March 23, 2019 - Evan Luebbe

What About a New “Samoan Shield” of Roman Reigns & Usos

May 17, 2019March 23, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

I would like to talk about a topic I feel is very pressing for this week. The fact that Roman Reigns would like to experiment a little bit with the versatility of his character and show more of his personality. He has claimed that his off-screen personality is very similar to that of his cousin’s, The Usos. Roman claims that all three of them are “big kids” and that all three of them like to goof off and have fun. I personally would be excited to see Roman broaden his horizons and include other elements to his character besides the “stoic brawler.” It would be refreshing to see him add another layer of depth to his character, perhaps a comedic one, and have the ability to entertain the WWE universe in a completely different way.

To sum it up, it’s different but I’m all for it. Here is a business idea for WWE: since Dean Ambrose is leaving after WrestleMania and WWE could be left without The Shield (although I have heard that Braun Strowman is going to be an honorary Shield member for at least a short time after ‘Mania), WWE could form a new Shield not involving Seth Rollins but instead form a Samoan Shield and involving Roman Reigns and the Usos. If their personalities are that similar, why not?

I could see the WWE universe getting behind it right from the get-go. It would also be a perfect way for Roman to expand his character and add yet another dimension. I can’t remember exactly where I read this, but I know for a fact that I’m not the first person to come up with this idea. It’s always hard for a company to move on from their bread and butter, but it has to be done at some time, why not now right after WrestleMania.

NXT Vibe is Special

May 17, 2019March 23, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Triple H is 100% correct in saying NXT is a special place. It just has a different feel to it than the main roster. It was also a pleasant surprise to see Kona Reeves considering we haven’t seen him in quite some time, so I haven’t gotten a chance to talk about him on this blog. Let’s see if Triple H could come up with a creative way in the future to make him a champion.

Adam Cole will finally challenge for the NXT Championship. I had a feeling he really has the potential to be a great champion when he first debuted at Takeover: Brooklyn in 2017. He will be able to put on a great match with Johnny Gargano.

I also wish Tommaso Ciampa all the luck in the world on the road to a speedy recovery.

Storyline Energy Manipulation of Emotions

May 17, 2019March 23, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

One huge topic that is absolutely imperative to discuss is the fact that Kofi Kingston, although he did win the gauntlet match, he did not defeat Daniel Bryan. Vince McMahon is trying to make it seem as though he does not want Kofi anywhere near the WWE Championship.

I was legitimately distraught after watching SmackDown and it put a damper on my entire night. This is why Vince McMahon is a billionaire though, because he has figured out how to manipulate the energy of people’s emotions on a grand scale.

On a supplemental note, there are two smaller topics I would like to touch on, the first being with the Women’s Tag Team Titles. I’m not so sure anymore if it will be Beth Phoenix and Natalya challenging Sasha Banks and Bayley. It may be The IIconics, which would be an underwhelming match to say the least (I find them more annoying than anything). They did pin the champions so they could always be added to the match at WrestleMania.

The final topic for SmackDown this week is the fact that a ‘Mania match between Ray Mysterio and Samoa Joe was announced, even though WWE was rather quiet about it. I’m not upset about it at all, in fact it may be very quietly one of the best matches on the WrestleMania card.

On the flip side, putting Mysterio in that role eliminates the possibility of a Joe versus Cena match. As long as he is physically able, Cena has to do something at the biggest show of the year. He has already wrestled The Undertaker, so that only leaves one possibility, and that is him somehow working his way into the retirement match at WrestleMania against Kurt Angle. This would make perfect sense because Cena interrupted none other than Kurt Angle on the first episode of SmackDown on which he ever appeared in 2002. Unfortunately, no one wants to see Baron Corbin versus Kurt Angle at WrestleMania.

It will also be very interesting if Vince elects to include Mysterio’s son in the mix for this match by having him accompany his father to the ring. I have not seen Dominic since SummerSlam 2005 when he was included in the storyline of his father’s against Eddie Guerrero.

