November 9, 2019 - Evan Luebbe

Future Title Opportunity for Corbin

November 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

King Corbin is such a fantastic heel, probably the best of this decade. He is so proficient in the art of getting under the skin of fans. For example, that little dig on SmackDown he made at Roman Reigns for not wanting the responsibility of being a champion anymore and instead choosing to do charity work (because he was off granting a child’s wish for Make-A-Wish). He is masterful at being able to generate heat while staying within the context of the current storyline.

As WrestleMania draws nearer, a new proposition is in order for the event (because I have fully given up on Kevin Owens). The new hypothesis may be much more accurate because some plans for the event have become clearer.

The Fiend could either hold the Universal Championship all the way until ‘Mania or Corbin could win the title in January or February and hold it until WrestleMania. Either one of the scenarios is very feasible. No matter what, I see one of these two men losing the Universal Championship at ‘Mania.

Corbin simply deserves a title match because of how great of a heel he is. And when someone gets the massive payoff of beating Roman Reigns, it might finally be time to pull the trigger. Everyone would hate it, but that would be the intent behind his title reign.

It looks like The Fiend will be challenging Daniel Bryan next, and Bryan is the perfect opponent for The Fiend because he is clearly in a state of transition with his character. It looks like Sami Zayn will have to wait for an answer. It is really how Daniel Bryan has turned the persona of his character into that of an extreme introvert, carefully planning out his next move.

Seven-time champs! The New Day is perfectly on pace to surpass the Dudley Boyz’ record of nine WWE Tag Team Championship reigns.

Elias Returning from Injury

November 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Elias should be able to return to action after suffering a broken ankle in September. His last match was a victory over Ali in the quarterfinals of the King of the Ring tournament, and he had to be replaced by Shane McMahon in the semifinals WWE doesn’t really seem sure of what to do with Elias – the company seems a little wishy-washy up to this point in terms of whether or not to give Elias a substantial push. This is an exact case of another WWE superstar receiving 50/50 booking.

Young Superstars Shining

November 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

This episode of NXT (in my humble opinion) went down a bit just a few weeks before Takeover: War Games. The aspect of the show that stuck out most was the fact two young superstars: Taynara and Angel Garza, proved their worth in NXT by picking up victories which typically are signs of good things to come on the black and gold brand. Garza even earned a title opportunity against Lio Rush. Never mind the obvious fact that he won’t win – it just means a lot at this point that his push is starting even a little.

Garza is reminiscent of an Eddie Guerrero type (Sasha Banks has to be a fan of that). On the other hand, while I have never personally been a big fan of Taynara, I can’t deny that she is improving in the ring in a major way. She doesn’t do a whole lot to “wow” the NXT universe; rather, she is just there.

I must say that this was the first week where even I have to admit that the episode of AEW on TNT was clearly better than NXT. Particularly the main event of AEW stuck out, with two major matches for AEW Full Gear on November 9 in Baltimore, Maryland being promoted. Chris Jericho and Cody built up their title match as well as Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley brawling a little.

The three judges being present at ringside for the AEW World Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho will take fans back to the match back in the 80s between Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair in WCW.

Side Note: Triple H may want to recruit someone like Tyler Bate or Velveteen Dream, who may return somewhat soon after dealing with a lumbar injury, to put over Damian Priest in the coming weeks/ months.

Rollins Heel Turn

November 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

When Seth Rollins returns to NXT in the future, as one would think would be the case, it would be fitting for him to turn heel as well. He was a heel the last time he was allied with Triple H, so it would make perfect sense for him to make this character switch when he aligns with The Game again.

Another reason this will be a fitting possibility (or probability) is that the original plan for the Universal Championship match at Crown Jewel was for Seth and Bray Wyatt to execute a double turn. This would mean Rollins would turn heel and Wyatt would turn babyface. This probably did not transpire because Vince McMahon could have talked himself out of a pretty good idea.

Rollins has also not done himself any favors on social media or in interviews in terms of carving a clean public image. Maybe he could take some advice from guys like his brother Roman Reigns or Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. All Seth needs to do to repair his public image is to consistently keep his head down and put in the work while ignoring the noise. All the rest will take care of itself.

