What Do You Do With Rusev?

The WWE has shown a little bit of inconsistency since Summerslam. I only mentioned Rusev in the title, but this impacts a string of guys. After Summerslam, it looked like Rusev's feud with Jack Swagger was over. Swagger was moving on to a feud with Bo Dallas. Rusev had that segment with Mark Henry on Raw last week. Mark Henry, however, is also teaming with Big Show. Those two are feuding against The Wyatts. This week, it looks like Swagger still wants Rusev, Mark Henry has forgotten about Rusev, and Bo Dallas and Swagger are still feuding. This is messy.

Where do I start? Let me start with Mark Henry, Big Show, and the tag division. Should these two even be a tag team? Splitting them up could open up some singles feuds. Mark Henry feuds with Rusev and Big Show feuds with Bray Wyatt. What kind of match does the WWE want for the tag titles at Night of Champions? That is what it comes down to. If they want a simple match between The Rhodes and The Usos, no need to waste  time with Big Show and Mark Henry killing Bray Wyatt's henchmen. There are other ways to transition Big Show to a singles feud with Bray, if that is the eventual idea. If they are going for some multi-team match, which would be better and utilize all these teams you have floating around, then I can agree with continuing to run Big Show and Mark Henry together.

How about this triangle with Jack Swagger, Bo Dallas, and Rusev? Jack Swagger's feud with Rusev is not over. Or has it become his mini-feud, while his feud with Bo Dallas now is his main feud? Is Bo Dallas his mini-feud? It is messy. Without Swagger, Rusev would have nothing to do right now. I'll get to that in a moment. Just focusing on Swagger, I think it is good that he is being utilized well. I just think they are going overboard with having him be so valiant. They are trying too hard to force him as a hero. The WWE sometimes takes something that works well in connecting with the fans, then murders it. They don't follow up properly. I have seen someone bring up the idea that this feud between Swagger and Bo Dallas is part of Swagger's road to redemption and will eventually lead to him beating Rusev. I don't think that was the original plan at all. Is that where it will go since Swagger has started to connect well with the fans? I don't think Swagger needs to beat Rusev. He can be pushed well without that.

As for Rusev, it really looked like he was moving away from Swagger. It would be obvious to say that it came down to choosing where to go with Mark Henry and they decided with his tag feud, leaving Rusev with nothing. That is, except for going back to Swagger. In this whole situation, it really seems like Rusev is the odd man out. I spent some time thinking about what credible guys are free to enter a feud with Rusev. I couldn't think of anyone. RVD? He always comes and goes. They could have had a mini-feud with him and Rusev. Besides, Rusev has already beaten RVD, although not in an actual feud. RVD just has no momentum. I honestly cannot think of anyone good for Rusev to feud with at the moment.

It makes me wonder what will eventually happen with Rusev. They might revisit his feud with Mark Henry soon. After that? Big Show? After a while, you will run out of top guys. Raises the question, what is the point of this guy? Just to be built up and be fed to Cena? I can picture him losing relevance one day. Will he last? Look at Jack Swagger. He has been around for years. He has won a World title. He has been a jobber. You can say he knows what it is like to be at both extremes. But he still remains relevant. If the WWE is having a tough time developing something for Rusev now, it will only get worse down the line. They will eventually weaken him to being a jobber to the stars. I doubt they are grooming him to be an A player. He is just a gimmick and a monster to be overcome. You can only hope they do better with him until his eventual decline.

The Kind Of Periphery Diva Gail Kim Could Have Been

I have been talking about some divas that might have benefited from good careers in the periphery, whether because they earned it, had potential to be good periphery characters, or the WWE wanted them over and a strong push in the periphery might have helped. I want to talk about Gail Kim today. She obviously never had the overness to deserve it. The WWE did not want her over. Potential? Yes, I think she had potential to be good in the periphery. That is why I'll spend some time brainstorming what to do with her.

Go back to Gail's first run in TNA. This was before the KO division was really formed. Everything was periphery. That is to say, a lot of the women were getting angles alongside the men. There was no title to fight for. What did Gail Kim do during that time? She was with Jeff Jarrett and AMW. She was helping them win matches. She was getting physical with the men. She was going the Chyna/Lita route. You can say she was like the enforcer of that little stable. It helped to get her over even before the KO division was really formed.

