Raw the Long Game Vs. The Short Game

I had mentioned last week that I felt like there was a lot at stake on Raw this week.  Coming off a great finish the WWE needed to follow up the HHH story.  I feared they would not because they have a history of doing that.  With the NFL starting up this week the WWE needed to hook fans into a big angle and they again passed.  They are apparently playing the long game with this story.  Something they too often choose to do with the wrong angles.

The WWE is apparently going to drag out the HHH against Seth and Roman stuff for months.  Rumors are going around that Seth and HHH will actually meet at next years WM.  While I'm a big fan of long draw out wrestling stories the WWE often gets these wrong. There was some passion on Raw for the first time in a long time and the WWE needed to capitalize on it this week, but they did not.

If I'm telling that HHH versus Seth story I'm addressing it this week on Raw.  I'm having HHH explain himself and his actions last week.  All we got this week was Rollins claiming that Owens has always been HHH's favorite.  That leaves me with the question, why?

I think that all roads probably have to lead to Seth and Owens, or Owens and Roman, but I thought that should happen at Survivor Series.  I would have built Owens up the next two months with two solid PPV title wins.  Instead the WWE went right back to it giving Seth another match and probably tossing Roman in there.  Overall last night really took the sting out of the big moment that WWE achieved last week.

I'm of the belief that you play the short game by telling the HHH story last night.  Then you play the long game by creating a match with Rollins and Owens that is put off for a while.  That wets the appetite created by HHH's explanation for something we all will want to see down the road.  The WWE is doing the total opposite.  They are giving you a match right away before Rollins has really turned face all the way and Owens has really gotten over a legit champion.  We are all probably going to forget about the HHH thing if it isn't addressed soon.

Oh yeah and Roman is just there.  I'm not sure what he's doing, but he's there.  More on that in a second.

So what were the highlights last night.  Foley was on point in that opening segment.  I thought that promo was actually very good.  I also liked the slow transition for Seth into a face, if that's what they are doing.  Owens was good as well, but he didn't inspire fear or disdain.  Stephanie continues to be one of the most confusing characters on the show.  What's the direction with her?

The Rollins Jericho match seemed like a clear indication that Rollins is turning face.  I'm not sure why Jericho is losing a match one week after he was put over Neville.  I though they were trying to build him back up again.

The Bayley Charlotte match was a confusing mess.  The lack of pop for Bayley last night indicates that the WWE needs to tell her story a bit more.  They should have never put her in a match with Charlotte this soon.  If anything Charlotte should be putting roadblocks in front of Bayley not giving her matches that will get her a title shot.

There is zero value in beating your Champion.  All that does is make her seem beatable in the eyes of the fans and less intimidating.  She can slap Dana Brooke around all she wants, she has to be protected while holding the belt.  This is 50/50 booking at it's best.

I can't figure out why Bayley worked the injury.  My assumption was she would use that as the reason she lost a title shot at Clash of Champions, but Sasha is apparently coming back for that shot.  I think last night did nothing to help Charlotte.  The stakes seem low in all cases.

Sheamus and Cesaro was decent again.  I think booking Sheamus up 3-0 was smart, but that probably means we get 9 matches between these two.  That's probably 7 too many.  I'm not sure either guy will come out of this all that strong.  I think the 7th match will probably be the night after the next PPV naming the winner the #1 contender.  Assuming Owens stays Champion it will be a refreshing change of pace from Rollins and Roman in the title match.

Cass and Enzo cut a nice promo, but why in the world are they losing ever to the Shining Stars?  They barely got cheated out of that win.  I know WWE is trying to make a reason for them to fight at the PPV, but there were far more creative ways.

The Gallows and Anderson skit was just too much Tag Team comedy for one show.  This is when the show started to feel long.  The 3 hour format once again reared it's ugly head.  Gallows and Anderson are capable of so much more.  Sadly they are being held down in this feud.

Nia Jax continued her push.  I think she's finally going to take on a legit competitor in Alicia Fox who rarely wrestles on TV.  Their segment was a confusing mess.  Why have Alicia act like a crazy person?  Just have her being upset that Nia took liberties with her jobber friend and have a match on the PPV that lasts no more than 5 minutes.

Braun is Braun.  It was good to see they stepped up his competition, but where is he really going without any ability to cut a promo.  I liked the idea of HHH being Owen's defacto manager and Braun being their muscle.  I don't think they see it that way though.

The main event was fine, but talk about squeezing all the juice out of the grape.  Owens and Zayn have a special feud, but because WWE is trying to fill time they have now twice used this match on Raw.  They never fully communicated this story to the main roster crowd and have not allowed Zayn any space to get over.  I think this would have been better served as the main event of the next PPV.  You sell the match as Zayn got the win in July.

Foley could have easily said that Rollins and Reigns had used up their chances and it was time for someone else to have a shot.

I think your show close was proof of two things.  The WWE views Roman Reigns as much more than he really is and fans are just not going to get behind this guy.  This crowd was pretty straight forward all night, but they were as loud as any booing Roman when he came out.  I have to say I had not realized he had not made an appearance all night.  It would have actually been ok.

Owens insulted the crowd, beat up his friend, and has spend his entire WWE exsistence as a heel, but Roman got zero love confronting him last night.  Roman Reigns vs. the Crowd is a personal thing that the WWE needs to address.

It was an utter waste for Foley to create the chance for Roman to get in the match at Clash, which I would favor him to do.  Now it's likely that Owens who needs to be built up is going to take a loss as Champion just like Charlotte.

If I was booking the show close last night I would have had Owens and Jericho attack Zayn post match and work on his ankle more.  Then I would have had Rollins run out to make the save furthering his face turn.  I would have allowed Owens to get away gracefully and look strong.  I would have kept Roman away for now.

I think this show started with some promise, but it felt like it was going through the motions and very little was well thought out in the end.  The WWE creative continues to get low marks.  I'm left wondering what are we supposed to be rooting for on this show?

DANIEL BRYAN THOUGHTS

Daniel Bryan has had the midas touch as of late.  He's on the CWC and it's been great.  He's on Smackdown and it's been way better.  He's on Talking Smack and from nothing that show has become must watch.  I hate the interviews the WWE does on ESPN, but of course DB talks about how he wants to come back on there and makes it must watch.

Right now Bryan is total gold for WWE as a non-performer in the ring.  As the teases continue to come from him about a return you have to wonder the impact he could have leaving WWE and going somewhere else.  I don't see WWE pulling the trigger unless they realize at the end of his contract he's going to go somewhere so they might as well pony up.  I just wonder if he will stay loyal to them if that is the case.

People have been talking about what to do with HHH now that he has returned.  I think it's pretty easy.  Rather than just force feed him down our throats the WWE needs to take the time and apply logic to his recent actions and then use him to catapult Owens.  First I would have him rip Reigns for beating him at WM32 and hitting Steph with that Spear.  Then he should run down Rollins for being a whiny baby that never truly lived up to the Authorities standards.

HHH should also claim the Authority is dead and move on from that angle.  He should get in a heated exchange with Seth Rollins that turns him face.  He explains his reason for backing Owens is that he saw in Owens someone that followed the same path as him.  He turned on his friend Zayn and battled for a spot when he wasn't considered to be the top guy.  Owens has followed HHH's road map and HHH rewarded him for it.

If you tie in the history and use logic people will accept the angle.  Owens and HHH need to be heels and they need to dominate heels.  Owens should probably get a bunny in his first defense and take out Big Cass, which will send Cass back to the Tags, which is totally fine.  Then he should feud with Jericho in a jealousy angle.  At Survivor Series the quality needs to go up.  I like him in a three way against Reigns and Rollins, but I haven't totally decided yet.

Roman is in a tricky spot now.  HHH cannot get Roman over as a face and nor can Owens.  They are too easy to root for as heels.  Roman had been doing better against Rusev, but they moved away from that.  Rusev is also off TV for a week or two.

The heel turn is still best, but now it's a challenge.  Owens is a top heel, how can HHH turn face after helping him?  Roman is going to be against them so it's hard to see those two ending up as the faces.  I think WWE has no intent of turning Roman at this time, so that's why the logic is hard.  I think he can't turn right now.  The bloom might be off the Rose by the time he ever does.