Seth simply cannot allow other people to trigger an emotional response out of him when they offer criticism. I myself have made great strides in the last couple of years to work on this. The thing I learned was to be content with who I am and to not care so much what others think. Seth Rollins probably knows this better than anyone because he has done podcast episodes delving into these deep, esoteric concepts about the purpose of life and whatnot.

Saudi Arabia Shows Could come to an End

November 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

WWE’s fourth – and likely their best show in Saudi Arabia may very well be their last. The event showcased a major title change and the first-ever women’s match in Saudi Arabia. This has not been confirmed by anyone. The reason I mention this is because a few major superstars who were involved in all of the key storylines at the event have recently expressed their displeasure to Vince McMahon regarding the travel issues getting home from Saudi Arabia.

Some of these names include Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston. Would WWE really go to Saudi Arabia without their best talent? Probably not. It’s a shame too because WWE originally signed a 10-year contract with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to put on shows there for the next decade. It’s a shame that they may have to quit after fulfilling only 20% of the contract.

Saudi Arabia officials also reportedly want out of the deal, maybe due to cultural issues. Or perhaps they just don’t really see it being financially advantageous to be paying WWE as much as they are.

In Fairness, the shows did seem a little less organized than would have been preferred. It also probably rubbed the superstars the wrong way when they found out Vince McMahon purposely left the show early, as if he may have sensed that there would be some issues in getting home.

Triple H Parental Figure

November 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

It seems to be a distinct possibility that Seth Rollins will be headed over to NXT within the next couple of months; possibly before ‘Mania. This move could provide a resurgence to his career similar to the one Finn Balor recently experienced with his official move to Full Sail and subsequent heel turn. In my opinion, Rollins should definitely consider a character change because it would be a refreshing turn of events in WWE.

In the world of WWE, Triple H serves almost as a father figure to Seth, because every time Seth lacks direction or motivation on what to do next in his career, he always turns to “The Cerebral Assessment” to provide some direction for him. Triple H pointed out about five examples of this from the past seven or so years to Rollins.

This is such a great story because there really are kids like this who always look to their parents to tell them what to do next in life when they are not sure. This is no fault of their own; their consciousness is not completely ready to handle the sense of full autonomy that adulthood brings.

Perhaps Seth and “The Game” could draw up architectural plans to build a new Shield on the third brand, which is rapidly gaining traction btw.

Brock Lesnar will be bringing the WWE Championship to Monday Night Raw as well as his star power; two things the show at this point seems to be lacking. Dio Maddin was his first victim. Dio is obviously much bigger than Rey Mysterio. Brock will need to be mindful to leave at least a little piece of him after Survivor Series.

It’s fitting that The OC will be receiving a pretty sizable push in the coming months, primarily because they received sizable contract extensions not too long ago. They might as well be pushed if they are making so much. AJ Styles has gotten pretty good treatment from WWE booking since debuting in the Royal Rumble match in 2016.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Gallows and Anderson. They have been lost in the shuffle probably two or three times in their time with the company. None of that matters anymore, however. Maybe WWE is turning over a new leaf in terms of the way they view these very talented performers.

I have to say I’m most excited about the women’s match at Survivor Series. It’s between the newly heel Bayley, The Queen of Spades and longtime NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler, and The Man Becky Lynch (it’s amazing Becky never comes across as cocky; just extremely sure of herself). This match could very well be the greatest match of the night, and I believe it definitely deserves strong consideration for the main event spot on the card.

WWE in Great Hands for the Foreseeable Future

November 9, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

WWE will clearly be in excellent hands when Triple H gets the torch passed to him by Vince McMahon and begins running the entire company. The main roster may start to be run a little more like NXT. WWE recently had its best episode of SmackDown since the show’s debut on FOX, and part of what made it so great was the fact that it wasn’t over originally planned. The NXT superstars gave the production an authentic feel.

It’s a very simple formula; but you know what, it works. It was also foreseeable that WWE’s next move (in storyline) would be to have minimum roster superstars “invade” NXT to get “revenge.” Something that would be an intriguing possibility in the future is for stars from both the main roster and NXT, to become interchangeable; to have the freedom to move laterally across the company between brands.