October 25, 2020 - Evan Luebbe

Moving to FS1 for the World Series

October 25, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

The Big Dog and The Messiah are creating new stars in The Uso’s and Murphy – bringing them up to the top-tier

So The Uso’s are out of the Samoan Dynasty – the Anoa’i family – if Jey Uso is unable to win the Universal Championship from his cousin Roman Reigns in the first-ever “I Quit” Hell In A Cell match. This could be setting the stage for the faction on SmackDown which is most likely going to manifest within the next several weeks, with The Uso’s as the first two members. Throughout the initiation process, they will most likely become subservient to The Samoan Tribal Chief.

An interesting fact is that Jey Uso became the first WWE superstar to pin Roman Reigns on the main roster in September 2013 when the odds were stacked against The Shield (they had already established themselves as a dominant faction 10 months earlier).

This is exactly what the WWE universe has been waiting to see from Murphy – a Pay-Per-View quality match with a top-level superstar (not sure why the company would not elect to schedule a match like this for two days later at HIAC – most likely because nearly all of WWE’s revenue in the last few years has come from TV). SmackDown tends to place a heavier amount of emphasis and focus on quality in-ring performances, so someone like Murphy will fit right in. He actually has history on the blue brand as he previously had encounters with Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns (losses) before he became the disciple of Seth Rollins.

Rollins, meanwhile, is accomplishing his primary goal right now of putting over younger superstars like Murphy. WWE bookers are also looking to gradually segue the Mysterio family out of this storyline, making it a rivalry involving just Seth Rollins and Murphy (to give Murph more of a direct spotlight.

The seemingly never-ending saga between Sasha Banks and Bayley may be coming to an end (or at least there’s an avenue for it to potentially end)

Sasha and Bayley have been heavily featured in the same storyline since becoming the first-ever Women’s Tag Team Champions in February 2019. But not just that – they have been featured in the same storyline with one another on and off for the better part of the last 3.5 years. After this long it may be time for WWE to finally move on from this storyline, simply because it’s getting a little repetitive.

Maybe just have Sasha win the SmackDown Women’s Championship and move on. WWE originally planned for this storyline between Bayley and Sasha Banks to end several months ago, but both women were embracing their roles so effectively. Because of that the company made the decision to keep the tag team titles on them for a few more months.

Chad Gable and JBL unexpectedly get a significant amount of time to shine this week

Shorty G quit just like JBL did at WrestleMania 25 in 2009 (good foreshadowing considering there is an “I Quit” match scheduled featuring the face of the company this Sunday). He didn’t quit wrestling altogether; he just doesn’t want to embody his current persona any longer of “excepting who he is” (King Corbin gave him the moniker Shorty G last year at Hell In A Cell). Lars Sullivan looked dominant as always, but Chad Gable was the real priority here, which was refreshing to see as he hasn’t been taken seriously since tagging with Shelton Benjamin in 2017 – 18.

JBL and Ron Simmons presided over the trial between Otis and The Miz. The match between these two men this Sunday will have actual stakes (unlike Elias – Jeff Hardy). Otis may be more of a comedy act right now, but the WWE universe has to remember that he is relatively young – not even 30 years old – and has the backing of the Chairman of the Board. When superstars have Mr. McMahon on their side they tend to have prosperous careers, so expect Otis to be around for a long time.

The EST being established as the next true superstar in the WWE Women’s Division

The powers backstage in WWE are working to establish legit superstars in the Women’s Division – at the moment most of the women in WWE are relatively young and don’t necessarily have the experience (the women who do, like Becky Lynch (maternity leave) and Charlotte Flair (overexposure) are out currently. Bianca Belair is at the top of the priority list right now to be established as a main eventer in the Women’s Division. The same issue is being addressed on Monday Night Raw.

It was encouraging to see Daniel Bryan back in action for the first time in approximately four months after taking paternity leave. There is a small chance he could form a tag team with Kevin Owens, since Kevin has not had a significant storyline to be able to sink his teeth into since WrestleMania (where he got his first true ‘Mania moment by defeating Seth Rollins – and also jumping off the WrestleMania sign). Their hypothetical team could emerge as contenders to the Street Profits and the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, along with the two heel tag teams of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode and Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura (who they competed against in this 8-man match to help bolster the presence of the tag team division).

