Dean Ambrose Gets Kevin Owens For The Intercontinental Championship

It looked like Dean Ambrose had a feud brewing against Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens a few weeks ago. Seth Rollins getting injured and the WWE having that tournament to crown a new WWE Champion spoiled things, although the two still met during the tournament. Now that the tournament is over, the WWE is going back to that title feud.

These two are favorites for wrestling fans. They should be interested in this feud, especially with a title involved. Outside of that, there is no intricate story here. I do not have a problem with that. There is nothing wrong with just having a feud be about a title. In fact, I wouldn't have minded if the WWE didn't telegraph that this was the feud they were going to have. You can have a title feud where a guy wins a #1 contenders match or tournament, then start the feud from there. Not all feuds should be like that, but it is okay now and then. Moreover, given the WWE's recent history of sloppy storylines and sour angles, it is probably for the best that the WWE does not try anything fancy with this feud. Just keep it about the title. It can be nice filler feud with the Royal Rumble coming up soon after TLC. I would expect both Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens to be in the Rumble match.

Does Dean Ambrose need to win the Intercontinental Championship? He has had some title success already. Although it has been a while since he held the United States Championship, he has been pushed pretty well in the last year. Without ever winning a title in that span, he has still main-evented some PPVs. He made it to the final match of that recent tournament, as was expected. He's doing fine. As of now, I am thinking Owens retains.

Alberto Del Rio Goes Back To Jack Swagger

Alberto Del Rio had a feud brewing with Jack Swagger. They have feuded before, but with Del Rio as the face and Swagger as the heel. Also with Zeb Colter on Jack Swagger's side. Del Rio is now the heel and has Zeb on his side. The United States Championship is also in the mix this time. The feud was put on hold due to the WWE Championship tournament, but they are going back to it.

The outcome of this feud seems obvious. Alberto Del Rio wins. Jack Swagger was doing nothing prior to this push. All of a sudden, the WWE starts investing in him again. But obviously to put over Del Rio. The WWE did this same thing last year to use Swagger to put over Rusev. Jack Swagger did such a great job, I wondered if he should be the one to hand Rusev his first real loss. It was also disappointing when the WWE just deflated him after that. I expect a repeat of last year.

Could the WWE do more? There is this Mexican-American angle going on. The WWE could build a stable out of this. If nothing else, a tag team with a manager. Jack Swagger and Zeb are no strangers to that, having a group with Cesaro in the past. Jack Swagger would be a great choice to partner with Zeb and Del Rio. Del Rio represents Mexico and Swagger represents the United States. It would keep Jack Swagger relevant. It would add to this angle they have going on. And even after Del Rio does lose the United States Championship, he can go after the tag titles down the line. If the WWE does not find a good way to keep this angle fresh, it could fizzle out fast.

Should Brooke Adams Return To The WWE?

I have said many times before that the WWE should cut down on hiring all this new talent and bringing back old talent. They have all these bodies signed on the main roster, on NXT, as full-timers, as part-timers, getting legend's contracts, and whatever else. And what is it doing for them? They are not using their talent efficiently. Raw is seeing some of the worst ratings it has ever had. No one is going to save the WWE with all the issues they have. If this was a sports team, the issue would be with the coaches and team executives, not so much the players not being able to do their job. The WWE just is not putting their workers in a position to properly succeed and making bad decisions.

For a moment, let's pretend all that was not an issue. Brooke Adams (Brooke Tessmacher) has left TNA. There is a history of women leaving TNA and going right back, but how about Brooke coming back to the WWE? Some people might have forgotten she was ever there. She was not there for long and was only a part of a dance group on ECW. Needless to say, TNA utilized her much better.

