Random Thoughts For Smackdown 8/17/12

First, there was this match on Smackdown to determine who Booker T's new assistant would be between Kaitlyn and Eve. Did you need a more blatant example that the WWE is currently more concerned with the periphery of the diva division than the actual heart of the diva division itself? You would think things would revolve around the title. When was the last time there was a match on Raw or Smackdown to determine the #1 contender for the Diva's Championship? I don't even know. I'm not even going to cheat and look it up to seem like I know. Instead, two women fight for a position on the periphery. If you think about it, this current diva division really is the reverse of the division you had after Trish and Lita left. At that time, the WWE's chief concern was recreating the centerpiece. No divas were being properly developed in the periphery. After the WWE struck out multiple times, the agenda has changed to develop periphery divas, but you have no centerpiece. And you can see how that makes the division look. Anyway, Eve won the position. Because I have other things to talk about, I will not go into that too much now. I will get back to it one day.

Chris Jericho's final week before his next hiatus is winding down. On Smackdown, he was inserted into the matters involving Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, and Booker T. He lost his match, which furthers the storyline he currently has, and still has Ziggler to look forward to at Summerslam. While on a message board recently, I saw someone come up with an interesting idea. Have Sheamus/Del Rio happen early on the card. No matter who wins, Ziggler can cash in and win. His match with Jericho would then turn into a title match later on in the night. Since Jericho is taking time off for his band, he obviously is not going to leave with the title. Although the idea is interesting, I wouldn't do it. Just have Ziggler beat Jericho and not cash in at all. In kayfabe, sell that loss as the reason Jericho finally breaks down and leaves. Ziggler can then get a ton of momentum from doing that. That will build him up for his eventual cashing in of the briefcase. Even if he does not win it through the briefcase, I think the WWE wants him to win back the title one day. And he will need the build for it. And it would be great if he is holding the title when Jericho is ready to come back. Perfect progression of this storyline. Jericho failed before, but he's re-motivated and back. Then, he wins the big one.

And what about Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio? Yes, it's back on. Sheamus wanted it, so Booker T eventually obliged. Weak. I was hoping for something good, but that was weak. It is not as bad as the hype for Jericho's return this year leading to no big actions, even though that seems to have been part of the storyline, but it is still a waste. The match is back on. I already spoke about why Ziggler does not need to cash in when talking about Jericho. There's another way to look at it. Why have Ziggler win the title and kill Del Rio's momentum? Del Rio has been going for the title for months now. To just write him off so easily to push Ziggler now would be a waste. The WWE should follow through with Del Rio now and continue to develop Ziggler for the moment.

Brock Vs. Triple H: True Summerslam Main Event?

It was obvious for a while that the match between Triple H and Brock Lesnar at Summerslam had the potential to be the true main event of the PPV. Both of these guys were top guys of their respective brands at one time. Brock then left the company. Triple H continued to be pushed as face of the company, until the rise of Cena. Brock went on to eventually find success in UFC. That has brought "legitimacy" to his return hype. He has hurt a lot of top guys in kayfabe since his return. Shawn Michaels was recently added to that list.

This was the first week where Raw really ended with the issues between Triple H and Brock Lesnar. And this is the week leading into Summerslam. Another clear sign that this may be the real main event? This will be the final match on the card? Does it deserve to be? What are the other options? Ignore Smackdown's World title match. A Smackdown World title match has not been the final match on a PPV card in a while. Instead, you have recently seen a string of Cena matches be the final match, even above WWE Championship matches. This time around, Cena happens to actually be in the WWE Championship match at Summerslam. Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Big Show. A while ago, Cena vs. Big Show was big enough to headline a PPV. Granted, John Laurinaitis had his job on the line there, making the match worth more. Toss in CM Punk and the WWE title into things. This is the feud that has been getting the major attention on Raw for weeks now, with the exception of this week. It should deserve to be the main event at Summerslam.

It comes down to hype. Looking around, I see no big summer angle. Was Triple H/Lesnar really supposed to be it? It is a big angle, but I don't feel they have done enough to develop it properly. They spent a long time teasing whether it would happen. They brought in Stephanie McMahon. Paul Heyman returned after years. Shawn Michaels was inserted into the story. If you think about it, that really was not necessary. It was an attempt to heighten the feud. It really wasn't too necessary for the actual storyline. Triple H would already want Lesnar for injuring him, throwing his weight around, and the lawsuits. And now, Triple H wants revenge for his best friend too? It may lead to an eventual storyline involving HBK down the road. If it does not, it would have been an attempt to hype this feud up further that didn't really work. The final 30 minutes or so of Raw seemed so awkward. Just analyzing things outside of kayfabe, the contract signing ended with still some time left to Raw. What would have happened if Lesnar did not attack Shawn Michaels? What else would they have done? And everyone expected the attack, anyway. It just didn't seem to be as fluid as it could have been planned to be. Too much wasted time and attempts to bring in more hype that were not really shocking or fresh. This feud has not been developed well.

