Bray Wyatt Targets Ryback

How long until Bray Wyatt is giving cryptic promos to set up a rivalry with Zack Ryder on Superstars? Until then, those promos Wyatt was doing in the last few weeks ended up being used for Ryback.

This is a letdown. Bray Wyatt did these promos to set up a Wrestlemania feud with The Undertaker. After he lost there, he went back to doing more promos. I would have expected his next feud to be with another A-tier player. A lot of fans expected that. I also see a lot of fans have high expectations for Bray Wyatt. They expected this guy to be developed to be a legitimate main-eventer. This feud is definitely disappointing for them. As a fan, I don't care about Wyatt being pushed that hard. I just want to be entertained by his gimmick. I think they can do better in that regard.

Let me give the WWE credit for something. This is a solid feud for the midcard. Neither guy has been WWE Champion. No title involved. This is a non-title midcard feud. They probably will not push this feud to its full potential, whatever that might be, but it's something.

What does all this mean for Ryback? He didn't exactly have any clear direction. I do not imagine him winning the feud, but this is at something for him. Does Bray Wyatt need another sidekick? Can that be Ryback? Ryback is the kind of guy that can fit the role. Since they have nothing better to do with him, might it be a good idea to have Wyatt "brainwash" him? I do not imagine right now that the WWE will go in that direction. Let's see how they develop things.

King Of The Ring 2015

I am glad they brought back King of the Ring. I like things like this. It can raise some interest in the midcard.

But there are a few criticisms. First, it would have been nice if they brought back the King of the Ring PPV. If not that, devote an entire episode of Raw to the tournament. Make it a special. Second, there are too few guys involved in this. I would have added in a few more names. I think they have enough guys to make it interesting, especially if they are utilizing some guys that are obviously lower-midcarders these days. A 16-man tournament would have been nice. Last thing, Chyna is the only woman to have been involved in this tournament.  That was over a decade ago. I know the WWE isn't going to go far with male-female action these days, but it would have made it fun if a diva was included somehow. This issue is obviously not huge, but the first two things I mentioned could have helped this seem more important.

Who wins? Barrett. Sheamus won it before. I cannot imagine R-Truth making it to the finals. If Barrett, a heel, makes it to the finals, it is unlikely Sheamus, another heel, also goes that far. He will probably lose in some cheap fashion to Neville. I know I said Neville should be pushed well in Daniel Bryan's absence, but he just debuted. He does not need to win this. He's not the next Brock Lesnar. That leaves Barrett. Why not? I like that.

Daniel Bryan Could Not Compete

Daniel Bryan did not defend his Intercontinental Championship against Barrett at Extreme Rules. He was too hurt. It was the worst-case scenario. Barrett faced Neville in a non-title match.

Earlier in the year, history repeating itself was an issue with Daniel Bryan. The WWE did not book him to win the Royal Rumble, or even look too impressive in it. Fans were unhappy. He was then put in a feud against Roman Reigns to decide who would get to face Lesnar at Wrestlemania. That was a repeat of last year. But the WWE booked Reigns to win that match. Go back to last year. A few weeks after Daniel Bryan got his big Wrestlemania moment, he faced an injury that forced him to surrender his WWE title. Is Daniel Bryan in that position again?

Daniel Bryan has not been the same since returning a few months ago. Many of his matches have not felt the same. It might be for the best if he did take some extended time off again. That would mean taking the title off him. It would be up to his health whether that means stripping him of the title, like last year, or having him work a match to drop the title.

Who should take his spot in the midcard? How about Neville? He just debuted. He is an exciting performer. He can be a solid replacement for Daniel Bryan. If the WWE does go in that direction, this would be something good to come out of this bit of bad luck. Neville probably would not have gotten too far without these depth issues. Because of these issues, his chances of being used better increase.

Extreme Rules 2015: Final Preview

I have already said all I want to say about John Cena vs. Rusev and Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton. I will talk about the other matches today.

Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper. If Dean Ambrose can't win this feud, there has to be some kind of running gag here. There is no reason to bury him. He is over, but there is no heavy protest to see him get pushed. Luke Harper is not going anywhere. Give the win to Ambrose.