Brooke has sex appeal, charisma, and developed her wrestling ability while in TNA. This is someone the WWE should want back. The diva division lacks good eye-candy divas right now. If you are a wrestling fan, you might be prejudice against women like that. But they help to make the diva division more fun. And right now, a lot of the eye-candy divas the WWE would like to push have issues, mostly injury issues. And then there's Summer Rae, who is tied to a guy I have no faith in to see pushed well. Brooke isn't the perfect eye-candy diva, but she has qualities some of these women currently in the WWE lack, like wrestling experience. Of the current crop of eye-candy divas, she would be an asset.

How would she be pushed? It is unlikely she will be pushed as the centerpiece. Regardless of Nikki's health issues, I still feel The Bellas will hold that position. It wouldn't be hard to get Brooke involved in the periphery. Just throw her in a romance angle. She got some of that in TNA, including an angle with Bully Ray. She did not do too much during that angle, but just being sexy is enough. And even pushing her as a credible jobber would not be horrible. As I said, she has wrestling experience now. She also has the look that can get many fans interested in her. She can put some fun emotion into her matches. When you have someone like this, you do not have to put too much creative investment in them. Just give them the freedom to do their thing. This is an eye-candy diva I believe can actually get over as a credible jobber.

One of the issues right now in the diva division is this sour atmosphere. You had AJ Lee do a pipe bomb a few years ago. Paige did one this year. #GiveDivasAChance has just made the division more serious, not more fun. Too much self-righteousness. Then you have crass storylines and segments. Sloppy storylines is one thing, but the tone of the division is just not fun. Looking at what Brooke has done in TNA, it is easy for me to say that having her would help change things. Or will the WWE force her to fit in with this sour atmosphere? As I said, if you give her the freedom to do her thing, she can help you. If you restrict her and have her work through this horrible landscape, she won't help you.

How about TNA? They will be alive in 2016, but their women's division is taking some hits. Brooke is leaving. Awesome Kong has to retire. Angelina Love is pregnant. Taryn Terrell wants to leave. I think TNA will work it out. Despite the WWE signing so many people for NXT, there are still a lot of women out there. Even GFW has not taken them all. And GFW and TNA do have a relationship. TNA still has Gail Kim. She is the closest thing to a centerpiece the company has. There is no one man that they build around. It is hard to say they even build around Gail Kim. They just keep giving her title reigns. But she is someone they can keep pushing. She still has a few good years left. The rest of The Dollhouse might finally be utilized better. And there is Velvet Sky. They have enough core women to steadily feature and can supplement them with new women. It might bring some freshness to the division.

Sheamus As WWE Champion

Prior to Survivor Series this week, Sheamus had held World titles a few times. They all came during that era where there were 2 major World titles in the WWE. He won the WWE Championship twice, but neither of those reigns were too long. He got a solid run with the World's Heavyweight Championship, but he still obviously was not the centerpiece of the company. Since unifying the titles, you might expect the WWE would be a little more selective with whom they put the title on. Someone like Sheamus, who had fallen into the midcard in recent years, would not be someone to put the title on, especially with how poorly he had been developed. Since his feud with Randy Orton ended, he had not been a part of a big feud. Even his feud with Orton was starting to drag on. Put it all together, I would have expected him to fail when he eventually cashed in.

And he now holds the WWE Championship. Triple H and Sheamus screwed Roman Reigns out of the title at Survivor Series. Sheamus has been elevated, but will this last long? Or is this just to eventually put the title back on Roman Reigns? Sheamus may have title credibility, but how many people really view him as a big star? Ratings will likely be bad in the weeks to come, but that will be more out of the poor quality of the product and this time of year typically being bad for the WWE, not necessarily Sheamus lacking through star power.

I still think the WWE should have turned Ambrose heel and had him win. Ambrose has actually been pushed better than Sheamus in recent years. Even with periods of inconsistency here and there, the WWE has placed Ambrose in more PPV main events. And Ambrose being the one to turn on Roman Reigns would have had better creative value to it.

