Sheamus Finally Returns

After weeks of teasing his return, Sheamus finally returned on the Raw after Wrestlemania. New look. And he's a heel.

Yes, he does look stupid. It is a look that you'll just have to get used to. It is always good when a wrestler reinvents himself after a while. That usually means changing your attire, adding some new moves, changing your theme song, changing gimmick, or anything like that. It seems the only thing that has changed for Sheamus, aside from his alignment, is his hair. My nephew used to have an obsession with mohawks. Back when he was like 4.

The more important thing than his look is the fact that he is now heel. He was getting stale as a face. I just have a feeling it will not take long for him to get stale as a heel. It seems like you have too many former World Champions in the midcard. But adding some heel depth will be good. There are a lot of top faces running around. I still feel like the return last night was a little flatter than it should have been. I do not know if that means the WWE will see heel Sheamus as a flop and lose interest in him. Right now, he should be used well.

New WWE Champion: Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins lost to Randy Orton at Wrestlemania, then went on to insert himself into the WWE title match and win the title. I am not surprised that the WWE would run with this decision. I brought it up last week. Roman Reigns would have gotten a terrible reaction if he had won.

Is this the end of Roman Reigns? Not necessarily. They could just decide to take more time to draw out his development. Will it last a few weeks until the next PPV? Or a year until the next Wrestlemania? Either way, it was probably a good move not to rush it.

How about Seth Rollins? All the talk has been on Roman Reigns being the next centerpiece. Rollins has become a brand-new WWE Champion. It does not mean he is the new centerpiece, but should he be? I still think he needs more time to be built up. I don't think he can stand on his own without The Authority. Speaking for myself, I don't buy him. Wrestling fans eat him up. I can see him becoming the kind of performer Edge and CM Punk were. Neither guy was the #1 man in the company, but both had great careers. Rollins isn't at their level yet at all, but that is where I think he is going.

And what about the third man in this match? Brock Lesnar lost the title without being pinned. Not only that, a lot was said about the rub the person that beats Lesnar would get. Lesnar had one of the greatest years ever last year. He looked amazing. Wasting it on a guy that couldn't properly get over was one worry. They didn't do that. Instead, no one gets the rub. Seth Rollins wins via briefcase. I would say one of the greatest years ever led to one of the worse investments ever. You put all that into Lesnar, but what did it really accomplish? Terrible ratings while he held the title. He didn't give anyone a proper rub by directly dropping the title to them. It just feels like they would have been better off doing something else.

Wrestlemania 31 Preview: Part 3

Two matches left to talk about. You have Sting vs. Triple H and Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship. Both are pretty good contenders to be the true main event of Wrestlemania. You might say the title match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns is the obvious main event. A few problems. First, the build has been very poor for that match. Lesnar and Reigns did not interact enough. And their interaction at the end of Raw this week speaks for itself. Aside from that, the face in that match is likely to get booed to oblivion by the fans at the event. If Reigns does win, is that how you want Wrestlemania to end? The feud between Triple H and Sting started since Survivor Series last year. It has had its own development issues, but it might be a safer option to end the show.

Let me start with Sting vs. Triple H. Sting has pretty much looked untouchable this entire feud. Even Stephanie couldn't get a slap in on him. Can you imagine one person being so protected in a feud and still winning it? How will that make the other guy look? Luckily, the other guy in this situation is Triple H. He hasn't won a match in years. It never hurts his credibility. I can definitely see Sting winning this. And those rumors of Sting starting a feud with The Undertaker are alive. Having Sting look strong would help. I don't know how great match quality will be, but this match should still deliver for the simple fact that it is Sting wrestling at Wrestlemania.

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar is not the match a lot of fans want to see. But they are getting it. This is more than just a title match. This is a match that can very well kickstart a new centerpiece. Some wrestlers have given their thoughts on the situation and they are pretty much acknowledging that Roman Reigns is the guy. You didn't see this kind of thing when Sheamus or Alberto Del Rio won the Royal Rumble. People know what the WWE is up to here and they are not even denying it. Wrestlemania will be packed with smarks from all over the world. Roman Reigns is not liked by those kind of fans. Brock Lesnar is staying with the WWE, so there is a good chance fans will be on his side. Does that also mean there is a good chance he retains? I would say he should not hold the title much longer. It just has not been a good investment. After all they did for him in the last year, the rub he gives someone will likely not lead to anything great. Brock will actually need to work in this match. A bunch of suplexes will not do. Roman Reigns is already limited in the ring. If he can dig deep and put on a monster performance, he might win the crowd. Not likely. Who do I think the WWE will book to win this match? Roman Reigns. And it won't be a pretty scene.

