For months at a time the company has teased the start of a feud between two women from the four horsewomen. Since Bayley's arrival on the main roster she has been poorly booked and not really allowed to show any of the personality that made her such a star in NXT. Though many fans believe that Sasha could've been booked better since her arrival as well, but I think that overall Banks has been booked very well since her arrival. Banks has been a part of a lot spectacular moments including the first PPV main event for women at Hell in a Cell against Charlotte a few years ago.
I mentioned a few months ago that when we saw Banks and Bayley brawl backstage I thought that it was the start of the feud. It was a perfect show of aggression from both women but the company would ignore it within weeks. This feud has had so man false starts and that has pretty much killed almost all the momentum this feud had from the start. Everyone has been waiting for the moment when Sasha would turn heel but in all fairness the only way one of them should turn heel if they can find a way to stick out from the crowd. The problem with the WWE is that other than Alexa or Carmella none of the women in the company have really any substance or depth to them. Overall what made them special in NXT was seeing Sasha act as though she was the best the company had and nobody could prove her wrong. Then when Bayley found her way to the top of the division she was the fighting champion who never backed down from a challenge and showed all the heart and determination she could. Since they both arrived on the main roster all the depth has evaporated from their characters leaving them looking like cookie cutters and nothing special. Though it is pretty clear that after this past episode of Raw it seems like the feud might've started but with all the false starts it's puzzling to know if it is the beginning or another false start. This is exactly one of the main problems with this feud because you don't know if it will be starting or not and if Bayley is turning heel I'm a little bit more interested in the feud.
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Interview segments have always been a massive part of the wrestling business from Piper's Pit to Miz TV to the Peep Show and a variety of other show. Through the years we have seen a number of shows but only one in opinion measures up to Piper's Pit and that is the Highlight Reel. Jericho has made a legendary career for himself as one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots. Currently he continues to find ways to leave fans asking what he will do next especially after he was able to capture the IWGP Intercontinental from Naito at Dominion a few weeks ago.
The original plan according to an episode of "Talk is Jericho" for the Highlight Reel was that Jericho wanted to use the show to put young talent or talent that wasn't being given a lot of promo time their opportunity. It is interesting to think about how different the show would've been if Jericho had gotten his way. This could have given names like Chris Masters, Carlito, Johnny Nitro, and others an opportunity to get some promo time. However, WWE creative didn't agree with the idea and thought that Jericho should interview top stars as opposed to interviewing anyone. The first guest of the show turned out to be Goldberg who had debuted a little while before the start of the show. Overall I think that the Highlight Reel will go down as one of the best interview segments of the modern era. It is rare that when the WWE breaks up a tag team for neither member of the team to really succeed after the break and then have them both end up getting let go for very different reasons but still. When the company decided to break up the "fan favorite" team of Enzo & Cass there were some in WWE looking at Cass as their next pet project. However, unless you have been living under a rock for the last few months it is clear that whoever liked Cass before lost that interest while he was on the shelf. Now don't get me wrong Cass does have potential to be a star down the road with the right booking but he is extremely limited in the ring and since his return he really couldn't find the right momentum.
At the time of his injury it seemed like his feud with Enzo was wrapping up and that maybe the company could keep building him up, but bad timing changed that. Upon his return and his move over the Smackdown Live he never really got momentum going in my opinion because they thrust him into a feud with a top star too soon. In my opinion having Cass against someone like Rusev would've done a lot more for him that is if Rusev was a baby face like he should be but we are talking about WWE. However, looking at real WWE's roster I think Cass would've been better off against someone like Bobby Roode, Lashley or No Way Jose. I know all of those guys are on Raw but I think that this also hurt Cass even though Smackdown Live was the right brand for him; but the brand doesn't seem to have the right person for him to feud with as a way to get him back on a role. Honestly though I am not surprised that Cass has been future endeavored by the company just based on the recent goings on and the fact that it didn't seem like he was able to get the proper momentum going since his return. I do think that the company and specifically the booking is partially to blame for this, but I also don't know how much of it also falls on the shoulders of the 7 footer. Either way though I would like to join the WWE in wishing Colin Cassidy best of luck in all his future endeavors. Who needs a win at Money In The Bank? Lets dicuss.