Why not have her do something similar in the WWE? I understand you don't see men and women getting physical with each other that much in the PG days, but I still think they could have made it work in some way. They could always get a diva to feud against Gail and neutralize her in certain feuds. Besides, I remember Gail giving Chavo Guerrero an Eat Defeat during her last run in the WWE. Just have her do that kind of thing to guys that aren't jobbers. Have you ever seen any movies that had a hot Asian henchwoman alongside the main villain? Have Gail Kim play that kind of role alongside a main villain in the WWE. She can cheat for him here and there. Gail will get big rubs from working alongside top stars, just like she did in TNA.

This may sound similar to the idea I had for Mickie James in the periphery. Pair Mickie James up with a top heel or heel stable. What I would do with Gail is a little different. How? The idea I had with Mickie James did not really involve her getting physical. She would not really be some kind of enforcer. She would essentially just be a valet. Might sound like a waste of a woman with wrestling talent, but Mickie James has great charisma that could have been utilized more. Gail Kim lacks that charisma. If she had that kind of charisma, she might just be my favorite female wrestler. She is very good in the ring and is beautiful. And I think she would fit that enforcer role better than Mickie could, since it would be pretty much the same as she was in TNA. As far as look goes, I said Mickie would be dressing like Stephanie McMahon. She would be fitting in with suit-wearing heels. She would dress accordingly. It wouldn't make sense for her to be wearing wrestling gear when she didn't need to. For Gail Kim, it wouldn't be weird for her to wear wrestling gear when she's out there to support her guy. Chyna dressed up like a dominatrix even when she wasn't in a match. Gail Kim does not have to dress exactly like Chyna did. Some of her outfits may not have been PG. But something similar would work. Gail Kim was in a movie around the time she rejoined the WWE where she played a ninja. Why not use that as motivation to design her character? Don't make it goofy, but have that kind of style as you treat her as an enforcer. While Mickie's periphery character would be one of arrogance, Gail's would be one of more toughness.

That was an idea on how to push Gail Kim as an A player. There was also a way to feature her well in the periphery without pushing her alongside top stars. Remember that romance angle she had with Daniel Bryan. The WWE did not do as much with that as they could have. Daniel Bryan was not being pushed hard back then. You can say he really was a B+ player back then. Pairing Gail Kim with him did not make Gail a true periphery diva. You have to be featured as a star in the periphery to be a periphery diva. Women like Victoria and Katie Lea were paired with a guy for much of their careers, but were not featured well to be considered periphery divas. They were credible jobbers. And Gail Kim's angle with Daniel Bryan was even worse. It didn't have to be. This was a romance angle. Gail Kim would not have to be featured as Daniel Bryan's enforcer. She would not have to dress in any particular way or have any special gimmick. Just have her go out there and support her man. Feature them in a lot of mixed-tag matches. Their styles are very similar. Both rely on agility and also have some great submissions. They would compliment each other well. And as Daniel Bryan did grow in popularity, Gail Kim would be alongside him for the ride. She could have ended up doing some of the things AJ Lee ended up doing alongside Daniel Bryan. Gail could have gotten mowed down by Big Show. Gail could have been berated by Daniel Bryan. Gail could eventually have stood up for herself. Probably no psycho gimmick. She does not have the charisma to pull that off. But she is great in the ring and could move back into another midcard romance angle after moving away from Daniel Bryan or be used in minor diva feuds. If they don't want to push her as the centerpiece, there are still options for Gail Kim, especially after the character they would have been developing for her alongside Daniel Bryan. She is being put over as a female version of Daniel Bryan and getting creative interest that could help get her over.

Why spend time talking about creative ideas for women to be pushed in the periphery? I usually just talk about whether this woman or that woman should be centerpiece. Stars seem to be born in the periphery in the diva division. With the exception of Mickie James, all the women to become very over in that diva division since it got started have gotten developed in the periphery. You could bring up Kharma, who was connecting well with the fans, but did not last long, but she most likely would have ended up a true periphery diva had they kept her. And it is in the periphery that you usually have unique characters and interesting storylines that go beyond a chase for the title. There is just a lot of potential here. Will I do more of these? I did not expect to do Michelle McCool after I did Mickie James. I did not expect to do Gail Kim after I did Michelle McCool. Since I just mentioned her, I'll probably do Kharma as a periphery diva one day.