Should Seth Rollins swoop in and save the day? Should he cash in at Wrestlemania? Even though he is a heel, he would get a good reaction for screwing Roman Reigns. I would even expect "We Want Rollins!" chants. I don't know if Seth is ready, but that is not the point. The point is to create some buzz and end Wrestlemania on a good note. A heel screwing a face out of a title is a good note? It is in this situation.

Wrestlemania 31 Preview: Part 2

The feud development between Randy Orton and Seth Rollins could have been better. I can picture this feud going beyond Wrestlemania. I can also picture Orton beating Seth and Seth going on to cash in his briefcase to win the title. I know no dirtsheets are reporting that, but if the WWE is starting to realize that the main event is horrible, they might pull some kind of swerve to create some drama.

The Undertaker lost his streak last year, but he is still coming back for more. Bray Wyatt has been pestering him with promos for weeks and weeks. Match quality will most likely not be amazing here, but you have a legend fans love seeing and two guys with unique gimmicks. It would have been better if Taker was around to help push the feud. I will say The Undertaker wins.

You have a 7-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship. This is the match many predict will steal the show. Barrett vs. R-Truth vs. Ambrose vs. Ziggler vs. Harper vs. Stardust vs. Bryan. I wouldn't mind Ambrose winning the title from Barrett, but then they added in all these other guys. I think it will be either Ziggler or Bryan.

There is a chance a main-eventer might also be winning the other midcard title. John Cena vs. Rusev for the United Stated Championship. Rusev has the momentum. He already beat Cena last month. This one seems obvious. Cena regains the title. 

Wrestlemania 31 Preview: Part 1

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

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

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

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

The Right Amount Of Aggression

When I am watching a basketball game, I sometimes hear the commentators praise players for being aggressive. They also praise players that pass the ball well, allowing someone in position to make a better shot get that opportunity or just to be nice in some situations. Of course, I do sometimes hear them criticize a player for not taking a good shot and passing the ball to someone that ends up not scoring. When it works, it works. Passing the ball is nice, but you have to be aggressive and try to score, as well.

The WWE has issues. TNA has issues. They do not have the same issues. In fact, I would say that their respective main issues are completely opposite. I am going to discuss it in terms of being aggressive.

The WWE and being aggressive? I do not think it is hard to believe that their problem is that they are too aggressive. If they really want a certain thing to work out, they will force it, even if it does not work out. In the last decade, they have not been aggressive to try to give the fans what they want. They have been aggressive to push what they want to work out. John Cena was the best example of that for a while. He was connecting well with the fans prior to his big push. Soon after getting that push, fans started to become split with him. He gets a bad reaction. Ratings have not been strong with him. You can just see he is not the greatest performer to be pushed as the centerpiece. And the WWE has just continued to force him.

In case you ever wondered if it was possible for things to be worse than they have been under John Cena, you have the rise of Roman Reigns. They are being more aggressive with him than they were with Cena during this stage of his career. Cena was not even getting these issues back at this point of his career. Fans are already treating Roman Reigns like he has been centerpiece for years. The WWE still had him go over Daniel Bryan at Fast Lane. They are having people put him over big time in promos, as well as interviews outside of kayfabe. They are really defending their decision to stick with him and forcing it, even though many vocal fans dislike Reigns. He is obviously not a great performer, and there are better choices available. They can let Reigns win the title from Lesnar, but that does not mean they should push him as the new centerpiece. They are being too aggressive. They should pass the ball and give another performer a chance to be the top guy.