Speaking of heel turns AJ Styles has been amazing as of late.  I've talked about it before.  Just imagine if Roman had turned a year ago after the WM31 debacle.  If executed correctly he could be the true top draw in the company.  AJ is proving that a heel turn works, and when he does flip back to a face it will be easy.  Poor Roman is just making others unpopular like the USO's.

RAM....I mean RAW REVIEW

Last nights episode of WWE RAM....I mean Raw (They really need to tweak that logo) was a lot of fun and a good start.  I think the show had very few low points and kept a great pace for three hours.  My thoughts on the show were mostly positive and I think we saw a few matches we will talk about for years to come.

I thought the show open was good because they didn't make us sit through the entrances of Mic and Stephanie.  Foley was to the point and didn't waste time.  We only got a little bit of Steph which was good.  Of course she calls Roman a loser and then points him in a match to potentially win the new title.  That seems a bit dumb.  They could have cleaned that up with Foley saying that was his choice, but let's not be too critical.

Finn Balor's entrance was excellent.  That's probably the best part of his gimmick.  It's even better when he's the demon, but just like Cass and Enzo are over for their promo's Finn will get some love because of his cool entrance.  The opening match was excellent and well paced.  Finn gets the win and I'm starting to think wow maybe Finn and Roman in the main.  That could be very interesting.

The second qualifying match was also solid and it seemed fairly obvious that Roman was winning.  Roman has always done well in these multi way matches because he only has to go in doses.  He's exposed when he has to sell for an entire match.  He looked really good against Seth at MITB because he got to control a majority of the match.  Something usually reserved for heels, but it made total sense.

This setup an appetizing main event.  I think given the fact that this was the first repackaged Raw it was right to have the match on the same night.  This was a PPV quality show as it was booked.

The New Day segment was kind of the same routine they've been doing.  Since coming back to being faces the New Day have been not as good as they were before.  Anderson and Gallows feel like legit threats coming off of the high profile Cena feud, but losing this one could be bad for their long term perception.

Let's talk about the return of the legit squash match.  Enzo and Cass beat the Shining Star, yes that's a squash.  Nia Jax beat Brook Baker, never heard of her.  The newly repackaged Braun Strauman beat some weird looking dude, and Neville beat Curtis Axel.  These were all a welcomed change from the constant 50/50 matches we watched for the past few years.

Squash matches are the oldest formula in the book.  Give a guy a win, make him seem viable, and let him show off his signature moves.  If you take two talents and put them over for the next three weeks and then match them up at Summerslam it becomes intriguing on who will win.  It becomes important.  Those are called stakes, and that's what makes us watch.

WWE is probably forced to keep doing this because of the smaller roster on Raw and the length of the show, but if done right it will help them dramatically.  This is what will help guys like Cesaro and Owens get over the hump.  Winning will always matter.  Don't let anyone tell you different.

The Women's title match was a surprise and especially considering they gave us a PPV quality memorable match.  What a finish with Charlotte trying to stand tall only to get caught for the Bank Statement.  I think naturally WWE saw money in the idea of having the rematch at Summerslam.  In reality it's more of a questions mark.  It seemed to obvious that if they waited Sasha was going to win at Summerslam.  This way you have to wonder if the belt goes back to Charlotte.  That is the Flair way.  Charlotte also cut a very solid pre-match promo.

The main event was an attention grabber.  Would the WWE put Roman over the new guy the first night out?  Would the WWE beat Roman on back to back nights?  When you create that intrigue people will tune in.  I don't know that this will grab huge ratings out of the box, but continuing to do stuff like this will build them back up.  I have no doubt about this.

The two put on a good match.  I was surprised the way the end happened.  Finn cleanly and clearly beat Roman.  That's a major hotshot move by WWE.  Finn is a somewhat unknown coming into tonight.  This setup a very fresh title match at Summerslam that the WWE has 3 weeks to build on.  At worst we will get a really good wrestling match and we might see the debut of the Demon.

So what are my overall thoughts?  First I pointed out after the draft that the WWE had painted itself in the corner with the Raw roster.  There were no top established baby faces on their roster that were men.  With the show being three hours that's a big deal.  You can't go through weeks of Roman topping that show getting booed as a face.  The ratings would not improve.

My thought was they would try to flip Roman and Seth, or bring someone in from the outside.  I didn't believe they would hotshot Finn, but I thought it might work.  I'm not sure it has worked.  It truly takes weeks for a guy to get really over.  I don't think he's the favorite to walk out of Summerslam, but what they did achieve was a bulk of the vocal majority there last night were cheering the result.  That's something to build on.  The fans were sent home happy.

I'm assuming the approach with Roman is to keep him face.  The WWE is like a dog with a bone when it comes to Roman as a face.  They just can't let it go.  I think the plan is to setup a feud between Steph and Roman.  It's a way to maybe buy some cheap support for Roman since the title might not be in the mix for a while.  Personally I don't like it.  Roman needs to be allowed to spread his wings as a monster heel.  I think the WWE could be holding this up just to allow Steph to keep her place, which is a mistake.  The logic of Roman and Steph being heels on the same show doesn't work.  Also he couldn't turn heel on Finn last night because they are trying to make Seth out to be the top heel.  It would detract from the title match at Summerslam.

I think that this Raw was excellent, but they did throw the kitchen sink at us.  They had four matches on one show that could have easily been the main event on their own.  They had a major title change with the women, and they beat Roman Reigns clean.  Those are all a big deal.  My concern given the roster they have is how do you keep people watching for three hours every week and make it that good without giving away so much.

The one thing that I failed to realize about this all is there is no more air time for these guys. They are now done for the week.  That means you won't see them on Smackdown like you did in the past if you watched.  That probably helps both brands a lot. There's a freshness level there for sure.

On the downside they need to embrace allowing other talents to be on the mic and continuing to be relevant.  I think Cesaro, Zayn, and Rusev are three guys that really need to be allowed to spread their wings.  How about Kevin Owens on the mic in the middle of the ring?  What's the worst that can happen?  I think if you can allow fans to invest in more than Roman and Seth good things will happen.

Also beyond Owens, who rarely cuts in ring promo, who can really deliver some compelling promo's on Raw as a top guy?  Enzo and Cass don't count because they are a tag.  So over the long haul I think Raw will have some issues here.  They will need an injection or an investment in other characters.  Roman saying I'm Samoan is not going to get it done.  HHH returning for the 1000th time is not going to get it done.  The Big Show is not going to get it done.

Here's another bright spot that must be noted.  Beyond the inclusion of Byron who is total overkill, but a good in ring interviewer, Corey Graves is excellent in the color spot.  He's fresh, he's traditional, and he talks with purpose and great sense for what is happening.  That will matter in the long run believe me.

Smackdown doesn't have to do much to be a good show tonight. They get to pick a fresh opponent for Dean and celebrate his win.  They get to push the Cena AJ feud along.  They only have to put on at most six matches and to top it all off they have freaking Daniel Bryan.  I think they might not put on a better show this week, but they have a massive advantage over the long haul.  I'm interested to tune in and watch and that's what this is all about.

The Failings of the WWE Draft

I've certainly been critical of WWE the last few years as have many others.  I want to like WWE product and I've actually chose not to write about it until I'm feeling good about it again.  There are far too many people hating on the company right now and I didn't want to be on that bandwagon, but last night was a bridge too far.  The WWE Draft was a failure on so many levels and here's why.

Let's start with the illogical talents that were left in NXT like Shinsuke Nakamrua and Samoa Joe.  I could name others, but let's look at these two.  Nakamura might only be a big star in the eyes of the hardcore audience, but let's be real he's a bigger star than Nia Jax or Curtis Axel.  He's a guy that will at worst put on a show stealing match every time he goes out.  Samoa Joe is the NXT champion.  Isn't it logical to select the company's champion?  I fail to see how that doesn't make him good enough.

WWE painted itself in a corner by drafting NXT guys.  What they could have done to calm every hardcore fan down was have a statement read before the draft announcing a protected list of guys that HHH has chosen given upcoming events.  This would have helped out the entire draft dramatically.  Then everything would have made a bit more sense.  As it stands we are supposed to think that all four GM's thought that Nakamura guy is nothing compared to Alexa Bliss.

The first big problem that I think this draft created was having no top babyface on Raw.  I think the WWE basically has two top baby's right now.  Cena and Ambrose.  Each one of those guys, love them or hate them, is a passable top baby right now.  If WWE thinks Roman Reigns is passable then they need to talk to Booker T who stated last night the crowd hates Roman Reigns.  Without that one top top guy to create a big pop every now and again what's going to keep Raw compelling?

