Evan Luebbe

Audibling

One thing that is refreshing to see in WWE is the fact that superstars have a greater amount of freedom when cutting promos on the mic. This started probably right after WrestleMania this year, so the credit for this cannot be taken by Paul Heyman.

As an example, Dolph Ziggler made a subtle remark about the performance of Goldberg during MizTV on the July 15 episode of Raw. This is very encouraging to see. Thankfully we are out of the era of totally scripted promos that feel completely forced and inauthentic (remember the 2015 Roman Reigns train wreck of a promo where he made a reference to Jack and the Beanstalk).

WWE is instead allowing superstars to call audibles in the middle of promos, much like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady at the line of scrimmage.

Apology

I have to sincerely apologize for my references to NXT Takeover and SummerSlam emanating from Brooklyn because that is absolutely wrong. Both events will be airing on the WWE Network on August 11 (2019) from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Brooklyn has been conditioned into me for the past four years, so my apologies.

Pace Will Pick Up

The pace at which NXT is moving will begin to speed up in the next six weeks or so as we approach Takeover: Brooklyn, which was established as NXT’s biggest Takeover event started in 2015. It coincides with WWE’s build to its second-biggest pay-per-view, SummerSlam. It is great to see WWE working towards building the future of the business by introducing new people like Arturo Ruas, who has competed before in NXT under a different name. He also competed this past Saturday on Evolve’s 10thAnniversary Special. His match with Matt Riddle was contested similar to a UFC fight because both are well trained in MMA. The match ended with Riddle being attacked by Killian Dain, who is finally making his NXT return after failing to make a meaningful impact with Sanity on the main roster.

I can really appreciate the reference to the late Bam Bam Bigelow by Beth Phoenix. He was a very underrated performer who is remembered most for his match with the great linebacker Lawrence Taylor of the NFL’s New York Giants at WrestleMania 11 in 1995.

One last element that needs to be addressed is the Kushida – Apollo Crews match. Kushida is truly a one-of-a-kind talent who’s in-ring style is so adaptable that it can mesh with almost anyone. It is also extremely unselfish on the part of Apollo Crews to return to NXT to help put Kushida over. I know of plenty of superstars who were not willing to do that, so it speaks volumes about Apollo’s character and his attitude toward the company that he is willing to do that.

Categories NXT

Bischoff’s First Official Week

Eric Bischoff officially started running SmackDown Live after Extreme Rules, and the Bischoff era kicked off with Shane McMahon conducting an excellent segment. I fully assume this segment had the intention behind it of introducing new superstars that the WWE universe is not quite as familiar with, like Buddy Murphy (who may have earned himself a match after SummerSlam against Kevin Owens) and Liv Morgan, who had a match against Charlotte Flair later in the show.

Even Apollo Crews had something to say and wound up receiving a match later in the night against Andrade, and winning (this may get the attention of management and he may receive a small push because of this, but not a huge one by any means as Andrade is not a massive superstar yet).

Another interesting happening on SmackDown Live involved The New Day and it ended in them conducting a six-man tag team match with Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, and Elias. All three members of the latter team expressed their intent to take the WWE Championship from Kofi Kingston. This appears to be setting up a fatal four-way match at SummerSlam for the WWE Championship involving these four men, which I am fully on board with.

As for the way this particular episode of SmackDown Live was conducted, I personally would have had Joe and Elias challenge Big E and Xavier Woods for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships and Randy Orton challenge Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship in the main event with Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler in-between. The IIconics would have been edited out of the show and moved to next week because they are not a real priority right now in WWE (they may be in a month).

It’s seems more and more likely that Kevin Owens will have a SummerSlam match with Shane McMahon. This match would undoubtedly be featured pretty high on the card. Now that I think about it, there is also a strong possibility that Kevin Owens teams with Roman Reigns in a tag team match against Shane McMahon and a partner of Shane’s choosing. It seems safe to say that the entire WWE universe thought Shane’s rivalry with The Miz would carry through the summer, but Miz is moving on to other matters (Dolph Ziggler right now).

Congratulations also to Ember Moon on being given a SmackDown Women’s Championship match by Bayley as she will do great things whether she wins the title or not.

Rollins Rematch

The highlight of the night was Seth Rollins clinching yet another opportunity at the Universal Championship. This is typical of WWE to repeat storylines as opposed to introducing new concepts. Rollins is definitely deserving of a rematch, just maybe not right now. I almost got a little too excited when Randy Orton was the second to last man in the battle royal, which was a genius idea by Paul Heyman. I was holding my breath in hopes that the WWE universe would get an opportunity to witness a rematch between Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton, revisiting the bloodbath from SummerSlam 2016.