Brock Lesnar's First Challenger: John Cena

The first contender for Brock Lesnar's title is the obvious one. John Cena gets his rematch at Night of Champions. And the story to this feud is also an obvious one. After Lesnar destroyed him, can Cena bounce back and overcome? They brought in legends to talk about it. They had Cena show he could do the kind of thing Lesnar did. I'll talk about that more in a moment.

Should John Cena be the one to conquer The Conqueror? After last night, I definitely got that feeling that they could go in that direction. Cena's back is to the wall. The odds are against him. There is more interest in this feud than I feel was there before Summerslam. John Cena should not be the one to beat Lesnar for the title. Give that to someone else. But with Lesnar being a part-timer and Cena being who he is, I wouldn't be too shocked if Cena won his 16th World title at Night of Champions.

How about that match between Cena and Bray Wyatt? That was bad. I understand the story they were trying to sell. Cena was channeling his inner Lesnar and trying to prove a point. But I hated how that match played out. I don't like John Cena, but I don't think I needlessly blame him for everything. And I'm not going to blame him for this. That was just bad development on the part of the WWE. Wyatt was getting destroyed. It just looked awkward. He looked like he was just paralyzed for most of the match. All of a sudden, he's good again. A little while after that, the match becomes a tag match. Cena wins. But just the story of the Cena/Wyatt match was bad. I could also complain about Cena destroying The Wyatts after, but I won't. It is one thing for Cena to get destroyed like he did at Summerslam. Part of his character is that he endures huge beatings and bounces back. Bray Wyatt going through that after he has looked strong against certain individuals, like Daniel Byan, just felt awkward. The flow of that match was horrible. I'll say it a million times, it was just awkward and bad. Since there is still time until Night of Champions, I would hope the WWE does not have more Cena matches like what they had last night. That story does not need to be told over and over again.

Let me focus just on Bray Wyatt for a little. After Chris Jericho returned to essentially put over this guy, he basically gets fed to John Cena. Some people actually thought the WWE was developing The Wyatts to be stars. More like they are there to put over stars. They just need some credibility invested in them every now and then to make them look strong. Jericho gave Wyatt a little bit of credibility. The WWE spent it for the benefit of Cena last night. Does Jericho actually think he is helping anyone get over and become stars? It means nothing if the WWE does not follow through. I cannot picture Wyatt going anywhere.

Is The Party Over For Adam Rose?

You are now getting reports that the WWE has given up on Adam Rose. You don't even need backstage sources to tell you this one. People see that Adam Rose has not been featured on main shows in months. It is just obvious that things do not look good for Adam Rose.

This should not be shocking at all. Before he even debuted, I said there were really two ways he could go. To put it another way, there were two ways the WWE could go with him. They could either use him like they have been using Bray Wyatt or toss him around for a little while and demote him like they did Fandango. The Fandango path was likely. It looks like the Fandango path is happening. And it is happening sooner than I would have expected. Nevertheless, not really shocking this is happening to him. The WWE never developed any proper feuds for him. They were pretty much telling you this would happen.

Adam Rose is another example of the WWE just tossing a gimmick out there and not doing anything with the performer beyond that. Creative investment is about more than just a gimmick. What about feuds and storylines? Considering how much the WWE loves gimmicks these days, I would not be surprised if they soon debuted some new gimmick to cause buzz for another 15 seconds. Adam Rose is not doing anything. You can say Bo Dallas is on the decline. You have some other gimmicks that were featured this year that now seem done. Yeah, I would say a new gimmick being featured is likely.

I hate how some people blame Adam Rose for failing. The guy was not given a fair shot. Makes me think back to Brodus Clay. He got a gimmick that surprised a lot of people. And that was really all he got. He won no titles. He barely got any good feuds. Adam Rose, much like Brodus Clay, had a fun gimmick that could have helped him connect with the fans. But the lack of feud development should tell you how much they cared about pushing him. That is true for Adam Rose, was true for Brodus Clay, and will likely be true for the next gimmick.

Bella Vs. Bella II

Stephanie McMahon won at Summerslam. And it was thanks to interference from Nikki Bella, who turned heel and turned on her sister. This feud is obviously not over.

