September 20, 2020 - Evan Luebbe

WWE SmackDown 9/18/2020

September 20, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Cesaro possibly a Potential Top Star

Cesaro has clearly emerged as the top star of his tag team with Shinsuke Nakamura. This can be seen dating all the way back to WrestleManiia 36 when Cesaro defeated Drew Gulak in a singles match on the pre-show on Night 1 of the event. Cesaro, one half of the current SmackDown Tag Team Champions, participated in yet another singles match with Gran Metalik of Lucha House Party this week.

Cesaro and Nakamura became champions at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules in July 2020, and Cesaro should be expected to continue his momentum as the leader of this tag team because he resonates more so with the WWE universe. On a personal note, I felt several years ago he had earned a WWE Championship match. Let’s hope he gets one in the near future before The Swiss Superman exits his prime years.

Alexa’s Transformation is Imminent

The Fiend didn’t make an appearance this week, however his presence and influence could absolutely be seen and felt when Alexa Bliss hit Sister Abigail on Lacey Evans after doing the same to Nikki Cross the previous week. She had the same faraway look in her eyes that the WWE universe would see in the eyes of Bray Wyatt from time to time when he was fully embodying the persona of a cult leader. Based on these events, a logical inference might be that Alexa is becoming infatuated with the demonic presence of Sister Abigail, so this storyline might be taking a rather sinister direction.

The Fiend has drastically changed the character of every superstar he has ever worked with (other than the poor booking decision of inserting Bill Goldberg into The Fiend’s storyline and winning the Universal Title from him, which did not make much sense). Finn Balor left the main roster after SummerSlam 2019 and after serving as The Fiend’s very first opponent to introduce the character to the WWE universe, returning to NXT (like Broadway as The Prince calls it) as a heel and becoming NXT Champion about a year later.

Seth Rollins turned heel and turned his back on the WWE universe, who was not particularly happy with some of Seth’s tweets in 2019, becoming effective as the Monday Night Messiah. Daniel Bryan did change the direction of his character, but for the better as he became a babyface once again (which is clearly the leader of the Yes! Movement’s niche). Whenever John Cena decides to return to WWE (that is assuming he will), one has to imagine he will also be a completely changed character. About the only thing John has not done with WWE is turn heel, so he could very conceivably portray this change in attitude. Finally, Braun Strowman has just crossed brands from SmackDown to Raw for a fresh start, so it’s very likely that Alexa will undergo some sort of rapid transformation within the coming weeks (possibly becoming the human embodiment of Sister Abigail).

A Modern-day Version of HBK vs. Razor Ramon with a Slight Wrinkle

In the Intercontinental Championship picture, WWE is rehashing a storyline the company executed in the early 1990s. Shawn Michaels won the title in what I believe was 1992 and left WWE for personal reasons, so Razor Ramon was awarded the title. When Michaels returned and laid claim to the fact that he was still the champion, it was ultimately settled at WrestleMania in the first ladder match at the biggest show of the year.

This is almost identical to what going on right now in the Intercontinental Title scene. Sami Zayn won the title on March 8 at Fastlane and successfully defended it at WrestleMania 36 against Daniel Bryan before leaving the company for personal reasons – he would fall in the same boat as Roman Reigns. He decided not to perform for a few months during the pandemic, which is completely respectable. Zayn relinquished the IC Title and AJ Styles won a tournament to crown the new champion. However, AJ still had disagreements with Jeff Hardy. Hardy would win the title from Styles right before SummerSlam 2020 and Zayn returned the following week.

This somewhat chaotic storyline will likely conclude with a triple threat match between all three of these men for the Intercontinental Championship (and if the events of this week were any indication it might be a ladder match – Jeff Hardy’s favorite). This is essentially a rehash of that old storyline I mentioned, but with one extra wrinkle of a third man being involved – AJ Styles is the third man.

The Foundation for Big E’s Singles push has been laid with Sheamus. This rivalry might end with a blow-off match between the two men at Hell in a Cell on November 1 (since Clash of Champions Gold Rush is reserved for title matches). It’s great to see E finally reaping the rewards of what he has earned over the last several years. Once upon a time this guy was one of the two men – along with Roman Reigns – Mr. McMahon was making a choice between to become the face of WWE.