Or how about just letting Roman Reigns keep the title? Sheamus would still have lots of time to be developed further and cash in down the line. Problem is, the WWE would need a top heel for him to work with. I doubt Triple H would put on his wrestling boots to feud with Roman Reigns now. They could revisit his feud with Bray Wyatt. They could put him against Sheamus with Sheamus as the challenger. Elevate Miz? Not a lot of great options available. The lack of great heels is probably the best reason for not letting Reigns keep the title. As much as they need to build a new centerpiece, they also need to build credible heels for that centerpiece to work against. And that is why I can understand Reigns not keeping the title. Aside from that, I don't think anything will stop the WWE from giving him a proper title run the next time he wins it.

More Thoughts On Charlotte/Paige

Roman Reigns won the title. Sheamus cashed in and won. He has aligned with The Authority. I brought that up as a possibility, although not one I thought they would follow through with. Since nothing that shocking happened with the main event of Survivor Series, I won't spend too much time on that. Wait to see how the WWE develops things on Raw tonight.

Back to that controversial segment on Raw last week involving Paige and Charlotte. Charlotte retained the title at Survivor Series, but that is not worth talking about now. When I talked about the segment previously, it was more about the decision to place it at the end of the show and the quality of the segment. I did not focus too much on the big issue that caused the controversy. Since it is still being talked about, I might as well do it. This is about the WWE allowing Reid Flair to be brought up.

I was hoping it wouldn't cause that much of an issue, but it did. I do not think the WWE should have done it. It was unnecessary and it was stupid. Let me explain why I feel that way.

First, why was it unnecessary? Because you already had a direction they could have taken this. Paige's first promo that started her heel turn had her bashing the other divas and the supposed revolution that was going on. All they had to do was stick with that. Would Paige calling out the diva revolution leave her sounding like a face, since the whole thing has been poor? Thing is, all the WWE had to do was have Paige sound self-centered. Have her sound like the only reason she wanted change was to benefit herself. Smarks would love her, but she would be a heel. Instead of keeping the focus on the diva revolution, they bring up Charlotte's dead brother. Horrible development. I think they could have kept fans interested just by having this be about the diva revolution.

Why was it stupid? What is the WWE thinking? How can they allow something like this to be brought up? Someone dies of a drug overdose and you bring that up in a storyline? That wasn't kayfabe. As I have brought up before, I do not like the WWE acting like they are family-friendly entertainment, then doing things that are just pushing the limits. The WWE just comes off as hypocrites. What do they think they are doing to their audience when they do these things? Fans want the Attitude Era back because it was entertaining. It was edgy in an entertaining way. The WWE is not pleasing these fans by being edgy in this way. Moreover, for those fans that think they are watching family-friendly entertainment, this crap is the kind of thing that might turn them off the product.

One of the reasons Chyna is supposedly not in the WWE Hall of Fame is that fear that fans might Google her and find some stuff that is not PG. I'll admit it, I had forgotten the circumstances around Reid Flair's death and had to Google it. That isn't PG. That isn't entertainment. That is crass. Why would the WWE not worry about children looking that up?

The segment was also upsetting to the Flair family. Again, it is obvious Charlotte is in the WWE in the first place because her father is a legend, but it would really be great if the WWE stops treating Charlotte as a Flair and just treats her as a performer trying to break out on her own. I do not think there is a worse way to utilize the fact that Charlotte is part of the Flair family. Ric Flair has been involved in some antics of his own, but bringing up Reid Flair like they did was the bottom of the barrel.

The WWE has done things like this before since turning PG. They had CM Punk take advantage of Paul Bearer's death while he was feuding with The Undertaker. That just didn't feel as terrible as what the WWE did recently. Was it that Paul Bearer did not die in a controversial fashion? Was it that fans were just expecting it to happen, while what the WWE had Paige do was out of nowhere? Was it an age thing? Whatever the reason, the WWE needs to learn when to draw the line.

