October 20, 2020 - Evan Luebbe

SmackDown 10/16/2020: Season Premiere: Reigns/Uce Project Authentic and Relatable Characters

October 20, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Seth Rollins will likely feud with Daniel Bryan after his Paternity Leave

Seth Rollins should fit like a glove on SmackDown considering he is probably one of the top three stars in WWE (in addition to Roman Reigns and Randy Orton – the reason I don’t put Brock Lesnar in there is because his contract with WWE expired at WrestleMania 36 and Mr. McMahon did not renew it). SmackDown has historically focused on placing a heavier emphasis on in-ring action going back to 2002 when Michael Cole and Taz called the action with a slightly more frenetic tone to their voices.

The members of the WWE universe that have followed the company in the last several years are well aware that Seth is extremely capable in the ring (the year he put together in 2018 as Monday Night Rollins – especially during his time as Intercontinental Champion – was a perfect example, for his Universal Championship defense against AJ Styles in 2019). Monday Night Raw typically places more emphasis on emotionally hooking people with compelling promos through excellent storytelling, which Rollins has improved significantly over the years – and he was not bad to begin with.

This week on the season premiere of SmackDown Rollins explored the potentiality of clashing with Daniel Bryan (who has just returned from paternity leave, which is ironic because Seth will be taking paternity leave in a couple months) in the near future. That will have to wait for several months at least, because Rollins is currently embroiled in a feud with his former disciple Murphy. This will write him off TV once Murphy ultimately gets the better of him.

King Corbin has taken more losses than wins recently, and that’s a good thing (DDP). It is Ironically a testament to how naturally gifted of a heel he is

Ironically, the fact that King Corbin has taken so many losses over the past year is actually a testament to how great of a heel he is. Very few heels have the ability to embody a character that is so naturally unlikable that they don’t even need to win or carry a title to be hated. Corbin has taken losses to the likes of Elias at Mania 36 as well as eating a pin from Matt Riddle at Payback on August 30 – the last WWE Pay-Per-View in which he competed.

Corbin is a valuable commodity to the company. He is not a heel like Triple H was who was obsessed with titles. Corbin has proven his value in WWE in multiple roles – The Lone Wolf, Constable of Monday Night Raw, and now King Corbin.

Roman Reigns is looking to leave WWE in a better state than when he found it by ushering in a new era of characters in professional wrestling where they are no longer reliant on the heel/babyface dynamic, but instead always behave in a manner that is authentic to the individual. Whatever mold that happens to fit into – this would allow performers the freedom to be themselves. This makes for the best overall product – because superstars are loose and not trying to necessarily appease anyone.

It is a primary goal of Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman evolve WWE and the wrestling business as a whole to a point where the need for traditional babyfaces and heels is rendered completely obsolete and antiquated. Instead, WWE characters will be placed in positions according to storylines where they react as any typical human being would and the business becomes more relatable to the average person as a result. Roman begin this process back in 2016, after WrestleMania 32, when he cut a promo stating that, “I’m not a bad guy, I’m not a good guy, I’m the guy.”

The goal of the current Samoan Tribal Chief/Universal Champion incarnation of Roman Reigns is to present a “forward-thinking” character who is not a traditional heel or face but is always extremely authentic to his own emotions. The vision WWE has behind this character is to make the persona extremely relatable at all times rather than trying to force it to fit into a traditional mold. Rather than doing that, why not just create a brand-new model for how to shape a wrestling character.

This week was clearly some of the best work in Roman Reigns’ and Jey Uso’s career because there are real emotions and family ties in the storyline – which cannot be replicated. The Samoan Tribal Chief was being authentic to himself yet again, this week he just so happened to feel like acting more akin to a traditional heel. Last week, however, Reigns the slightly more reserved and was not quite as much of a presence. The wrestling business as a whole will be much better off when every superstar can feel free to become the most authentic version of himself on TV to present to the world, whether people like them or not is up to specific individuals.

A bittersweet end to The New Day era

The New Day got a victory on their final night together before they split for good. Xavier Woods came up with the idea six years ago to create a team that was completely centered around the notion of experiencing success together – and fortunately the WWE universe resonated profoundly with that idea. Just the history of having been involved in this team will serve to make all three men successful singles competitors. Big E will obviously be first because he is already getting a huge push and Kofi and Xavier are Tag Team Champions on Raw.

Jeff Hardy unselfishly gives Lars Sullivan momentum to begin his run on SmackDown

Despite the fact that Lars Sullivan has had issues outside the ring that have caused some people in WWE to question his commitment and level of reliability, the company is still willing to go ahead with his push for now. This week Sullivan got the rub from Jeff Hardy. It makes sense for Hardy to take a loss here because he no longer needs momentum on SmackDown as he will be moving to Raw. Jeff will most likely be heavily featured on the red brand as WWE is intending to keep him happy and away from AEW (where his brother Matt is).

