Bo Dallas Loses

Bo Dallas has taken his first loss. And to R-Truth. It was pretty much a fluke win, but it isn't like Bo's character is to be taken seriously. I knew it would be fun to see Bo react after he did lose his first match. Wasn't expecting it so soon. There were probably a few more jobbers he could have gone through.

What becomes of Bo Dallas now? Undefeated streak is over. Gimmick is still there. Aside from that, he has had no real feuds. You have a situation where you have a guy with a gimmick that can lead to good feuds, but nothing is being done with him. Should they start a legitimate feud with R-Truth? He's a lower-midcarder. I don't see how a feud with him will help Bo now. Maybe when he first debuted. Do you stick Bo with his brother? Probably too soon for that. I don't like the idea of putting a midcard title on him. He's too much of a comedy character. He's got his "Bolieve" catchphrase and the fact that he's annoying going for him, but I don't think he really deserves a title reign because of anything he has done. I'll just see how long it takes for him to get lost in the shuffle for the sake of some other gimmick they debut down the line.

Let me give my personal opinion of Bo Dallas. He looks creepy and he annoys me. In my eyes, he's down there with Fandango. He does have his moments here and there, but I still don't like him. And it isn't because he is such a great heel. I usually like great heels. He's not horrible in the ring, but he's not amazing. He's okay. Overall, I think time can be better spent on other guys. 

Brie Bella Vs. Stephanie McMahon At Summerslam

Stephanie McMahon coming out in jeans was a good sign that there was going to be a physical altercation. And there was. Brie Bella and Stephanie had a catfight at the end of Raw. And they will get physical again at Summerslam. Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon. This is Stephanie's first real match in over a decade. And this whole situation in the diva division really is reminiscent of 2000 and 2001. I like this feud. Summerslam should be good this year.

A few months ago, Summer Rae seemed likely to one day be pushed as the new centerpiece. They were just putting the creative investment in her that you would see in a diva being developed to be the centerpiece. She has become somewhat stagnant since teaming with Layla. That is to say, she doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I haven't really gotten the chance to speak of the duo. A lot of other topics came up. These days, Brie Bella, who also is the kind of diva they would like to be centerpiece, is getting that better investment. This originally just looked like an extension of Daniel Bryan's feud with The Authority. He does not really seem to be an issue in this at all anymore. It is between Brie and Stephanie. Did Daniel Bryan's injury lead the WWE to warming up to putting major focus on Brie? Regardless, Brie Bella's stock has increased in value. She is getting the kind of main-event push that Trish Stratus had prior to being pushed as centerpiece.

How close is the WWE to turning this dark age into a golden age like they did back in 2001? They have a female wrestler being pushed as a top periphery diva. They have an array of credible jobbers. They have an eye-candy diva getting a major push that will likely get her over. It is because of things like what they are doing with Brie right now that I cannot bring myself to say they want to end the diva division. A lot of fans are talking about how great it is that all this stuff is going on for the divas right now. Wonderful. But are all these women getting a chance to connect with the fans and earn that better career for themselves? Or is the WWE picking and choosing? That is the issue that tripped up the first golden age and caused the collapse you have seen in recent years. The women they wanted over could not work out and the most over diva was a credible jobber that got over on her own. If that kind of thing happens again, you will see problems again. First things first, how long until they get golden?

Randy Orton Vs. Roman Reigns Or Randy Orton Vs. Kane?

It seems the WWE will run with Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns for Summerslam. The word a few months ago was that Roman Reigns would face Triple H at Summerslam. I have an easier time buying that than I do the idea the WWE was ever serious about Cesaro vs. Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. Cesaro has been demoted from that level, if he ever really was at that level. Reigns has also taken a slight demotion from facing Triple H, but facing Randy Orton is not bad. They should have had this match at Battleground. Save Summerslam for a rematch or moving Reigns up to Triple H. Still a lot of time to develop this feud, but I feel it had more momentum to it when The Shield first broke up and it looked like Ambrose would go after Rollins and Reigns would target Orton. All of a sudden, Reigns cared more about the title than getting Orton. And now, back to Reigns vs. Orton. The feud has lost some of that heat. But no big complaint here.