The second biggest happening from Monday Night Raw had to do with Bray Wyatt returning and attacking Finn Balor, presumably setting up a SummerSlam match. This is great for Wyatt to return, but why does he have to wrestle this opponent? He already had a SummerSlam match with Balor back in 2017. The only difference is that he lost, and he might actually win this one. I personally feel that WWE should not seek to recycle old rivalries, but rather look to establish new ones, particularly at their second-biggest pay-per-view of the year.

It is great to see Natalya getting a Raw Women’s Championship opportunity at SummerSlam against Becky Lynch. She received a similar opportunity for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the same event in 2017 against Naomi. It is also nice to see the women getting edgy. The edginess WWE is establishing again on TV is not just exclusive to the men. The women’s match on Raw was a rather excellent performance, particularly as it pertains to Alexa Bliss and Naomi. Nikki Cross is also getting visibly more comfortable on camera evidenced by her taunting of the crowd.

Side Note: It’s a solid idea for WWE to book a SummerSlam match between Dolph Ziggler and The Miz. Miz has done well for himself over the last two SummerSlams, having a great match with Daniel Bryan last year and being booked in a match this year that should produce the same results with Dolph Ziggler.

Categories RAW

Evolve 10th Anniversary Special

Evolve 131 Exceeds Expectations

First of all, if anyone missed Evolve 131 because you were watching the AEW event or something entirely different, you missed a spectacular show and a glimpse at the future of the wrestling industry (which will be headlined by people like Josh Briggs and Austin Theory).

It was incredibly smart of WWE to form a mutual collaboration with Evolve and to feature events for that company as well on the WWE Network. This diversity in events that are featured on the Network will provide wrestling fans with a little something different and it may be attractive particularly for the 18-30-year-old demographic, which WWE is trying to gain more appeal from.

From a marketing perspective, one cannot call this collaboration with Evolve horizontal integration, or merging with a competitor, because WWE does not directly acknowledge Evolve or anyone else as a direct competitor. It can’t be considered vertical integration, or buying out a supplier, either because Evolve is not a supplier to WWE (although they have indirectly supplied WWE with quite a bit of human capital in the form of superstars such as Matt Riddle, Drew Gulak, Johnny Gargano, and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott as well as Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, and a slew of others).

While I was watching the event, the moment I felt compelled to write about it was when Paul Heyman appeared in the middle of the ring to do the announcing for the title match between Austin Theory and JD Drake and declared that he wanted to be a major part of the future of the wrestling industry as opposed to being a “dinosaur” who simply reminisces about the past. He would like to be at the forefront leading the next generation of this industry and that is very respectable. This will undoubtedly be a very memorable event in the history books of professional wrestling. Fortunately, even if you missed the event, you can see it whenever you like on the award-winning (and rapidly growing) WWE Network, which appears to be finding a niche for itself in focusing primarily on getting a little deeper into the personal lives of superstars (with their cooperation of course).

The Beast is Back

The three most surprising events which took place at the pay-per-view were:

  • Brock Lesnar cashing in
  • Shinsuke Nakamura becoming Intercontinental Champion
  • And all three members of The New Day leaving the event as champions

Let’s start with Lesnar, shall we?

We all have no choice but to give Lesnar major credit because every time he makes an appearance, although everyone wishes it was more often, he draws major excitement, and everyone pays attention to whatever he does. I personally love him, I simply wish he was around more often, but why would he be if WWE is willing to pay him the kind of money they are? He is once again the reigning defending undisputed Universal heavyweight Champion, and the entire WWE universe has to feel for Seth Rollins. It is anyone’s guess in terms of what direction Seth’s character development goes from here. One proposal I do have for Brock Lesnar is for his first challenger at SummerSlam to be Bobby Lashley. I make this proposal now because both men are getting older (Lesnar 42, Lashley 43) and there may not be a whole lot of time left for WWE to take advantage of this.

There are two reasons why this would be an epic confrontation:

  • Lashley is one of the few superstars who looks like he would stand a chance in a real fight on the street with Brock Lesnar
  • Lashley is one of the few WWE superstars (besides Lesnar) with extensive MMA experience – the only other one I can think of off the top of my head is Matt Riddle

He has put together an impressive 15-2 Bellator record. Seth Rollins is very deserving of a rematch against Lesnar for the Universal Championship and he will surely get it, but WWE would be unwise to not capitalize on the Lesnar-Lashley match while they are both still young and agile enough to make it a great match. Fans have been talking about this potential match since Lashley returned to WWE in April 2018.

Another major surprise was the fact that all three members of The New Day walked out as champions.    Big E and Xavier Woods won the SmackDown Tag Team Championships from the champions Daniel Bryan and Rowan to become six-time champions. We also saw some Caterpillar action from Otis of Heavy Machinery.

