Evan Luebbe, Author at Evan Luebbe

Losing a Champion but the Dynamic Show Goes on

May 17, 2019April 13, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

It’s incredibly impressive that Takeover: New York was able to go on as if nothing happened after losing their champion and one of the main characters who the entire show was built around.

I also think it’s safe to say that the entire NXT universe is fully behind the Street Profits.

The way the fans react to them reminds me of the reaction that The Rock used to get back in the day.

Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins are so charismatic that it’s nearly impossible not to like them.

A championship match with War Raiders down the line could be in store.

Single Biggest Takeaway… Lars Sullivan

May 17, 2019April 13, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

The single biggest takeaway from SmackDown Live was the debut of Lars Sullivan. There is a very plausible scenario where Sullivan comes to SmackDown, as well as Braun Strowman since he also made a surprise appearance, and the two of them began a feud of epic proportions, carrying WWE throughout the summer. This could work mainly because WWE is going to have to increase the appeal of SmackDown Live if they are going to successfully make the jump to FOX in October.

This may have indeed been the final week we will see The New Day as a team with the Superstar Shake-Up rapidly approaching, especially since Kofi Kingston is WWE Champion. Big E and Xavier Woods deserve the opportunity to fend for themselves as a tag team.

One thing I’m desperately praying for is that Drew McIntyre is not squandered in terms of booking if he does make the jump to SmackDown Live.

There are also new SmackDown Tag Team Champions in Matt and Jeff Hardy. They have been around for so long that they seem like more of a nostalgia act than anything (the only difference being that they are still young enough to be able to put on a decent match). It has also come to the attention of wrestling fans that AJ Styles was injured at WrestleMania.

Eyeing the Future of Roman Reigns

May 17, 2019April 13, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

I realize this may sound off-the-wall at first, but Roman Reigns may make the jump to SmackDown Live during the Superstar Shake-Up. Roman, might jump along with Baron Corbin, because that is who he’s scheduled to feud with next (I know, I’m bummed too). From WWE’s perspective, it would destroy his babyface persona which is newly established after winning his battle with leukemia.

It would be destroyed because he would undoubtedly be pitted in a feud for The Universal Championship with Seth Rollins, and since Seth is a bigger face than Roman, and has been for longer, the audience may side with him. Rollins can work with new stars on Raw, while Reigns does the same on SmackDown. It also may freshen up his character the same way it did for AJ Styles in 2016.

After Corbin, he could feud with “The face that runs the place” before being put into a title feud. Reigns could then win the major title on Smackdown and form a heel faction with his cousins The Usos, and, at go at it from the angle of how they are not appreciated enough for all the work they put in. This could be a great way for Roman to expand his character.

From the perspective of FOX, as a big network, they thought they might be getting Ronda Rousey on SmackDown weekly, but now that is not the case anymore due to her desire to take a break from WWE and try to start a family with her husband, and with Roman Reigns being the company’s next biggest star, FOX will likely jump all over that. This is purely speculation, but it might be a good idea for WWE to put this plan into action.

A New Era for WWE & Sami Zayn Speaks the Truth

May 17, 2019April 13, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

This episode lived up to its billing as the single most exciting episode of the year, headlined this year by Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston, and Sami Zayn. WWE may be thinking of unifying the men’s and women’s championships. This may be a somewhat ill-advised decision if this is indeed the route WWE is going given the amount of talent they have on the main roster.

It might be a little too much talent to have just one major champion for the men and women.
It may be unfair to the superstars and WWE risks creating unhappy relationships because stars may feel they are being underutilized.
This is a problem because with other wrestling organizations gaining prominence, now the employees have decent options to go elsewhere and make a good living.

Lars Sullivan debuted after being scheduled to do so a few months ago, but it was delayed because of a panic attack. It’s great to see however that he has gotten his mental health back in order. Vince McMahon is sure to give him a major push considering how much he loves big men.

This is unforeseen in terms of what WWE did with Lacey Evans and having her attack Becky Lynch, presumably ensuring that she will challenge for both Women’s Championships at the next pay-per-view. She is extremely talented and is more than capable in the ring.