The Tribal Chief Celebrating with his Family

It was Mr. McMahon’s decision to portray The Big Dog as a heel for a number of months – and ultimately the WWE universe would revert to chairing him as a babyface because of his likability. I was not quite sure originally if this strategy would pan out, but after the first night of seeing Roman in a legitimate match since becoming Universal Champion it might actually work exactly the way Mr. McMahon planned it. Roman is being given the freedom to be his authentic self in front of the WWE universe, which is something, which Chris Jericho has been an advocate of for years. Seeing Roman embrace his family in the middle of the ring is simply priceless and one cannot help but resonate with that.

King Corbin was much more productive in 2019 than 2020. He retired Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 35 and won King of the Ring in 2019. He is merely coasting off his accomplishments in 2020. Corbin’s biggest highlight of 2020 came in January when he lost a Falls Count Anywhere match to boot Roman Reigns as part of a rivalry that lasted far too long. There are ebbs and flows to anyone’s WWE career. Corbin could be a world champion in 2021.

Who does Otis Cash in On; Reigns or McIntyre

September 20, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Technically, Otis could cash in his Money in the Bank contract that he won in May on either the WWE Champion or the Universal Champion. Otis is currently on the SmackDown brand, so it would be most logical from that perspective for him to cash in his contract on Roman Reigns. The issue is that WWE is finally electing to book Roman as a heel with more edge to his character, which is a real positive because that is the element of his WWE character that the WWE universe was so drawn to back in 2014.

Because of this, a heel Roman Reigns working with a comedic character like Otis may not do much to further the career path The Big Dog is going down with Paul Heyman. Roman Reigns may be the Universal Champion on SmackDown for quite a while (at least until WrestleMania 37, as Vince McMahon reportedly wants this to be Reigns’ long championship run – similar to when John Cena held the WWE Championship for over a year from 2006 – 2007. Mr. McMahon would like Roman to be able to cultivate that same presence on the microphone as Cena consistently did previously as the face of the company), so Otis may be better suited to potentially move to Monday Night Raw.

Another reason it might be best for Otis to move to Monday Night Raw is so that he can potentially continue his romantic storyline with Mandy Rose which has resonated profoundly with the WWE universe throughout most of 2020.

Mandy is a key reason why Otis is so popular right now. She has also blamed The Miz for orchestrating her move to Raw as he and John Morrison are involved in a storyline right now where they are intent on costing Otis his championship opportunity.

Otis coming to Monday Night Raw to challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE championship immediately after McIntyre’s Pay-Per-View title defense against Randy Orton at Clash of Champions Gold Rush on September 27 (so on the September 28 addition of Monday Night Raw) would open the door for Randy Orton to attack Otis immediately after the bell rings.

This would make it so that:

Otis does not have to take a loss, and;
The integrity of the Money in the Bank contract is preserved since it would not be viewed as a complete failure of a Cash-in. This could also set up a third pay-per-view match between McIntyre and Orton inside Hell in a Cell (which is scheduled to take place shortly after the upcoming WWE draft in mid – October.

Otis is still super young as a WWE superstar at just 28 years old. 2020 is technically his second full year on the main roster, as he was called up in December 2018 after spending a couple of years in NXT. The most impactful thing Otis has going for him is that he has the complete backing of Mr. McMahon, who has taken a personal interest in the booking of Otis. Otis will be around for a long time in WWE, because if one has the backing of Vince McMahon, then they are guaranteed to be a long-term prospect.

Ivar’s Neck Injury

September 20, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Ivar of the Viking Raiders underwent neck surgery earlier this week in Birmingham, Alabama and is expected to return to WWE within approximately one year. Unfortunately, this sort of injury is extremely common in the professional wrestling industry. A couple of notable superstars who have had the surgery at least once are Daniel Bryan (who is currently away from WWE to care for his second newborn child) and Tommaso Ciampa.

Here is what SportsKeeda had to say about the situation:

“How will Ivar’s absence impact WWE programming?

For one, WWE will have to start finding ways to utilize Erik as a singles star. Erik hasn’t been a singles star in a long time and hasn’t been so once during his WWE run. While it may turn out to be a golden opportunity for him, it could work the other way, where WWE simply decides not to utilize him because they only see him as a tag team player.

