these kind of movies. One of the tricks is to make sure that is not all you feature. Also feature women with different characters.

I have talked about the Sleepaway Camp movies before. Angela, the killer in these movies, is not portrayed as the women I just talked about. And what draws me towards Pamela Springsteen's version of the character is that she is just entertaining. I found her cute. She was never slutty. She was never nude. And she was the main character in some of these movies. And there are a lot of other horror movies where I am more drawn to other female characters, like the serious heroine, than to one of the other female characters portrayed in a sexier manner. I sometimes like that strong female character. I try to watch Friday The 13th: Part 3 whenever I can because I like the character of Chris, played by Dana Kimmell. Cute, but with a strong character. Never nude. Never too slutty.

Back to wrestling, as long as there is variety, I do not see a problem. You will get sexist segments and characters here and there, but you will also get other things going on. I do not think the WWE pushes things too far. I would say they need to give their women fair opportunities to succeed. I would say they need more unique gimmicks for their women. I would say they need better character development. Of the many problems I see in the diva division, I do not see a problem with what they did last week.

In the end, I think the WWE has pretty much asked for this. They are running a family-friendly product. Their television shows are PG. They do not hide that they target kids. When you do these things, you have to watch what you do. I have said many times that the WWE pushes the limits. I do not think what they did last week with Becky Lynch and Lana was even the worst of it. They are asking for trouble. Horror movies are not PG. If they tried to draw in little kids, then they would face heavy criticism.

The WWE needs to find an identity. They cannot please everyone. They cannot be family entertainment to draw in kids and still be edgy to please fans complaining for the Attitude Era to come back. No matter what, someone will complain. Even with the WWE being edgy here and there, fans still complain about them being PG. Even though they do try to be a family-friendly product, people still call them out for certain angles. Sitting on the fence is not going to protect the WWE from criticism. They will be criticized from both sides. They may think they are producing a product that appeals to all kinds of fans, but they might just be producing a product that gives all types of fans reasons to stop watching. 
     

Triple H Wins Royal Rumble 2016

Triple H won his second Royal Rumble last night. In the process, he won his 14th World Championship. It came down to him and Dean Ambrose, who had retained his Intercontinental Championship earlier in the night. Since Triple H was one of the likely candidates to win this match, this outcome is not shocking, even though he was not announced for the match prior to Sunday. People just saw it coming.

The feud they will be going with for Wrestlemania is obvious. Triple H and Roman Reigns have had issues for a while now. That branched into Vince McMahon specifically targeting Roman Reigns. His son-in-law is the man that takes the title off him. You can talk about the WWE being predictable, but would you want an obvious feud to sit right there and for them not to do it? The only other feud that was there for Roman Reigns was Brock Lesnar, and that one is not going to happen. Any other option would likely not have had the seeds already planted like Triple H vs. Roman Reigns.

I have seen some mixed reactions from fans about Triple H winning. It's 2016 and this guy is WWE Champion again? On the other side of that, there are fans glad that it was anyone but Roman Reigns. The WWE is going to use other top stars to work with Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania as they continue his centerpiece push. You are going to see him work with the likes of Triple H, John Cena, and Brock Lesnar. Cena is injured. Reigns worked with Lesnar last year and will likely do it again down the line. Triple H is the guy this year. If you dislike Triple H winning the title, just realize that it is mainly for the benefit of Roman Reigns in the end. Not much of a comfort for some fans.

How about Roman Reigns in the Royal Rumble? Something I brought up when previewing the Royal Rumble match last week was how the WWE might handle Roman Reigns during this long match. He wasn't the last guy tossed out of the ring, but he was just as close to being the last guy. How did he handle being in the match that long? Well, he didn't. They ran an injury angle to take him out for much of the match and had him return later. It is not surprising that they would take him out for a while.

I do not think they handled the situation right. I said that I might go the route of Reigns doing something like chasing after Vince to the back. It would still serve the same purpose, but it would be handled differently. This guy won over his haters last month by being violent and intense and attacking authority figures fans disliked. He's not the guy that overcomes odds. Reigns obviously has not solidified an A+ connection with the fans. And a trick like what the WWE pulled last night will not help. Casual fans might buy that Roman Reigns is a fighter for being taken out of the match and refusing to quit. But smarks are going to read it as a lame attempt to keep Roman Reigns fresh because he can't handle being out there for the entire match. I am not saying my way of doing it would have won fans over, but it would at least fit what first got him cheered by those that were against him. Luckily, he didn't actually win. If he had, this Royal Rumble might have been another mess, despite a certain someone making his WWE debut last night.

Previewing The 2016 Royal Rumble Match

The last two Royal Rumbles have been terrible. The Royal Rumble isn't supposed to be a popularity contest, but the WWE just made decisions that were definitely not popular with the vocal fans. And those vocal fans let the WWE hear it and definitely made things look bad.