WWE Draft Night 2: Randy Orton staying on Monday Night Raw and Alexa Bliss/The Fiend being Drafted Over

October 20, 2020October 20, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

One could see some of the moves in the second night of the WWE draft coming from a mile away to provide continuity within specific storylines for them to make sense. Randy Orton staying on Monday Night Raw was a perfect example of this – since the WWE Champion Drew McIntyre was already drafted to Raw on Friday night, it only made sense for Randy Orton to also be drafted to Monday Night Raw so he can continue the storyline with McIntyre and finish the process of establishing him as a megastar inside Hell in a Cell on October 25. The anticipation for that match took a significant step forward on October 12 as they are getting fans emotionally invested.

It makes sense for The Fiend and Alexa Bliss to move to Raw to give them both a fresh batch of opponents to work with. Bray Wyatt essentially had no more momentum on SmackDown since the storyline surrounding him going after Roman Reigns and the Universal Championship – which was hinted at through Alexa staring down Roman on SmackDown – was dropped at least for now by Mr. McMahon.

We saw the next step in the transformation of Alexa Bliss changing her demeanor. The lights went down at about 10 o’clock on Monday Night Raw and Alexa appeared – hanging upside down as Bray Wyatt typically does – and they both proceeded to connect with Sister Abigail. It’s important to remember exactly when Alexa’s transformation began – July 31. In 2 ½ months The Fiend has transformed Alexa into his minion.

Alexa pitched the idea of doing a storyline with Bray Wyatt to Mr. McMahon a couple years ago, but their characters were in such different places that Vince McMahon deemed it would not make much sense at the time. After ruminating about the idea for a couple years, Mr. McMahon made the decision to finally put the pieces in place in order to make that idea come to fruition. This goes to show that any idea someone thinks about for a sustained amount of time will come to fruition sooner or later – whether that idea is good or bad.

Personally, I don’t blame Alexa for wanting to work with the creative genius that is Bray Wyatt/Windham Rotunda. His level of creativity might make her better as a performer.

Fresh scenery for Kevin Owens on SmackDown; The New Day and Braun Strowman to Raw

The first man who really stuck out to me being shipped to SmackDown was Kevin Owens. Owens is an interesting case because, after months of not doing much of anything except hosting people involved in separate storylines on his talk show, he was suddenly thrown into two different storylines at once – one with The Fiend/Alexa Bliss and one with Aleister Black (as far as I can recall, that has never been done in WWE) – it’s good to see Mr. McMahon trying something new. He is often criticized for not doing this, so it needs to be appreciated). The WWE universe now has the answer to the question of which storyline the company will pursue. KO will most likely have a payoff match with Black given that they were directed to SmackDown and The Fiend is now on the opposite brand.

The New Day (without Big E) will take some getting used to. It is totally understandable – the splitting of The New Day was to further the singles push of E. That said, The New Day had a special connection with the WWE universe – they moved over to Raw immediately after winning the Tag Team Titles, so it only made sense for the Tag Team Champions on the opposite brand to reciprocate.

Braun Strowman has had a compelling couple months. Just two months ago he was Universal Champion reigning supreme over SmackDown before dropping the title at SummerSlam to The Fiend (who held the title for only a week before dropping it to Roman Reigns at Payback on August 30). Strowman’s role in the storyline was complete after that, so he was moved to Monday Night Raw for a fresh start. After being featured several times on Raw Underground, he has now been drafted to Monday Night Raw permanently for now.

Strowman is in the same boat as Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke because they all moved to Raw shortly before the draft. Mandy was moved due to Miz trying to sabotage Otis’ momentum (in storyline). It’s almost guaranteed that he will find himself challenging for the WWE Championship at some point over the next year, along with AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Jeff Hardy, or even The Miz.

However, before we get to any of that, McIntyre has unfinished business with Randy Orton – and as good as McIntyre’s WWE title run as a warrior babyface has been, there’s not much of a chance that The Scottish Psychopath stops The Viper from walking out of Hell in a Cell with his 14^th world title. Remember that about two months ago Ric Flair put Randy over by telling him that he wanted Orton to break Flair’s record for most world titles at 16 (not John Cena’s record) because of their history with Evolution from 2003 – 2005.

The case can feasibly be made that The Miz could win the WWE Championship assuming that he somehow wins the court case against Otis and takes the Money in the Bank contract (that is if Mr. McMahon chooses to go this route). If he were to cash-in and win the WWE Title, Miz would become only the second man to successfully cash-in a Money in the Bank contract twice (Edge in 2007).

Riddle and Hardy switch brands; Elias returns from injury

Matt Riddle has not found a niche for himself on SmackDown as he has been somewhat lost in the shuffle since going over on AJ Styles in his debut in June. Jeff Hardy might become one of the faces of Monday Night Raw for the foreseeable future. Jeff can obviously still go in the ring even though he is in his 40s and has put his body through more damage than just about anyone over the past 20+ years.