How does this compare to that controversial angle between Mickie James and Michelle McCool? The WWE was obviously burying someone they did want over, while trying to make someone they did want over look amazing. It was the typical feud you see between a credible jobber and a centerpiece, just more heated. The WWE had pretty much lost control of their diva division, failing to make stars and a woman they were not pushing as a star becoming more over than the attempts to create a new Trish Stratus. How does Paige and Charlotte compare to that? The jury is still out on whether either of these two women are being developed as stars. Paige has been pushed as a credible jobber since debuting. Is her current push just about being built up for Charlotte to knock down? Charlotte does not have the look the WWE likes to push as their centerpiece. And she has not really shown that she deserves to be a star. And you have to keep in mind that Nikki Bella, the woman that they were pushing very well for over a year now, is currently out with an injury. If the WWE is not focused on developing a new star out of either Paige or Charlotte, that makes what they did even more unnecessary. At least what they did to Mickie James in 2009 and 2010 had a clear purpose. What they have done recently might just be nothing more than a stunt gone wrong. The aren't burying a woman they do not want over and this angle may not do much to help a woman they do want over.

Whom should you blame for all this? I am reading that the blame might go to Charlotte. I do not think it should. The WWE needs to take responsibility. Whoever suggested it is not the one that should be blamed. Whoever allowed it should be blamed. I was pulling for the Mets in the recent World Series. In their final game of the series, Matt Harvey was playing well. They had the lead heading into the 9th inning and the coaches were going to pull him out of the game. Matt Harvey protested and wanted to finish the game. Terry Collins, the manager, allowed it. Harvey threw the game away and the Mets went on to lose the game and the series in extra innings. Terry Collins took responsibility for what happened. He was the guy that made the decision. That is how this current situation in the WWE should work. It doesn't matter who suggested Paige bring up Charlotte's brother. The people that allowed it should be blamed. They have to be smarter than that.

What the WWE did was simply horrible. I do not know if it would have been okay even if the WWE wasn't PG and this was the Attitude Era or Ruthless Aggression Era. It wasn't entertaining or exciting. It wasn't outrageous in a fun way. As I have said, it wasn't even necessary. It was crass. Vince McMahon might have supposedly thought what Mickie James did at Wrestlemania 22 was crass, but I never saw it get a negative reaction like what the WWE deliberately allowed to happen last week. The WWE is relying on crass angles to be edgy. Problem is, this is neither entertaining nor something that can draw. It is more likely to disgust fans and turn them off. Not smart.

Final Preview For The WWE Championship Tournament At Survivor Series 2015

Survivor Series was supposed to feature Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship. Two former Shield members going at it could have led to a good title feud. Seth Rollins got injured at a live event. He is out for a few months. The WWE decided to have a tournament to crown a new WWE Champion. After a few weeks of tournament matches, we are down to Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Alberto Del Rio, and Kevin Owens. The final three matches will happen at Survivor Series.

During those first two rounds, none of the matches really got main-event focus. I thought that was a bad move by the WWE. This tournament finally got a small taste of that on Smackdown this week. The final four men in the tournament faced each other in a tag match. Better than nothing.

Onto who wins. Going by dirtsheet reports, many people backstage supposedly want Dean Ambrose to win. Of course, those reports leave a little wiggle room by saying Vince McMahon will have the final say. In other words, anything can happen.

It is pretty obvious whom the WWE will put in the final match. Two of the men in this tournament are holding titles already. Alberto Del Rio is the United States Champion. Kevin Owens is the Intercontinental Champion. It isn't likely they pick up another title. We just saw a World Champion holding a midcard title very recently. I doubt the WWE goes there again. Is it likely one of the current Champions even makes it to the final round? Again, I think not. It would be great for the sake of a swerve, but it looks like it will come down to Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.

Assuming Reigns and Ambrose are the final two, what will that look like? This is Shield vs. Shield, although it would not have gotten the build Reigns vs. Rollins would have gotten. These are two faces. These are two friends that are as close as brothers. The situation is just ripe for a heel turn. It would probably be disappointing if there was not one. With the WWE losing someone they were pushing as a top heel, they might feel they need to plug someone else into that position.