Several new stars will be emerging on SmackDown within the next year

October 25, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are essentially the only two top-tier main event caliber superstars who can carry SmackDown on FOX as well as doing all the media appearances and being the face of the brand in the immediate future. Many would also put Daniel Bryan in this category, but the reason I hesitate to do that is that the leader of the Yes! Movement is at the stage of his life where his wife and kids are the most important people in his life – which is extremely commendable. Whoever is in the position of being in the top performer in WWE is required to make certain sacrifices for their career, and Bryan is no longer in the face of his life where he feels he necessarily needs to do that.

Daniel is at the stage of his life where he feels he’s already achieved his fair share of success in WWE and doesn’t necessarily need anymore. He is already a five-time world champion and a former Money in the Bank when, so he has already experienced his share of success in WWE – now it’s time to let other guys and girls grab the brass ring.

There are about seven superstars currently in WWE who have the ability to consistently draw people’s attention to their storylines – the other five (other than The Big Dog and Seth Rollins) were all drafted to Monday Night Raw. Those guys are Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Braun Strowman, The Fiend Bray Wyatt, and Keith Lee. Orton has done the best work of his career in 2020, particularly on the microphone – Edge spring boarded him into this phase of his career during the first half of 2020. McIntyre has exploded in 2020 with a Royal Rumble victory in January and subsequently winning the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 and holding the title for well over six months to this point.

Strowman was told at the beginning of 2019 by Vince McMahon that he was not ready quite yet to hold a major title in WWE. Strowman’s vision came to fruition unexpectedly at WrestleMania 36 when Roman Reigns made the decision to put his family first and step away from WWE for several months until the world got a better grasp on exactly how to deal with this virus. Strowman was trusted to carry the Universal Championship for over four months before dropping it at SummerSlam to The Fiend.

The Fiend Bray Wyatt began 2020 as Universal Champion before dropping the title to Bill Goldberg in Saudi Arabia at Super Showdown in February – right before the pandemic. The Fiend participated in the first-ever Firefly FunHouse match with John Cena – and I guess won that match. The point is The Fiend had the momentum at the end of the match, so he redeemed himself after losing to Cena six years ago. Bray Wyatt then started a long-term feud with Braun Strowman right after this which lasted until SummerSlam when he won the Universal Championship – this title victory was essentially just to give The Fiend the accolade of being a two-time Universal Champion because he dropped the title to the returning Roman Reigns a week later.

Keith Lee is relatively new but has an enormous amount of potential if used correctly. WWE has already experimented with him at Survivor Series 2019 in which he pinned Seth Rollins and earned the respect of Roman Reigns. For the past two weeks, Lee has been working with Braun Strowman. The Limitless One has also gotten a pinfall victory over Randy Orton and interacting with his real-life friend Drew McIntyre on TV.

Going back to SmackDown, the fact that there are only two (maybe three) perennial main event superstars currently on the brand says that two, three, or maybe even four more will be established within the next year. Perhaps Kevin Owens and Big E (and maybe even Aleister Black to an extent) will be at the top of the priority list.

Best Firefly FunHouse ever, with the intro of Alexa and Bray Wyatt showing no Mercy to Ramblin’ Rabbit

October 25, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Orton doing a thorough job of putting over Drew McIntyre as a perennial main eventer for the next number of years and leaving no stone unturned

The Viper’s in-ring work has been impeccable as always in 2020, but where he has flourished the most by far is on the microphone – he has undoubtedly done the best work of his career in that department, and this Monday was no exception. He will look to win his 14^th career WWE Title this Sunday in his 8^th career match inside Hell In A Cell. Another interesting fact is that Orton will look to win the WWE Championship for the 3^rd time inside the structure.

On the other hand, Drew McIntyre will compete in his first HIAC match. This is exactly why McIntyre wanted to work with Orton – Drew knew it would benefit him exponentially to be able to work with one of the top two or three superstars in the entire company and serve to establish him as a legitimate main event – caliber superstar. Whether he gets the victory or not inside the Cell, it will do wonders for his status in WWE to even be in there with a superstar of Randy Orton’s caliber.

The fact that McIntyre has defeated Randy Orton twice already for the WWE championship (including at the second biggest Pay-Per-View of the year – SummerSlam) has elevated him exponentially and proven that his victory at WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar was no fluke. An adequate amount of time has been invested into making McIntyre successful. Randy Orton is one of the best storytellers in all of pro wrestling, and the main thing that makes him so great in this department is the extremely methodical approach he takes (a lost art in today’s extremely fast-paced world).