I realize that Balor and Zayn will probably get pushes and there are some strong face teams like New Day and Enzo and Cass, but you need someone to anchor that spot immediately.  The suggestion is there will be a double turn, but how does that fit with the overbearing Stephanie.  She hates Roman and loves Seth.  I can't see that all changing.  Lesnar is also falling into a weird spot.  His PED scandal is going to shake the confidence people have in him and I doubt he can be a face going forward.

People were not feeling fulfilled enough to watch three hours of Raw each week as it was with all almost all of these stars.  How can it be expected with that big of a void on top that things will be even better now?  That's why not having that safe top baby on Raw is a big blunder.

The draft process itself was annoying.  Raw was giving a major picking advantage in each round.  Why was that really necessary?  They could have easily done that on the bottom half of the draft to overload the Raw roster.  There was no reason to make it so blatant.  The funny part was on the post show both sides were getting three picks a round.  It's just typical WWE logic.

On what planet is John Cena drafted that low?  He's been the WWE's biggest draw for years now and I realize that they want to push new people, but it just doesn't make any sense for him to go that low.  I like AJ, but I would have swapped him and Cena's draft position.  You can make a case for the three guys that went ahead of Cena.  Ambrose and Rollins could be Champions after this Sunday and Brock has to stay on their flagship show.  Roman falling was simply do to his suspension and them not wanting to glorify him.

I can't see how you let Cena go that low.  The rationale is too weak and WWE is poking the stick at people with brain power when they do such illogical things.  I think you could have also made the case for Cena and Charlotte swapping positions.  I don't think Smackdown will be a success because they have Cena.  I think they will be because they have 2 hours to fill.

Stephanie was hard to handle last night as she usually is.  It's like enough is enough already, but I've got equal issues with Mick Foley.  This guy was bashing WWE last summer and calling them out for poor programming.  Now the product is far worse, but his family and himself have jobs at WWE now and he's suddenly the most positive guy in the room.  I've lost a ton of respect for him.

The Women's division was shattered last night.  WWE definitely have enough women to have the best Women's division going, but they don't have near enough built up for it to be split over two shows.  I would have allowed all the women to be on both shows or put them 100% on Raw to fill that 3 hour show with more unique content.

They stated that the Cruiser-weights are exclusively going to Raw, but then they allowed Kalisto to be drafted to Smackdown.  What sense does that make?  Why not put him in a spot where he can excel?  It seems like they threw darts a board with a lot of these picks or I guess Vince really wants him to put that tall guy Baron Corbin over.

Cesaro gave a pure shoot interview.  If it wasn't a shoot then I'm not sure what writer thought to have him say what he said.  Cesaro is dead on, if you don't let him speak for better or worse he will never get over.  Also how is he supposed to get better.  When guys like Nakamura and Cesaro talk I don't expect them to be like Tom Hanks.  They are foreign and that's something that makes them unique.  The WWE is missing the target with their thinking on this.

There were zero surprises last night.  We didn't see a Kurt Angle get drafted or someone from ROH.  As the picks kept coming in it became apparent nothing like that was going to happen.  Perhaps they will make up for this by bringing in some new free agents, but I get the sense there will not be many.

So in the end what show got the better roster.  I would say on paper both rosters have talent and Smackdown despite the picking system did pretty well.  The difference here is that the shows aren't equal in length.  Raw is three hours and they needed a much stronger baby face on top and a much deeper roster.  I just don't think that roster can carry the three hours where Dean, AJ, Cena and Orton with the younger talents will have zero problem doing it on Smackdown.

Raw is setup to fail, but WWE won't let that happen.  They will hit the panic bottom once the initial buzz has worn off and ratings start dropping hard against Monday Night Football.  It defeats the whole purpose of what they are doing, but it's going to happen.

I would have stacked Raw with all the top talent including Dean, Cena, and AJ.  I would have sent Balor and the cruiser-weights over to Smackdown with Orton, Zayn and Owens.  I would have went really young and fresh on Smackdown.  I would use DB for several appearances to prop the show up.  I would have had Nakamura and Joe sent to Smackdown.  I would have sent 6 guys down to NXT to replace the 6 brought up.  I would have made NXT about new faces like Aries and Roode.  I would have signed Jay Lethal away from ROH as soon as I could.

I would have gone with a safe roster for Raw to keep the ratings stable and gambled hard on the young talent in Smackdown.  I would have embraced the two hour format, the younger stars, with a mix of a few vets and tried to develop guys like Zayn, Owens, Balor, and Nakamura into something really big.  I think that's the path to long term ratings success on both shows.

One final note.  Why not have HHH drafted at least to Raw last night.  He just main evented WM32.  Why not at least toss him in the mix to stir up people?  I just think it highlights the lack of vision the WWE has right now.  I think Smackdown will do well, but for what this brand split was supposed to accomplish for WWE, it's going to fail...badly.

WM32 or Paint By Numbers

I went into the show last night assuming that the WWE was going to take action and do something different based on the reaction they have been getting to their product.  They did nothing beyond stay the course and it resulted in a lackluster show that had it's moments.  There was very little important story advancement and unless they can really hit a homerun tonight or demonstrate an ability to start putting out better creative it's going to be a long spring and summer for fans.

Pre-show Matches

I think the only thing of note here was that it was surprising that they were so slow letting the crowd in as was evidenced by the empty seats during these matches.  Kalisto got a nice win, the Dudley's took a bad loss, and the Divas were being Divas one last time.

Ladder Match for the IC Title

This match was plenty fun and there were some good spots, but I felt like the story was lacking as to why these 7 guys were matched together.  If Owens has spent months pissing in all their Cheerios I would have said ok this makes sense.  It was a shame that Zayn got such a huge reaction because it highlighted the fact that a Zayn Owens singles match would have been really good in this spot instead of this.  This show needed that.

In the end Ryder winning fit the story of there really being no story.  I felt good for him, but I just scratch my head.  Given the results of the rest of the show what major heels does WWE really have right now?  Can they really afford to be having Owens lose?  I thought the whole reason for the 7 man was maybe to give Owens the win and protect Zayn for a feud down the road.  I think WWE just tried to be different here and it was a mistake of a result.  It was a good match, bad result overall.

AJ Styles and Chris Jericho

It's not too often that the fourth match of any feud is really going to have any true heat or fire too it.  Jericho's turn was good, but it was obvious and the feud was tired by the time he did it.  It was a good match, but I think people wanted to see AJ in a better spot.  The result is no surprise.  They want to prolong this to one more match because WWE is reading the crowd wrong on this.  Yes these two have good matches and that's what hardcore fans want to see, but they also want to see different people vs. Styles.

The New Day Vs. The League of Nations

I wasn't sure why this wasn't a title match going in, but it became obvious after.  I think the match was a total throw away.  I'm just not sure how WWE didn't bring up Cass and Enzo months ago to set up some epic show down between the New Day and the big baby face team.  I think this again shows WWE's lack of creative.

The Stone Cold, HBK, Mic Foley segment was by far my favorite part of the show.  Stone Cold proved that popping a crowd has nothing to do with the era.  That crowd went nuts when he came out.  It just highlights how poorly WWE has built stars.  I think it's also worth noting that Shawn Michaels looked in fantastic shape.

Women's Triple Threat

I thought they did a good job here with entrances and hype.  This match came the closest of the night to having that big match feel.  It was like the WWE had it somewhat correct with a clear heel against some faces.  I understand why you give Charlotte the win like that because it allows for the setup to the Sasha and Charlotte one on one feud, but it still feels like Sasha should have been getting the strap here as a big emotional moment.  Especially on a show that would lack them the rest of the night.

They have had better matches in the past.  It wasn't bad, but it never seemed to get to that speed they have had in the past.  I think this remains the most well handled match of the card though.  It advanced a story, which is something this show was lacking.

Brock and Dean

This match was exactly what I thought it would be.  I low octane bogus street fight that would do nothing for either guy.  Dean eats another loss and Brock gets another win to keep his reputation in tact.  There was just no way that WWE could make it too violent or put Dean over.  Dean has now lost the IC title and three straight PPV matches.  He's a on a total roll by WWE standards.  I just can't wait for the WWE to leak that they are disappointed in the reactions that Dean is getting considering the red hot booking they have been giving him as of late.