Who wins? Can Lesnar finally win a match? Triple H does not need this win. Nothing is even really on the line in this match. Just let Lensar have it to keep some momentum going. This match can go down just like Triple H's loss to Sheamus a few weeks ago. Sheamus attacked Triple H early on before a match they had on PPV. When the match did occur, Triple H was not 100%, still tried to beat Sheamus, gave a great fight, and still lost in the end. Sheamus looked good for winning, but Triple H looked good for not going down easily. The story to this current feud was kind of going in that similar direction. A lot of people were saying Shawn Michaels would throw in the towel for Triple H at Summerslam, after seeing Triple H get destroyed and refuse to quit. Would have been good. Of course, Shawn's injured now, in kayfabe. What will they do now? I'm still thinking Lesnar will win somehow.

Summerslam's World Title Match Called Off?

It certainly is an interesting twist in this feud that has been going on for months between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio for the World's Heavyweight Championship. Booker T, Smackdown's new GM, has called off the title match after Del Rio constructed this elaborate trap for Sheamus on Smackdown last week. Obviously, things have not ended just like that. This is just part of the storyline.

I think this is a great development. Not only does it get people wondering what will happen and tuning in to see what happens between Del Rio and Booker T, but this is great character development for Alberto Del Rio. A year ago, I referred to him as a "Master Heel". This was back when he was looking very good after winning his first WWE Championship. Shortly after saying that, as is often the case, the WWE made me eat my words. They made Del Rio's character look cowardly and pathetic. He was going against John Cena, after all. They screwed over Del Rio's potential to get very over more than they screwed up my expectations. Since then, ignoring the time he spent injured, the WWE would give him good moments here and there, but they never pushed hard and well for him to look good. Last week, he started to look like that "Master Heel" again. He had a bunch of thugs come out to help him get Sheamus. And now, he finds himself going against a face authority figure. That is good.

I think this guy has great potential to be a top heel. They just need to deliver with the storylines. I don't know how they will get this match between these two back on, but I still feel it is only a matter of time before Del Rio does win the title.

AW Released

AW was released a few days ago. He was on thin ice after the controversial joke he made the week before. And the WWE decided to pull the trigger.

That isn't even the end of it. He has taken to Twitter and spoken out against what the WWE is doing. He is being punished for doing the job the WWE wanted him to do. He is a victim of the WWE's hypocrisy and double standards. Most of what I have read from him is true. I agree with it. I didn't blame him when this all started two weeks ago and I do not blame him now. The WWE was asking for all this to happen. Not only that, how can they think that Vince McMahon can get away with making fun of Jim Ross a few months ago. Isn't the boss supposed to set some kind of example of what he wants his workers to do? And I respect AW for not letting the WWE walk all over him. He might get buried down like Scott Steiner did when he spoke against TNA, but there is something to be said for speaking up for yourself. It's inspiring. It's not going to inspire this coward blogging right here to jump into action, yet, but AW has gained some respect from me.

What about the tag division? AW was the manager of the top heel team. The WWE was definitely legitimately rebuilding the tag division. As I have pointed out many times, it wasn't just hype this time. There was real investment in the tag division. AW may have been only a manager, but I have seen some fans say he was the most interesting thing in the tag division. The WWE could just bring in a new manager. In terms of position, anyone and everyone is replaceable. In terms of how well they can get the job done, however, some people are harder to replace than others, and in some rare situations, some people just really may be irreplaceable. If the WWE does replace AW, will the next guy be as entertaining or annoying to the fans as he was? Who replaces him? Tony Atlas? Teddy Long? Slick? There are options. In the end, I hope this does not lead to the WWE losing interest in the tag division too soon.

Bruisin' And Cruisin'

I actually like the story that is now developing between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio. Last month, they had Del Rio attack Sheamus and brutalize him with his car. This week on Raw, they had Sheamus steal Del Rio's car and bring it back all messed up. It's a simple thing to do, but it makes this feud more than just a basic title feud. Just goes to show, when someone has a gimmick, that can make the storyline for a given feud more interesting. Of course, they can't spam doing this same thing for every feud Del Rio is in. But he has a character that has a lot of possibilities. That's probably one of the main reasons I like him. Things are finally starting to get a little more interesting.

There is a wildcard to this feud that I have not really mentioned. What will Dolph Ziggler be doing with that briefcase? Should he cash in at Summerslam? I don't think the WWE will do that. I don't think they should do that. Why rush it? John Cena just cashed in his briefcase a few weeks ago. In the past two years, the WWE would have one briefcase cashed in soon after the Money in the Bank PPV and the other one cashed in a few months later. That is the same thing I would expect now. No need to rush. Let it stay on the fans' minds for a while. When will Ziggler do it? When will he try to cash in? Will he succeed? They can definitely tease him doing it at Summerslam, but don't have him actually follow through, yet. Just keep Summerslam really just between Sheamus and Del Rio.