You have also seen some tension between Randy Orton and Kane recently. They could have easily have ran a singles feud between those two. Of course, they have feuded before and this option is not as fresh as Reigns vs. Orton. But it would feature a different story than what you had with the last time Kane and Orton feuded. The story here would involve friction in The Authority. Is it time for the group to break up and Stephanie and Triple H to be taken off TV for a while? Probably not. Just because they have that bit of friction between Orton and Kane, that does not mean Kane has to turn face. But what do you do with him? Another feud with Big Show? In the end, I am still glad they are going with Reigns as Orton's opponent over Kane for Summerslam.

Paige Turns Heel

That heel turn happened pretty quickly. They could have dragged things on a little further. Then again, why bother? Paige has turned. I am not going to do an actual comparison between this and Christian/Orton. But I will say that this turn does not have the same impact to it that Christian/Orton had. It really burned a lot of fans that the WWE mistreated Christian's push back then like they did. The heel turn and giving him back the title for a few weeks did not make it better. With Paige, she was not a veteran in the company like Christian was and her title reign lasted a few months. The same sympathy isn't there.

There is creative interest around title matters in the diva division. You did not have that during Paige's reign. You did not even have that for much of AJ's reign. Even that Wrestlemania match this year seemed like something just tossed together at the last minute. Not literally, but that kind of feeling was there. I would say that there was not good creative interest in title matters since a year ago, when AJ was feuding with Kaitlyn. Is this a summer thing? Summerslam is the second biggest PPV of the year. You have had Brock Lesnar popping up around this time of year in recent years. You usually have a big summer angle. It's not hard to imagine that the WWE would try to make diva matters interesting around now. It is what happens during fall and winter that is likely to be dry. Or is this all a coincidence? This creative interest could all be really just for Paige's turn. There are just a few situations where you can automatically expect some kind of creative interest to be present. One of them is when tag teams break up. You usually get a feud out of that. And part of that usually involves a turn. Usually, someone turns either face or heel. Cesaro breaking from Swagger did not feature that, but that's an exception to the rule. Turns are another situation where there is creative interest. Given how dry AJ has been pushed with the title in the last year, I wouldn't rush to say that this creative interest being put into her feud with Paige is a sign she is the centerpiece.

Let's focus on Paige. Do I think this heel turn will be good for her? This isn't about whether or not she will regain the title. This is about whether she will connect better with the fans. It hasn't exactly been weeks since she turned heel. Just giving my initial reaction, I don't think this will work out for her. I am not saying she can't play a good heel. I am saying this current character and storyline isn't a good fit for her. She needs something more to stand out. Am I changing my mind about believing she has great talent and potential? No. I still believe it. The WWE just needs to push her better. They likely won't. In which case, she needs to find her natural groove to connect with the fans.

Brock Lesnar Vs. John Cena & Seth Rollins Vs. Dean Ambrose

No surprise as to what the main event of Summerslam is going to be. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman came back on Raw and Brock will get his title shot against John Cena. And I think it was the best choice, even if it was a little obvious and spoiled. Some fans say that this match should not have been for the title. What would have been the point if it was not for the title? The Authority wants to take the title off Cena. If they had done that at Battleground, mission accomplished. Cena would get his rematch. Brock Lesnar would then screw over Cena in the rematch to set up the big match between the two? There is more hype to it when the title is on the line. Will Brock win? Too soon to talk about that.

Some were saying they should  put the title on Rollins at Battleground and have him feud with Ambrose or Reigns. That plan cannot work so well when Ambrose is always attacking Rollins. What did happen at Battleground with Seth Rollins? No match. He just brawled with Ambrose. That upset a lot of fans. They were really looking forward to this match. This is the hottest feud going for them. I still don't care too much for it. Nevertheless, I don't like the idea of the WWE not having some kind of match. You could have had them both get counted out and have it turn into a huge brawl that would last throughout the show. It would still build up to Summerslam. Obviously, no one is going to riot over how the WWE chose to do things. The feud isn't over. It should lead to an intense match at Summerslam, which will still please many fans.

Your Former Heyman Guy: Cesaro

The business relationship between Cesaro and Paul Heyman seems to be officially over. Cesaro broke ties with Heyman on Raw last night. Heyman now has Brock Lesnar to manage again. But Lesnar is for another day. Today is about Cesaro.