They need to keep Brock off Raw tonight and off of future shows until the moment is right to bring him back.  He's losing that feel and it's ridiculous that he has not run over the Authority to get back the title he really never lost.  The rationale makes him look weak.

Shane and Undertaker

This match was exactly what I thought it would be.  Shane and Taker had a boring start and middle with a few average spots.  The commentators did all they could to get people to believe Shane had a chance.  It all set up for the obvious jump off the cage spot, which seemed like a total waste in the end.  I think the Undertaker really held his part here and Shane did as well.  I don't think the match was great by any means, but I respect the work they put in here.

The crowd was not hot for this because I think you could tell they were torn by the story on who to root for.  That's why the match made no sense.  What was WWE expecting?  It was shock and awe, but it left no one begging for more.

Battle Royal

It was good to see Baron Corbin win and get a rub, but compared to Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Hideo Itami, Apollo Crews, and a few others Corbin is just an average worker with size.  I think if anyone needs another year in NXT it's him.  It just shows the WWE can't help itself.

The Rock Segment

The WWE fails to realize the Rock has been on 6 straight Mania cards and was on Raw a few weeks back.  This wasn't epic at all.  It was cool to see him in his full ring gear and it was nice to John Cena back.  I know people don't like Cena, but he's not the same dynamic as Reigns at all.  Cena deserves some respect.  I thought that was a cool moment, but otherwise all this did was bury the Wyatts even further.  Bray gave a great promo, but again they just wasted it all away.

The Main Event Title Match

This match had to go on last if Undertaker was going to win.  Yet this match was yet another bomb delivered to you by the great HHH.  Let me first point out that HHH was in this exact position at WM22 in Chicago.  He was the heel going into a title match with a hated face John Cena.  That night he and Cena delivered.  That's because HHH was ten years younger and John Cena is ten times the worker that Reigns is.

There was so much wrong here it makes my head hurt to think about it.  First they brought out HHH first, which just annoys me to no end when the Champion is out first.  They did this because they had a major strategy to protect Roman from booing.  The less he is out there the less booing and it allowed Steph to build some heat on the crowd as a last ditch effort to get Roman over.  Her speech was so damning of WWE fans and people in general that I had one glaring thought in mind.  If Daniel Bryan was the opponent that would have all been perfect.

That being said a few weeks ago Stephanie defended the WWE brand by saying critics need to understand the product is geared towards kids.  She then went on to deliver a speech that only adults would understand.  The WWE is an excuse machine. When things don't go there way they just make up an excuse to cover their mistake.  Roman is hated, oh it's because he's geared towards kids.  My over the top speech is too hard to follow, we are trying to have a wider appeal.  WWE needs to pick a lane and stay in it.

The WWE was definitely playing with the mics to mute as much Roman booing as possible because every chance they didn't he got booed.   The match was exactly what I thought it would be.  HHH is capable of having a good match when he is paired with the right person and so is Roman, but together it's going to be what it was.  Punch, kick, basic wrestling move, repeat!  Roman showed how little ring seasoning he truly has in this match.  He should be embarrassed by his effort.  If they were hugging and patting each other on the back after the show then they are all good at lying to each other.

I remember on WWE 24 when they showed everyone having a positive reaction in the back after last years main event.  I just can't believe after all that they could do that again.  This was just all kinds of awful.  Why is a flattened Steph handing HHH a Sledge.  Why is HHH so slow to use the Sledge after the ref saw it?

I remember thinking as I was watching this match and trying to stay awake how could WWE put Roman in yet another Mania main event after last year.  It just shows a total lack of understanding and a determination to force feed people.

The WWE has basically taken a fire house that's shooting bad content and forcing their fans to drink from it.  It's made the followers of WWE very critical of the brand and driven ratings to new lows.  Sure things like WM the event are still going to draw and people will watch, but what about Payback in a few weeks?  What about Raw in May when the weather is getting warm?  Are people still going to be watching then?

I couldn't believe that the WWE went with almost all the worst possible outcomes.  Who really went home happy, but diehard Undertaker fans who don't mind the Authority angle and a handful of Roman Reigns fans?  I shouldn't forget about that major following Zach Ryder has as well.

I'm not listening to the WWE excuses of injuries and the like on this one.  If WWE was going to go paint by numbers they could have done other things.  Shane didn't have to take on the Undertaker.  Brock could have taken on HHH instead of Roman.  A heel Roman could have taken on Ambrose.  I don't think that's a great card, but it's better than what we got and it would have been nice to see HHH beaten for the title by someone we actually all care about in Brock.

I'll even take it one step further.  The fans that go to WM are the hardcore fans that want to see a good show and follow the business in more than just the WWE promotion.  This show is a chance for the WWE to get over big stars that maybe the wider audience does not know.  If you could take a star and insert him into that crowd and he has the skills and experience to deliver a grade A match then he will get cheered and coming out of that show that guy will now have a larger following and you wouldn't have to go out of you way to build the guy for months and months.  It's an opportunity to hot shot a guy if done right.

After watching NXT Takeover Dallas I'm 100% sold on the fact that the WWE could have put Shinsuke Nakamura on this show and saved it.  Given that the WWE was in a bad spot they should have went for something big and daring like that.  They would have gotten praised for it, even if it didn't totally go off.

Yet, the WWE is not about happy ending and good wrestling.  They are about making a guy into a movie star, which is clearly the plan with Roman Reigns.  They want to make the guy into a movie star to help WWE Studios.  They aren't looking out for what is best for business.  Despite that fact you would think they would know when to pull the plug.

Ultimately WM32 was a flop and long term it damages the brand.  You can't miss this much on your biggest show.  I watch WWE out of habit and the design to not miss something fun happening.  I'm not waiting for Stone Cold to return, but I'm looking for the next big thing to happen.  The WWE needs to do better.  I don't care how cheap the network is.

Royal Grumble: Far Too Many Thoughts About the Rumble

The Royal Rumble was not that bad of a show.  I thought it was slightly better than last year's Rumble show overall.  I don't think it was good or great and by the end of this article you are going to think I hated it, but I was entertained with this show.  You are probably scratching your head at those comments, but let me explain.

I did not like the outcome of last year's Rumble and thought the match itself was very poorly booked and handled.  That being said that Rumble match was historic in regards to how the fans reacted and how the WWE seemed to change after the show and never really recovered even through today.  So the result and match quality were bad, but I've watched it like 6 times over the least year because it was such a moment, albeit a very bad one, for WWE.  Also, the triple threat title match was one of the best matches I've seen in recent memory.  That match topped the under-card matches from this year on it's own and that's something because Owens and Ambrose was very good.

Before I fully move on to this year's Rumble I want to put a period at the end of last year's event by sharing my belief on something that I think many overlooked.  I think indirectly the Rock was responsible for the disaster that the Rumble match became.  Hear me out before jumping to conclusions.  I think the Rumble last year was supposed to come down to Roman and Bryan.  That was the story WWE was telling in the weeks leading up to the event.

They had Bryan and Roman appearing to be the only two likely guys to win.  They wanted to make Bray strong for Taker, play out the Miz/Sandow angle, and set their WM main event.  I think they were certainly looking to get Reigns over, but I'm not sold they had 100% ruled out Bryan to win the Rumble.  What I think happened during the week leading up to the match was that the Rock told them he would be in Philly and could appear if needed.

The WWE didn't know prior to that in my opinion because if they did they would have hyped it.  They would never miss a chance to hype the Rock and considering all he did was a run in, why wouldn't you hype him to be there.  He also tweeted out that he was in town, which was a give away he was there and why people were chanting for him before he came out.  I think they found out late and that swayed things in Roman's favor. They dreamed up a scenario where bullet proof Rock would get Roman over.

When they thought it out they realized Bryan couldn't figure in the finish if Rock was going to be involved, so they decided to get him out early to make way for Roman and setup the odds against him so it would made sense that the Rock would come down.  The Rock would not come down and help him beat Bryan.  That wouldn't work.

So with that being said the WWE decided to get rid of Bryan and they wanted to have Bray do it to help boost Bray for the his Taker match.  The problem with everything they did was they didn't think out how the crowd would really react.  The crowd had no problem giving Roman the business while cheering the Rock because they were a smart crowd.

