June 22, 2019 - Evan Luebbe

Roddy Turn

June 23, 2019June 22, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

This has been subtly foreshadowed for weeks, but it was evidenced again that Roddy (Roderick Strong) will be the first member of The Undisputed Era to sever his ties to the group and end their dominance. This makes total sense as he was the last member to join the group. This imminent breakup was further brought out this past week by the fact that it was Strong who got the pin on Velveteen Dream to clinch the victory for his team.

Damian Priest, formerly known as Punishment Martinez, looks to have officially found his niche.

One other superstar who impressed the NXT universe is Xia Lee, so that is something to keep an eye on. Another superstar who looks to be getting a major push in the near future is Mia Yim.

New Day Fresh Feeling

June 23, 2019June 22, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

It’s a fantastic idea for WWE to emphasize the unity by keeping The New Day together throughout Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship reign. It simply doesn’t feel right for the brothers to split at this point, and it also brings in a fresh narrative to WWE since virtually all tag teams/factions break up after a decent amount of time (take Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannety in the ’90s, for example, or The Shield as the most recent example).

Speaking of their segment, Dolph Ziggler is doing a beautiful job of playing a character who is bitter about the past and it cannot let go. It is blatantly obvious, however, that Dolph will not be winning the WWE Championship this weekend because his character is placing far too much importance on winning. He is obsessed with the end goal and putting it up on a pedestal rather than focusing on the process (like Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers), decreasing importance, and seeing it as natural for him to be WWE Champion.

For example, Seth Rollins became Universal Champion by decreasing the importance of it and simply enjoying the process of being intercontinental Champion and also being Monday Night Rollins (same thing with Kofi Kingston).

I love analyzing WWE storylines from a psychological perspective (it was the original major I chose for college before I switched to Sports Marketing). Dolph is easy to analyze from this perspective, and my theory is because he has an interest in stand-up comedy and many comedians are very deep and introspective people. If you don’t believe me, just do a YouTube search on Jim Carrey.

It probably will not happen, but it would be a massive surprise and shortly give SmackDown a huge jump in ratings if Brock Lesnar were to show up unannounced on SD Live one of these weeks for the first time in many years to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. In my mind, this would greatly benefit WWE both from a television perspective and a business perspective.

Alexa Bliss and Bayley both emanated a palpable feeling that they were both speaking from the heart (see, Bayley can do it with a little help and guidance), and Alexa obviously used her character’s signature negative and manipulative slant to justify the fact that she uses relationships with others to get ahead in life. The trademark of her character is being an energy vampire who preys on sucking the life force out of other people to serve her own inner intentions.

I have heard nothing but great things about Lexi Kaufman as a human being, but Alexa Bliss embodies these qualities perfectly. These ideas are based on the book Reality Transurfing by the Russian quantum physicist Vadim Zeland. Another story currently going on in WWE that has to do with the ideas expressed in this book is the story with Bray Wyatt, who is using the methods of a destructive fear-based pendulum to further his own career. I won’t go into further detail about these concepts because they are a bit confusing. You can read the book if you want like.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have a great dynamic on-screen and friendship off-screen. They clearly need each other, and neither one would be with WWE without the other. Kevin Owens piggybacked off Zayn to get started in NXT because Zayn was signed first, so he got an earlier jump. Kevin Owens, however, was promoted to the main roster first and Zayn piggybacked off him when he got promoted. Both of these men have gotten mutual benefit out of this relationship both personally and professionally. The careers of these two men will clearly forever be intertwined, and the WWE universe is invested in their relationship and cannot wait to see how it plays out over time.

There is no way I can be the only one who feels that it would be extremely profitable for WWE to capitalize on the engagement between Andrade and Charlotte Flair by making them a power couple similar to what WWE did in the late 90s with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H.

One person WWE would unfortunately need to get rid of to make this work is Zelina Vega. Maybe Andrade could start an on-screen affair with Flair. WWE would not need to release Vega but simply affiliate her with a different storyline.

Side Note: The 24/7 Title is a bit unnecessary (as I have stated before, a TV Title might be more appropriate that is defended each week on TV, either Raw or SmackDown, but never on pay-per-views), but R-Truth provides great comic relief during shows. He lost his title to Drake Maverik, Oh Jeez!

And I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m looking more forward to Roman Reigns – Drew McIntyre than Reigns – Shane.

