November 3, 2019 - Evan Luebbe

NXT Intro

November 4, 2019November 3, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Travel issues on the way home from Saudi Arabia? No big deal; NXT covered in a great way for the SmackDown superstars and probably delivered every bit as good of a show as the originals would have, maybe even better. This was by far the best episode of SmackDown since its debut on FOX. The show follows a simple formula and each segment just seems too low right into the next; because of that, it’s a very easy episode to write about.

NXT as a third brand will add an entirely different and fresh feel to the Survivor Series Pay-Per-View. This is something the Survivor Series event is badly in need of; over the course of the last couple of years, the event has become somewhat stale and had a predictable feel. It was a very smart decision for some NXT superstars to show up on SmackDown and go 3-0 in matches against main roster superstars; the biggest being NXT Champion Adam Cole retaining his title against Daniel Bryan.

Even Pat McAfee showed up and filled in as a commentator for Aiden English after about 30 minutes, and he did a rather excellent job. It’s also so cool that he is a former NFL player; who knows, maybe his recently retired teammate Andrew Luck could get involved with WWE in the future. His dad, Oliver Luck, is the Commissioner of Vince McMahon’s XFL that will begin play in February 2020.

November 1, 2019 had to be a proud day for Triple H, but let’s also address Brock Lesnar. He and Paul Heyman quit SmackDown so Brock could go after Rey Mysterio on Monday Night Raw. This may be a way for WWE to compensate for the fact that both major champions are now on FOX; or I could be totally wrong, and WWE could be setting up for another major trade between brands.

This will also free up time for Paul Heyman to devote himself exclusively to the production of Monday Night Raw since he is the Executive Director and Bruce Prichard is the Executive Director of SmackDown.

NXT at Survivor Series

November 4, 2019November 3, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

NXT’s inclusion at Survivor Series officially marks, at least in my mind, that NXT is now viewed on a level playing field with the main roster in WWE. NXT superstars already feel that way, and they definitely should because the black and gold brand has always had excellent in-ring work. Superstars are also protected in terms of their booking; not to mention they don’t have to travel nearly as much (at least for now).

It seems like Vince McMahon is guilty of over-planning at times for events. Triple H seems to be slightly better about being a little more relaxed about preparation and not stressing himself out too much.

WWE’s next step with regard to the incorporation of NXT into its product may be to interchange superstars across brands. Just a thought.

Crown Jewel 2019

November 4, 2019November 3, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

The first-ever women’s match in Saudi Arabia signifies a major cultural shift in terms of the way women are viewed in society in the Middle East. This societal leap matters way more than the result of the match. It also makes perfect sense as to who was featured in the match. Natalya is a well-respected veteran who has helped the women’s division in WWE make massive strides, and Lacey Evans is a former Marine.

WWE probably didn’t have The Fiend win the Universal Championship at Hell in a Cell because they wanted a major title change to take place in Saudi Arabia (likely due to the insane amount of money WWE receives from the Saudi government – it’s a courtesy to have big, interesting things happen at this event).

Tyson Fury looked good in his match with Braun Strowman. That’s to be expected since he has openly stated his desire to get involved in the sports entertainment industry. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Cain Velasquez. He looked almost uncomfortable to a degree in his match with Brock Lesnar.

So, Humberto Carrillo’s great start to his WWE career continued at Crown Jewel with a United States Championship opportunity. At this stage in his career, it’s not that important if he wins; but just to get the opportunity is significant.

AJ Styles will begin to be featured in a more prominent role on Monday Night Raw because he is now the only champion on Monday nights (which suits his gimmick by the way).

Speaking of The OC, Gallows and Anderson are beginning to solidify themselves as a dominant tag team on Raw, as they should be. WWE booked the tag team match perfectly in terms of the final two teams, The Viking Raiders and The OC. It didn’t matter who won between those two teams so much because either one would have been hurt by the loss (The Viking Raiders will surely be booked to gain back their momentum relatively quickly).

Congratulations to the hometown boy Mansoor on beating Cesaro. WWE may have a real gem in this superstar; he is young, at just 24 years old. The company might be wise to explore his potential.

The primary purpose of the 5-on-5 tag team match was to give the Saudi Arabia crown some nostalgia to cheer for because the kingdom of Saudi Arabia always makes it clear that they want some stars from the past to be in a featured role at the events. Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair certainly satisfied in that department.

First Women’s WarGames Match

November 4, 2019November 3, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

I think it’s safe to say most members of the WWE universe saw the announcement of the men’s WarGames match coming. However, it’s a huge announcement that the women of NXT will get the opportunity to make history in the first-ever Women’s WarGames match. This segment definitely could have been the main event, but it’s not a huge deal that it wasn’t. Fortunately, it was still featured at the top of the 9 o’clock hour, which is usually the time slot of the second biggest segment of the night.