There was a time when the WWE was too aggressive with their diva division. These days, it is easy to say they don't care. They can't even push women they want to be stars properly. Fans have to protest just to get them pushed better. Between the time Trish and Lita left and the division really collapsing into this dark age, you had the era of failed centerpieces. Creating a new Trish was their top priority. They had Playboy pushes and other short-term things like that, but their primary concern was a new centerpiece. They were not developing a new Lita during this time. And what happened when they were so focused to create a new centerpiece? They all flopped. Whether due to injury, deteriorating in-ring ability, failing to get over, or just not sticking around long enough to get anywhere, all the eye-candy divas pushed in this position flopped. Even Roman Reigns looks like an awesome option to push standing next to some of these women. And the WWE just kept forcing it for years. What impact did all these years of failure have on their drive to run a successful diva division? Well, you are currently in the worst dark age the diva division ever had.

While the WWE was being so aggressive with getting the diva division to work the way they wanted it to, Mickie James, a woman pushed to put over the women meant to be the centerpiece and used as filler when they were not around, became the most over diva. They didn't even start pushing her in the periphery, like they did Lita. They just remained focus on what they wanted to work. Mickie James being more over than the women meant to be the stars is not going to make her a great asset to what the WWE wanted to accomplish. People often overlook this when talking about why she was released. Fans talk about the WWE being so aggressive with Roman Reigns leading to guys like Daniel Bryan being held back. In the diva division, the problem is worse than just being held back.

A year or so into this current dark age, you had the rise of AJ Lee. She got over through angles in the periphery, much like Lita did. In fact, AJ has been pushed better than any female wrestler since Lita. Difference is, Lita's push was more natural and not as forced. With AJ Lee, it was obvious the WWE wanted her to be a star. They were aggressive with her. She was consistently pushed in the main-event scene for months. She was GM. She was involved with a lot of top stars. Of course, that would have to come to an end sooner or later. They took the training wheels off. They sent her out there in the Diva's title hunt. She has benefited from this dark age. But how over is she? Looking around, I would say Paige, a credible jobber, is more over than AJ. Heel Nikki Bella once cut a promo against AJ and got cheered for it. AJ is more likely to get fans chanting for her husband when she is out there than her on most nights. The WWE is so aggressive to make someone into a star, but when it comes to that person actually delivering, they don't seem to get the job done as well as they should. I am not saying AJ should be a top draw, but her overness with the audience should be better.

TNA is not as aggressive when it comes to making stars. They don't shove people down the throats of their fans in an attempt to make them into huge stars. On the contrary, they just pass the ball around. They make someone look good for an amount of time, then they pull the plug and move on to something else. They do this in both their men's division and women's division. It is like they are just going through the motions. And these men and women that were pushed as something amazing for a period of time, they do not have that momentum once they get unplugged. How can you push someone well for a certain amount of time, get your audience invested in them, and then just move on to something else? You are relying on wrestling itself to be a draw, but you should also be relying on creating and featuring stars.

There are many guys that win the TNA World Championship that obviously did not deserve it. Most of them are very good wrestlers and connect with the wrestling audience, but does every solid wrestler deserve a World title? No. You have to have more appeal to be pushed at the top. TNA does not even have a centerpiece like the WWE has. They do not groom top stars. Instead, they just pass the title around. Some guys just did not deserve to win the title. Chris Sabin is one. He didn't even hold it long. They didn't even develop him as well as the WWE would.

The KO division is not handled much better. It is respectable. As long as they maintain this status quo, you are unlikely to have fans protest how the women are being treated the same way the WWE has experienced. Regardless, this women's division has issues. Are you actually creating stars? Are you properly featuring them? I read in the results for the next set of tapings that Taryn Terrell seems to have turned heel. Okay. Is that to help her connect with fans better? Or are you just building her up for a face to conquer and get her few months in the spotlight? Is Taryn going to lose her momentum? Probably. Every woman in this division is interchangeable. 

When you are being aggressive with something, you better hope what you are doing is working out. If not, you are forcing something that is likely hurting you. There is a difference between being determined and being pigheaded. The WWE needs to learn this. It has cost them their diva division and it is leading to the development of men to be top stars that are not deserving. As for TNA, they need to stop passing the ball and make a shot. In basketball, you have a certain amount of time to get that shot off. You can say TNA has all the time in the world. You can also say that not getting their act together will eventually lead to them going out of business.