It will be interesting to see what direction WWE chooses for Daniel Bryan in the coming months. He may get thrown into the upper midcard title scene or before into contention for the WWE Championship. What is even more unbelievable is the fact that Kofi Kingston was able to retain the WWE Championship by surviving Samoa Joe. Personally, I thought Joe should have won the title, being 40 years old and in the wrestling business for two decades and never having won a major title in WWE. It was a great opportunity for Joe, and frankly, I’m surprised WWE opted not to pull the trigger.

The final surprise from the pay-per-view was something that I saw coming, but it’s always a nice surprise to see when it actually happens: Shinsuke Nakamura won the Intercontinental Championship from Finn Balor, who has been largely forgotten about and is in a state of creative limbo. But this victory will absolutely get Nakamura’s career back on the right track and give him a solid position on TV for probably the remainder of 2019. This move may coincide with him re-signing with the company, although I don’t know that for sure. His deal that he signed with WWE in 2016 expired right around the same time AJ Styles’ contract expired, so maybe.

What may indeed be a smart idea is for WWE to have this sudden push of Kevin Owens individually (without Sami Zayn) be the start of a massive Daniel Bryan-like push for Owens culminating in a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania. His quick victory over Dolphh Ziggler was the perfect way to kick off a major push like this.

Ricochet is going to be a massive star in the WWE, but it is a great idea for WWE to implement a heel faction again, because we all know how well it worked the last time there was a dominant one by the name of The Shield, maybe you have heard of them.

There were no real surprises in the Undertaker match. It made absolutely no sense for Roman Reigns to be his partner, because as Cole said, they are bitter rivals (because Reigns beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania two years ago). That said, I love all aspects of WWE, even the ones that don’t make sense.

I also am amazed each time I see Shane McMahon do elbow on somebody through the announce table.

It is somewhat disappointing that Braun Strowman has not won more titles in his basically three years on the main roster. The only thing he has won is a Tag Team Championship with a kid, and he only held it for one day. He is simply not viewed as someone who is trustworthy enough to represent the company. He did look fantastic in his last man standing match with Bobby Lashley.

Aleister Black and Cesaro put together a great match (let’s be honest, did you expect anything different?). This match, however, was clearly a stepping stone for Black, as he will be launched possibly into WWE Championship contention with this victory.

It was also a smart move on WWE’s part to book Bayley to win her match against Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss. The rivalry between Cross and Bliss will surely culminate in a match between the two at SummerSlam and it does not need the title involved to make it interesting.

Side Note: The Revival put on a surprisingly entertaining performance in their successful title defense against The Usos.

SD Superior Quality

SmackDown Live has been producing shows of better quality over the last few months. My theory is that Vince McMahon had a somewhat difficult time trusting different people to orchestrate the show after the Road Dogg got frustrated with all the last-minute script changes and left the position. He still teaches character development to up-and-comers at the WWE PC (Performance Center). The names that are featured on the show may not be quite as big, but they are giving a quality performance each and every week. This may change now that Paul Heyman is officially running Monday Night Raw, but Eric Bischoff may be able to give him a run for his money because he is a great wrestling mind as well.

This week the show began with Kevin Owens going on an angry verbal rampage regarding Shane McMahon, seemingly officially turning babyface which could very well launch the best run of KO’S career.

WWE should not, however, make an attempt to turn Kevin Owens into the next Stone Cold Steve Austin, despite the fact that he uses a stunner to finish matches. Most all of what he said was true, because Shane is taking valuable TV time from superstars like Buddy Murphy, Apollo Crews, and Ali. Ali is coming with a character reboot and will likely get a sizable push. Timing is everything considering WWE was planning something very similar for him up until he sustained an unexpected injury. This happened right before Elimination Chamber and he was replaced by Kofi Kingston. We all know how that turned out. Nonetheless, this was not the correct way for Kevin Owens to expel his grievances, according to storyline obviously.

I’m not sure what end this will lead to because, while Kevin Owens does have plenty of history with Shane, he is not currently involved in a feud with McMahon. All this could easily be turned into a SummerSlam match without major changes. He may interfere in the match at Extreme Rules involving The Undertaker and Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre, because he currently does not have a match at Extreme Rules that is immediately coming to mind. Hopefully he would abandon the alliance with Sami Zayn (at least for now) as it would benefit both stars.

One points that desperately needs to be made regarding Roman Reigns is this:How can the WWE creative team expect any intelligent member of the WWE universe to legitimately accept someone like Roman Reigns as the babyface against an opponent like Dolph Ziggler? Reigns outweighs him by a minimum of 45 Ibs. This is one old-school element of wrestling that still absolutely works – bigger guys make for excellent heels and appeal well to crowds from a psychology standpoint.

Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura having a match at Extreme Rules is a fantastic idea because:

  1. These two have a long history in Japan, so WWE can capitalize on their storied history, and
  2. This is a great avenue for Nakamura to get his career back on track after some time away, facing Balor for the first time in three years since their NXT days.

Nakamura has not been relevant in a little over a year since he had the WWE Championship rivalry with AJ Styles. And let’s face it, no one remembers very well (or cares) that much about the tag team with Rusev which did not work.

Nikki Cross has the “it” factor that is so coveted in professional wrestling/sports entertainment. She will go on to be a very successful champion and a potential cornerstone of the women’s division for years to come. Partial credit goes to Alexa Bliss for providing significant assistance in getting her over with the WWE universe.

Meanwhile, I’m ready to yawn at The Undertaker. He is reportedly scheduled to have a SummerSlam match with Baron Corbin to avoid ringrust in preparation for WrestleMania. The reason he is still around is reportedly because WWE offered him a contract for so much money that he could not refuse it. We (fans) simply cannot get rid of him. He was great back in his day and there will probably never be another superstar quite like him. All that said, he, and the company, cannot seem to accept the fact that his era has passed

Slide Note:Otis may do the New Day’s hip thrust better than they do, if that’s possible. It’s awesome though. You shouldn’t take your eyes off Shelton Benjamin either. I can’t say for certain what’s going on with him, but it will probably turn into something great. Also, be on the lookout for Bray Wyatt to appear on Raw or SmackDown after Extreme Rules as there have been subtle hints the past couple weeks.

Extreme Rules Countdown

It can’t be just me. Is anyone else looking more forward to the United States Championship match at Extreme Rules than the Universal/Raw Women’s Championship match? Also, when I first heard that Extreme Rules was going to air from Philadelphia (Paul Heyman has plenty of history in that location from his ECW days), a wrestling fan cannot help but think of the disastrous reaction Roman Reigns received at the Royal Rumble 2015, the year he won the whole thing.

Overall, this was a solid episode of Monday Night Raw, with a healthy dose of controlled chaos to start the show. Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch took on Andrade and Zelina Veg in a mixed tag team match, immediately followed by an attack on Seth and Becky from Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans.

It only seems to be a matter of time before the Viking Raiders win the Raw Tag Team Championships and go on to dominate the Raw tag team division for an extended period. Fans seem to be sick of The Revival (that is not an insult to them). Personally, I think they have been very good for WWE, but it is a palpable feeling that the WWE universe is ready for something different.

Karl Anderson seems to stand out to me more than Luke Gallows, despite the fact that Gallows got the spotlight on Raw this week with a match against Ricochet (maybe this is a sign that Paul Heyman favors him over Anderson).

Who would’ve ever thought that Drake Maverick, R-Truth and the 24/7 Championship would be one of the top two or three stories in WWE? Quite a few fans, including me, thought it might turn out to be the laughing stock of WWE and quickly be done away with, but credit has to be given where credit is due.

Who would have ever guessed that within just a couple months of the title’s inception that it would at least temporarily have more significance than Roman Reigns? Roman currently seems to be in a state of creative limbo (this is likely to change after Extreme Rules, as he will likely be put in a championship match for SummerSlam, watch should be awesome.) One would assume he might be placed in a WWE Championship match at SummerSlam, but brand doesn’t seem to matter that much anymore with the Wild Card Rule being implemented in May and effectively ending the poignant split.

Side Note:How awesome is it that the WWE universe will still chant CM Punk’s name when they get bored during shows? Even 5 ½ years after his departure, he still leaves an indelible mark in the minds of hard-core WWE fans (sorry Bayley). And, I really don’t know what’s up with Cedric Alexander being portrayed on Raw as Gary Garbutt.

Categories RAW

KO Face Turn

Kevin Owens may have turned babyface yet again. He has undergone a few character changes since WrestleMania, primarily because of Daniel Bryan. When Bryan was sidelined right after ‘Mania with an injury, Kevin Owens abruptly turned heel right before Money in the Bank in order to provide Kofi Kingston with a legitimate opponent, This did not make much sense considering the WWE universe was loving the fact that he was replacing Big E in The New Day as Big O.

Now he may be turning face again as he criticized Dolph Ziggler for complaining about how he should be WWE Champion. I am absolutely not worried, however, because of Owens’ versatility as a performer. He has not played the role of a face in WWE; however, he has been a face numerous times outside of WWE.

Owens is undoubtedly one of the most well-rounded performers in the company. He has the ability to resonate with the WWE universe at a very deep level on the mic, so I’m not worried about him in the slightest.

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Disclosure: This site is not affiliated with WWE – just a diehard fan writing commentary on events.
 
Copyright 2021 Evan Luebbe. All rights reserved.