And Kelly Kelly Returns

The return of the centerpiece? Kelly Kelly returned to Raw this week. She won her match. That was actually the first diva match on Raw in quite some time. In all that time, the Diva's Champion has not been featured well.  AJ Lee has been developed as a periphery diva. That is to say, she has been developed by the WWE to be a success on the sidelines of the major diva division matters. But who is that woman meant to be the star of the actual division? That woman meant to be sold as the best female wrestler of the division, frequently getting the title and elaborate diva storylines to put her over? No one is being pushed like that.

You go back one year. They were definitely pushing Kelly Kelly to be the centerpiece. Right after Michelle McCool left, the transition to putting focus on Kelly Kelly was almost perfectly smooth. She fits the profile of the kind of woman they like to push as the centerpiece and was getting the kind of push, including a push against a credible jobber, Beth Phoenix, to sell her ability to go at it with credible threats and overcome them. They then tried to do this angle where losing the title drove Kelly Kelly into this new zone. She went crazy on Beth Phoenix. And shortly after that, she lost to Beth, the WWE fizzled out on pushing her, and the dark age the division is currently in became very visible. Although Beth's title reign was long, they did not develop feuds for her as best as they could have and showed inconsistency. Back to Kelly Kelly. They did give up on her as the centerpiece. Whether it was because she was not as solid in the ring as they would have liked, they thought they would not be able to develop her character as they would have liked, or she was expressing interest in taking time off, they gave up. She definitely was not as solid in the ring as Michelle McCool and was not connecting well with all types of fans. But I still wonder why they gave up. However, she still went on to win a Slammy and have her moment at Wrestlemania. Gave up on her as centerpiece, but still treated her better than some.

Now that she has returned, will they try to make her the centerpiece again? Were all those months of not pushing her since last year just a rest period? Centerpieces get rests all the time, including Cena. But you can see how much a rest period can hurt, particularly when you are not getting any storylines at all. In the case of Kelly Kelly, she had not even solidified her overness and position yet, which would make wanting to give her a rest so soon very foolish. Do you know why you can afford to bring back a guy like The Undertaker just once a year? This guy has already built a legacy off over a decade of regularly being featured with great storylines, feuds, and moments. He is a legend. Giving a diva you are developing as the centerpiece of your division similar treatment before she even has a solid hold on the overness you want her to have is questionable. And yet, Kelly Kelly seems like the only diva they are interested in having that position on the current roster. If they wanted another woman to have it, they would have already have developed her. If Kelly Kelly is the one, they need to come up with fresh workers to put her over and storylines to really get the fans to buy into her. The latter is where they have been really incapable of getting the job done since they started pushing her last year.

Orton Still A Top Player

Before Randy Orton returned from his suspension, there was some speculation that he may suffer a demotion. Ignoring what dirtsheets were saying, even common sense may have told you that this was a possibility. One of the WWE's top stars is getting busted for doing drugs, and at a time when the WWE is trying to be PG and not draw negative attention to itself. With one more strike needed to release him, that might make some people say that the WWE should not even bother trying with him anymore.

Randy Orton is still a top star. Without even going into making a movie, just look at how they are pushing him on Raw and Smackdown. He has been looking good. Last night on Raw, Randy Orton took on Big Show, one of the men competing for the WWE Championship at Summerslam. CM Punk and John Cena won their matches on Raw. Big Show did not win against Orton. Neither man actually won the match, but Randy Orton laid out Big Show with an RKO. Orton isn't even involved in this feud. Big Show still came back later in the night to sell the idea that he has a chance to win the title at Summerslam, but Orton is not being buried.

Problem is, Orton doesn't really have a feud or storyline going. I would not say that is a punishment. It's hard to keep the ball rolling for everyone. Christian does not really have anything going for him. Jack Swagger is lost, but that is nothing new. I don't even need to mention some of the divas who are getting nothing. Rey Mysterio looked like he may get a feud with Alberto Del Rio, but pushing Del Rio again against Sheamus has left Rey out. What should Orton get? Wade Barrett is returning. They hyped it. Technically, it looked like the WWE was already moving away from the feud between these two prior to Wade's injury, but it can be a big way to bring Wade back in. And this would not be a huge demotion for Orton. I doubt the WWE would waste Orton on Miz. They could also try putting Orton against Ziggler to further develop Ziggler's credibility, after Jericho leaves. Still, I think the feud with Barrett could be best. It would be better than bringing Wade back to squash jobbers for weeks and weeks.

