October 13, 2019 - Evan Luebbe

Bayley Heel Turn

October 13, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Since Bayley destroyed her inflatables, which was a great tactic to signify her change in attitude by the way. It’s safe to say that she has officially turned heel. Bayley was sort of trying to uphold the status of babyface for a couple of months by claiming that all she was doing was maintaining her loyalty to Sasha Banks, but now she has fully embraced the dark side. It was a very smart move by WWE to make Bayley’s heel turn gradual because her character was so firmly entrenched as a face that it took a while for the WWE universe to accept her in any other portrayal.

I personally like this character change for Bayley, simply because she was becoming a little bit stale and the WWE universe could basically script what to expect from her. It is a little bit surprising, however, from the perspective that one might guess that WWE and FOX would have elected to begin the new era of SmackDown with a familiar Women’s Champion in Charlotte Flair.

In my opinion, this will now solidify the women’s division in WWE as being viewed in the same light as the guys. I’m of course referring to Becky Lynch being the no.1 pick this past week in the WWE draft.

WWE probably missed a significant opportunity on SmackDown. This would have been a great way for Seth Rollins to turn heel on Roman Reigns because:

they have an extensive history together and it would have been sure to get a massive reaction from the WWE universe, and;
there have been hints of a character change for Seth since WrestleMania when he won the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar for the first time with a low blow.

The most recent example was on October 6 at Hell in a Cell in which he was heavily booed after displaying an excessive amount of aggression towards The Fiend. He already seems to be a villain on social media, so this would add to the heel persona.

The strong booking of Kofi Kingston continues, since he is the one who got the pin on AJ Styes in The New Day’s victory over The OC. WWE has made absolutely certain to book him as a strong competitor and a main event player against all competition except Brock Lesnar, who will be busy with Cain Velasquez at Crown Jewel.

Balor’s Trend

October 13, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Finn Balor may be at the forefront of an emerging trend in WWE. He is taking slightly less money by going back to NXT in exchange for more overall flexibility to spend time with family and have more free time to do things that contribute to his own personal happiness. I’d take that deal because it sounds like it would have a great likelihood of making a positive impact on mental and emotional stability.

NXT has an advantage from the perspective of how much time it requires. NXT superstars only work one event per week as opposed to four on the main roster, and it’s always taped in the same location: Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. Jon Moxley of AEW, who formerly worked for WWE as Dean Ambrose, made headlines recently complaining about WWE’s travel schedule and said that he thought it was too much. It may be smart for WWE to look for ways to reduce the travel schedules of its top superstars. This will improve their quality of life as well as keep them with the company rather than leaving for competing companies like AEW.

The cruiserweight division seems to be fully integrating as a part of NXT, which will significantly add to the depth of the roster. The Cruiserweight Championship has officially been recognized as an NXT title, so I would assume this means that 205 Live on the WWE Network will be scrapped. This is a smart business move because the show was simply lacking star power so even diehard fans didn’t have much of a reason to be interested. The in-ring work was fantastic, but it failed to engage fans in its storylines.

Rhea Ripley actually gives off the vibe of a credible challenger with the capability of taking the NXT Women’s Championship from Shayna Baszler. As for Bianca Belair, she has challenged for the NXT Women’s Championship before and has quietly built herself back into form over the past couple of months. My bet to win the title and begin a new era for the NXT women’s division is Rhea Ripley.

Tommaso Ciampa never lost the NXT Championship and he was a fantastic champion, so it only makes sense that he would return to claim what is rightfully his. In the meantime, it will be great just to see him in action again against Angel Garza next week.

Congratulations to Lio Rush on becoming Cruiserweight Champion immediately after seeking a 10-month hiatus from WWE. He will definitely provide the ability to cut excellent promos that hopefully strike a chord with the WWE universe – more so than Drew Gulak, and he is also every bit as good in the ring (hopefully they are not as annoying as those of Enzo Amore).

Fury’s Star Power

October 13, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

WWE is most likely going to leverage the star power of Tyson Fury for Crown Jewel emanating from Saudi Arabia. The company is likely going to book a match between Fury and Braun Strowman in addition to Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar (one would think the WWE Championship will be on the line). The Saudi government pays WWE a whole lot of money for the two events per year that they host, so WWE makes sure to pull out all the stops and book shows very well at all reasonable costs.

This will be kind of like the 2008 match between The Big Show and Floyd Mayweather (except Fury and Strowman are about the same size).