Now that it is over, was it really worth it? Cesaro had so much momentum right after Wrestlemania. He was getting over. And along comes Paul Heyman. Do I blame Paul Heyman? No. I blame how Cesaro was pushed while being paired with Heyman. Even Curtis Axel looked better with Heyman than Cesaro did. I wonder if they really were serious with wanting Cesaro to make it. Or was this just something to keep Heyman on TV for a few months while Lesnar was away? If the WWE was serious about developing Cesaro to be a star, they would show it in how they pushed him. You can tell they are serious about someone like Seth Rollins. Aside from Cesaro's feud with Jack Swagger, they really didn't develop any proper feuds for him since putting him with Heyman. And that feud was pretty much a given. They had to do it. After that, they just pushed him as a B+ player. He was pushed a little better than the typical midcarder, but they didn't really take him to that next level. He never got the kind of focus on him that the former members of The Shield currently have. Those are A- players that will likely end up A players one day. I don't blame either Heyman or Cesaro for Cesaro not keeping that connection with the fans. He wasn't pushed right.

What now? He did win last night. Problem is, it was the loser of the match that looked better than the winner. Cesaro is still a jobber. It's too late to just toss him back with Zeb and Swagger. They turned face. Should Cesaro turn face now? I don't see the point in doing that for him now. I wouldn't even recommend a title reign. He needs his momentum back. Just tossing a midcard title on him when he is pretty much lost in the shuffle is not going to help him. It's one thing to toss a title on Miz or Sheamus, but Cesaro seems like he really needs to reconnect with the fans and a title reign won't help. And without Heyman, I cannot picture any great feuds for him.

Jericho Wins Round 1 Against Bray Wyatt

Chris Jericho got the win at Battleground. The feud is obviously not over just like that. Match quality wasn't as epic as it could have been, just like the quality of this feud has been lacking, but it should get better.

Let me be picky. Should Jericho have won that match last night? In the end, who really cares? But just for the sake of feud development and developing Wyatt, was it the right decision? Bray Wyatt has not exactly been losing left and right since his debut. John Cena was the only guy to beat Wyatt in a singles match before Chris Jericho. You can expect that kind of thing from John Cena. A lot of guys are developed to put him over and slide down the ladder after that. What is happening with Bray Wyatt should not be surprising at all. Nevertheless, was this the right decision for the sake of the feud? This isn't just about Wyatt getting a win over Jericho. This is about the storyline. Wyatt is tormenting Jericho. He is trying to get inside his head. He is trying to make himself look superior to Jericho. And you just have Jericho beat him in their first match? I would have had Wyatt win the first match. That would really get inside Jericho's head. Jericho could go on to win the second encounter. And in the final encounter, have Wyatt win again. I think it would have been better for a guy like Bray Wyatt to win the first encounter against Chris Jericho than someone like Fandango did a while back.

Battleground 2014 Preview: Part 2

Nothing has really happened since I last talked about the WWE title match. Ric Flair came back and gave Cena the thumbs up. It's not like there has been a ton of time in between PPVs to develop an interesting title feud. It is still likely Cena wins. That feud against Brock Lesnar seems imminent. Some fans say Brock Lesnar can interfere at Battleground and cost Cena the title, which will branch off into the feud between the two for Summerslam. I don't agree with that idea. This would be the third PPV encounter between the two. The first was over a decade ago and was for the WWE Championship, but Cena was not yet a big star back then. The match they had after Lesnar came back was at Extreme Rules. How do you raise the bar for the third encounter? With nothing on the line and no special gimmick to the match? I don't think so. Put the title on the line. That means Cena wins at Battleground.

The feud between Bray Wyatt and Chris Jericho has been disappointing. I am not just saying that because I didn't like this feud from the start. It has just remained in that cryptic stage. Why is Bray Wyatt doing what he is doing? It looked like he could almost give a great promo to develop this feud on Raw, but then he just started going off in vagueness. You can get a sense of what might be the kayfabe reason for the feud. Bray Wyatt thinks Jericho is a hypocrite. He claims he will save the fans, but never does anything. Bray can sell himself as the true savior. This feud will obviously go on beyond Battleground, but they better do a better job telling the story. Bray Wyatt will probably win at Battleground.