The Authority obviously needs a new chosen one if they are going to continue the facade that they are a stable. They have not hidden the fact that they are looking for someone. Not only are you likely to get a heel turn, or possibly someone already a heel getting elevated to a bigger push, but you are likely to see them with The Authority.

Reigns or Ambrose? A lot of people keep on suggesting that Reigns turn heel. He is over with certain fans, but hated by those critical wrestling fans. I don't think it will be an easy answer like some people suggest. The issues with Roman Reigns go beyond a bad character. As for Dean Ambrose, I have seen it mentioned that Ambrose turning heel and joining The Authority would not make sense. It doesn't match his character. That would make the turn even better. Why would Dean Ambrose do that? It would get people talking. And it would be an opportunity for Dean Ambrose to evolve. I will go with Ambrose being the one to turn and win the title.

If there is a heel turn, it should not be a prolonged heel turn. I have seen some fans suggest the WWE plant the seeds of a heel turn and build to it later. No. The WWE just did that kind of thing with Paige and it was sloppy. After her doing a promo that made it obvious she was turning heel, they had her get back with her stable, then turn on them by attacking them. It was just awkward. It was not handled properly. It was like "frenemies" all over again. It wasn't developed like Randy Orton pretending to rejoin The Authority to strike Seth Rollins when the moment was right. If there is going to be a heel turn, let it be like Seth turning on The Shield. No turning back. Have someone sell out.

And then there's Sheamus. He can cash in. The WWE could have him be The Authority's new guy. Keep both Ambrose and Reigns face and just elevate someone that is already a heel. Problem is, I do not think many fans buy Sheamus as an A or A+ player. I doubt even the WWE would be willing to elevate him into that position. I will stick with Ambrose turning and winning the title. As for Sheamus, unless the WWE starts developing him better, I can only imagine him failing when he does eventually cash in.

Last year's Survivor Series featured the WWE debut of Sting. That created buzz and led to Raw the next night getting a nice ratings boost. I expect something shocking to happen at Survivor Series. To just have either Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose win cleanly, shake hands, and leave it at that would not be intriguing. There has to be some kind of swerve somewhere. Will it be a heel turn? Sheamus cashing in? Either Del Rio or Owens winning another title? Someone shocking getting involved in the main event? Let's see if the WWE can pull off the unexpected.

General Survivor Series 2015 Thoughts

It really does not feel like there are many things going on for Survivor Series this year. The WWE Championship tournament will lead to three matches on Sunday. I will talk about that more on Friday. Then you have the divas match. I already talked about that. The other big match is The Brothers of Destruction vs. The Wyatts. I talked about that. I was hoping something else noteworthy would be announced for me to talk about today. Nope.

There will obviously be more matches and segments for Survivor Series than just the five I just mentioned. But all of it will be filler. It has not gotten strong focus. It would be difficult to do with the tournament coming about. The WWE obviously has angles going for guys like Cesaro and Ryback, but whatever it leads to for this Sunday will just feel like filler.

There are a lot of fans unhappy at no traditional Survivor Series match being booked. There might still be one. Problem is, as I was just talking about, it will come off as filler. Nothing exciting. You had a Survivor Series match last year that led to The Authority losing power, for a short while. There was at least some intrigue there. Whatever Survivor Series match they have this Sunday will be a bunch of midcarders and lower-midcarders thrown together.

There was also the issue that this tournament going on would ruin the original plans the WWE had. One of the victims of that is Jack Swagger. He had been irrelevant for a while. Prior to Seth Rollins getting injured, it looked like a feud was brewing between Swagger and Alberto Del Rio. It is a feud that just had to happen, given Zeb being involved. Del Rio is now caught up in the tournament. Swagger was never even in the tournament. Swagger will likely still get the push again after Survivor Series, but it does look sloppy how the whole thing was handled.