A very shocking event was when Elias was interrupted by none other than The Undertaker. I don’t think anyone is ever certain about the future of The Undertaker in terms of in-ring competition. It was just so strange seeing The Undertaker miss WrestleMania for the first time since 2000.

The final major event last night was the return of Sami Zayn, who proved to be a worthy first challenger for Finn Balor. It was a smart decision to keep the Intercontinental Championship on Balor as WWE has several champions right now who should hold their titles for an extended period. This is truly a new era for WWE.

After the match though, the returning Zayn cut a brilliant promo with a whole lot of truth to it. WWE should appreciate how articulate he is when he talks. His promo was about how members of the WWE universe are judgmental and critical of others to mask the ugliness inside them. This is extremely true because we have all met people like that. That is exactly what I try not to do on this blog. I try to refrain from too much judgment or criticism of Vince McMahon or anyone else who works for WWE. I attempt to take a holistic viewpoint and to understand where people are coming from in their choices. That is what we should all strive for.

Dean Ambrose did his due diligence and put over Bobby Lashley, and after the show got a great sendoff from his Shield brothers.

It would be reasonable to estimate that Braun Strowman will be involved in a somewhat high-profile match at WrestleMania next year in Tampa, maybe even a title match. He has been on the main roster for four installments of WrestleMania now and has had underwhelming performances at all of them (when your biggest accomplishment at ‘Mania is winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, it may be time for Vince to examine the way Braun is being booked and to make strides to improve his status within the company. He might fare better moving to SmackDown during the Superstar Shakeup.

In addition to suffering a broken hand at WrestleMania, Ronda Rousey is reportedly going to take a break from WWE and attempt to have children with her husband, Travis Browne. She reportedly signed a multi-year deal with WWE, so she isn’t going anywhere and will return hopefully as soon as possible. She is penciled in as of now for a rematch with Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 36 next year in Tampa.

WrestleMania 35 – KofiMania is Here!

May 17, 2019April 13, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Fans have to be overwhelmingly ecstatic that all three of the major babyfaces this year won, being Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch and Kofi Kingston. On a personal note, that would have been my ideal scenario; I just never anticipated for it to happen, given that last year, all the major faces failed to win their matches.

It is huge that Seth Rollins was able to bring the Universal Championship back to Monday Night Raw. Brock Lesnar may be finally headed back to UFC to fight Daniel Cormier in August (or at least that’s the deal for now). Seth may go on to hold the title until at least SummerSlam. I am almost certain that he will go on to feud with Roman Reigns in the near future (everyone saw that coming).

WWE needs to either completely change the character of Lacey Evans or simply stop trying altogether. There’s no doubt that she’s extremely talented, but this character which could be put into a time machine, transported back 50 years and fit right in, is hurting the product and wasting people’s time.

The Usos are one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history, and it’s a smart decision to keep the titles on them.

Ricochet and Aleister Black also deserve mentioning as they had a busy weekend for working two matches.

The Miz and Shane McMahon had a crazy finish to their match, however Miz will probably move on to bigger and better things because Shane usually takes a leave of absence from in-ring work after WrestleMania.

It’s hard to believe that the IIconics won the Women’s Tag Team Championship. They can be a bit annoying so no one should get their hopes up that they will hold the titles for any extended period.

KofiMania is here! This was a very intelligent booking decision by Vince McMahon. It’s a very good thing that he listened to his audience and made Kofi Champion (he learned from his experience with Daniel Bryan). Kofi may be simply a transitional champion who does not hold the title for very long, maybe a month or two, but at least he can add that to his resume. The biggest storyline development that may result from this title victory is that it may plant the seeds for the New Day to split, unfortunately. This is truly one of the great tag teams in WWE history, so it’s important to appreciate them and what they’ve done for the company.

Samoa Joe is a man who, I expected, was largely favored to retain his championship. Rey Mysterio is someone who can afford a loss like this. At this stage of his career, he is mainly still doing it to give back to the business because he has done everything there is to do. Joe, however, is still working in a win at his first WrestleMania – this is huge for him. He should go on to hold the United States Championship for quite some time, until SummerSlam at least.