Tyson Kidd & Cesaro vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston. The tag division is looking almost as sloppy as the diva division. I am talking about how it is managed, not the quality of matches. I would expect Kidd and Cesaro to retain. If the WWE is serious about developing The New Day as something credible, and I mean really SERIOUS, I can picture them giving them the titles. I do not think they care. It does not matter whether they are heels or faces. They have been mediocre too long.

Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett. Why don't I ever call him Bad News Barrett? Anyway, Daniel Bryan's health continues to be an issue. Is he badly hurt? If he is not that hurt, he will retain. If he is hurt but can still go, he will work the match and Barrett will regain the Intercontinental Championship. If he is too hurt for even that, you are going to have a repeat of what happened last year. Regardless of Daniel Bryan's health, I still feel he could have been utilized better in the last few weeks. There are some guys that are so over that just being out there is enough for the fans. They do not need to wrestle every night. The product has felt a little weak lately. Daniel Bryan could have helped fix that to some degree.

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler. Sheamus just made his return a few weeks ago. They seem more interested in pushing him right now than Ziggler. Ziggler just seems to be in the position to put Sheamus over. I do not see them hurting the momentum Sheamus is developing. He likely wins this match. I do not want to imagine what will happen with the "kiss me arse" aspect of this match. Crass.That's the word I'll give it.

Roman Reigns vs. Big Show. There will be rowdy Chicago fans at Extreme Rules. You can imagine some of what they will do. They will love Cesaro and Kidd. Cena will get booed. As far as this match goes, you have two guys that smarks do not like. "Please Retire" chants for Big Show? Will Roman get mugged as he tries to make his entrance through the crowd? I usually get excited for Last Man Standing matches, but a lot of hardcore-style matches have been weak in recent years. The WWE is trying to be more edgy again. There is also no reason to be too interested in who wins. Roman Reigns is the guy they are developing to be a star. Big Show is a jobber to the stars. It will be more interesting to see how fans treat this match than anything else.

I have saved the diva match for last. Nikki Bella vs. Naomi for the Diva's Championship. Naomi is the heel and Nikki is the face. Paige had won a battle royal to get a title shot. Naomi turned heel that same night and took her out. Paige is out filming a movie. The WWE pretty much took out their top face right now. They fix it by turning The Bellas face. This is sloppy, inconsistent booking. I do not think you can put all the blame on AJ Lee retiring. They could have kept all the alignments the same and developed face Naomi to take on heel Nikki for the title. Have The Bellas take Paige out if she has to take time off.

How about the decision to turn The Bellas face? Given the hole the WWE dug for themselves, this is an okay move. You have two faces with one turn. There are still other divas they can treat as faces. More faces will eventually debut. The main issue is how randomly they did it. Not developed well. In one year, The Bellas have gone from being faces to being heels to being faces. Paige has gone from being a face to a heel to a face. AJ Lee was a heel, turned face, and if she had not left, would have turned heel again. Some people complain about how long John Cena has been face, but you can bring up the opposite complaint about the diva division. Stop turning them so much. A lot of these turns are done because of depth issues, not for the sake of good creative investment.

I would not make too much out of Paige starring in a movie for the WWE. Extracurricular activities do not determine your place on the roster. Brodus Clay also starred in a movie for the WWE. Where is he now? TNA. Things like movies and Total Divas usually do not do the most for helping you to get over. Not everyone can get over through extracurricular activities like Zack Ryder did. It comes down to how you are actually pushed. Let's see how Paige is pushed when she returns.

Who wins between Nikki and Naomi? I would say Nikki. After that, you will probably eventually get a triple threat involving those two and Paige. Paige will still have a title shot coming and Nikki will probably still be face. Face vs. face? Insert heel Naomi. I would not be surprised if the WWE books Nikki to hold the title long enough to break AJ Lee's record. She's almost halfway there.

Kane: The Keeper Of The Gate

Kane will be involved in the steel cage match at Extreme Rules between Seth Rollins and Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. He will be the keeper of the gate. I have no problem with that. I said a while ago that the WWE should have had Kane get involved somehow as the stipulation Rollins chose for this match. Put the odds against Orton that way. The WWE is also teasing friction between Kane and Rollins.