One thing I really need to clarify and put to bed is the idea that you can't please the fans today.  Many people pointed out that fans cheered Roman the year before and booed him the next.  Let me explain something that people tend to ignore the 2014 Rumble backlash was all about the fact that WWE told a story about Daniel Bryan, for 5 months, being the underdog against the Authority.  They then didn't even enter him in the Rumble.  Hence the backlash.

In 2015 they told the story of Bryan coming back to win the Rumble and claim the title he never lost back.  They also tried to tell the story of a rising star in Roman Reigns.  The problem was that Reigns botched his entire promo program in the weeks leading up to the event and fans clearly thought he wasn't ready.  So once you eliminate Bryan that early you did nothing, but incite the fans to crap on Roman.  It was never about Roman either year, it was always about Bryan.  You can please the fans, but you have to tell them a story that makes sense!

For those who try to say that Bryan wasn't that popular, go watch WM30 and see how that crowd pops for him and think about how Roman's pops have been the past few months.  There's a massive grand canyon sized gap between the two.

Also, to clarify the crowd for the Rumble no matter where it is held is always going to be a smart crowd.  The fans that live and breathe wrestling like to travel for the Rumble.  So it doesn't matter where the Rumble is.  When you add Philly to the equation it ups the ante a bit as that town tends to be a bit more critical.

So last night and the two years before was not a local crowd, it was more of a smart Rumble crowd.  WWE needs to realize this.

In any event to cap this all off, I think if WWE had let it get down to Roman and Bryan last year and Roman won you still would have gotten a negative reaction for Roman, but not near as close as they got for what they did.  The Rock decision blew up in their face because they overreacted to having him and what he could do.  Smart fans are not going to just accept a guy because the Rock said so.

So moving on to this year.  I thought overall this was a better show.  The undercard was very solid and they finally embraced Charlotte and Sasha although the moment felt a little forced.  The Ambrose and Owens match was very good, but I wish the feud had some serious heat.  Owens and Ambrose seemed to be the big winners on the night with Owens engaging with Zayn and Styles, while Ambrose then made it down to the final two of the Rumble match.

This year's show was better than last year's show because of the booking of the Rumble was done much better and for the most part that's what this PPV is all about.  The thing that I think a lot of people will have missed is that the WWE did not waste entrants on any legacy guys.  This Rumble had surprise entrants, but no plus 50 year old legends and despite the fact that the oldest entrant won ( or close to it) the Rumble was more focused on current roster guys, which was a good thing.

AJ Style's got off to a hot start.  They did a good job with Styles keeping him in for a long time and building a feud with Owen's, possibly.  Putting him early kept him strong and he got an entrance with nothing to distract the crowd since only Roman was in at that time.  That being said I think they will 100% botch AJ Styles in WWE.  There's almost no chance they will get him right given their current track record.

Sami Zayn was a great surprise as well and in a way probably would have been the biggest surprise entrant story if not for AJ.  He got a monster pop as well and had support for as long as he lasted.  I think the WWE has to notice that Zayn is like Daniel Bryan 2.0, which is a good and bad thing.  There's absolutely no reason that Zayn should not be on the main roster after that appearance.  He earned the demotion, lol.

Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose both had very good showings. If they want to do something with Jericho and HHH at Fastlane it wouldn't be the worst thing and last night helped that a lot.  Ambrose is now extremely viable as IC Champ after his big win and Rumble finish.  What they should probably do is give Ambrose a live mic in the middle of the ring tonight and let him get all the way over by cutting a promo, but instead look for them to rip the title away from him for no good reason.

The R-Truth moment was classic and well done.  He added value and has been hilarious the last few months and on a whole much better than Santino when he was in the same spot.  Big Show and Kane didn't overstay their welcome, but I wish Mark Henry could have after winning his way in.

I just have to say overall they did a good job of pushing new talent in this rumble and letting those guys shine.  I say that knowing that the person who was responsible for holding back so many came out of retirement to win.  More on that in a moment.  I just felt like the Rumble was far more fresh than the last two years and set a new tone for 2016, I hope.

Yet after all that there was plenty of bad.  It wasn't 2015 bad, but the result was a major mistake in my mind.  First the handling of Roman Reigns did this guy zero favors and in some ways he did things to hurt himself whether he meant to or not.  Where do I begin with this mess?

First Roman gets yanked out by the LON and beaten to a pulp.  Why not toss him back in and have him eliminated?  Why would you just leave him laying?  That made zero sense.  I hate when people do things that are completely illogical, and while I understand it's all a work I just see this for what it is lazy booking.  If Roman wasn't going to win anyway that would have been a better way to screw him, but I realize they wanted to have that stare down with HHH and thought that was going to be a big moment in their history, it wasn't.

The next issue was it bought no sympathy for Roman that he left for about 15 minutes and went to the back to rest.  That didn't make him seem like a hero at all.  Why not just leave him laying and execute that beat down a little later in the match and work to a comeback?  To leave the match felt really hollow and hurt his character even more.  How could they think that was a smart move?

I honestly think they wanted Roman out of the scene when all those entrants came out to much bigger pops.  Also they thought if Roman's tossing guys out people the crowd likes it will only hurt him more.  Wait, I really hope they weren't thinking this because if they were that should tell them all they need to know about what people think of Roman.  If you are worried about saving a guy you want people to like from being booed then he's not a guy people really like.

So, with that being said Kevin Owens entered the ring after having taking an epic bump earlier in the night in a grueling match and he was selling his injury big time.  As was Ambrose when he came out later, but you know who wasn't?  Roman Reigns!  He came back to the ring better than he started the match.  You would too if you got to hang out back stage while everyone else was working and drink a Gatorade.

Reigns should not have come back acting like that beat down had no effect.  It made him come off like Cena 2.0 and not the Rock 2.0 they want him to be.  Really I think he's becoming Roman 1.0, which is an entirely worse thing than being Cena 2.0.  Soon we will be begging for Cena to come back given how lackluster Roman has been.

So Reigns comes back as a house of fire and earns himself more hate.  What WWE hoped would happen next was HHH would come out and he and Roman would have this stare off that would create a WM prep moment for the ages.  This would be something that we would remember and tell our Grandkids about.  Yet, it didn't come off like that at all.  Instead fans were sort of happy to see HHH and really didn't have anymore reason to like Roman and if anything had grown more disdain for him after what had all gone down.

The WWE usually doesn't mess up big moments, but for the third straight year in the Rumble they did.  So from there Roman ends up out 3rd in very anti-climatic fashion and of course does nothing to help his friend Dean Ambrose.  Let's face it, if you wanted to get some love for Roman why not let him try to help Ambrose and have the LON save HHH, which would have really gotten some heat off Roman and on HHH.  Duh!  That or let Dean win the belt last night and get stamped as the rare double Champion.  All the Authority did was screw Roman the entire build to this match.  Why not get back at them and screw them worse by letting Ambrose win the belt even for a month?

Yet the WWE is beyond illogical so of course that didn't happen.  HHH goes on to win over Ambrose and the reason was not to elevate Ambrose, but to instead help gain some heat for HHH beating the real fan favorite Ambrose.  Yet you're getting heat on a feud between HHH and Roman Reigns that nobody cares about.  So what's the point of any of it?

The biggest botch by WWE is ever thinking that Roman and HHH is a good idea for the main event of WM32.  I thought the idea was so bad that they would not even think about doing it, but clearly they believe otherwise.  As I write this things could change and HHH could prove to be the right decision if they go a different direction, but as it currently stands it's a monster dud if they go forward with HHH and Roman and I think they will.

My reasons are simple and I previously shared them in my last blog, so this is not sour grapes.  The whole reason they are doing HHH versus Roman is because WWE thinks that Roman will get over because of the absolute hate the smart fans have for HHH for all he has done to bury guys over the years.  I don't need to expound on HHH and his history.  So I think the WWE believes that hey if we put HHH out there to take one for the team fans will like Roman.  Again if that's your logic Roman is not your GUY!!!!  I don't think they are getting that concept.  I think WWE thought that Roman's biggest step forward was the night he beat up HHH.  I think they misunderstood why fans reacted positively to that moment.

Instead fans will be confused as hell on what to root for and will likely root for HHH, which is a mess.  Do you really want that mixed bag at the top of your show?  Then you have the match quality issue.  There is just no way HHH and Roman are going to do anything all that great in the ring.  I consider the WWE lucky that they got something passable last year.  I have little hope 47 year old HHH who hobbled through a match with Sting last year can do anything that will prevent people from chanting boring.  They guys both need a better dance partner.