This is not the first time The Bellas have feuded against each other. During their first run in the company, they had a little feud against each other. Very minor. Didn't last long. They soon got back together. This one, however, has a more serious tone to it and is getting more of the spotlight. If they are serious about one day featuring Brie Bella as the centerpiece of the diva division, not only is separating her from her sister not a shocking move, but a storyline like this is just the kind of thing you would expect. You had Sable stand up to her husband. You had Trish stand up to Vince and Stephanie. You now have Brie Bella standing up to Stephanie and her own sister. This was the kind of thing I was waiting for with Summer Rae, back when I felt she was the likely option for the new centerpiece. Standing up against Fandango was not major enough. What they are doing with Brie Bella is major.

Could this all be for the purpose of creating drama for Total Divas? Big storyline to create some drama, then dump The Bellas after. You saw this kind of thing with Cameron and Naomi. They had a storyline about their split. Now both are lost in the shuffle. Not shocking at all. But I don't expect that here. The Bellas are being pushed like A players. I doubt this huge investment in them is just for the sake of a short-time angle for Total Divas. The WWE has a lack of stars in their diva division. They are making stars. And these stars are getting to work with the bosses in a close manner. When it comes time to pushing a new centerpiece, it is not hard to imagine that Brie Bella will be at the top of the list.

Why am I not talking about Nikki possibly being the centerpiece? She does have the bigger boobs. Speaking of boobs, she is in a relationship with John Cena. Aside from all that, I can't think of any reason why she should be pushed above her sister. Brie has almost always been featured more prominently than her sister, especially this year. Neither Bella is amazing in the ring, but I would say Brie is the better of the two. And she has Daniel Bryan at her side. She can learn from him. You have seen a little bit of that. Brie just seems like the better choice and the likely choice of the two.

Assorted Topics

Dolph Ziggler beat Miz for the Intercontinental Championship at Summerslam. That's great. When Ziggler and Barrett had that great match for the title on Raw, I had a feeling Ziggler would eventually win it. Barrett suffered an injury. Miz ended up getting it. And his title reign did not last that long. I would have had Miz retain at Summerslam in some cheap fashion and have Dolph win it at Night of Champions. I can't think of any title changes that might happen at that PPV that will give you that "feel good" moment. Fans like Dolph Ziggler and wanted him to get some gold. Extending the journey to that title win for another month would not have been that bad. Ziggler still would have gotten the title and it might have been a great moment for Night of Champions. It isn't like Summerslam lacked moments and title changes.

Speaking of title changes, Paige regained the Diva's Championship. That was quick. Birthday gift? Or was there more to it than that? The title was on AJ Lee. She dropped it to Paige. Paige dropped it back to AJ Lee. AJ Lee dropped it back to Paige. That is peculiar booking. It is not unusual for a centerpiece to win consecutive title reigns like that, but she's usually trading it with different women and not the same woman over a matter of months. I know I compared this feud to Orton/Christian, which featured Christian regaining the title before dropping it back to Orton, but I didn't really feel they needed to drop it back to Paige, especially so soon.

Is there more to it? There are rumors that AJ Lee will be leaving the WWE, possibly for good this time. Jim Ross predicted that Paige would regain the title at Summerslam and AJ would distance herself from the WWE. That is a bold prediction to make. He didn't make it sound like it would definitely happen, but half his prediction came through. If it looks like AJ really is leaving, I'll talk about it more then.

How about Jack Swagger? That wasn't a true flag match he had with Rusev at Summerslam. That was disappointing. The way they had the match, I can agree with Rusev winning. And the feud is now over. How is the WWE handling Swagger after this feud? He was obviously connecting well with the fans during that feud. It was going to be interesting to see what they did with him after. They took Zeb away from him. He seems to be getting a losing streak. He does seem to be entering a feud with Bo Dallas.