I have not been a fan of the WWE teasing friction within The Authority. They started doing it not too long after the group formed. I don't know how they could think it is a good idea. Yes, you are creating something that can get fans wondering what would happen, but you are also making your top heel stable look bad before it even gets solidified. The Authority has solidified since then. It wouldn't be so bad now to lose Kane. Regardless, I think the writers should come up with better ways to keep The Authority interesting. I usually do not like blaming the writers for things. Most of the problems I talk about are about whom the WWE chooses to push as their stars. The writers are not responsible for that. They are there to come up with creative ideas. They need to do better than this and their bosses need to want to go in that fresher direction. Is it time The Authority angle just end altogether? That is another issue.

Kane can split from The Authority and feud with Rollins for the title after Extreme Rules. I have seen rumors of a supposed triple threat in the works between Rollins, Orton, and Reigns. If the WWE is serious about that, they can do it later. If you are going to do a feud between Kane and Rollins, do it while it is fresh. If this drags on, it might get painful.

If Kane does leave the group, he should be replaced. The person to replace him that immediately came to mind was Rusev. He can fit into Kane's role as a henchman perfectly. How about Kane's role as Director of Operations? Does that even need to be there? I think it makes things more interesting. How about Lana? She would be perfect for it. If the two do not get this spot or Rusev does not regain the United States title, I cannot picture great things for them as time goes on.

Even with this little change in the match, I still expect Seth Rollins to retain. Will they pull some kind of swerve and reveal Kane and Rollins were on the same page the whole time? I do not think they will. I think they will continue to push the issues between the two. Rollins will still retain somehow, but Kane will eventually turn face and leave the heel stable.

The WWE, AJ Lee & Mickie James: An Example Of Karma?

While Mickie James was in the WWE, she was a credible jobber. She was a diva with wrestling credibility used primarily to put over whom the WWE was developing to be the top diva, while also being used as filler when that top diva was not around. After Trish and Lita left, the WWE was not focused at all on developing another female wrestler to be a periphery diva like Lita. Their concern was creating a new eye-candy centerpiece. That strong determination plus the poor depth in the diva division and issues with those women being developed to be the centerpiece is what led to Mickie James being pushed so much, not a desire to develop her as a star. Mickie won 6 title reigns off this type of career. Not surprisingly, they released her soon after that. She ended up in TNA and is still there now.

Getting rid of Mickie James did not fix the WWE's problems in the diva division. They still struggled to create stars out of whom they wanted to be stars. They soon started to get sloppy in how they were handling the division and just showed signs of losing interest. That led to the second dark age you now have. The first occurred after Sable left. It was in this dark age that you had the rise of AJ Lee. They took her and groomed her in the periphery since the start of 2012. With a lack of a traditional centerpiece, she soon moved into the title scene. She was clearly the top star of this dark age. She began a relationship with CM Punk. CM Punk had some serious issues with the WWE. The rest is history. AJ Lee retired.

Even before AJ Lee did anything major on even NXT, dirtsheets sold her as the replacement for Mickie James. After initially debuting on Smackdown, the WWE did not show any signs of being interested in doing anything big with her and it is questionable whether she would have gotten as over as she did become with that mediocre treatment. But look at how the WWE did develop her in the periphery. Psycho gimmick. She was skipping down to the ring. These are things Mickie James had in the WWE. You can even bring up AJ Lee wearing jeans shorts, which was the attire Mickie James started wearing in TNA. The WWE had essentially created their own Mickie James.

Mickie James was pushed in a manner from which no diva ever becomes very over. Female wrestlers pushed as credible jobbers might connect well with wrestling fans, but they certainly do not become the most over diva on the roster. Mickie James did. The WWE obviously did not like it. If they did, they would have been more open to treating female wrestlers better, not start getting used to pushing eye-candy divas more. AJ Lee did not overcome the mediocre, inconsistent treatment credible jobbers get. She benefited from the dark age and a strong push in the periphery.