What do you do? Find a middle ground. Do not be so aggressive that you will force something that is just not working. At the same time, pay attention to who is working out and build around those individuals. Just like in any sport, if a coach sees that one strategy isn't working, he tries something else. He does not force what is not working out. Both the WWE and TNA have issues and nothing is being done to fix those issues. TNA needs to be more aggressive when it comes to making stars, while the WWE needs to be less aggressive.

What Is Rusev Without Lana?

Lana is taking some time off to make a WWE movie. That leaves Rusev alone as he continues his feud with John Cena. Is this the beginning of the end for Rusev? Some might say that entering a feud against John Cena was the beginning of the end for Rusev.

Rusev has been pushed well since his debut last year. Very well. He has been climbing up that ladder of opponents. He has won a title. But what really makes him credible and interesting right now? He has his undefeated streak. He has the United States title. He has his gimmick. He had a manager. Just because Lana is away now does not mean the duo is completely done. But losing his manager is not the only issue. Rusev stands to lose his undefeated streak and title next week. Once you take that first defeat, more will come. I can imagine Rusev taking losses to Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, and even Jack Swagger before the year is up. Even if the gimmick is still there, he will not be pushed with the same focus.

There have been many men like Rusev. I mean heels pushed very well for a certain period that even had managers or some type of sidekick. Umaga. Lord Tensai. The Great Khali. And not all have been big monsters. Alberto Del Rio had a sidekick. Jack Swagger had a manager. No pairing seems to last forever. Does Rusev have what it takes to stand on his own? Without even bringing up the likely depush, is he a good enough performer to be interesting without his manager? He is not completely incompetent on the mic. He can talk. As for his in-ring ability, he is good. I always see fans praising him for his selling ability. Lana definitely helps to make him more interesting, but he is capable on his own.

What is Lana without Rusev? Look back at those other men I just mentioned that had some type of manager or sidekick. Once the pairing broke up, nothing too major happened with the manager. Some of them were wrestlers, but the WWE didn't really push them too well. It seems they were only there to serve a purpose. Once they were done serving that purpose, their character was phased out. That is what usually happens. There are a few exceptions.

Lana should not end up like those guys. Lana is what an eye-candy periphery diva is supposed to be. She might be the best eye-candy periphery diva since the days of Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson. She is hot and she can play a great character. Fans are interested in her. If a depush does come for Rusev, I would not bother pairing her back up with him. I don't think she should become a wrestling diva. It is obviously up to her and the WWE, but I cannot imagine her being featured well in this messy diva division where they cannot even be efficient with divas they want to be stars. Pair her up with another guy to manage. Possibly make her an authority figure one day. You can also have her change her gimmick. This is not a woman they should just lose in the shuffle.

Lucha Underground

TNA is still arguably the closest wrestling competition the WWE has, but there are these other feds popping up that are picking up stars and might one day make some noise. Lucha Underground is one of those. It started just last year.

It is something different. It has that lucha twist to it. But it does not showcase only Latino wrestlers. It does have some former WWE guys, including Alberto Del Rio (Alberto El Patron) and John Morrison (Johnny Mundo). El Patron is a guy I can imagine being pushed as the top star of that company. He is no spring chicken, but this is not a guy that needs to be groomed to be a star, like Roman Reigns in the WWE. He is a good in-ring performer, he can talk, and he has charisma. With more freedom in Lucha Underground and a target audience that will be drawn to him and his story, he should be great. As for Johnny Mundo, he is obviously amazing in the ring and can help appeal to an even wider audience.

As far as women's wrestling goes, they do not really have a women's division. That does not stop them from having some women on the roster and utilizing them. They have Karlee Perez, who was Maxine in WWE. I liked her. But the true star for their women is Sexy Star, a Mexican talent. Lucha Underground actually has their women wrestle the men. I think that is a great idea. They are not in a position to just feature women's wrestling like TNA does. And they do not need to build top stars at the expense of people they do not want to be top stars like the WWE does. One day? Maybe. Right now? Just make do with what you have. And they are doing that. They have valets and they have women wrestling the men, which I previously mentioned. Although Sexy Star is not the only one that does that, I feel she would be the best choice to really feature as a top star. They have Ivelisse Velez, who was in the WWE briefly, but Sexy Star has been around longer and has had more success.