Burial? Are they slowly deflating him? Are they taking the training wheels off to see how Swagger can do on his own? Is it a lack of good opponents to develop for him? I don't see this as a true burial or anything bad for him. Some guys go on losing streaks for months that eventually turn into some kind of storyline. After his loss on Raw this week, it was obvious Swagger was already in a storyline and feud. And that is good for him. You have some former World Champions that just seem to float around aimlessly. Sheamus, despite having a title, seems lost in the shuffle. Swagger has an actual story going for him. I see Bo Dallas as a future lower-midcarder, unless they do something different with him, but he is still relevant right now. And this is a feud I can picture Swagger winning. That is, if they are serious about giving him a fair opportunity. If Swagger continues to connect well with the fans, they might start pushing him up again. I am not going to complain about what they are doing with Swagger now.

TNA is switching Impact Wrestling to Wednesdays. That kind of ruins my predictions for how their ratings will do this year. It is actually a smart move. No NFL on Wednesdays. If the WWE should move Smackdown to Thursdays, which would have killed TNA, TNA won't end up having to deal with that. I don't think their ratings will jump all the way to a 2.0, but they will avoid competition that would have hurt their ratings a lot.

Would Michelle McCool Have Benefited From Being Pushed As A Top-Tier Periphery Diva?

I did this kind of thing for Mickie James a few weeks ago. What kind of top-tier periphery diva could she have been? Let me do this for Michelle McCool this time. Why bother? She did not have the overness to deserve such an amazing push. She has not shown the charisma that would make you believe she could be a great character in the periphery. Let's say you are a writer in the WWE and Vince McMahon comes up to you and demands you come up with an idea to finally get this woman over. Title reigns are not enough. Handing her history is not working. It will take some real creative interest to get her over, not just hyping her up as something great, which is essentially overrating her.

Look at how they are pushing Brie Bella now. That is almost exactly how I would have had Michelle McCool pushed in the periphery. Almost. Brie Bella's current push is obviously an extension of her relationship with Daniel Bryan. Michelle McCool was obviously in a relationship with The Undertaker back when she was around. But I am not saying they had to have acknowledged that and paired her with him. Might hurt Taker's gimmick, even if they tried to give McCool a similar gimmick. And it may not be believable. Brie Bella is a face working against heel authority figures. That is the kind of push McCool should have. How do you get her in that situation in the periphery? Put her in a kayfabe romance with a main-eventer or have her form some kind of friendship with a main-eventer. When that guy is being tormented by the heel authority figures, McCool would be at his side to get a rub and look good by standing by him.

Why a face and not a heel? I don't think she can play a great heel. Many fans might say she was an awesome heel during her LayCool days. Is that because of the kind of performer she was? Or because of how hard she was pushed and what the writers were having her do? Michelle McCool and Layla tried, but they could not garner a consistent, great reaction from the fans. They should not try to get this woman booed. Try to get the fans to like her. Try to get the fans to cheer what she is doing. You see Brie Bella standing up to both Stephanie McMahon and her husband. She's knocking around Triple H. Her own sister turns on her, which she will overcome. She is doing things that will get the fans connected to her. A lot of critics have pointed out that Brie Bella does not have a great acting ability or mic skills. In this situation, it does not matter. She is not getting over because of her own abilities as a performer, but by how they are pushing her. Imagine if Michelle McCool feuded against Vickie Guerrero back then. How about John Laurinaitis? How about Triple H and Stephanie? How about Vince McMahon, himself? Depends on how long McCool would have stayed around and what was going on at the time. To put it simply, I think it would have been better for them to try to make her look like a hero doing things that would get her cheered than a heel pushed hard and still not getting good heat. If they are getting some measure of success by doing this with Brie Bella, it would have been great to try this with McCool.

Women pushed as top-tier periphery divas hardly ever seem to fail to connect with the fans. They are being pushed in a unique manner, being pushed hard, and getting to do things on a consistent basis that fans are going to love seeing. You have had centerpieces flop in recent years, mostly because of injuries and failure to connect with the fans. Being sexy and glamorous is not enough to get over anymore. But women pushed as top-tier periphery divas go beyond that. That is why you have a better success rate with those kind of pushes.

Let me make a football analogy. In football, a lot of the best plays the coaches draw up are the ones designed to confuse the other team. A little bit of trickery can fool a defense and lead to a big play. Just for the sake of the discussion, let's say that the end around typically leads to a gain of at least 20 yards 80% of the time. All you need to know is that the end around is a football play that involves some trickery to try to throw off the defense. It doesn't matter which teams are doing it or which players are doing it, it has this great success rate. Now, is that necessarily because the players doing it are just so awesome? Or is it because the way the play is designed leads to this great success? As I have laid out the situation, if it seems any players can have this level of success with the play, it really is in the actual play, not necessarily the performer. All you have to do is not be horrible or be up against some defensive players that are too good.