Jericho To Leave Again

Jericho will be taking another hiatus after a few more appearances in the WWE. He hasn't even been back a year, but he's already leaving? And after a mediocre run? Maybe that was the whole point? That is to say, that was the story that they wanted to push with this stint.

On the one hand, it is somewhat clever. I can't think of a situation where a top guy came back with a ton of hype, had multiple opportunities to accomplish something big, failed every time, and then left again. It is an interesting story. And Jericho has said before that he likes to try different things. And losing a lot will obviously not hurt his credibility, as long as they can easily still push him in big feuds whenever he does come back. It's just like how Cena failing to win the title from CM Punk with the briefcase does not stop him from being centerpiece. It doesn't hurt Jericho and is something different.

On the other hand, repeating my main complaint about this for months now, you hype something big and don't deliver. Is that good business? Go back to the recent wedding between AJ and Daniel Bryan. They announced it on Raw, promoted it, and then had the wedding segment on the 1000th episode. During that segment, Vince McMahon announced that AJ was the new GM. Something big happened. Imagine if it went a little differently. Daniel Bryan proposes to AJ, she accepts, the WWE promotes the wedding, and then on the day of the wedding, they have a brief backstage segment where the two mutually agree not to have the wedding. That's all. That would be a letdown. If the WWE wanted to promote this story of Jericho possibly losing his touch, that's one thing, but I still believe they could have delivered more in how he went about trying to accomplish his goals, even if they all did fail. That might have helped draw the interest of the fans.

It won't be a huge loss with Jericho once again leaving. They are building up Dolph Ziggler. Randy Orton just returned. Wade Barrett is coming back soon. If it really needs to happen, even Triple H can come back for a few more matches. The WWE shouldn't be in any trouble.

Tag Division Continues, Despite AW Drama

Even though Kofi Kingston and R-Truth retained the tag titles against Darren Young and Titus O'Neil a few weeks ago, the feud is not over. That is good. Abraham Washington (AW) has also been very vocal to help keep this feud interesting, but I will get to him in another respect in a second. They are also having the heels still interact with Rosa and her two guys. None of these three teams are really being buried. They are still getting attention. What about The Usos? Once the titles get on a heel team, I am sure they will be getting a little more attention in time. The fact is, it seems like there are too many face teams and not enough major heel teams. I am aware of Reks & Hawkins and Hunico & Camacho, but these are jobber teams. They need more development. That might not be happening anytime soon. If the titles are going on Young and O'Neil, it may not be very likely that the WWE would develop more heel teams at the same time. Focus would already be on a heel team that is still in the process of being developed.

And what about that AW? There was some controversy this week about the comments he made on Raw. I don't blame him. I can understand where some people may be offended, but I don't blame him. The WWE has been pushing the boundaries of what they can get away with within the PG realm for a while. I mentioned that idea back a few months ago when talking about Eve. The WWE wants to have the best of both worlds. When you try to do that, it seems you sometimes might do something in one world that causes trouble in the other world. And I have no reason to doubt the WWE will continue to push the envelope. How much trouble will they get in next time?

Alberto Del Rio Vs. Sheamus: Take 4

I didn't think they would keep this feud running for so long, and without even having Del Rio win the title yet. If he should win the title at Summerslam, that means there will be a rematch. Will it ever end?

Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio. If you think about it, this is this year's version of Orton vs. Christian. I'm not talking about the storyline. Orton vs. Christian was Smackdown's big World title feud during the summer of last year. It lasted months and months. Christian eventually won the title back, but then lost it back to Orton. After Summerslam 2011, the feud was really over. Orton moved on to feud with Mark Henry. Switching back to 2012, Alberto Del Rio pretty much has to do it this time. If not, it would just be a total waste. They could have moved on to putting Sheamus against some guys in the midcard who had momentum for a World title feud. Cody Rhodes would have been a good choice. If they weren't going to do that before, there is no point in hoping they would keep the title on Sheamus to do it after Summerslam.

What happens if Del Rio wins it? No need to hand it back to Sheamus. Randy Orton is back. Besides that, there is that feud between Del Rio and Rey Mysterio that never got a proper finish. Rey came back and went after Del Rio a few weeks ago. They have moved that to the back and put Sheamus vs. Del Rio back in front. That sounds familiar to me. When Del Rio returned from his injury a few months ago, it looked like he would be in the title picture, but then they moved him to the side to finish Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus. Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio would be the top choices for a title feud against a heel Alberto Del Rio. And those are two great options. No need for Sheamus to hold it much longer.

How has the feud between Del Rio and Sheamus been developing? Aside from taking so long, it has gone back to being repetitive. Basic title feud. One guy has the title and the other wants it. When Del Rio said on Raw that he refuses to wrestle until Summerslam, that actually sounded like an interesting detail to add to the storyline, to me anyway. But it doesn't look like they will actually be doing that. No matter what, it has to be almost over.