Build to Stomping Grounds Sunday

June 23, 2019June 22, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie, Shane, the creative team, as well as for whoever else is in charge of storyline creation in WWE needs to make a Seth Rollins – Daniel Bryan feud come to fruition before one of them is out of his prime. This would be a massive moneymaker for WWE and would also draw a lot of interest in the product, similar to the potential AJ Styles – Finn Balor story mentioned in my Superstar Sagas post.

This time, it was fully expected for Rollins to win, given that he is the current Universal Champion and he and Bryan are currently on separate brands (and Bryan is a current SmackDown Tag Team Champion). Baron Corbin will be included in this section too because he did, come out and attack Rollins after the match to build for the go-home episode of Raw heading into Stomping Grounds. He is doing a beautiful job portraying a heel who is completely focused on the low vibrational frequency of his ego. It is absolutely genius for WWE to announce his resume every time he comes out to grace us with his presence.

Congratulations are in order for Ricochet, who will be getting his first championship opportunity against Samoa Joe basically four months after his debut on the main roster. It makes perfect sense to give him a major push because there is virtually nothing he cannot do in the ring. He will wind up having a great career due to these abilities despite the fact that he is a little smaller than the typical top-level superstar that Vince McMahon typically goes for, very similar to Finn Balor. Finn, however, resonates with audiences a little more whereas they are simply in awe of Ricochet.

Cesaro’s ridiculous strength was also on display on Raw, as he manhandled Braun Strowman not once but twice. I mean you would expect that from Bobby Lashley because he is a freak (no offense to Lars Sullivan), but Cesaro doesn’t even have the look of a guy who might possess that type of strength. Speaking of him, he should definitely have a match at Stomping Grounds.

Side Note: Thank you Paul Heyman for intelligently referencing the Los Angeles Lakers just two days after trading for AD (Anthony Davis). Also, my condolences go out to Elias after suffering the barrage of punishment to start off Monday Night Raw (sarcasm, hehe).

The AJ Styles – Finn Balor Story

June 23, 2019June 22, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

This possibility seems further away with each passing week because neither superstar is young in his career (Styles is nearing the end of his career) and they’re still on separate brands three years into the current brand split. It would be a shame, however, if WWE didn’t capitalize on the rich history between AJ and Finn, with both being leaders of the famous Bullet Club at different times in Japan (which WWE oddly doesn’t acknowledge).

The only time they’ve ever met in WWE history was in October 2017 at the TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs event in an impromptu match after Bray Wyatt, who Balor was supposed to face, came down with a case of the mumps. The match between Balor and Styles was extremely well-received by fans (including myself), signifying that delving deeper into a storyline between these guys would draw much intrigue and money to the company.

It doesn’t even necessarily matter if a rivalry between the superstars individually develops or, if the superstars perhaps were to form a group with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows as heels or babyfaces. Maybe faces would be a better option right now to give fans something different to sink their teeth into because The Undisputed Era is currently a heel faction and is still under the WWE umbrella despite NXT being a completely separate brand.

Vince McMahon would probably need to do a brand unification if that were to ever happen because they are currently on different brands. This does not matter that much anyway, because at this point, the Wild Card Rule seems a bit pointless. I just thought I’d throw the idea out there because SummerSlam is quickly approaching, and this would be a huge money match. I’m also fully aware that I am not the first person to suggest this idea. This would give WWE a new direction and a brand-new feel that would always be welcome in a business that prides itself on constant evolution (just ask Triple H since he was a part of the group Evolution).

Vince McMahon and WWE clearly love AJ Styles and his in-ring abilities, and while Finn Balor does not have the look or the size of a typical WWE superstar, he has an it-factor that clearly resonates with crowds.

Alexa and Nikki

June 23, 2019June 22, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

One element I would like to address is the rivalry that is growing between Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. This is one of the best storylines going right now in WWE, but it’s taking a while to build which is necessary in order to get people to actually care about it. The momentum of the story may very well carry right into SummerSlam, culminating with a match between the two women.

This particular storyline is being done so effectively because WWE is exercising a great deal of patience and not rushing any element of the story. The company is giving fans an adequate amount of time to become familiar with Nikki Cross after being promoted to the main roster from NXT. This is the first storyline she has been involved in that has given the WWE universe the opportunity to get to know her character as it develops. It also significantly helps that Alexa has been involved in a story somewhat similar to this with Nia Jax.