Perhaps that approach wouldn’t have been bad if Ivar was only out for 2-3 months, but that isn’t the case. Ivar could be out for a year and by the time he’s back, the landscape of WWE and the tag team division may change entirely.” (Source: SportsKeeda)

Let’s say a prayer that Ivar’s recovery goes smoothly and quickly, and that his partner Erik continues to be used on Monday Night Raw (as he was on September 14 in a quick loss to the CEO of The Hurt Business Bobby Lashley). The Viking Raiders are former Raw Tag Team Champions, so this accolade should be enough to keep Erik relevant in some sort of WWE storyline.

WWE Raw In Your Face 9/14/2020

September 20, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Keith Lee is a Future Star

The fact that Keith Lee even has the opportunity to earn a WWE Championship match against Drew McIntyre this early in his tenure on the WWE main roster bodes extremely well for him and says that Mr. McMahon is serious about making Lee into a star that is a major attraction on Monday Night Raw. Even if The Limitless One does not end up receiving a WWE Title match at Clash of Champions Gold Rush, he is still being made into a legitimate threat on Raw simply by interacting with the WWE Champion on a weekly basis.

Until Randy Orton is officially ruled out of the WWE Championship match at Clash of Champions Gold Rush, I’m going to assume that it will be Orton challenging McIntyre for the WWE Title on September 27. There’s a very good chance Orton might even win the WWE Title at the end of September; if not then, maybe inside Hell in a Cell on November 1.

Orton has built a whole lot of momentum as a dominant heel in 2020, starting with his incredible rivalry with Edge (which started the night after the Royal Rumble when Orton proposed that their tag team, Rated RKO, reunite). It is excellent, however, to see the company becoming serious about making Keith Lee into a star immediately, because WWE has struggled somewhat in recent years to create new stars.

It might be time for at least one member of Retribution to show their face, because otherwise the WWE universe is going to get impatient and simply start tuning out of Raw because they don’t understand where this storyline is headed. Retribution has served their purpose under the masks, but it’s time to show their faces and give them actual personas.

It makes sense why WWE keeps orchestrating Keith Lee’s matches so nearly all of them end in disqualification. Mr. McMahon is orchestrating these non-finishes so that Lee doesn’t take losses, and it’s working beautifully right now. The only match Lee has had that did not end in disqualification was at Payback on August 30 when he beat Randy Orton. There is still a very high chance that Mr. McMahon will orchestrate for Randy Orton to win the WWE Title on September 27 so he can begin a rivalry with Keith Lee within a month or two of winning the championship (maybe even immediately after winning the title).

Seth Rollins ensures the Future of Murphy; Dominik Mysterio develops himself Further

It might be safe to infer that Murphy is no longer a disciple of Seth Rollins – it will be a step in the right direction for him to branch out on his own and see how much potential he truly has. Physically, Murphy can keep up with anyone in the ring (going back to his days as Cruiserweight Champion). Hopefully, this breakup with The Monday Night Messiah will cause Mr. McMahon to think about giving Murphy his first name back to add legitimacy to his character.

Murphy has been the second (along with Dominik Mysterio) on what I’m sure will be a long list of names who are put over by Seth Rollins. Based on what Rollins’ general mentality is, he is very unselfish with a high degree of character. The Architect also cares a great deal about ensuring the future of the business and it is his primary goal right now to help build the next generation of WWE superstars.

Rollins’ character in WWE is firmly established; now he views it as his responsibility to aid other superstars so they can experience the same joys by giving them guidance on their road to becoming top WWE superstars who the company leans on just as they have with Seth. Seth has done all he can to give Murphy a springboard into superstardom, now Murphy needs to take the ball and run with it.

Nothing is ever orchestrated purely by accident in WWE, when one considers the amount of precision with which Mr. McMahon prepares each week. With that being said, Rey Mysterio’s daughter Aalyah now has to get involved in a storyline with Murphy and/or Seth Rollins for everything to have continuity and logic.

Aalyah Mysterio may start to become involved in a romantic with Murphy after she placed her hand on Murphy’s shoulder this week on Raw. Dave Meltzer has drawn the logical conclusion that Aalyah will become “hooked up” with Murphy in the coming weeks.