It's also the most predictable outcome in a very long time.  There is zero chance that HHH leaves WM32 as champion. If he did the internet might break.  So I think Roman has to win, but people will spend the entire match hoping HHH will win because they don't want Roman.  So in essence the WWE has created a no win situation for itself in front of the biggest smart crowd of the year.  That's not the fans fault that this happen.  The WWE chooses who gets to be in these matches and in this case they chose to bad options hoping it would force us to like the other one.  That should really send alarm bells off in the writers heads.  (Are you guys sensing the trend with this article.)

As I said earlier on a night where the next generation got a lot of love, the WWE put the title on the most overrated Superstar of all time.  The next few weeks will reveal a lot of things like the status of Daniel Bryan, and what the main event is and what happened last night be flipped around to not be that bad.  It's hard to pass judgment now, but I will say this.

For as much as people say that it's all Vince and Vince is screwing everything up, you're wrong.  Vince might have final say and it might be his vision, but HHH is doing very little to stop him especially when it feeds his own ego.  If two people in this world have Vince's ear it's Stephanie and HHH.  I understand that Vince can be stubborn, but I also believe Steph and HHH could talk sense to him if they believed what he was doing was wrong, but in this case they don't.
 
If HHH can't see what I listed above as the possible result of a Roman HHH match at WM32 and how that will bomb then he's an accomplice to this whole charade.  HHH knows all this, but he does zero it would appear to stop it.  It's like that part in the movie Casino where Dinero says that the slots manager was in on a bunch of jackpots hitting close together or too stupid to see what was going on.  HHH is either feeding his massive ego or too dumb to see that him at 47 is not a good idea for the main event of WM and no amount of trying is going to get Roman over at this point with any crowd especially that one.

HHH has to see the ratings and see that people are tired of the Authority, aren't really into Reigns, and aren't over the moon to see him wrestle anymore.  If he can't see that then he's not capable of running the WWE one day.  He and Steph should have stood up to Vince and said they do not agree and would not support this booking.  That the safe thing to do was to put Brock in the main event and find him the best possible opponent.  That putting Roman and HHH down the card was also safer.  If you support that card with some good matches then WM32 will be pretty good.

That's what I believe to be true in my opinion, but seriously how does that not smack anyone who has been following this product for a long time as the truth.  There's no way HHH and Roman at the top of WM32 is going to work out for the WWE the way they want it.  Roman is not ready to be a star and they have so botched this guy's push I'm not sure he will ever be.  HHH didn't have any tread left on his tires at WM25, what makes them think he has any left for WM32, 7 full years later!

And what of Brock Lesnar the guy they have spent the last few weeks drawing the life out of?  They turned this man face because they couldn't fight it, but then the big feud he had in 2015 was a mess of trying to figure out who the good guy and bad guy is.  Since bringing him back they have done nothing logical with him.  Heyman acted as if Brock should not be in the Rumble, which was true, but then suddenly relented and put him in with no swerves attached.  It makes Heyman and Brock look dumb and only further contributes to the WWE marginalizing their biggest draw.

The Rumble last night did not help.  They basically setup a Bray Brock match at WM32 and who the hell wants to see that?  Beyond that what good does that do anyone?  Does Bray the guy who lost to the Undertaker beat Brock the guy that beat him basically three times in the last two years???  How could that be the case and why would we care?  Does Brock beating Bray do anything for either guy?  It only really further buries Bray.

What I really couldn't understand was Bray using his guys to get rid of Brock, but then dismissing them before finishing the match.  It's bad WWE logic at work again.  Everyone is just stupid enough not to get themselves where they need to be.  Why not at least then have Brock get back in the ring and eliminate Bray and a few other people.  That would have at least explained away that little plot hole.  Has Brock gone soft???

A Brock versus Bray, or any Wyatt for that matter, match at WM32 is a waste.  An unlit candle puts off more heat than that feud.  Bray is how Vince views the modern heel.  He's intrigued by him, but has no clue that he needs to win more than he loses to be relevant, but in Vince's eyes you just need to beat up the Dudley's to get some juice back.  I like Bray, but they need to bury him alive and bring him back 6 months later before he can get any heat back.  The guy is just dead as a door nail right now.  So, how would Brock beating this guy get him hot?  Remember him the guy that ended the streak.

I've said that I think the Rumble might prove to be not that bad if things play out differently than they appear right now.  I don't think they will deviate very much, but there is still hope if Daniel Bryan somehow got into that title match.  I'm not the biggest Bryan fan, as I always like to note, but I would bet all my money that his return and entry into the title match would be a monster draw for WM32.  If that match were against HHH then that could be the a perfect ending to the Authority angle and send people home truly happy for the first time since Survivor Series 2014 and even that didn't last very long.

I just don't see it happening.  The way last night went I felt like the WWE just doesn't understand it's real booking problems and their perception of things is always twisted to fit what they want things to be.  Decisions were made in that Rumble to protect Roman from getting booed and they had no sense to stop themselves and say wait this is not how things should work.

They put their title belt on a 47 year old that has terrible hamstrings who is partially retired while they avoided similar decisions with other guys the past few years for the same reasons.  HHH is as big an injury risk as Daniel Bryan is.

It could all get really bad for WWE if they do next what I think they are going to do.  I think Daniel Bryan is coming back, but not for a main event match at WM32, but a match on that show against Nakamura.  I think they believe that if they give that match to the hardcore fans they will help to fill Dallas and maybe get some of the hate off of HHH versus Roman.  They are partially right, but what they are failing to realize again is that bringing back Bryan will only suck all the attention off over everyone and put it on him.  That will only sink Roman further and cause that Roman/HHH match to come under criticism.

At this point you have to questioning whether I think anything they do is the right thing.  It's not what I want or think should happen that is important.  I'm just telling you all what I see and how I think it will affect their business.  What I'm actually driving at is until the WWE starts booking better and stops making decisions around trying to fool their fans into doing what they want it's going to be a bad product and it's only going to get worse.  What matters is that they keep it fun and fresh, and be creative with their decisions.  When the Las Vegas odds makers nail the winner of the Rumble how out of the box are you really thinking.

Fans matter and the WWE needs to realize that.  Stone Cold told Vince that he realized that Vince had no magic wand and couldn't make someone over and Vince agreed.  Stone Cold is right when he says that, but the problem is Vince was lying when he agreed.  He absolutely believes he can decide who's on top and who is not.  The John Cena era gave him the guts to believe that was true because fans didn't cut and run from the WWE, but that was just Vince not realizing how much equity he had with fans.

Recent ratings figures suggest that Vince has burned up all that equity up and he better start working to fix that. If the WWE doesn't proceed correctly from the Rumble last night I think the post WM32 ratings could be dangerously bad and from there they might start begging CM Punk to come back.  It will be interesting to watch to say the least.

The Only Rumble I can See

The WWE is in a bad spot for Main Event quality matches at WM32.  They are simply strapped for options.  Vegas has figured this out and actually made HHH the favorite to win the Rumble.  The guy technically hasn't been a regular wrestler for 7 years.  What Vegas is doing is basically looking at the last match at WM32 and saying by default it has to be Roman and HHH.

Yet, I think that match would flop bad.  First the ending would be obvious.  There's no way HHH is walking out Champion.  People would be way too turned off by that.  Second, the match quality is not going to be anything special.  HHH is 46 and Roman is known for punching and kicking.  They both work well off the right guy, but they aren't a good pairing for each other.

You also have the whole who are the fans going to cheer for situation.  The WM32 crowd is going to be a smart crowd to say the least.  I think they have to realize that this crowd might soundly cheer a heel HHH because of his NXT cred, and the hate on Roman.  Can you really risk putting these guys on last knowing all that?  What if it turns into the 2015 Rumble all over again?

I think the WWE is smart enough to figure this out and I think that they have realized they need to go a different direction if they hope to really garner some positive interest and fill up that stadium.  So I've conceived what I think is a viable plan for this.

First I think Daniel Bryan is for sure coming back.  My belief comes from the fact that Bryan has taken to twitter, something he rarely does, and teased it.  Also there have been numerous reports confirming he's cleared and others saying he's not.  If the WWE ever wants to keep a big secret all they need to do is leak information that confuses everyone.  I think that is why you have so many mixed reports right now.