There was some confusion about the way Monday Night Raw ended this week, but it was the ending Mr. McMahon approved and envisioned – it served as a great cliffhanger for Sunday’s Hell In a Cell Pay-Per-View.

Strowman provides the impetus for Keith Lee to add another dimension to his character; Mustafa Ali may have found his niche

Braun Strowman got a victory over Keith Lee by using the same tactic Roman Reigns used to get the victory over him on October 16 on SmackDown – the subtle low blow the referee was unable to see. Keith Lee retaliated with one of his own after the match, and it showed a sense of aggression the WWE universe hasn’t seen before. This adds an entirely new dimension to Keith Lee’s character and serves to diversify his personality by showing that he has more than one gear or dimension to his personality that he did not show in NXT.

Strowman, in the meantime, is simply incubating after dropping the Universal Championship and in the process giving younger superstars who have less exposure under their belt (like Keith Lee, who is only a year younger than The Monster Among Men) more of a platform on Monday Night Raw

RETRIBUTION lost a little momentum at the beginning of Raw by taking a loss to The Hurt Business, but fortunately they got it back later in the program. Ali revealed himself as the SmackDown hacker from several months ago – hopefully he can now settle into a niche in WWE after a few years of searching for what exactly he wants to be. Most of the WWE universe could sense from the beginning of Mustafa Ali’s career that he had an unspoken quality about him that could profoundly resonate with the WWE universe someday. In his own words, “WWE could not figure out how to make a dime with Mustafa Ali.” However, he can only do so much on the microphone to overcome the inconsistent booking RETRIBUTION has received – the faction will have a hard time ever being taken seriously if they keep taking losses.

Kofi Kingston and Sheamus produce an unbelievable match; Miz foreshadows plans to take the Money in the Bank contract and in the process displays why he is so valuable to the company with his level of charisma

Kofi Kingston and Sheamus met in a match on Raw for the first time in nine years and had the best match of the night, getting adequate time to deliver and tell a good story. Kofi got the victory, which means that:

The New Day will remain tag team champions for quite some time and
For right now, Sheamus will just hang out and buy time as a mid-carder

It’s nice to simply see Sheamus still in the ring and able to give solid performances (he looked like he was on his last leg at ‘Mania 35 1.5 years ago.

The Miz took an embarrassing loss to Otis (El Gordo), but Miz is still one of the best promos in the company consistently (comedy or not). The writing is on the wall for The A-lister to steal the Money in the Bank contract – and for the WWE universe to simultaneously develop more sympathy for Otis. Otis is becoming a valuable commodity in the comedic department and he is beginning to rival R – Truth as the best comedy act in the company.

Styles getting a bodyguard; Jeff Hardy and Elias could put together an underrated gem of a match at HIAC

According to Fightful Select, AJ Styles now has a new wrinkle added to his character – the ability to hide behind a bodyguard. Mr. McMahon has now found a spot for Jordan Omogbehin. After bouncing around as a ninja a few months ago for Akira Tozawa and the bouncer for Raw Underground (which may or may not still be in existence). Jordan was part of the recruit class at the WWE performance center in 2018 along with Matt Riddle (who wrestled Styles this Monday), Damian Priest, and Mia Yim. This 7ft tall former basketball player will provide security for AJ Styles during his matches and be a person The Phenomenal One can blame when the heel loses.

WWE is resurrecting the HBK-Diesel alliance from about 25 years ago. Shawn Michaels and Diesel (Kevin Nash) met at WrestleMania XI in 1995. Styles is so similar to Michaels – in terms of in-ring ability as well as look, and Omogbehin can serve as a similar presence to what Diesel did for Michaels back in the day. The Undertaker, who participated in what could very well have been his final match with Styles at WrestleMania 36 in a Boneyard match, acknowledged that part of the reason he chose to work with The Phenomenal One was that he reminded Taker of Shawn Michaels (most WWE fans remember very fondly the first Hell In A Cell match between HBK and The Undertaker at Badd Blood 1997).