Personally, I would have booked Drew McIntyre to beat Roman Reigns because a loss wouldn’t have hurt Reigns that much and it would’ve catapulted McIntyre into the top heel role on Raw immediately, but the feel-good story of Roman Reigns coming back so soon from his illness can be appreciated for sure. Vince McMahon has to be thrilled that Reigns has been solidified into the top babyface role after years of his push not working the way he envisioned. Reigns’ next task will be positioning himself as the unquestionable owner of the title by defeating Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship.

I’m unsure of the direction of Elias, and was genius for WWE to have the Doctor of Thuganomics return. This is the last thing anyone would have guessed as far as the plans for John Cena. I wasn’t sure if WWE would still allow John to do this character since WWE has gone PG, but it is very creative.

It was very unselfish of Kurt Angle to put over Baron Corbin in his retirement match. WWE looks to be giving it one final attempt with the push of Corbin. I am less than optimistic because a couple other tries have failed thus far, and he is not resonating with fans particularly well. If this attempt does not work, then maybe WWE should consider releasing him.

The Demon gave a good performance and won the Intercontinental Championship. Maybe he could have a feud in the future with someone like Apollo Crews.

One has to appreciate how much Ronda Rousey has elevated the women’s division in WWE over the course of the last year. She may be the quickest superstar to headline WrestleMania. This also virtually guarantees that Becky Lynch will remain at the top of the card in the women’s division for the next several years, because she has agreed to an extension with WWE.

Lastly, the value of Charlotte Flair cannot be underestimated because she gives the best performance in every match she participates in and is simply a gifted athlete.

Side Note: This was a great show WWE put on as Newsweek aptly highlighted. It was apparently a stress-filled nightmare putting it on, but it was very well done and seemed to go on without a hiccup.

WrestleMania 35 – 4/7/2019

December 14, 2020April 8, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

This was a truly epic WrestleMania, and it doesn’t even feel like a massive venue when WWE holds WrestleMania at these gigantic Football stadiums; rather, it just feels normal. This is the vision though that Vince McMahon always had for his brainchild. Fans have to be overwhelmingly ecstatic that all three of the major babyfaces this year, being Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch and Kofi Kingston, won. On a personal note, that would have been my ideal scenario; I just never anticipated for that to happen, given that last year all the major faces failed to win their matches. It is huge that Seth Rollins was able to bring the Universal Championship back to Monday Night Raw. Brock Lesnar may be finally headed back to UFC to fight Daniel Cormier in August (or at least that’s the deal for now). Seth may go on to hold the title until at least SummerSlam. I am almost certain that he will go on to feud with Roman Reigns in the near future (everyone saw that coming).

Randy Orton should go on to have an extended feud with AJ Styles because the beef between them has gotten very personal. As far as the match goes, I would have never foreseen AJ winning (I may have drawn up a scenario where Orton hits an RKO outta nowhere). WWE needs to either completely change the character of Lacey Evans or simply stop trying altogether. There’s no doubt that she’s extremely talented, but this character which could be put into a time machine, transported back 50 years and fit right in is hurting the product and wasting people’s time.

The Usos are one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history, and it’s a smart decision to keep the titles on them. Ricochet and Aleister Black also deserve mentioning as they had a busy weekend for working two matches. The Miz and Shane McMahon had a crazy finish to their match, however Miz will probably move on to bigger and better things because Shane usually takes a leave of absence from in – ring work after WrestleMania. It’s hard to believe that the IIconics won the Women’s Tag Team Championship. They can be a bit annoying so no one should get their hopes up that they will hold the titles for any extended period.