The Lana-Lashley storyline is going to significantly aid Bobby Lashley in getting over with the WWE universe. She is engaging him in a storyline the audience cares about, has empathy for, and feels invested in. It leaves fans wondering “how could Lashley be so heartless and steal another man’s wife?” It might also create an opening for Rusev to officially turn babyface.

Am I the only one who thinks Lashley creates a feeling in the bedroom very similar to “Sexual Chocolate” Mark Henry? He is the last man anyone would expect to be timid in front of the camera and a mic in part because of his physique. Hopefully, this will serve to make him more comfortable, as he has never been overly comfortable on the mic.

The Viking Raiders have done absolutely nothing the past few months but quietly keep their heads down and impress on a weekly basis. It paid off this week with them earning a victory over the Raw Tag Team Champions Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, who have clearly found a niche in the Tag Team Division. The Viking Raiders will receive a much-deserved opportunity at the Raw Tag Team Championships next week.

It’s somewhat surprising that Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross are still pursuing the Women’s Tag Team Championships. One might have thought that Alexa and Nikki would split after losing the titles and go their separate ways. I figured that Alexa might go to SmackDown on FOX and feud with Charlotte Flair, giving FOX a blockbuster rivalry that has not been explored that much. By the way, this was probably the biggest victory for Asuka and Kairi Sane over WWE’s top two women.

The overall direction of the company is very encouraging – many of the new employees are absolutely thriving, the storylines are in good shape (there will always be a fair share of complaints and room for improvement), and the new sets for Raw and SmackDown combined with the return of pyro creates very exciting vibes.

Hell in a Cell 2019 – Menacing Fiend

October 13, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Since 2009 when Hell in a Cell began, WWE has established this event as a slower-paced environment where superstars get the opportunity, and an adequate amount of time, to showcase their in-ring ability and properly tell stories. The event didn’t disappoint this time around as the matches were some of the best I’ve seen in WWE since WrestleMania 35. Not one of them disappointed in the slightest.

The Fiend’s demonic character fits perfectly in Hell in a Cell. Because of this, Vince McMahon may want to consider booking his match at WrestleMania to take place inside the Cell. This would be a special occasion because the last ‘Mania match in Hell in a Cell was the End of an Era Match between Triple H and The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012. I was in attendance for this, and The Undertaker’s streak was still in-progress.

Seth Rollins is going to be psychologically in a dark place for quite some time. He very arguably turned heel at Hell in a Cell. The entire match upset fans because it didn’t make much sense from a psychology standpoint. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough to overcome the Horror movie-like aura of The Fiend. The only superstar who I would dare compare him to is Kane when he debuted in the first-ever Hell in a Cell match in 1997 and he brought the Michael Myers Presence.

I personally thought the psychology of the match was fantastic. Seth Rollins’ character did a complete revolution around the merry-go-round in a matter of one match lasting about 20 minutes.

The match between Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch was also a barnburner. It served to kick off the show in an unbelievable way. There is a very plausible scenario where Becky Lynch holds the Raw Women’s Championship until ‘Mania next April, which will market one full year of her holding the title. She most definitely deserves it, as the energy she puts out clearly resonates with the WWE universe.

This victory for Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan appears to be the official starting point of a face turn and change of heart for Bryan. It could also be the start of a major push into WWE Championship contention for Roman right around WrestleMania time (I don’t feasibly see a scenario in which he’s drafted anywhere but SmackDown, as he is WWE’s top star and his character also fits perfectly with the sports atmosphere FOX intends to create).

It was refreshing to see the Kabuki Warriors undergo a character change and win the Women’s Tag Team Championships. They are too skilled of performers to not win these titles at some point. Asuka got a nostalgic pop from the crowd to finish the match by using the mist that Tajiri used to use back in the day.

I have only one thing to say about the 10-time Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair: Woooo! The OC also could not afford to take a clean loss, particularly Gallows and Anderson. Finally, Chad Gable seems to be embracing the “Shorty” moniker. He is someone to keep an eye on because Vince McMahon reportedly really likes him.

His victory over Ali may be a subtle hint that Randy Orton will get another major Title opportunity sooner rather than later, perhaps on Monday Night Raw since he has been on the SmackDown roster for a few years. The victory would definitely be a sign of an impending title match if we were talking about NXT, since wins and losses mean a whole lot more down at Full Sail University.

Brock Lesnar is reportedly scheduled to square off with Cain Velasquez at Crown Jewel on October 31 and is also scheduled to appear on SmackDown more frequently in the coming months. This completely makes sense. FOX probably demands it since they are paying WWE $1 billion to air SmackDown.