The WWE thinks they can sell the PPV on just the tournament and The Undertaker. And they might be right. The attention they have given the divas on Raw was not even that necessary. Survivor Series will feature the legendary Undertaker. And the crowning of a new WWE Champion. Everything else is just filler. They might be able to get away with that.

In terms of ratings, however, I would say not handling things better has hurt the WWE. Numbers were up this week, but keep in mind that last week's episode was taped. If this week's episode did even worse than that, you would have a real problem on your hands. There was still the third hour drop. In comparison to Raws in November 2014, moreover, this month has been pretty horrible. If the WWE did a better job developing more storylines, that might have helped. If the first round of the tournament was not filled with so many jobbers, that might have helped the tournament seem more important. As I have said before, an eight-man tournament might have been better. And feature each of those first-round matches like a big deal. A horrible November will only lead into a December to forget for the WWE.

Paige And Charlotte Have The Final Segment

Raw this week ended with an elaborate segment featuring the divas. Paige and Charlotte got some main-event focus prior to their Survivor Series match coming up this Sunday.

Normally, I might be split on how to feel about what the WWE did. This is not one of those situations. What the WWE did was foolish. I do not like it. I do see a lot of fans complaining about the quality of the segment, and that is part of it, but I dislike how the WWE handled things for other reasons.

First, you have a tournament going on to crown a new WWE Champion. You have had tournament matches going on since last week. So far, none of those tournament matches have gotten the main event of either Raw or Smackdown. Is the WWE trying to build a main-eventer here? I said just a few days ago that I would have these tournament matches be the main event for the Raws and Smackdowns before Survivor Series. I can understand taking a backseat to someone like The Undertaker, but taking a backseat for a diva feud that had no main-event credibility whatsoever? No. That is not something that should be happening. The WWE should be giving this tournament better focus. Charlotte and Paige could have gotten another top spot on the card under the main-event slot.

Another reason I dislike what the WWE did, they didn't really put these women in a position to succeed. It is football season. It is not unusual for the WWE to juggle things around during this time of year. A segment you might expect to close the show might open the show, since the NFL game has not started yet. There are also times where it seems they plan what segment they want to go on when halftime of the football game comes up. At around the time Raw is ending, the NFL game is in the final quarter. If it is a close game, this is the time fans will be more interested in watching that than Raw. And this week's game was close. It featured an undefeated team taking its first loss. I am thinking Raw's third hour might be bad this week. And will that be used as an excuse to not feature the divas better in the future?

It wasn't too long ago that Raw ended with The New Day laying out John Cena and a few other guys. The Tag Team Champions were standing tall to end Raw. But should you really make too much of that segment? Has the WWE continued to roll with the heel stable at that high level? No. None of them were even in the tournament currently going on. These were guys with no real direction prior to the stable being formed and will likely be right back in limbo a year from now. I see this diva segment as comparable to that. Don't make too much out of it.

Looking at the actual segment, it wasn't the greatest. First, you have Charlotte not being that great when it comes to promos. I talked about that recently. Another issue is the whole tone of this segment and feud. It is very sour. The WWE is trying too hard to be edgy. The segment also lacked energy to it. It just wasn't worthy of ending Raw, especially given other things they have going on.

I am for the divas being treated better, but you have to be sensible. You have to get your priorities in order. Moreover, simply throwing them into the main-event spot does not make everything great. The WWE cannot make the mistake of thinking the diva revolution is more important to the fans than it really is. There are still plenty of viewers that do not care too much and the WWE needs to put in work to get those fans to care. The WWE cannot get fooled by those fans on Twitter. Look at what they did with AJ Lee a few years ago and The Bellas last year. They didn't just put these women at the end of the show. They gave them rubs from main-eventers and Stephanie McMahon. They created big storylines for them. There was no main-event credibility last night. Michael Cole does not count as a main-eventer. And this storyline has been more sloppy than big.