Buildups to WrestleMania Stay Strong

March 23, 2019March 23, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

To start things off this week, I would like to discuss what transpired at the beginning of Raw in the confrontation between Brock Lesnar and Drew McIntyre. If Lesnar retains his title at WrestleMania, and, unfortunately, that possibility needs to be acknowledged, then this very well may be the main event at SummerSlam. I have nothing against Brock (it’s the opposite in fact: I think he is a fantastic performer), I just wish he would show up more often. It may have been cool at some point during Lesnar’s career to see him take a little more ownership of his character and not rely so much on Paul Heyman, but that ship may have sailed since Brock is so late in his career.

I also humbly think that Kurt Angle deserves better than what McMahon is giving him with the booking for his retirement match at ‘Mania. It makes sense from a storytelling standpoint, but, in my opinion, he deserves a much better opponent from a wrestling standpoint than Baron Corbin, maybe someone like Finn Balor. Corbin has not done a whole lot to stand out in his three years on the main roster.

I guess Beth Phoenix is going to come out of retirement for at least one more match at WrestleMania to challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships along with Natalya against Sasha Banks and Bayley. Personally, I have never been all that impressed with Natalya. I have never resonated with her (I know this would hurt her feelings. It’s not that I don’t want to, I just don’t).

It has become apparent that Ricochet and Aleister Black are the No. 1 contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania, and they should win because they are much more over than The Revival.

One other thing that deserves mentioning is the strength of Drew McIntyre’s booking as of late. It went through a little bit of a rough patch in the Fall of 2018 but has made a full recovery. McIntyre’s match with Roman Reigns should be a great one at WrestleMania (in part because it’s such an easy story to relate to. I read an article about it on Forbes.com written by Blake Oestriecher, one of my favorite authors on the Internet regarding the business of WWE). If I were Vince, I would use this opportunity to book McIntyre to come out of this match as the victor, cementing him as the top heel on Monday Night Raw. Roman Reigns would not be too badly hurt by this loss.

Side Note: Congratulations to Alexa Bliss on hosting this year’s WrestleMania, and also to Elias, for that matter, on being the headlining musical act at WrestleMania this year. It may be beneficial to Elias’ career and possibly solidify him as at least a mid-carder if he is booked in the future closer to the way he was immediately prior to the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in 2018 in which a slightly more serious side of his character is explored and developed. Otherwise, WWE runs the risk of having him turn into No Way Jose (I love No Way Jose, but let’s be honest… he’s a slightly more tolerable version of Adam Rose from a few years ago), and no one wants that. Elias deserves better. He is fun, but he needs to develop a slightly more serious side to his character in the future if he wants to become a multiple-time champion one day.

WrestleMania Length Stretches Fan Appreciation

May 17, 2019March 23, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Let’s talk about the length of WrestleMania. First of all, I thought it became too long starting with WrestleMania 32 in 2016. Fans were just wiped out by main event time when Roman Reigns and Triple H came out for their match. I was very surprised when WWE decided to continue this format for the next two years.

This year however, they may be taking it even further. WrestleMania is set to be as long as a typical workday. There are 17 matches that are going to be on this year’s card, and there have only been seven officially announced. This is not a big deal for the die-hard fans, but I’m worried this could turn away casual fans because they are going to deem that they have better things to do than to watch wrestling for eight hours.

I read an excellent point on thesportster.com talking about how Vince McMahon has developed the idea ever since the inception of the WWE network, that nearly every superstar needs to be included on the WrestleMania card, and that’s just not the case. One aspect of an event like WrestleMania that makes it special is that not everyone gets featured on the card, so superstars feel really valuable to the company if they have a big match at the biggest show of the year. It’s just a note for Vince and Triple H to be careful; they have a great product that isn’t going away anytime soon but, making sure fans stay engaged is critical to long-term success.