I think the WWE has to realize that Daniel Bryan is by far their most popular star and has the majority of the crowd on his side.  That cannot be said for Roman or John Cena at this point.  Bryan is not only a safe choice, he's the right choice.  The fans want him.  I attended a Raw show in Chicago this past summer.  Bryan was not on the show, but when WWE did it's WM31 video package recap that they love to run at events off TV, and Bryan by far got the biggest pop of the night.  That's right he out popped Lesnar off a video package.

I would also ask what other talent does WWE have that has main evented a WM that is still in his prime that can wrestle for them?  I think the answer is none.  Bryan brings that credibility that no one else can right now.

So the next question is how do you make this happen and make sure it's good?  IHeyman seeing that the McMahon's are desperate to see Roman beaten as Champion convinced them to allow Brock to be #30 and receive some extra cash for entering his client in the Rumble.

As the Rumble is winding down and #30 approaches Lesnar is still not out and JBL and Cole make a big deal about it.  When it comes time for 30 HHH's music hits.  He comes out, but he's in a suit.  HHH has a mic and yells at Roman from the entrance way.  He introduces the Authorities new handpicked Champion and it's Brock.  Brock and HHH shake hands. Lesnar comes down and cleans house.  Roman puts up a minor fight, but is justifiably dispatched.  HHH attacks Roman on the outside in a similar fashion as to what happened to him at TLC with Brock giving the assist.

Brock, Heyman, Vince, HHH and Stephanie celebrate in the ring as we go off air.  The next night on Raw Roman is dead set on getting to HHH, but the McMahon's won't allow it.  Vince offers Roman a deal.  Vince never wants to see Roman be Champion again so he offers to trade a match at WM32 with HHH for Roman's title shot rematch clause.  Roman claims that Vince has it all wrong.  He's not looking for a match he's looking to beat up HHH.  He agrees to put his rematch clause on the line and agrees to be hands off until WM32, otherwise he will just find HHH when he least expects it and lay a beating on him.  Vince takes his offer.

The show ends with Brock Lesnar coming down to the ring with Heyman to close the show.  Heyman talks about how he struck a deal with the McMahon's for more money if he agreed to enter Brock in the Rumble.  The McMahon's assured him #30 and a very big check.  Heyman notes that Brock is without a #1 contender.  Heyman paints a picture that sends the direct message that Brock is a heel by noting that Brock heard the cheers of the crowd the last few months, and while he didn't mind Brock realized that those fans don't put more money in his pocket and that Vince McMahon does.

He recants all the top stars that are out of action, Seth Rollins, John Cena, and Randy Orton.  He talks about how rumored guys like Nakamura (more on this in a second) haven't done enough in WWE yet to have that spot.  He lists off a few of the top NXT guys and states they are not ready as well.  He then proclaims that it's obvious to him that the WWE has no one that can take on Brock at WM and that for the first time ever Brock will be awarded a walk over.  That's a turn used in horse racing when no other horses enter to race against another top horse.

Heyman proclaims that they will simply have Lesnar come to the ring and count to 10 at WM32 and proclaim him the winner.  He then starts counting to demonstrate how it will all go down.  As it gets near ten Daniel Bryan's music hits.  The crowd goes crazy for the first time in months.  Bryan flies down to the ring and he and Lesnar have an exchange.  He's able to escape an F5 and lands a flying knee sending Lesnar to the outside.

The show cuts from air.  In the weeks that follow Vince denies Bryan the shot and says that he has to earn it.  He stacks the deck on Bryan and puts him in a fatal four way for the title against the League of Nations for the #1 contender spot at Fastlane.  Bryan wins the match and Vince gets some heat back on himself.

The story plays out that Vince and Brock are feuding with Bryan in a David versus Goliath story.  Let it be said at this point that Bryan is probably the only guy who is worthy of beating Brock after all Brock has done.  I think it's great stuff.  You then have the HHH Steph part of the Authority feuding with Roman.

I would specifically have Heyman make that Nakamura reference so that Nakamura can have some buzz coming in the night after Wrestlemania to start a program with Daniel Bryan.  I also want to throw out there that it's not a bad option to go Nakamura versus Undertaker at WM32.  That option could really shake things up.  I also like the idea of AJ Styles versus Owens or Ambrose.  That would also inject some life into that card.  Perhaps even a three way with Ambrose, Owens, and Styles for the IC Title.

NJPW Exits and Raw Review

I was going to actual start with the Raw review because the shown had some promised, but it so fizzled in the end I think it's got to take a back seat to the NJPW news.

So, the story broke yesterday that Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows gave their notices to NJPW after the Dome Show.  Let's take the story and just assume it's true and that they are all headed to WWE.

First many people might think this is bad news for NJPW.  I would argue not really.  Nakamura is a blow.  You can imagine that he was probably headed towards an angle with Okada for the belt, but they have had matches as recent as the G1 Climax in 2015.  So it's not like they haven't done that match.  Also, do they really want to split the crowd after Okada was established as the ace?  NJPW wouldn't have much to gain by forcing fans to pick sides, but again they would get a great match, so you deny the value in that.  Nakamura losing to Okada at the Dome Show would really diminish him.  Him leaving is as much him passing the torch to Okada as Tannahashi losing that match yesterday to Okada.

So, while Nakamura is a blow there wasn't really much left for him to do.  AJ Styles is not that big of a loss.  He's been there champ twice and had matches with the big three.  He's not Japanese and that does matter.  It's almost like he's done his thing there and it's time to move on.  I don't think he's a loss to the overall popularity of the company and he gave them a solid run.  What more can he give them and what more can they ask?

Gallows and Anderson leaving means the end of the Bullet Club.  The angle has be going on for about 4 years now, so it's time.  People were done with the NWO after just a year.  They peaked this past year when they basically held all the belts.  The major heat of the angle is gone.  So again losing that angle if they choose too is not that big of a deal.

Gallows and Anderson had a two year run on top with the Tag Titles.  What more can they do?  It's time for a change.  Do you really want to see those two pushed down the card?  You can make the case that Anderson could have become a viable challenger to Okada, but I just don't think he has the juice to overcome him.  So that's just going to end up going nowhere.  This again is not a big loss to NJPW as they got all they could out of them.

Also, if you weren't paying attention this years WK10 was about moving on.  That's what is going to keep NJPW as a top brand.  Naito is probably going to be fully established as a monster heel this year.  Okada is the new Ace.  Tannahashi is going to be pushed down the card.  There are new tag champs.  They still have Ibushi to turn to down the road as well.  The feeling of WK10 was that of freshness.  All the above guys have been featured around the top so they have to naturally move out of the way to allow the new crop to come up.

So overall I think it wasn't the best news to NJPW, but far from anything that will really diminish the product.  They will be fine.

So what does it all mean for WWE.  There's a lot you could say about this, but I want to keep this to the two likely possibilities.  It probably makes the most sense to send Nakamura to the main roster.  He's not a guy that needs time in NXT. I don't care what the WWE program is.  He's a top of top guys.  That being said I have zero confidence WWE could use him correctly.

I think Nakamura would be given the RVD treatment of everyone seeing the potential, but WWE fumbling how to truly cash in.  If Bryan came back obviously they could make a dream match with those two and appeal to the hardcore fanbase.  Also he has a history with Brock Lesnar.  Both options would really help WM32.  I just doubt they bring Bryan back, but I could see the Lesnar match happening

Yet we all have to remember as long as the endless Roman Reigns push is going on the main roster is not a safe place.  The WWE will work to diminish any person that can get more over than Reigns.  They will quickly hit Nakamura with bad angles, and 50/50 booking.  He will be cooled off just like everyone else in the company has been.

So, sure Nakamura would be great in NXT.  He could have good matches with anyone and the hardcore fans would love it, but man would that be under utilizing his talent in a big way.  I think it's probably what would happen, but can HHH really book a guy like that on a show that is on a smaller scale?  This is one thing they could do with NXT if he were to go, but more on that in a second.

AJ Styles should also probably go to the main roster.  It's almost the same scenario as Nakamura.  He probably would get the same RVD treatment and the Roman Reigns endless push could get him as well.  So I don't think it would end well, but again why would you not put this guy on the main roster.  I don't care what HHH says about main roster spots.  Nakamura and AJ are guys that can have angles without the title that will keep people's interest.  The main roster is filled with guys that WWE has booked to not succeed.  There are plenty of spots, but the overarching don't let anyone get more over than Roman Reigns problem isn't going away anytime soon.