It seems the promotion does not want to keep their women's division that small. There were reports as recently as last month that Torrie Wilson and Victoria were in talks to join the company. Jim Ross even brought this up. Let's say these two women were to join Lucha Underground. I mentioned that Alberto Del Rio is not a young guy right now. Both Torrie Wilson and Victoria are older than him. Torrie Wilson will turn 40 this year and Victoria turned 44 last month. And yet, signing either one would be great. They have been around mainstream wrestling in the United States longer than any of the other women already on the roster. Torrie Wilson is still beautiful and can be a great manager/valet. I can imagine Victoria being useful in how the company utilizes female wrestlers. She can mix it up with the men.

Can Lucha Underground ever be real competition for the WWE? Or is it just an alternative? Some people might say that it will only appeal to a Latino audience. Keep in mind that it is also pro wrestling and features some mainstream names and good action. That would make it a draw even to wrestling fans. This promotion is not just trying to aim at one demographic. They still have a lot of growing to do, but they can be an exciting promotion that does one day makes some noise. If nothing else, I can buy them eventually taking TNA's spot as the WWE's closest competition.

Sting Appears Again

Sting made another Raw appearance this week. He helped out Randy Orton at the end of the show when The Authority was ganging up on him. It was a nice scene.

I have not really talked about this feud at all. It is a feud that you might say writes itself. Triple H vs. Sting. WWE vs. WCW. You can debate whether or not there was anyone better to represent the WWE than Triple H, but he's the guy they are going with. I also feel like this feud should have the kind of feel that Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon had. You have a personal feud that is over a decade in the making. And yet, this feud does fall short. Blame the overall atmosphere right now. It ruins the feel of a lot of things. And this feud just is not as genuine. The same genuine emotion is not there. I feel like this story should be developed even more.

Does that mean this feud should continue past Wrestlemania? Triple H did face Brock Lesnar a few times. I wouldn't be surprised to see more than one match between Sting and Triple H. I would rather see Sting move on to feud with someone else. How about start teasing him and The Undertaker going at it right after Wrestlemania in a two weeks? You will have a year to play with it before Wrestlemania next year. Might be a good idea. Start getting fans excited for the feud they wanted to see more than Sting vs. Triple H.

How Goes Lesnar Vs. Reigns?

Look at everything the WWE has done for Brock Lesnar in the last year. Look at everything the WWE has done for Roman Reigns in the last few months. Put those two things together. Those two guys are now feuding. On paper, you should have something epic on your hands. The rub Brock Lesnar gives to whomever beats him should be amazing. Roman Reigns is being groomed to be a top star.

And yet, this feud feels very weak. The same can be said for a lot of the feuds currently going on. One of the reasons for that is that part-timers are a big part of the major feuds this year. That really should not be a big excuse. The Rock and John Cena feuded two Wrestlemanias in a row. The Rock was a part-timer. That feud still felt better than what you have going on right now.

Paul Heyman is arguably carrying this feud, but he is not enough. One of the reasons that Rock/Cena was good is because both of those guys are better on the mic than either Reigns or Lesnar. It does not even feel like Reigns and Lesnar are feuding. They are not interacting enough. Last week, I talked about some feuds currently going on that I would have waited before pulling the trigger on certain things. This is not one of those feuds. Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar should already have been interacting more. Last year, you had Lesnar feuding with The Undertaker. That feud was also not too great. The reason why poor development now is even worse is because Roman Reigns is not established. The Undertaker was already established. You could even say that feud sold itself. Paul Heyman could do his thing and the feud would be passable. Not this time. Not only should the WWE be trying to develop a feud that entertains and draws in viewers for Wrestlemania, they should be developing a feud that helps Roman Reigns look more legitimate.

There is not a lot of time left. I do not think the WWE can salvage this feud. If this was a feud likely to go on after Wrestlemania, I would say there was hope for things to get better. Regardless of whether Lesnar stays or goes, this feud will probably not go into April. This feud does not feel worthy of main-eventing Wrestlemania.