AJ still did not appear to have cemented an amazing connection with the fans. I have brought up before that fans seemed to be more interested in chanting for her husband when she was out there than for her, Nikki Bella did a heel promo against face AJ that got cheered, and I have seen more support for Paige over the last year than for AJ. She was better off in the periphery than the title scene.

In terms of overness, AJ Lee did not do what Mickie James did in that diva division. Even with the gimmick and the best push a female wrestler had gotten in that diva division since Lita, it did not seem AJ Lee really got the level of overness she should have. Moreover, the success the WWE did get out of AJ did not seem to motivate them to be efficient again. There were fans complaining on Twitter at a scary level about how horrible the diva division was just a few months ago.

Think about loyalty for a moment. The WWE was definitely loyal to AJ Lee. I am not just talking about the level at which they pushed her. This woman had taken a few weeks off twice in the last year. Both times she returned, she got back a good push. She won back the Diva's title the night she returned last year. When she returned this year, she got put in a position for a Wrestlemania match, which she won. This is all despite AJ sometimes having some incidents that could have hurt her push. One of those incidents was AJ calling out Stephanie McMahon on Twitter during the #GiveDivasAChance movement. A few weeks after that, she gets another Wrestlemania win. A few days after that, she retires. The WWE definitely did not see that coming. If they had known she would retire, they would have planned some kind of angle. She chose her husband over the WWE.

Mickie James was loyal to the WWE. I would say she was more loyal than she should have been. Some workers might have gotten annoyed at having to wait for someone to get injured to get a filler push while they were away. And they humiliated her on Smackdown. And they released her soon after that. This is the most over diva on the roster at that time and the WWE is treating her the same way they treat women like her that do not get over. The only time Mickie James ever took any extended time off from the WWE was when she had a staph infection in her knee and required surgery. She was only gone a few weeks and came back in time for Wrestlemania. They did not treat her return as anything special and she did not even play a major role in her Wrestlemania match that year. Despite all they did to her, she never wanted to leave the WWE. She was not putting her music career ahead of the WWE. After she left TNA in 2013, she still wanted to go back to the WWE. Even while she was pregnant, she still showed signs of wanting to go back to the WWE. They were never pushing her right, and she still wanted to be there. If you really want to talk loyalty, she was out promoting Raw the day she got released.

As I have said many times, in terms of position, anyone and everyone is replaceable. In terms of how well they can get the job done in a certain position, not everyone can be replaced so easily. The WWE did not want Mickie James as a star when they had her. It was a time in the diva division when they were aiming for something else. After years of that not working out, they essentially made their own Mickie James with AJ Lee. And she has not turned out to be the kind of worker Mickie James was. You can coach someone in certain things, but you cannot do everything for them. You cannot hand them success. You cannot force them be loyal to you. That being said, you cannot take success and loyalty for granted. AJ Lee is not the first diva in the last few years to split. There are some divas that are more loyal to the company that either are not pushed well or are not bringing amazing results. If you have a worker that is loyal to you and can get the job done without even being treated as something fabulous, you should value that. The WWE has no one to blame for the situation their diva division is in but themselves.

You might say karma has come back to bite the WWE in the backside. They had a worker that got over on her own off a career in which she was not being pushed as a star. They never did for her what they would do for those they wanted to be top stars. And that didn't stop her from being loyal to that company. They released her. They continued along their path and still failed to get what they want. They end up trying to make their own version of what they let go. AJ Lee never got the kind of overness to match the kind of career she was getting. As far as loyalty goes, it looks like she did the kind of thing to the WWE that they did to Mickie James. The WWE pretty much used Mickie James and got rid of her when they were done. AJ Lee got what she wanted out of the WWE, then walked away from them when she wanted. You hear reports from dirtsheets that the WWE did not like the backstage attitude of Mickie James. Well, it seems AJ Lee had an attitude problem that she was not afraid to make public on Twitter. And they were still loyal to her. She didn't have the overness she should have. And they were still loyal to her. They should have put their foot down. But they didn't. What it all comes down to is whether or not they want you over. That is really what separates Mickie James from AJ Lee. If they want you over, you can get away with things. If they do not want you over, you don't even need to do anything wrong to be mistreated. The WWE had success in their hands. They didn't want it. They mistreated it and tossed it away. When they decide they wanted to recreate what they got rid of, they get back a little taste of their own medicine.