Finn Balor just carries himself in a way that creates the aura of a top superstar. His clash with Johnny Gargano will surely draw a lot of eyeballs. As he claimed on WWE Backstage this past week, the Prince is back (referring to his name several years ago in Japan).

Bronson Reed, “NXT’s Resident Thick Boy,” is starting to make a name for himself and develop his in-ring persona. His push, which I believe is imminent, has been spring-boarded with the first in what should be in a long line of victories. He has the natural ability to connect with fans, and this is obviously one of the most important characteristics a superstar can have.

It is rather unfortunate that Shane Thorne is not getting TV time, but with as deep as NXT’s roster is, I don’t know if there is a way to work him in. I could definitely see in the future Thorne leaving and seeking a brighter spotlight in AEW.

Everyone should absolutely meditate like Mauro Ranallo mentioned Tyler Bate does. I want to double down on this because I myself meditate daily and am experiencing surprisingly profound realizations during meditation myself.

RKO Outta Nowhere

November 4, 2019November 3, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

It’s huge for Humberto Carrillo to have his first two matches on Monday Night Raw against two of the most well-respected performers in the entire company – Seth Rollins and AJ Styles. It’s also gigantic for Carrillo to face both men while they are the top two champions on Monday Night Raw. This is a fantastic indicator that Carrillo is viewed very highly by top executives in WWE and will most likely be pushed very hard very early.

One final thing I need to mention is that Carrillo probably has the best entrance music in all of WWE. It has a Luchador feel to it.

The WWE universe had to be a little taken aback by the very passionate promo of Seth Rollins. I don’t know if I recall him ever being quite that passionate, but I absolutely love it. He also adds a little bit of humor into his promos by calling Charlie Caruso “Chuck,” a guy’s name. His promo stuck out more than his match to be honest, and his false count anywhere match with Erick Rowan was pretty good in itself.

If Seth cut more promos like this, I guarantee he will be much more over as a face with the WWE universe as opposed to being vilified on social media. There are always those few fans however that cannot be won over no matter what, and unfortunately those are the most vocal.

It makes perfect sense for Paige to return to WWE and get involved again with the Kabuki Warriors. The reason was reportedly so they could generate heel heat, because they are still being cheered at WWE live events. Maybe Asuka can retain the role of a heel when they stop teaming together, but Kairi Sane is uniquely suited to be a great babyface.

Each of them over the course of the next couple of months will be working in a singles program with Becky Lynch over the Raw Women’s Championship. It looks like Kairi Sane, who has not done anything of note on the main roster yet, will be up first. Asuka will probably have a much more intriguing story to tell with Becky considering they have a history in the Women’s Royal Rumble matches and whatnot.

The storyline involving Rusev and Lana is clearly benefiting Bobby Lashley more than anyone. Lashley’s primary weakness – character development –is being addressed. It appears to be working as well.

Dio Maddin is quietly carving a good reputation for himself as the third member of the commentary team on Monday Night Raw. The WWE universe had to figure that Vic Joseph and Jerry “The King” Lawler would mesh just fine considering they already had experience and a little bit of a relationship.

But Dio was the experimental member of the announced team, with less experience and he had never met Jerry Lawler before he began working with him. He is making a name for himself as a very solid announcer with the subtle but very accurate observations he makes.

AOP is creating the aura of a real rat in the Raw tag team division, and at least right now it seems that they will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. Imagine how great the in-ring action would be if they feuded with The Viking Raiders over the Raw Tag Team Championships.

Overexposure Problem Largely Reduced

November 4, 2019November 3, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

The fact that WWE superstars, for the most part, are exclusive to one brand – either Monday Night Raw or Friday Night SmackDown – and thanks to the WWE draft (even if it was a somewhat lackluster draft) were both done in an attempt to eliminate the problem of overexposure. Top stars within the company were typically the ones who suffered from overexposure because they were usually the people who were featured on both Raw and SmackDown some weeks.

The fact that they are all exclusive to either one show, or the other, and will only be seen once a week lends itself to making them feel more like special attractions. This means fans will be less likely to grow tired of certain superstars and assist them in the process of building a mystique to their characters.

Overexposure is a real thing in WWE; why else would the WWE universe have grown tired of John Cena? Because he went through a period in his career (between WrestleMania XXI in 2005 and WrestleMania XXIII in 2007) where he was WWE Champion for 20/24 months, and fans just wanted to see others become champions too. In basketball terms, they kind of reviewed Cena as a ball hog (like Russell Westbrook, a ball-dominant point guard). The WWE universe ultimately grew to love Cena’s personality over the years.