Will that happen again this year? I do not think so. First of all, Daniel Bryan, the man many fans wanted to see possibly win the Rumble match in the last two years, has not been cleared to compete. I doubt fans will be going crazy in anticipation of him. Moreover, there is no one as hot as he was right now, so you don't have to worry about fans rebelling if that person gets tossed out to soon. You also have the fact that this is an intriguing Royal Rumble match this year with the WWE Championship on the line. With the odds so against Roman Reigns, who is still in the process of winning over his haters, it is likely he will lose. That should make angry smarks happy.

Moving on to the possible candidates to win the title, let's at least look at Roman Reigns to start out. He is the guy currently holding the title and he is the new centerpiece. But that does not mean he will retain here. He won the Royal Rumble just last year. It is unlikely he wins two in a row. He will also be the #1 entrant. The odds are just too against him. I have seen some fans groan that Reigns will retain. I think they are just being pessimistic. Austin and Cena, two other centerpieces, were put in certain situations where their back was to the wall and did not overcome. They would eventually usually still get the title back, and that is what you can expect with Reigns. He will lose the title and win it back at Wrestlemania as part of his first successful Wrestlemania moment as the centerpiece. And those groaning fans need to realize that Roman Reigns will still be the centerpiece regardless of who wins this Sunday.

Looking at the list of potential new WWE Champions, should the title change happen, Brock Lesnar has to be at the top. It isn't just because he is pushed as such a dominant guy. The WWE went with Reigns vs. Lesnar last year for Wrestlemania. That got spoiled and the WWE continued to work on Roman Reigns. They have since pulled the trigger on Reigns as the new top star. They would definitely want to revisit this feud now. The Rock beat John Cena at Wrestlemania in a match that was supposed to be once in a lifetime. The WWE ended up doing it again one year later. Cena won the rematch, which also happened to be for the WWE Championship that time around. I would not be surprised to see Roman Reigns overcome the beast he did not beat at Wrestlemania last year at this year's Wrestlemania, and get his title back in doing so.

There is Triple H. He is on no one's radar, officially. He is not in the Royal Rumble. The WWE has not teased that he will be in the match. And yet, it would not be shocking to see him get involved. Roman Reigns attacked him a few weeks ago and he has been out since. He will want revenge. Triple H being in the Royal Rumble would be a shocker many fans probably expected would happen. At the very least, you might see him run out and try to screw Reigns out of the match. The WWE would definitely want to have some kind of feud between Roman Reigns and Triple H. Whether that is for Fast Lane or Wrestlemania is the question.

How about The Wyatts? Specifically, Bray Wyatt. He has looked strong the week heading into the PPV. Is that just a red herring to get fans thinking he stands more of a chance than he does? Are they actually building up to Brock Lesnar vs. The Wyatts? Or is this just to make the group look strong heading into the match and have Lesnar have his revenge there by decimating them? I'm expecting the last option. History shows The Wyatts only look strong to usually put over someone else. When I said the WWE should push them better, I meant separate to the main angle going on. That is how you create creative depth. They deserve their own top angle. A feud with Ryback isn't it. Let's see what happens with them after Sunday, but I am not expecting Bray Wyatt to win the title. I also doubt his henchmen do it.

Let's look a little more at some unlikely possibilities. AJ Styles is looming. Many anticipate his debut to come after the Royal Rumble. If he should debut at the PPV, should he win the Royal Rumble? That would be a big way to debut. Not only does he win the Royal Rumble, he wins the WWE Championship. I do not think he is likely to start so high. There are too many other priorities, even with the injuries right now. Roman Reigns potentially could be feuding against either Brock Lesnar or Triple in the coming months, possibly both. And the title will be involved in that story. To just insert AJ Styles in that would ruin the potential storylines already there. AJ Styles is likely to get a feud against someone like Jericho.

The most unlikely possibility of all that fans would love to see is Daniel Bryan in this match. He may not be cleared by the WWE, but he thinks he's ready to go. Will the WWE have a change of heart and put him in this match? Will they go so far as to put the title on him and give him that Rumble win he's never had? I do not think that would be the end of Roman Reigns being pushed as the centerpiece, but it might go a long way in pleasing smarks. There is a lot to be said about this possibility, but why bother if it is not likely?

Consider how the match should play out. Specifically, if Roman Reigns is #1 and not likely to win, when should he be tossed out? Stamina in a match like this matters. If the WWE exposes Roman Reigns too much and he irritates fans with his performance, that can be a setback in his getting over. He got cheered by just destroying people. It is unlikely the WWE just has him beat everyone up the entire Rumble match. They can run some angle where he is out of the match unofficially for a good portion of it. For example, have him chase after Vince McMahon ten minutes into the match and not show up again until the final minutes. It would be a cheap trick, but something they might do if they want him in there that long. Or they can just have him eliminated in the middle of the match. Would it ruin the story? It might create suspense that the fans are guaranteed a new WWE Champion. Just as good.