This has been a very terrible year for the WWE diva division. AJ Lee, the first big star they created since Trish and Lita left, leaves the company. Nikki Bella, the woman that appeared to be the new centerpiece, has injury issues. Lana, the best eye-candy periphery diva in a long while, got injured. And if the WWE really had high hopes for Eva Marie, they are having a tough time getting that to work out. Is the WWE really trying to make Paige and/or Charlotte into stars? Or was that segment more about hyping the "revolution" than actually making stars? This is an era where fans care more about in-ring work and how the women are being featured than actual stars. That could lead to the WWE getting lazy when it comes to making stars. They sure have gotten sloppy.

Who wins this match? I will say Charlotte. But this feud will likely continue. After investing a little more into it, they should continue it. Problem with that is, it keeps someone like Sasha Banks from getting her time in a title feud. More fans seem eager to see her get the push than Paige. Is Paige just there to put over Charlotte? Or will she regain the title down the line?

The Undertaker & Kane Vs. The Wyatts

The Wyatts attacked The Undertaker after his loss to Brock Lesnar a few weeks ago. Kane was next after that. Bray Wyatt then appeared to "absorb" their powers. That didn't last long. The Brothers of Destruction returned last week to take out the entire Wyatt stable. A match is now set up between Undertaker & Kane and two of The Wyatts.

There are a lot of things here that I have seen fans complaining about. Let me start with some fans rolling their eyes at Bray Wyatt supposedly taking the supernatural powers of Taker and Kane. Is this the Reality Era? Nevertheless, extraordinary gimmicks are what made wrestling fun back in the day. I have also said Bray Wyatt has a gimmick with a lot of storyline potential. The WWE is taking advantage of it here.

Fans also dislike Taker and Kane popping back up so soon. Ideally, you might have at least one feud before their return where Bray Wyatt actually uses his new "powers" to accomplish something. Build him up like a threat before Taker and Kane come back for revenge. What the WWE has done is similar to John Cena getting fired during the Nexus angle and never actually being gone. It is similar to The Authority being taken out of power last year and coming back in a few weeks. I have seen fans unhappy with those situations. Seeing as how The Undertaker was advertised for Survivor Series, it was obvious he would be involved. I would let this go.

Undertaker and Kane come back and took out everyone in the stable. No signs of weakness. I have seen fans say The Wyatts have been buried. Well, they didn't exactly look too good. Survivor Series is in less than a week. Can the WWE build The Wyatts to actually look like a threat after what happened last week?

Another thing to keep in mind, it is only 2 members of The Wyatts that are facing The Undertaker and Kane. These two legends took out the entire stable, but now fans are supposed to be intrigued by a match with just two Wyatts going against them? This is where discussions of credibility might matter. The Wyatts have lost some of their credibility after last week. A simple tag match does not seem like an appealing match, even if it does involve someone like The Undertaker. I was expecting something more compelling.

There was a time when you might have expected a 4 vs. 4 Survivor Series match. With all the injuries and the tournament going on, you can understand not going that route. However, how about a 2 vs. 4 Survivor Series match? That would be something. Against a dominant stable, you might think this kind of match is stupid. However, The Undertaker & Kane did take out the group last week. They can credibly win a match like this. There is something for them to overcome. The Wyatts would also have more credibility in a situation like this. The commentators can play up the possibility of The Wyatts eliminating one of their opponents early and having a 4-on-1 advantage. It might not come down to that, but the possibility makes The Wyatts a threat. In this regular tag match, all the credibility is on the side of the faces.

I would expect Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman to be the two Wyatts in the match. They are the most credible. Even then, it would make sense for the faces to win because this is The Undertaker's anniversary match. He debuted at Survivor Series. If they win, however, it would feel like a burial. The WWE needs to do something for The Wyatts before Survivor Series. I doubt the heels win here and the feud is extended until the faces win. If this was not a special match for The Undertaker, that is the way this feud should go. Bray Wyatt is no stranger to being built up for some face to knock down, but this feud should balance out better.