Samoa Joe is a man who, I expected, was largely favored to retain his championship. Rey Mysterio is someone who can afford a loss like this. At this stage of his career he is mainly still doing it to give back to the business because he has done everything there is to do. Joe, however, is still working in a win at his first WrestleMania is huge for him. He should go on to hold the United States Championship for quite some time, until SummerSlam at least. Personally, I would have booked Drew McIntyre to beat Roman Reigns because a loss wouldn’t have hurt Reigns that much and it would’ve catapulted McIntyre into the top heel role on Raw immediately, but the feel-good story of Roman Reigns coming back so soon from his illness can be appreciated for sure. Vince McMahon has to be thrilled that Reigns has been solidified into the top babyface role after years of his push not working the way Mr. McMahon envisioned.

Reigns’ next task will be positioning himself as the unquestioned owner of the title by defeating Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship. I’m unsure of the direction of Elias, and it’s genius for WWE to have the Doctor of Thuganomics return. This is the last thing anyone would have guessed as far as the plans for John Cena. I wasn’t sure if WWE would still allow John to do this character since WWE has gone PG, but it is very creative.

It was very unselfish of Kurt Angle to put over Baron Corbin in his retirement match. WWE looks to be giving it one final attempt with the push of Corbin. I am less than optimistic because a couple other tries have failed thus far and he is not resonating with fans particularly well. If this attempt does not work, then maybe WWE should consider releasing him.

The Demon gave a good performance and won the Intercontinental Championship. Maybe he could have a feud in the future with someone like Apollo Crews. One has to appreciate how much Ronda Rousey has elevated the women’s division in WWE over the course of the last year. She may be the quickest superstar to headline WrestleMania after just one year. This also virtually guarantees that Becky Lynch will remain at the top of the card in the women’s division for the next several years, because she has agreed to an extension with WWE. Lastly, the value of Charlotte Flair cannot be underestimated because she gives the best performance in every match she participates in and is simply a gifted athlete.

Side Note: This was a great show WWE put on. It was apparently a stress filled nightmare putting it on, but it was very well done and seemed to go on without a hiccup.

WrestleMania 35 is Upon Us

May 17, 2019April 6, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

The final touches are being put on storylines heading into WrestleMania. I will begin by talking again about the women and the stipulation that was added to the main event. The fact that both titles will be on the line is awesome and tells me, as well as all other fans, that the two WWE Women’s Championships will almost certainly be unified sooner rather than later (it will probably be Becky Lynch who comes away with both titles).

Dean Ambrose may have made his farewell appearance on Monday Night Raw, coming out to deliver Dirty Deeds to Baron Corbin as Raw went off the air and subsequently bowing to the crowd as if saying goodbye.

Finn Balor’s Demon character may have officially lost its luster. Finn sticking out his tongue during his promo was just weird. Vince McMahon has historically had a rough time integrating different and sinister acts like this on to the main roster (just ask Bray Wyatt, or “Woken” Matt Hardy as the most recent examples, or Mordecai if you want an older example. Mordecai, however, would have worked if Kevin Fertig had not gotten into a bar fight in Louisville, Kentucky in 2004. He was originally scheduled to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 21 in 2005 at the Staples Center instead of Randy Orton).

Also, congratulations to Samoa Joe on making his first WrestleMania appearance after over two years on the main roster. Joe missed WrestleMania 33 due to injury, and he missed the event last year because the creative team had nothing for him. This had to be a disappointment, because he was healthy and he had to feel let down because he was missing out on a huge opportunity, but it was due to circumstances that were out of his control. He should definitely retain his title at ‘Mania against Rey Mysterio, as he deserves a pretty long run with the belt to help elevate the title.

I am now able to officially confirm that John Cena will in fact have a match at WrestleMania, according to Dave Meltzer on the most recent edition of WOL (he has virtually all the inside scoop on professional wrestling). No one knows, however, who his opponent may be. Lars Sullivan may show up after the match and decimate Cena’s opponent after whoever loses the match. This idea just came to me on this beautiful Tuesday afternoon: Cena’s opponent may be a returning Sami Zayn, since he should be about healed from surgery to repair both of his rotator cuffs which he underwent in June of last year, right after the Money in the Bank pay-per-view and a loss to Bobby Lashley. Cena and Zayn have had just one previous match in May 2015 for Cena’s United States Championship (Zayn answered Cena’s U.S. open challenge).