One more thing I want to say about this whole situation. This is how The Authority should have been for years. Vince and Stephanie are just evil. They are out to screw Roman Reigns. That is their main focus. The Authority with Triple H and Stephanie has just not been a strong heel group. They would regularly play with tension within the group. Most of the time, it would not even go anywhere. If the WWE was writing the current storyline the same way they have in recent years, Vince and Stephanie probably would have started turning on each other last week. It is just inconsistent storytelling. It can be confusing to fans. Moving forward, Triple H and Stephanie should be that focused on screwing their face enemies or helping their heel allies.

Roman Reigns Attacks Triple H

Roman Reigns did not win the WWE Championship back at TLC last night, but it is what he did after the match that matters more. He assaulted Triple H. And he got a pretty good reaction for doing it.

Many people have said ever since Roman Reigns was having issues with his big push that he should just turn heel. I never agreed with that idea. A heel turn is not always the answer. The WWE just had to find a proper face character for Roman Reigns. The guy can get a good reaction from some fans, but it is those smarks he needed to win over. As you usually get at a PPV, the crowd was filled with smarks last night. And the WWE found a way to get Roman Reigns to win them over.

He did it by simply going out there and destroying a heel authority figure. A lot of fans love seeing violence and destruction. You do not need to have a comedy gimmick to get over. One of the reasons The Shield worked out is because they were going out there and taking people out. Nexus did the same thing and that angle worked. Kharma went out there and destroyed eye-candy divas. That worked in creating interest in the diva division. It is not surprising that an intense, destructive Roman Reigns would get a positive reaction. I have said before that this guy should play a badass face. Do not push him as a face character he cannot handle. It is still questionable whether he deserves to be the new centerpiece, but they can at least start doing a good job winning his haters over.

What the WWE did last night is a good example of what they are about. They do not just dump a title on someone. They want to get that someone connecting with the audience. They put work into getting someone they want to be a top star over. It is something TNA does not do. They just rotate titles around. In their women's division, they just seem to always give the title to Gail Kim. But they do not really put the work in to get her more over. Building a centerpiece is about overness even more than it is about title reigns. Those title reigns do not mean much if the person winning them isn't connecting with the audience the way the company wants them to. If Roman Reigns didn't have issues, he would probably be a 2-time or 3-time WWE Champion by now. But the WWE is still in the process of building him.

Let me switch to Roman's buddy, Dean Ambrose. He won the Intercontinental Championship. I felt that there would be a title change at TLC. I just felt it would be Roman's other associates, The Usos, winning some gold. Dean Ambrose didn't really look like he needed a title right now. Kevin Owens only really had that one successful title feud against Ryback, the guy he won it from. I saw one fan say Owens can now move up to a better feud. With whom? What top face will he start feuding with? Let's see what happens to him. Even if Ambrose didn't win the title, I wouldn't have been too worried about him getting lost in the shuffle.

The Authority Makes Night Of Champions More Difficult For Seth Rollins

This was something that seemed obvious, but it was made official on Raw this week. In addition to defending his WWE Championship against Sting at Night of Champions, Seth Rollins must defend the United States Championship against John Cena. Stephanie McMahon made the call.

Even before that final segment where this match was made, you had Sting playing some mind games earlier in the night. He was causing some friction between Seth Rollins and The Authority. I don't think there needs to be a special occasion for there to be friction between The Authority and anyone else on their side. Anyway, it is at least good that Sting is showing up on Raw to help further the storyline. And with John Cena also feuding against Seth Rollins, Sting won't be needed to do too much to keep things interesting for the next two Raws before the PPV. You have had some feuds involving part-timers become annoying because the development just doesn't work out. The feuds going on right here should be fine.

Back to the WWE once again teasing friction within The Authority. I seem to bring this up way too much, but I guess I have to if the WWE keeps doing it. Being consistent does not mean you do something 100% of the time, but you should be doing it closer to 100% than 50%. I am not going to go back and look at every segment with The Authority to determine whether they came off as faces or heels in that segment. Just know that they have been teasing friction within the group almost since it started and Triple H and Stephanie do sometimes come off as faces in certain segments, even though they are supposed to be heels.

Last week, you had Triple H acting all mad about Sting coming back. When The Authority made the match between Sting and Seth Rollins, they were obviously in heel mode. This week, you had Stephanie McMahon not happy about how Seth Rollins was talking about her husband. When John Cena left it to Stephanie to decide, she made the match between Seth Rollins and Cena official. That was a decision Seth did not like. Stephanie made a face decision right there. Is this stable on the same page?

Is part of the problem that there are no face authority figures to make decisions and counter the heel authority figures? I do not think that is necessary. There can be times where a face authority figure makes an unpopular decision or a heel authority figure makes a decision fans like. But I do not remember authority figures being as inconsistent as Triple H and Stephanie McMahon have been since taking over. And the whole "best for business" thing is no excuse. There were times in the past where they would do things that were obviously meant to screw a face and use the "best for business" excuse. Everyone knew they were being hypocrites. And if they stuck in that direction, it would be fine. Instead, they go all over the place and it is just annoying. If they were pure faces, they would probably just bore me. If they were just pure heels, I would probably enjoy them. But the way they are now, it just irritates me. I cannot get behind them. I do not even know what to make of them.