Being pushed as a top-tier periphery diva is like making that football play that seems to work almost all the time. The way the WWE has been acting in recent years, you might think crazy gimmicks are also a recipe for success. How about Alicia Fox? Not surprisingly, she's depushed. I have not seen anyone talk about her in a while. She was doing things that were getting people talking about her. Perfect example of why the manner you are being pushed is more important than a gimmick. After completely dropping Alicia, her momentum is all gone. Back to talking about top-tier periphery divas. Because they are pushed with so much creative interest and hype, working alongside top stars, and doing things the fans love seeing, it isn't hard to believe that they will gain A-level overness. Is it because they are necessarily amazing performers? Or is it in how they are being pushed? When you are being pushed like that, you don't have to be amazing. The manner you are being pushed is amazing. And that is what is ultimately getting some of these women over. They are being put in a unique position and being allowed to do unique things. Michelle McCool might have benefited from this.

Let me make one more point with that football analogy. With the situation I invented with the end around being so successful, just because essentially any idiot can look great doing, that does not mean they are great players. It just means the play is great. So what does define who the great players are? How well can these guys do with plays not likely to succeed? How well can they do with busted plays? How well can they do when it looks like they will get nothing? Can they take average plays and be amazing with that? If you can only succeed with plays with a high success rate, you probably are not an amazing player. But if you can still succeed in those situations I just brought up, that is when you are showing your own worth.

I am not going to say too much about tying what I just said back to pro wrestling. Let me just say, if Michelle McCool had gotten A-level overness off of being pushed as a top-tier periphery diva, it probably would not have been because she is so amazing. But the WWE wanted this woman to be a star. If I had to come up with an idea to make her a star, I just gave you the type of push I think would have worked.

Brock Wins & The Current Situation In The Tag Division

Brock Lesnar did indeed win the WWE Championship at Summerslam. He dominated Cena in a way I was not even expecting. That surprised a lot of fans. Brock is being built to look unstoppable. The man that eventually does beat him will get a huge rub and might just be the next centerpiece of the company, assuming the WWE does not do something stupid, like have Lesnar drop the title back to Cena. Now you can start speculating on when Brock should drop the title and which guy will be taking it off him.

Let me say what should not be happening and probably won't be happening. Brock should not be dropping the title tonight on Raw tonight. I know he is a part-time guy, which might make it an issue to keep the title on him for an extended time. Over the last year, however, you have had situations where no one was holding the WWE Championship or the Champ was not around due to injury, in the case of Daniel Bryan. The WWE survived. They can survive with someone like Brock Lesnar holding it for a while. And Brock should not be beaten by John Cena. You might picture a story where John Cena acts like this is the worst thing in his career, somehow bounces back, and regains the title. It wouldn't be that different from his story with The Rock. Since Brock dominated Cena even worse than The Rock did, I don't want to see Cena overcome him. Give this to another guy, preferably one being developed to be a star.

When should Brock drop it? Who should win it? I am not going to bring up any names. As the WWE brings up the feuds, then I will discuss whether or not that wrestler is worthy and the likelihood of him winning. As for when he should drop it, it definitely should be a big PPV. Wrestlemania would be obvious. Of course, there is the issue of the part-time status of Brock Lesnar. Compromise? How about Survivor Series? Brock could still have some PPV title defenses in between now and then. How much can you really have Brock mow down guys like he did Cena? He did that to the WWE's top star and a guy whose whole character has been enduring and overcoming. How many credible challengers can they develop for Brock after that? You can do the whole discussion about the WWE backing themselves in a corner, but they could make it worse for themselves depending on how long they prolong this.

Changing topic, the tag division is currently stale. I am not just saying that because you had all 1-on-1 matches at Summerslam. The Usos have been pretty irrelevant for the last month. They should have given the tag titles to Uncle Grandpa and Pizza Steve. There were just no credible, fresh heel challengers left. The Wyatts still may not have defended the titles at Summerslam, but at least you would have seen them around more on the main shows and they would have been more relevant than The Usos have been.