The feud between Jack Swagger and Rusev has not disappointed. Not only do I like it, the fans seem into it, as well. I can say that I would love for this feud to spill over to Summerslam, but I don't even know if the WWE can keep it going in an interesting manner. Having supporting players sometimes helps to prolong a feud in an interesting manner. You have Zeb and Lana. They have been the mouthpieces for their respective wrestler. It will really be up to what they do with them to help prolong this feud in a great way. Having back-and-forth debates that lead to brawls between Rusev and Swagger can only be done so often before it becomes stale. If they are going to prolong this feud, Rusev doesn't need to win this match. He shouldn't. I am not saying Swagger pins him or gets him to tap. Let the match end in a DQ or count-out. Keep Swagger looking strong here.

I want to spend some time on the diva match, which is why I left it for last. Paige gets her rematch against AJ Lee. Some people might say that there is no real feud here. They seem to be on the same side. Are you getting the kind of vibe that was there for Orton vs. Christian on Smackdown a few years ago? Christian finally won the big one, in terms of his WWE career, and loses the title right away to Randy Orton. That developed into a heel turn for Christian. Paige won the title, they can run this storyline where she is frustrated with people not believing in her and her inability to regain the title, and she snaps and turns heel. Just like they prolonged Christian's heel turn during that storyline, they will likely do the same thing now. Regardless, it just makes sense for AJ Lee to retain at Battleground.

Should Paige turn heel? I pointed out even before AJ Lee returned that there was horrible heel depth, especially with credible jobbers. Cameron turned heel, but that is no big help. You have Layla turning on Fandango and going face. AJ Lee might be turning face with the way things are going. You have had a lot of tweener action going on recently in the diva division. Very messy. No, I am not going to say that the diva division is the worst it has ever been because of that. There is still better creative depth now than a few months ago. You can say that all these storylines going on is the reason the line between faces and heels is so blurred. Okay, but I would also say bad depth also has something to do with it. They need a heel turn from someone with good wrestling credibility. Paige is a face credible jobber that is likely to turn heel. She should turn heel.

Is a heel turn necessarily a good thing for Paige? If a performer can't get over as a face, turn them heel. That is the philosophy of many fans. They sometimes overlook whether the WWE actually wants the performer over. I agree that heels sometimes have a better chance at connecting with the fans, but that is not the issue here. The issue is how the WWE will actually push Paige. I don't want to compare it completely to Orton/Christian. If the WWE ends up doing the same kind of storyline for Paige, I may end up doing an entry just comparing Christian back then to Paige now. Nevertheless, Christian's heel turn didn't exactly mean they were ready to treat him better. This possible heel turn for Paige isn't really an opportunity to get her over with the fans so she can get better treatment. This seems really meant just to cover depth issues.

How about AJ Lee? This is the best creative interest put into a diva title feud in a long time. The WWE just had Paige cycling through feuds. Some of those feuds were more about something else other than the title. Paige vs. Naomi wasn't as interesting as Cameron turning heel. Paige vs. Alicia Fox wasn't as interesting as Alicia's crazy gimmick. Paige vs. Tamina wasn't interesting at all. And AJ Lee had a lot of dry feuds prior to Paige winning it from her. Is the fact that they are investing in an AJ Lee title feud now a sign she is the centerpiece of the diva division? Paige is a credible jobber. They are developing what will likely be an elaborate feud. The WWE also gave AJ Lee a very good feud last year against Kaitlyn. That feud was also an extension of AJ's periphery matters with Dolph Ziggler and Big E. They need to show better consistency with AJ Lee in developing credible jobbers to put her over before I am ready to say they want her to be the centerpiece.

Taking that a step further, is the diva division over? The diva division is a women's division that revolves around a centerpiece and this idea that eye-candy divas should be featured prominently. Since 1998, they have wanted an eye-candy diva as the centerpiece. Developing AJ Lee as the centerpiece could be the end of the diva division. And yet, that does not mean the dark age is over. The dark age ends when things get efficient and respectable again. Things are still too messy, even with AJ Lee around. And with so many eye-candy divas around, including Summer Rae and The Bellas, I don't think the WWE has given up on the desire to create another centerpiece that will follow in the line of Sable and Trish Stratus. They need to do a lot more with AJ Lee and all the other divas, including hiring more female wrestlers, before I am ready to say the status quo has truly changed.

Battleground 2014 Preview: Part 1

Cameron and Naomi, former partners and friends, will face each other this Sunday. You have had 4 diva feuds being featured recently. Paige and AJ Lee are in a title feud. Stephanie McMahon has been making life miserable for Nikki Bella. There were issues between Layla and Summer Rae, which have since branched into a partnership between the two. And this feud. I don't even remember how many times you have had this many during the golden era. Obviously, the WWE will not be consistent with all these women. And these two women in this match are likely to eventually be lost in the shuffle again. This is only a kickoff match. Naomi wins.