Shinske Nakamura vs AJ Styles Despite being two of the greatest athletes in the world the program between these two has begun to stale. We continue to see the same cheap ending in every match. Its not that the matches aren’t great. They are, we’ve just seen the same thing over and over. In order for this program to end we AJ Styles needs a win and a new opponent. Nia Jax vs Ronda Rousey Though I agree with Ronda that there are other woman who should be ahead of her in terms of getting a title shot I do believe she can hold her own with Nia Jax. A win for Ronda would be a huge boost for her career, Nia Jax needs a win in order to give her reign as champion something meaningful. Right now its been quite boring( through no fault of her own) Carmella vs Asuka Carmella has improved leaps and bounds since her arrival on the main roster. Now in her first reign as Women’s champion she has already beaten Charlotte Flair (something she loves to remind us of weekly) but there are a lot of fans who still don’t buy her as champion. A Carmella win over fan favorite Asuka would cement her status as champ. Roman Reigns vs Jinder Mahal Jinder Mahal moved to RAW as United States Champion and lost it the same night. Roman has lost his opportunity to challenge for the Universal Championship. A win over Jinder wouldn’t do much in terms of putting him in line for any future title shots but a Jinder Mahal would be a huge boost to his RAW career. The Bludgeon Brothers vs Gallows and Anderson The Bludgeon Brothers just cant seem to get the WWE Universe behind them. Gallows and Anderson have a decent fanbase and have proven themselves as champions before. They’ve been lost in the shuffle for a few months now so a win for Gallows and Anderson is much needed. Big Cass vs Daniel Bryan Since returning from injury Cass has been trying to make a name for himself. He lost to Bryan last month and lost his chance to compete in the MITB ladder match. Big Cass needs the win. Bobby Lashley vs Sami Zayn Another match where both men would benefit from a win. Sami seems to be playing second fiddle to Kevin Owens on RAW while Lashley hasn’t done anything meaningful since his return. I can see Lashley in line for a title shot soon so this is a must win for Sami Zayn. Seth Rollins vs Elias Elias is a future star there’s no doubt about that. Since coming to the main roster he hasn’t done anything worth noting. Seth Rollins is a main eventer. I am not saying the IC title is beneath him but he should be competing for the Universal Championship. Elias needs a win to breathe life into an other wise stalled main roster run. Men’s Money In The Bank: The Miz vs Samoa Joe vs Braun Strowman vs Finn Balor vs Rusev vs Bobby Roode vs Kevin Owens vs TBA(Xavier Woods Kofi Kingston or Big E) All the men involved could use a win in terms of accelerating their careers. Strowman and Joe have been dominating on their respective brands and a win would be just another step to continuing their domination. Rusev just can’t seem to get that huge win. Kevin has been to the top before. Miz and Bobby are a few months removed from title reigns so a win for them would put them in the main event spotlight once again. New Day is so popular on Smackdown that a win would be great but not needed.Finn Balor has been lost in the shuffle on RAW since returning from injury so a win is a must for him. Women’s Money In The Bank: Lana vs Alexa Bliss vs Charlotte vs Natalya vs Becky Lynch vs Naomi vs Sasha Banks Alexa and Charlotte both recently lost their titles. Nattie, Becky and Naomi have all been struggling to re establish dominance in the women’s division. In all honesty Lana shouldn’t even be in this match. While a win for Ember would be huge for her career Sasha Banks needs the win in order to prove she is the boss. For the longest time I have been thinking about the reason I don't normally watch WWE programming as much I have in the past. I've been trying to figure out the reason why I don't and this actually an article I have tried to write before, but never got to doing it. Anyone wondering what exactly I am talking about we look to Monday Night's and the former live tweeting I once did while watching Raw. It could have been tied to me actually starting to work but most days I was home already when the show was on and just chose not to watch it. I know that I have come off as a huge fan and someone who needs to watch it every week because of the site.
However, I think it could be a mixture of being tired about seeing nothing but lackluster booking and character development. It seems like the WWE can't hit the right bar when it comes to feuds and fan interest anymore. I know that a lot of people will point to Roman Reigns, but I don't think that Roman is to blame and to give him all of it would be unfair. Especially when if you look to Smackdown Live and see how "well" they have booked the Shinsuke Nakamura vs AJ Styles feud. I know that it's hard to book in the modern era to in part to how entitled and "smart" fans are to everything that is going on. The one thing that I would disagree with though is that in wrestling you never run out of stories to tell because in wrestling the talent changes, but the point doesn't. All and all though I think the point I am making is I finally took my own advice and stopped watching because I wasn't enjoying the lackluster nature of what I was seeing anymore. Overall though do I still watch, sometimes and it doesn't take long for me to question why I am after seeing what I am watching. I will point out one thing to help me as an example and that is the hard to follow feud between Sami Zayn & Lashley which has had segments that make the Bayley: This is Your Life segment seem like gold. I know you might disagree but this feud has been terrible & a perfect example of why I don't watch as much anymore. The shock of the year came a few weeks before WrestleMania when the fans all over the world were screaming "Yes Yes Yes" when we found out that Daniel Bryan was cleared to return to the ring. Many fans have been extremely excited to see Bryan back in the ring just based on the fact that nobody thought he would ever be back in the ring. Though at this point some might think his run has been lackluster as most fans want him to be on top and World Champion, but I am sure the main reason is just the company still testing him to make sure he can stay healthy. The slow start for Bryan is needed to make sure he is alright and capable to be in the ring on a somewhat full time basis.
According to PWInsider Daniel has yet to resign with the company and could still leave in September if he so choses to. Now in my opinion even though the contract might still be a question I don't think his future is as much in doubt as it was at the start of the year. There are rumors abound regarding what the rest year could have in store for Bryan, but I will not be speaking to it just yet. At this point I don't think that Daniel will be going anywhere anytime soon not for any reason other then them letting him back in the ring to begin with. Though the company might have had a poor plan in place early on before he made his return to the ring, but they found the era of their ways quick enough to let him back in the ring. Fact is Daniel I think belongs in the WWE at this point and even though it would be incredible to see him in the ring with ROH & New Japan, but I don't think it will happen. Overall I am excited to see where things go for Daniel as 2018 moves forward and we head to 2019 and wonder how much the company will invest in him for the future. |
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April 2023
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