John Cena Vs. Rusev: Russian Chain Match

Extreme Rules coming up means the WWE has the opportunity to come up with some interesting matches. I am just glad not everything is a variation of a basic No DQ match. John Cena will face Rusev in a Russian Chain Match. The United States title will be on the line.

How has John Cena been as the U.S. Champion? They have been booking him as a fighting champion. I have mostly seen two different feelings from the fans. Some say that John Cena is burying these midcarders. He's just running through all of them. Others are saying that someone like Cena, as well as Daniel Bryan, holding a midcard title boosts the midcard and raises the prestige of these titles. The WWE is obviously putting focus into the U.S. title that you have not always seen in recent years.

Speaking for myself, I disagree with both of those reactions. I do not think Cena is burying these guys and I do not think he is adding that much of a boost. Look at the guys he has beaten in title matches since winning the title. None of those guys were being groomed to be top stars right now. After losing to Cena, none of them got demoted to a lower level. They are all in the same position they were in prior to facing Cena. One match does not define what type of career you are getting. If the WWE is serious in making you into a star and featuring you as one, it will show in how they treat you over time. At the same time, I do not feel Cena is helping the midcard that much. The midcard should belong to the midcarders. John Cena is an A+ player, in terms of how he has been booked for the last decade. And if they really wanted to raise the prestige of the title, they would have Cena defend it against more credible opponents on Raw. I remember when Triple H and Steve Austin were teaming together and held a lot of titles. Triple H was the Intercontinental Champion, as well as holding the tag titles with Austin. The Intercontinental Championship actually felt like a big deal because Triple H was carrying it around in main-event segments. Right now, it does not feel like the midcard and United States Championship have been elevated thanks to Cena. If anything, I feel Cena has been demoted to the midcard. That is obviously not what the WWE wants to do to Cena, but this booking might all end up in the "botch" category one day.

How much longer can Cena continue defending the title so much? He will run out of credible opponents sooner or later. They can bring in guys from NXT just to get title shots, but even that can only last so long. They might even bring in former WWE superstars and legends, but I doubt they go that far. You also have to wonder if this booking takes away from Cena's main feud. Right now, his main feud is supposed to be with Rusev. I do feel they could have put better focus there.

Will Rusev regain the title? Would they have Cena's reign be so short? I already pointed out that they cannot continue with this booking for Cena for a long time and that the whole situation doesn't feel too great. Give it back to Rusev and let him go back to feuding with other midcarders. Once Cena is done with that feud, he might move on to a feud against Seth Rollins over the WWE Championship. That is what I would do. As far as what the WWE might do, Cena will probably retain against Rusev. But I would expect the WWE to change how they are booking things with Cena as U.S. Champ.

Miz Vs. Mizdow: Who Is The Real Miz?

The feud between Miz and Sandow (Mizdow) is pretty good. You might say they have been wrestling each other too much prior to a PPV singles match. Their next encounter will have an interesting twist to it. The winner gets to keep the gimmick.

It seems obvious which guy should win this match. Miz. He is The Miz. Sandow does not need the gimmick. He can go back to being an intellectual. He can go back to copying other superstars. He can be a generic face and see how that works out for him. He really does not need to win this. If Miz does not win, what is he really left with? Will he start going by his real name? It might be interesting to have him lose just to see what he does. Nevertheless, I am expecting Miz to win.

Summer Rae is also involved in this feud. Miz and Summer Rae are movie stars. Problem is, Summer Rae is siding with Sandow in this feud. Good of the WWE to get a diva involved. I would pull a swerve and have Summer Rae help Miz win. Reveal that she was on Miz's side the whole time. I know I just said a few days ago that there are issues with the face depth in the diva division, but there are other options to fix that than Summer Rae. Besides, entertaining the fans and utilizing your workers to help them do that is the real goal. If Summer Rae stayed face, would she stay aligned with Sandow? Will he be pushed well in the months to come? Or will this angle fizzle out like when Summer Rae and Layla paired up? I believe Summer Rae staying with Miz can be good for her. She has been around on the main roster for a while, but I don't feel they have really developed her character well at all. Miz and Summer Rae might feud against Sandow and some other diva, like Layla, if the WWE wants to do anything meaningful with her. I have also seen some fans suggest Maryse will return to side with her husband, Miz. That will leave Miz/Maryse vs. Sandow/Summer. I think they should put the focus on the divas there now and in development. But if Maryse does return, I will talk about it. Until then, utilize Summer Rae right in this storyline.