Seth Rollins is good to go against Dean Ambrose. A lot of fans are excited for this match. I really don't care too much for it. Just my personal opinion. I think the feud between Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow after Sandow betrayed Cody last year and won the briefcase was more fun. They have had Dean Ambrose get beaten down a lot recently. Is this going to be a situation where the face overcomes and gets revenge against the heel that betrayed him? The story of this match could ruin the quality. I know a lot of fans would rather these two just go at it. You might have a story here where Ambrose is broken and trying to fight uphill all match. Hopefully, this feud continues to Summerslam and they can put on an even better match there, regardless of outcome and quality at Battleground. Seth should win this match.

You have a huge battle royal to crown the new Intercontinental Champion. And Barrett will be there to hand over the title. How great would it be if he drops some bad news on whoever wins the match and tells them he isn't injured anymore and is keeping the title? It would be a good way to set up a feud between him and the winner. Let's say nothing fancy happens. Who wins? Probably not Sheamus. He doesn't need it. It would be nice if Dolph Ziggler wins it. He can feud with Barrett down the line. I just feel like a heel should be holding it now. The Miz is a good choice. He just came back and it would be an easy way to keep him relevant without actually pushing him. It would also be nice if Cesaro gets it. The guy needs something. Without going through anymore names, I'll say Miz wins the title.

The Usos once again defend the tag titles against The Wyatts. And this is a 2-out-of-3 falls match. Just like I gave the WWE credit for upgrading the US title match between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio on Main Event last week to a Last Man Standing match, I'll give them credit for making this match more than just a basic tag match. These two teams can put on a great match. This match type should make things more interesting. The Flying Eduardo Brothers should finally be winning the titles this time. Wyatts win.

Seth Rollins Injured?

Seth Rollins appeared to suffer an injury on Raw. You had Randy Orton suffer a minor injury last year after winning Money in the Bank. Obviously, it was nothing major and he went on to win the title through the briefcase at Summerslam 2013. Let's hope the issue with Seth is nothing major. Just for the sake of discussion, let me look at some of the other scenarios that may play out.

What if this is all a work? Reality Era shenanigans? I remember saying last year that they could have ran an angle with Randy Orton being out with an injury and have him cash in and win the title out of nowhere. You can say his heel turn and joining Triple H's side was still a swerve, but a lot of people saw it coming. Will they try anything fancy with Seth Rollins right now? I don't think that's it. I think it was a legitimate injury. How serious? I don't know. But to plan an injury angle days before a PPV and mess up the card would just not make sense.

Let's say Seth Rollins is injured and it is only a minor injury. Obviously, no need to take the briefcase off him. He has a year to use it. Might it screw up his match with Dean Ambrose? They ran an injury angle with Ambrose on Raw. That you know was an angle. But I don't get the vibe at all that they were trying to write off this match from the Battleground card. A lot of fans were interested in this match. Some say this feud was the hottest thing going on right now. I don't agree with that, but it was a good feud that was getting some development. Where would it leave Ambrose if Rollins is not cleared to compete? Toss him into the battle royal for the Intercontinental Championship? I don't think so. Have The Authority put Ambrose in some other match against a heel. You have a few midcard heels that could face Ambrose. Most are already involved in the battle royal, but having one guy wrestle two matches that night won't be bad. When Rollins is healed up, continue the feud between Rollins and Ambrose.

And if the injury is worse than just a minor one? What if it is so bad that he will be out an extended time? It is not unheard of that the guy holding the briefcase loses it to someone else. Kennedy lost it to Edge, who went on to successfully use it to win another World title reign. Will Rollins even be good enough to compete in a short match to drop the briefcase? Better question, who gets it? Ambrose is right there. I don't think he is the guy they would have liked to give this kind of push to. Both Rollins and Reigns seem to be bigger priorities than him. If they want a heel to hold it, Cesaro is an option. Giving him something would be nice. And what happens to Rollins when he comes back? Would they have moved on from him by then? Injuries could have spoiled Evolution early on. But both Batista and Randy Orton continued to be developed as stars. I would have good hope that the same would happen with Rollins, if this injury is serious.