October 19 was by far the best musical performance Elias has ever given – the band significantly elevated his presence. It didn’t quite have the aura or mixture of cadences that Led Zeppelin has in “Stairway to Heaven,” but it was close. Most of the WWE universe would know it maintains continuity that Jeff Hardy was involved in the performance, because Elias attacked Jeff on October 12 with a guitar. This has the potential to be one of the better matches at Hell In A Cell on Sunday – Elias likely will not pick up the victory like he did at WrestleMania against King Corbin, because WWE is prioritizing the push of Jeff Hardy right now to keep him happy and away from AEW with his brother.

New stars emerging in the exponentially deep Women’s Division in WWE

According to reports, Lana quietly turned babyface on October 12 after being in the opposite role for nearly her entire tenure on the main roster in WWE. She recently formed a temporary alliance with Natalya as well as being put through the announce table 5 weeks in a row by Nia Jax. It’s great to see her get even a little bit of an opportunity coinciding with the release and AEW debut of her husband Miro.

Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler are certainly not a typical tag team, but they are effective nonetheless as dominant heels. The Riott Squad are currently being positioned to become the faces who ultimately dethrone them.

Slow Burning Big E’s Character Development

October 25, 2020October 25, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

Mr. McMahon has been extremely patient regarding the push of Big E. Intuitive members of the WWE universe could sense immediately, “this guy is a future world champion.” Mr. McMahon felt the same way, because in 2014 he narrowed his choices down to two men to be the face of the company going forward: Big E and Roman Reigns (obviously the latter was chosen, and it worked out for the best).

While Vince McMahon opted to prioritize The Big Dog first and wanted to cement him as a perennial superstar and by far the most recognizable face in WWE (this process is almost complete as Reigns is currently in the midst of the long title reign right now). Everything is coming full circle for Reigns and he is employing a new level of authenticity. Much of this can be attributed to the alliance with Paul Heyman. WWE has been waiting to align Roman and Paul since the night The Shield first debuted at Survivor Series 2012 and interfered in the WWE Championship match. This saved CM Punk’s historic 434-day tenure with the title (which The Rock would ultimately end at the Royal Rumble in January 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona), and Punk was ironically managed by Heyman at that time.

While Roman Reigns was at the forefront of the WWE universe’s attention and simultaneously receiving all the praise and criticism that comes with being the face of the company, Big E had an underrated run as Intercontinental Champion in 2013-14 and was ultimately paired with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods as The New Day in November 2014. Vince McMahon was somewhat leery as to whether this would resonate (I would have been as well), but WWE stuck with it and it turned into the best six years of their lives. In fairness, this team did not resonate with the WWE universe for the first nine months or so, but instead grew on fans with time. That’s all the difference when one is looking at whether a gimmick works or not – did it get time to simmer with the fanbase before it was done away with?

Big E’s eventual singles push was foreshadowed earlier in 2020 – in April to be exact, right after WrestleMania 36, when E won the SmackDown Tag Team Championships by himself to make The New Day 8-time champs (9 overall). The reason E competed alone was because, at ‘Mania, Kofi competed by himself against John Morrison and Jimmy Uso (who tore an ACL during the match and is still out right now). The Miz had an illness so he could not go for a normal tag team match, but he was good a few weeks later.

Inside Scoop on Seth Rollins and AJ Styles’ Draft Movement

October 25, 2020 by Evan Luebbe

The pivotal reason WWE flipped Seth Rollins and AJ Styles between brands is because AJ complained a few months ago about having to perform on Friday nights and therefore miss his son’s high school football games – which makes sense. That was the easy part of the decision by the company. The difficult part was that losing Styles from a SmackDown perspective is a massive loss. Well, aside from being several inches taller, Seth Rollins is basically a carbon copy of Styles – both from an in-ring perspective and in terms of the level of charisma both men have. Whether they were performing in empty gymnasiums 14 years ago or wrestling for the Universal Championship at Money in the Bank 2019, one could tell they would both turn into something special one day.

If Seth was going to SmackDown, that meant Murphy as well as the Mysterio family would also have to come over to maintain continuity within the storyline as opposed to abruptly ending that storyline – which WWE has invested a significant amount of time and effort into formulating. The goal of this storyline is to make it so that when this story finishes, Seth Rollins has no allies anymore and can therefore be written off TV for a few months so he can take paternity leave. He will then be able to help care for his child with his fiancée Becky Lynch without feeling like WWE needs his presence to present a good product. This will enable Seth to be fully present with his child and that will benefit everyone involved.