So, you probably are safer putting AJ in NXT.  Again that's not a bad thing because AJ has a built in story with Finn Balor that could make for some hot shows and great matches.  So where Nakamura would be just inserted in as a new guy AJ would have a built in story that could draw.  That's not a bad thing.

Gallows and Anderson should probably go to NXT first to build up there reputation with the WWE crowd.  I think a hot run that could also be focused on Balor ditching them is in order.  Balor was the previous leader of the Bullet Club when he left for NXT.  I don't think they will be presented as the Bullet Club.  I'm sure NJPW owns part of that gimmick and that's not really a PG name or presentation.  I think they come in with a fresh name.  That scares me though.

I can't see WWE changing Gallows or AJ's name, but if they try to change Nakamura???  He's a much bigger star than Kenta so hopefully the resist.  Anderson can't be the Machine Gun anymore I'm sure, but hopefully they stay with Karl Anderson.

I think an important note is that just like Finn Balor these guys are no spring chickens.  They are all over the age of 30 with AJ and Nakamura being closer to 40.  Can you really put these guys in NXT to waste away?  There is one way that you can.

If WWE truly pulls the trigger in 2016 and says hey, we are getting heat like hell from the fans about the campiness of our main roster product.  NXT is getting a lot of love from the hardcore fans.  We are selling out NXT shows like wild fire.  Why don't we give this NXT a shot.  Let's make it into a product that is geared towards the hardcore fan on a bigger scale than what it has been.  Let's expand the weekly content by an hour or maybe with another show and let's start touring more aggressively with the bigger names and leave the developmental guys in Orlando more.  Let's have all the PPV's be at big arena's and see if we can sell them out.  

I would suggest what WWE should do is realize that the Network can only grow if WWE has different universes and they could go all in with NXT as a way to push people to the Network and get some hate off of the main roster product.  Instead of looking at NXT as the place to grow guys make it into it's own thing where they actually have a chance to become a real touring brand that can draw money and make the Network more successful.

I think that's what HHH would like to do, but it's hard to look past the Wrestlemania brand as not being what WWE is all about.  Also, just like ECW the bigger it gets the more involved Vince will want to be.  I can also see Raw slipping even more and that doesn't help WWE.  So it's not an ideal idea for them, but one I think Hardcore fans would embrace.  If you aren't going to give us what we want on Monday's just give us our own brand and we will shut up.

The WWE has to do something.  If they keep NXT small and add these guys them the move they are making here won't be as big a deal as it should be.  Right now there real issue is direction and creative.  No amount of talent is going to be able overcome the 50/50 booking that they are using to protect Roman Reigns.  Until that changes they could hire any number of stars and it won't matter.

Raw Review

I thought the opening promo from Roman was not that bad, but it just shows that he's never going to be able to help himself that much with the mic.  Unless he starts wrestling like a beast and not just punching his way through everyone I fail to see how he's going to become a monster star that they think he could be.

Like I said to open this piece I was feeling that this was going to be an interesting night on Raw and maybe it would outshine the NJPW exits, but then after the promo I realized it was going to be 2.5 hours of waiting for anything interesting to happen.

There were a few mid card dealings that were worth talking about.  Ambrose got to really stretch his wings by smashing Owens.  That only further made me believe that he's a big star, but I think the WWE plans to clip his wings on Smackdown and give Owen's back the IC title.  That is the right move after all to protect Roman's push.

They did a good job getting heat on Charlotte over Becky.  That was well played, but they booked the match between these two for Smackdown.  Ugh, why not wait for the Rumble?  Why not give them promo time to develop this a little and build it up?  There's some good directions they could go here.

Jericho came back and I was cool with it beyond the Rooty tooty...ugh...who cares.  It was almost like they wanted to hold down Jericho from getting to hot.  He's a good addition to the Rumble though.

Ziggler lost to Heath Slater.  It's good to see they are trying with the new Social Outcast group, but this gimmick is doomed to fail.  The problem is all presentation as it is with every thing they have done lately.  I hope Dolph is getting paid a lot of money to waste away in WWE like he is.

So on to the main event.  Vince looked trim and it was quite funny to come back from commercial with Vince flexing his pecs at the camera.  If you think about how much he controls regarding the wrestling business it was really funny to see him standing there doing that.  For me it will be the most memorable moment of this match.

What really caught my attention was when Roman came out.  The crowd basically did nothing beyond stand up.  Few people had there arms in the air and there wasn't any kind of pop.  This guy is your Champion headed to the ring for a main event title match with Vince McMahon as the ref and he gets no pop???  How could Vince not sense that maybe this whole thing is just not going to work as he was standing in the ring. Just to confirm they weren't wild for Roman, when Lillian introduced him moments later he got very little reaction as well.

The match was a forgettable affair and was nothing special.  Vince slow counted Roman a few times, but it all seemed silly.  As they worked down to the end execution became a huge problem.  Roman had had enough of Vince working against him so he Superman punched him and then speared Sheamus.  He covered Sheamus, but there was obviously no one to count.  Who did Roman think would count after just two seconds earlier he had knocked Vince out?

Roman dispatched Sheamus to the outside and tossed him over the announce table.  He then headed back in the ring to deal with Vince.  This made little sense, but I think WWE thought they would get a huge pop for Roman attacking Vince, but the fans didn't go all that crazy.  I think largely because Roman is not that over and what was happening seemed so awkward and forced.

Stephanie came out to save her Dad.  As she stood on the ropes yelling at Roman, Vince got tossed on the ropes and caused Stephanie to fall in the ring.  The crowd did pop for this thinking that something was going to happen to Stephanie, but she quickly got out of the ring.  Again this was poorly executed.  Roman then turned his attention back to Vince, but Sheamus came out of nowhere and hit Roman with two Brogue kicks.

It seemed impossible that Roman could kick out if Vince just counted, but Vince awkwardly signaled for another ref from the back.  Why?  He could signal for the ref, but not give a count?  The execution was so poor here.  Finally Scott Armstrong who we haven't seen in months, appeared. He has famously been a heel ref for the Authority in the past.  Roman kicked out of the count.  Sheamus made Armstrong pick up Roman and hold him in place for another Brogue kick!  HUH?  That made no sense.

Roman ducked and Armstrong ate the kick leading to Roman hitting the spear and another ref coming down to count Sheamus out.  Vince then punched out that ref and grabbed a mic.  He announced that Roman would now have to defend his title in the Royal Rumble match against 29 other men.  So basically the winner of the Rumble gets the WWE title.

They could have easily held the title up on the basis of Roman striking an official twice, but I think the WWE wants to avoid having no Champion after having to do that in 2014 and 2015.  So for that I don't blame them, but this is basically the same thing as the 1992 Rumble.  I like that twist because it makes the Rumble different this year, but it didn't save the awkwardness and poor execution of the end of this show.  If WWE hasn't decided what to do with Roman this show should have told them.  There was not crowd reaction for him beating up a 70 year old and really why would there be!

Roman is not the guy, but I realize it will be a while before WWE truly accepts they botched this whole thing and did damage to the product in doing so.  I don't know if the Rumble is soon enough for them to start righting the wrongs, but it gives them an easy out.

Roman could simply be cost the Rumble match by HHH setting up Roman and HHH at WM32.  That's a great spot for Roman and I think he would win praise for beating HHH.  I don't think WWE can have a title match between those two.  Roman isn't hot enough and HHH would be seen as a likely winner at all.  So I think that match has to be a grudge match to make it compelling.

The WWE has the out, but will they take.  Raw was not a bad watch and with the intrigue raised and Lesnar being back next week has some appeal to it.  If Raw was two hours tonight the show would have been really good.  They could have opened with the Steph Roman Promo, done the Neville Owens match, then went to the Becky Charlotte match, put in those backstage Vince promo's, executed the Jericho return, had the New Day match and then went into the main event.  If you think about it that's not a bad show, but gap in the middle is too great.

If you follow people tweeting about the show.  They all start out strong sending out a lot of good thoughts, but they fade as the show drags on.  Just like beating the Roman Reigns endless push dead horse the 3 hour Raw issue is kind of the same thing.