He participated in what was easily the greatest match of the night with the Monday Night Messiah (his last night on Raw) and Styles. Seth and AJ had an excellent Universal Title match at Money in the Bank in May 2019, but Jeff Hardy has not crossed paths with either of these two men in the 3.5 years since returning to WWE at WrestleMania 33 in 2017.

Jeff’s brother Matt is experiencing success right now in AEW, and as a result the WWE is putting a heavy amount of emphasis on keeping Jeff Hardy happy and away from AEW with his brother. Hardy will be getting his entrance song back “No More Words” that he had back in 2009 during his last singles run in WWE.

Elias returned to WWE after healing from a torn pectoral muscle he sustained in May. The Drifter has shifted his demeanor so his character can undergo the next stage of its evolution. The start of a rivalry with a prominent figure like Jeff Hardy is a step in the right direction.

It was a clever move by Ricochet to pull an Eddie Guerrero by cheating to get a victory over Cedric Alexander and in the process ending his feud with The Hurt Business for now, even though it technically could continue since they are all remaining on Raw.

Natalya is so incredibly consistent with whatever task is asked to do, whether that’s establishing someone else or performing herself.

Jon Moxley: Image of Strength and Resilience

October 20, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Jon Moxley recently allowed some quotes of his covering a wide variety of topics to be used for SI.com’s Week in Wrestling, including his current rivalry with Lance Archer, the importance of representing AEW during a pandemic, and the milestone of AEW Dynamite hitting the one-year mark.

Moxley wrestled at an event for the new Bloodsport (that name totally fits into how Mox wants to present his character) debut on October 11 – just days before his defense of the AEW World Championship against Lance Archer. The storyline with Archer dates back to their time with New Japan Pro Wrestling and the encounter between the two men at Wrestle Kingdom 14 – in January 2020 – in a Texas Death Match under last-man-standing rules – which Moxley won. Archer is quick to point out, however, that Moxley has never pinned or submitted him, which only adds to the rivalry.

Moxley can easily create a mystique surrounding his opponents, making them look like absolute stars in the process. He discussed how he “barely got out of there (the Tokyo Dome) with my head on my shoulders.” Now he wants to finish the job, so to speak. “Maybe he is my kryptonite.”

This is a prime example of how Tony Khan is perfectly willing to use his performers’ history with other companies to add more layers to a particular storyline in his own promotion. Moxley talked about how the success of AEW is extremely critical to the wrestling industry as a whole. The primary goal of the company at this stage, even though it’s still in its embryonic stages, is to create brand new stars in the world of professional wrestling. The company needed to lean on the reputation of guys like Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley (guys the wrestling world already knew from WWE) to get the ball rolling, but now that AEW has some momentum, new home-grown stars who have not necessarily made their name first in WWE need to be created to ensure the success of the company.

Jon Moxley takes an extreme amount of pride in being the pandemic-era world champion for AEW and being the guy who is relied upon to carry the company through extremely tough times and “provide stability in an unstable time.” People have been forced to adapt on the fly, and the professional wrestling industry is no exception. Moxley has had two title matches canceled for Covid reasons, and there might be more. He discussed in detail how much everyone in the company was looking forward to the six-man Tag match with Will Hobbs (one of the new stars I was talking about) and Darby Allin which was scratched due to the pandemic. “I think everyone is pretty used to it.” This is just the world we live in right now. Nothing can be planned in advance as much – because it is all subject to change at any given moment. AEW is doing about as good a job as anyone when it comes to this.

One last topic Moxley discussed is how he doesn’t like to compare himself, his mentality, or his accomplishments to that of anyone else. What the 34-year-old loves most about the art of professional wrestling is that, with the free-flowing creative process in AEW, he can develop the vision in his mind for each match, and then has the ability to execute that vision in the ring and make it a reality.

A perfect example of this was the match at All Out with MJF. Moxley claimed how he could see the match in his mind and develop a clear vision for how it will go “months in advance.” The very loose creative process gives the wrestlers freedom to use whoever’s ideas they resonate with most – and that allows them to create a very authentic presence for the crowd each week.

Don’t Expect to see The Viking Raiders for a While

October 20, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Ivar had neck surgery few weeks back and will be out for close to a year, but now his partner Erik has also undergone surgery; now might be the best time to do it as WWE most likely didn’t have any clear-cut plans for him anyway while his tag team partner was out. WWE has not put the tag team division – men’s or women’s – anywhere near the top of its priority list in the past decade (the last time the tag division received a heavy amount of prominence was about 20 years ago when The Dudley Boyz, The Hardy Boyz, and Edge & Christian).

Erik had a surgical screw removed that was protruding into his tricep and causing severe pain. The injury was bothering him for several months, but he put off the surgery and decided to work through the pain until an opening within a framework of The Viking Raiders’ storyline. Unfortunately, Ivar just happened to injure his neck. However, this might have been a blessing in disguise because it opened the door for Erik to have the screw taken out of his arm, which had been bothering him for months.