The First Round Of The WWE Championship Tournament Ends

The WWE was put in a bad spot when Seth Rollins, their WWE Champion, got injured. They decided to do a tournament. I said I wouldn't be too critical of them, since this is a tough spot to be in. Nevertheless, I still have a few things to say about how they have handled things.

Let me get some of the good things out of the way. The first round of the tournament is in the books. I like that they had some of the matches on Smackdown this week. Fans always say the WWE needs to do more important things on Smackdown. Smackdown is just a filler show. This week's Smackdown had some important things going on. That is a good move.

Now, let me get to some things I am not a fan of. First, the tournament has 16 guys in it. Looking at the bracket, you can see some of the guys are clearly jobbers. Even though he won in the first round, does anyone think Kalisto will go all the way? I think the WWE should have cut the field down to just 8. Pick 8 guys that should be in a tournament like this, including Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Having guys people know have no chance of winning in the Royal Rumble is one thing. But this is a tournament to crown a new WWE Champion. This is not a King of the Ring tournament. This is something bigger. I think the WWE should have done more to make it feel more elite.

Even with what would end up being 4 first-round matches in an 8-man tournament, the WWE still could have spread it out so both Raw and Smackdown featured tournament action. In fact, I would have one match per show leading up to Survivor Series. The PPV is November 22nd. Counting this current week, that is 2 Raws and 2 Smackdowns before the event. The main event of each of those shows could be a tournament match. Make them feel like a big deal. Build up to them during the show. Make it feel like these guys are that important. I know The Wyatts vs. The Undertaker & Kane is a big deal, but it does not need to take the main-event spot. Even with handling the tournament like this, the WWE will still be able to have the last three matches at Survivor Series.

Looking at the brackets again, the WWE may be telegraphing what the final match will be. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose are on opposite sides. A lot of fans are already discussing which of the two will turn heel during the match. That is the match they expect to see. I agree, that is the match the WWE seems to be going for. I hope the WWE does something shocking. I don't mean in terms of a heel turn. I mean in terms of the final match featuring some other combination. Back when the WWE unified the WWE Championship and World Championship in 2001, many people might have thought it would come down to The Rock and Austin. Chris Jericho ended up winning. I cannot say right now which guy I would rather see sneak his way into the final match, but it would be nice if there was something unexpected.

Let me bring up TNA's tournament to crown a new Champion. I feel the WWE putting in guys that are really down the ladder in the tournament is just creating filler. For TNA, however, it is different. They also have guys all over the card. They even have women involved. Thing is, TNA has a history of putting their title on pretty much anybody. They can take anyone and start pushing them as a main-eventer. Their women have main-evented Impact more often in recent years than the WWE's women have main-evented Raw, even though I still doubt TNA gives the title to a woman. There is also the fact that TNA has so much time to kill. They are managing that time as best as they could. I feel the WWE could manage their time with their tournament better.

And you want to talk about telegraphing what you are going to do? TNA has already taped all these matches. Fans already know the outcome of the matches. However, TNA is going to do some shows in India in a few weeks and they are advertising the World Championship Series semi-finals will take place there. Looks like they are developing something fresh. And as I said, given TNA's history of inconsistency and pushing anybody as a main-eventer, they can end this tournament by putting the title on someone the majority of fans did not expect. Will the WWE do the same? TNA's way of doing things fails to create and properly feature stars. It ruins storylines and feuds at times. But they are more likely to do things you might not expect, whether good or bad.

Looking at the two promotions, I like what TNA is doing more than what the WWE is doing. The WWE was put into this situation by bad luck. Injuries happen. You can say TNA was put into their situation by simply not being a better promotion. They put themselves in this position. If they had made better decisions over the years, they would not frequently have issues with their networks. Nevertheless, I would say they are doing a better job with their tournament.