The wrestling business is now clearly a family affair for the Mysterio family. Rey started out in the business over 30 years ago because of one of his uncles, and he went on to become one of the greatest wrestlers of his time, producing his most fantastic matches in the late 1990s with superstars like Eddie Guerrero. It has to be extremely rewarding for Rey to be introducing his son and now his daughter into the business.

Asuka retains the Raw Women’s Championship against Mickie James in a solid Match with a sloppy finish that could be Salvaged by transforming it into a Storyline

This was most likely Mickie James’ final opportunity at the Raw Women’s Championship (considering she’s 41 years old). Unfortunately, she does not have nearly as much momentum right now as Asuka. The match itself was a little awkward to say the least. Neither of the two superstars seemed to know what was going on, same thing with the commentary team. One way this could be salvaged is by turning this mishap into a storyline between James and Asuka.

Mickie is still extremely talented as an in-ring performer and looks about 10 years younger than she is – she could easily be placed higher on the card and produce a quality championship feud with The Empress of Tomorrow.

The Street Profits have a significant amount of momentum in WWE right now

The Street Profits defended their home turf of Monday Night Raw against the SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura (The Bar 2.0. Cesaro has been tag team champions with 3 different partners: Tyson Kidd, Sheamus and now Nakamura) as part of the quarterly brand-to-brand invitational. It’s smart of WWE to do something like this every three months to give fans something new. The first time WWE did this was back in June when King Corbin came to Raw to challenge the WWE Champion Drew McIntyre (which McIntyre won).

Perhaps the next time this occurs WWE might want to orchestrate for someone from Raw to come to SmackDown and challenge someone from that brand. The man or woman from SmackDown could get the victory as well because it has happened the other way around both times WWE has done it to this point.

Fresh start for Strowman

Braun Strowman is a massive acquisition for Raw and an equally massive loss for SmackDown. It’s somewhat surprising that Strowman – a former Universal Champion – was moved from the bigger network in FOX. This move goes to show that SmackDown will be heavily reliant on the feud between Roman Reigns and The Fiend Bray Wyatt (with Alexa Bliss potentially getting involved as a mouthpiece of some sort for The Fiend, maybe even as the human embodiment of the spirit of Sister Abigail) to carry the brand as its top storyline moving forward.

This move for Strowman makes sense within the framework of his storyline, as he was funneled out of the Universal Championship picture. He lost the championship at SummerSlam to The Fiend and subsequently was thrown into with a triple threat Universal Title match with The Fiend and Roman Reigns at Payback, where The Big Dog became Universal Champion as a heel for the first time. Strowman has successfully been funneled out of that storyline, so he needed a fresh start – opening the door for him to switch brands.

Cedric Alexander defeats Ricochet, continuing his momentum on Monday Night Raw after joining The Hurt Business

Personally, I would say that I envision Ricochet turning into a bigger star than Cedric Alexander, but Alexander clearly has much more momentum right now having just joined The Hurt Business. Ricochet and Alexander formed a tag team immediately after WrestleMania 36 in April, which seems like each in history now considering it was only a few months ago.

The other three members of The Hurt Business aside from Alexander are all in their 40s, so it’s a positive thing to inject some youth into the stable. MVP is unselfishly using his history with WWE to elevate underutilized superstars, and it’s working to perfection.

There may be more to the Match between KO and Aleister Black – with the lights Flickering on and off – than Meets the Eye

Aleister Black speculated on Raw talk that Kevin Owens could be the leader of Retribution. This might make sense because Owens is currently not involved in a major storyline – and to be honest he hasn’t been since ‘Mania. Owens is currently involved in a confusing, makeshift storyline with Aleister Black at the moment.

This storyline appeared to come to an end on Monday night after Owens defeated Black. Owens seemingly began this rivalry as the babyface who was simply trying to help Aleister, who wanted absolutely no part of it. It would be an interesting wrinkle to the storyline if Owens had a hidden agenda to hide his true intentions, because people would least suspect him to be the leader of Retribution if his intentions seemed pure on the outside.

This is genius because the average fan watching Raw would simply dismiss the match between Kevin Owens and Aleister Black as meaning nothing, but great storytelling is always in the subtlety. No one suspects that anything is going on, and one day they are hit with some major storyline development out of nowhere.