Randy Orton Vs. Seth Rollins: Steel Cage Match With A Twist

Randy Orton and Seth Rollins got to decide the stipulations for their title match at Extreme Rules. It will be a steel cage match. That is fine. Nothing there to say too much about. But the other stipulation is interesting. Randy Orton cannot use the RKO.

A steel cage match is technically supposed to be No DQ. What happens if Orton uses the RKO? He gets DQed? Okay. If the WWE wants to bend the rules a little, you might let it go. But there are other issues some fans have pointed out. Can Orton use a variation of the RKO? Can he use the Diamond Cutter? Can he bring back the punt? This is a cage match, so can't he win by just escaping? The WWE obviously wants to make it seem like the odds are against Orton, but this looks like a sloppy way of doing it.

What are some of the other things they could have done? Keep the steel cage, but what else can they do to put the odds against Orton? Have Seth Rollins name someone as special guest referee? How about Kane? Or they could have named him as the special guest enforcer outside the cage. They could have made it legal for Seth's goons to be inside the cage with him. You can also bring up things like making Orton wrestle with one arm tied behind his back or blindfolded, but those are just stupid. Regardless, there are other things the WWE could have done.

Paige Gets A Title Shot, While Naomi Turns Heel

There was a diva battle royal on Raw to determine the next challenger for Nikki Bella's title. Some fans were predicting Charlotte to debut in this match and even win it. That did not happen. Paige won. Naomi, whom the WWE was pushing in recent weeks, turned heel.

I do not really like what happened. The major issue is depth. AJ Lee, a face, just left. Naomi, a face, now turns heel. Who are your faces now in the diva division? Paige. And? Natalya has been treated as a tweener. Emma can play a face on the main roster, although it seems she is being utilized better on NXT. Charlotte will still eventually debut. The brand split is gone and depth is still pretty poor in the division.

You can say that AJ would have ended up turning on Paige had she not retired. Does that mean they still needed to turn anyone at all? I do not think so. It looks like Naomi is in the spot AJ Lee would have been in, but I will not be quick to say she is now an A player. She has not gotten the kind of build AJ Lee had from 2012. It looks like they are just doing this for the sake of the storyline they intended to do. I would have scrapped that storyline. It just would not work as well now. I never really liked how they developed the relationship between AJ and Paige, but Naomi filling the role of AJ is even weaker. They just should have come up with a different storyline.

How about Paige once again getting a title shot? I like Paige. I just do not feel she needs to be in the title scene so much. I felt the same way about Mickie James. In that WWE diva division, the title scene is sometimes the worst place to be. That is particularly the case for female wrestlers. They are usually not pushed there to be developed to be stars. They are pushed there to put over stars or used as filler. It is an eye-candy diva that the WWE likes to develop as the centerpiece, like The Bellas, although the WWE has not shown they are really committed to them as centerpiece. Of course, this is a dark age, so the WWE does not have the kind of division they want right now.

How would I have done things? First of all, I would not debut Charlotte now. No need. Save her for the summer. Meanwhile, push some of the other divas on the main roster against Nikki in title feuds. That includes Naomi. Let Naomi stay face and get a title shot. Paige would not be left with nothing to do. Push her in the periphery. Since she debuted, she has not gotten anything good in the periphery. She has had no angles alongside the men. She has not feuded with other periphery divas in non-title feuds, like how The Bellas faced Stephanie McMahon. The only thing she's had outside the title scene was that feud against Alicia Fox to kill off their partnership. It was filler. Find a guy you are willing to push well and consistently. Pair Paige with him. It will be good for her.