What does it mean that Big Show and Mark Henry are a tag team now? I don't see that as a good thing. Those are just two former World Champions with nothing to do that have been tossed together. I can definitely picture them winning the titles. I don't think that will necessarily be good for the titles. I like real teams holding the titles. In some situations, it makes sense for two former World Champions to get the titles. I would have been fine with Orton and Batista winning the titles a few months ago. It would have brought Evolution some credibility and they could have dropped the titles to The Shield. The WWE had different plans. Big Show and Mark Henry winning the titles, I cannot think of why they really need it or how that will help the current tag division. You just have a lot of teams with no real momentum. To put it simply, I can picture Tag Team Turmoil for Night of Champions and Big Show and Mark Henry winning.

For a few years, the tag division has been very good. Not great, but good. It was a great choice to put the titles on Kane and Daniel Bryan. They were hot. They dropped it to The Shield, who were hot. They dropped it to The Rhodes, who were hot. They dropped it to The New Age Outlaws, which was worth it for how popular they were back in the Attitude Era. They dropped it to The Usos, who were hot at that time. Things have gotten stale now. And Big Show and Mark Henry are not hot. None of the current tag teams are currently hot or too deserving. The Wyatts were hot. They should have gotten it last month. Now, nothing to get excited about in the tag division. 

John Cena Vs. Brock Lesnar At Summerslam: Final Preview

Believe it or not, Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella will most likely not be the main event of Summerslam. A feud between two guys that have barely interacted in the last few weeks will headline. The third PPV encounter between John Cena and Brock Lesnar. This one is for the title. They had a title match many years ago, but Cena was not at the level he is at now and you can say even Brock Lesnar is at a better place now. You have a few gimmick matches on the card already. I have said that I felt at least one more match could use some sort of stipulation to it. This title match between John Cena and Brock Lesnar does not need that. The title is on the line, the hype is there, and this match should get people interested without any fancy gimmick.

Let me talk about the build more. The build has been very poor. They are pretty much running on hype. The build between Lesnar and The Undertaker earlier this year was also poor. It was so poor, I didn't think they would dare let The Streak end on a feud like that. We all know how that turned out. I feel the build has been worse for this feud now. Part of it is probably due to the few weeks you had to build it in comparison to around Wrestlemania. It doesn't help that Brock and Cena were only on Raw at the same time once during the development of this feud. And there was no physical altercation between the two. It has been all hype and talk. And the talking on Lesnar's part has come from Paul Heyman. I know the guy is great on the mic, I will not take that away from him, but it seems like some of these promos just drag on and come close to him just rambling to kill time in the segment. If I sometimes get annoyed with Bray Wyatt talking so much and saying nothing in particular, I cannot let Heyman off the hook for doing something similar. Great mic skills, but there comes a time where a feud needs more of something else besides promos that say essentially the same thing. I am not letting Cena off, either. But his promos were what you would usually expect of him. I do not blame any of these performers. The WWE just should have come up with a better way to develop this feud. How much could Heyman really say about a feud with poor development like this one? It's all hype. He did his best, so I don't mean to imply that I am blaming him for anything.

To me, the winner of this one seems obvious. It has to be Lesnar. The whole point of this match is to cause some buzz. What better way to cause buzz than to put it on a guy with all this hype on him? I know Cena has a history of killing those with a lot of hype and momentum, but that is what it means to be the centerpiece. Would they do that in this situation? Develop a beast that beat Taker at Wrestlemania just to put over Cena? I cannot picture what good that would do. Create a situation where Brock destroys Cena for beating him to set up Seth Rollins using the briefcase? I do not think now is the time for Seth. Brock winning the title would create buzz. How long should he hold it? I'll wait to see whether or not he does win it before I talk about that.

Let me talk about the PPV in general. This is Summerslam. This is one of the big four PPVs of the WWE every year. This is the biggest PPV of the summer. Did they really create an awesome card? I just talked about their top match. Great match to have on the card, but the development has been dry. Outside of that, your next top match is Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella. Really? Yeah, it has been developed well and given great focus. Your other top matches are Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns. These are feuds months in the making. The former was said to be the hottest feud in wrestling by many fans. Both feuds have seemed to lose momentum. And the other matches on the card aren't worth bringing up in this discussion. Yes, that includes Jericho vs. Wyatt. Not a lot of great feuds and matches going on. I understand they lack stars. CM Punk is gone. Daniel Bryan is injured. You have former World Champions floating around. What kind of situation would the WWE have been in if either Cena or Lesnar had gotten injured before Summerslam? The whole show would have collapsed. With initial subscriptions to the WWE Network expiring soon, you would expect the WWE to really try around now to create an exciting product to keep those subscribers, in addition to getting more. Mentioning "$9.99" too much isn't doing it. This has been a horrible road to Summerslam.

One more thing I want to bring. It has nothing to do with Summerslam. Chael Sonnen was recently on Chris Jericho's podcast. He's an MMA guy. I don't follow that stuff. But he said something interesting as it pertains to the WWE. The WWE called to tell him they were not interested in him. That in itself sounds weird. But it gets interesting. The person that called him told him that they would be interested in the event TNA is interested. We don't want you, but we will if someone else wants you. Wonderful.

It made me think back to something I said a few months ago when I talked about GFW. I said the WWE might pull some maneuvers to stop top talent from going there. What happened with Sonnen isn't GFW going after him, but it is the same idea. You have someone the WWE does not want that they do not want some other promotion to have. What kind of things can you do to try to stop the competition from getting great workers or workers that can cause some buzz? This story with Sonnen is a blatant example of what I mean. They are literally saying that they will try to grab him up only if the competition wants him. There is no doubt in my mind that the WWE would try other things to keep talent they don't really want out of the competition. And I think it is horrible.

AJ Lee Vs. Paige At Summerslam: Final Preview

This feud between AJ Lee and Paige definitely has not turned out like Orton/Christian. It is still the same general story. A face loses a title and eventually snaps and turns on the face that is holding the title. But it just doesn't have the same intensity to it. Of course, that feud on Smackdown a few years back involved Smackdown's centerpiece, which would mean the feud would get featured hard. Moreover, fans were into it because many felt Christian deserved better. Paige is still not getting great reactions. I actually believe she might have done better as a face, but booked better, of course.

As for the storyline that is in this diva feud, you have Paige being a little bit crazy. You look at Mickie James and think it is that easy? There were psycho, lesbian, and fan-stalker gimmicks and storylines in the diva division prior to Mickie James, but none of those divas became as over as Mickie James. And she remained over even after they pulled the plug on the gimmick and pushed her as a generic face diva. It comes down to charisma. Mickie James had a unique charisma. Paige is allowed to show more character now that she is feuding with AJ Lee, but she does not have that charisma Mickie James had. I think she would be great if they let her play a different role. I just said I felt she might have been better off as a face, but she could also make a great heel, if she was allowed to play a character that wasn't obviously about putting over AJ Lee. She does not have the versatility to make any character work amazingly. Versatility is a quality the greatest have to possess. It is something that separates the A+ players from the A players, in terms of talent and potential. I had said before that I would grade Paige as a A-/B+ in terms of talent and potential. She is young and can get better. She can find her groove and become a versatile performer. Chris Jericho is a versatile performer. He annoyed me for years, whether he was a heel or a face. I started to like him when he became this serious character in 2008. He showed some versatility.

Who wins this match at Summerslam? It seems pretty obvious. Paige has all the momentum. Her whole character is about imitating and mocking AJ Lee. You can say this is a watered-down version of what you had with Trish Stratus and Mickie James. Mickie James was a credible jobber there and Paige is a credible jobber here. AJ Lee wins.

What do they do with AJ Lee after Summerslam? I doubt the issues between Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella will just die at Summerslam. If they are serious about developing Brie to be centerpiece, she will eventually be in the title hunt. But it might not be happening in September. That leaves AJ Lee to feud with some other diva. Continue with Paige? Or move on to someone like Alicia Fox? I don't think they will debut someone new and toss them into a title feud. I don't think they should bother continuing with Paige. That isn't to take anything away from Paige. I just think it is time to move on. She has been built up as something for AJ to overcome. Let AJ do it and move on. I don't think they can keep  a feud between AJ and Paige fresh much longer. Even though I don't think they should bother doing it, they just might.