Suggestion Time to Grow WWE Even More

May 17, 2019April 6, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

It’s time to make a few suggestions to Vince McMahon with post-WrestleMania time and the beginning of a new WWE year right around the corner. There is much less pressure and structure regarding booking and there is more freedom for storylines to fail because plans for the following year’s WrestleMania are not 100% set in stone. Some storylines will inevitably fail and be completely forgotten in contrary to the fact that fans think they will be completely relevant.

Superstars also get more time for matches because the mood is more lighthearted – there is no massive event imminently awaiting. This typically occurs twice during the year, once right after WrestleMania lasting until about early June, and once in the early fall between SummerSlam and Survivor Series. This time will also provide an opportunity for Lars Sullivan to make his debut. Advertisements for him began around the time of Survivor Series last year, but they stopped when he had a panic attack. If he is not ready, he should take as much time as he needs to get his mental health in order.

My last suggestion is one to grow the business of WWE even more. Vince McMahon should be making plans, which he may be doing already, to hold a WrestleMania on another continent within five or ten years, maybe somewhere in Europe. Considering how big of an influence the country of Japan has had on American sports entertainers, as nearly everyone who is a WWE superstar currently has wrestled at some point or another in Japan.

WWE has multiple superstars on the main roster who have been leaders of the Bullet Club (AJ Styles and Finn Balor). It may be very intriguing to hold a WrestleMania in the Tokyo Dome. WWE has such a global fanbase, they surely already have many fans in Japan.

Kofi & Bryan Cut Passionate Promos

May 17, 2019April 6, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Ricochet and Aleister Black won’t be challenging The Revival for the Raw Tag Team Championship after all. They will instead be challenging for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way match, which is a huge mistake if Vince is looking to book them as a strong tag team. A singles match for the Tag Team Championship would be much more conducive for this.

As for The Revival, their future is very much up in the air. I don’t know who they will face at ‘Mania, or if they will face anyone, especially since their future with the company is uncertain.

On a happier note, The Miz is turning out to be a great babyface. No one should have been too worried about this since he is so great on the mic. The Caterpillar from Otis of Heavy Machinery provides great comic relief during the show, and Corey Graves’ reaction to this is hilarious (“This is a family show”).

One other superstar who should get some consideration for a post ‘Mania push is Mustafa Ali. He may be a little smaller than what Vince is used to, but when it comes right down to it who cares? Mandy Rose will also almost certainly receive a major push in the coming year.

Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston had their contract signing and took turns cutting passionate promos. Daniel Bryan is proving to be extremely impressive as a heel, and something has awakened in Kofi that I don’t even think he knew he had in him, and it’s a blast to finally see it come to fruition after 11 long years.

Kingston Becomes World Champ

May 17, 2019April 6, 2019 by Evan Luebbe

Brock Lesnar may indeed retain the Universal Championship at WrestleMania and put Seth Rollins in a very similar position to the one Roman Reigns was in exactly one year ago. WWE will be hosting another show in Saudi Arabia in May, and they may look to add as much star power as possible.

Brock Lesnar is probably leveraging his relationship with Dana White and the UFC to garner more money out of WWE, as many people on the Internet have suggested. This is most likely the reason why he is frequently signing short-term deals:

To get as much money out of WWE as possible, and
To leverage the relationship with UFC to keep the Universal Championship around his waist.

It looks like Rob Gronkowski could end up in the WWE after all, as Mojo Rawley has publicly acknowledged the possibility, so Gronk could debut right after ‘Mania, likely bypassing NXT (this is purely speculation – I have nothing to back this up).

The Revival wants out of WWE, which is completely justified given that their booking has been rather lackluster since debuting on the main roster.

There have been hints given recently that the Raw and SmackDown women’s titles may be unified at ‘Mania, given that Charlotte Flair currently holds them both. Raw viewership was down this week, which is not a good sign at all given how close we are to WrestleMania. Viewership should be peaking right about now, so this may have to be addressed by Vince McMahon.

SmackDown Live viewership, however, made a big jump, presumably due to the situation surrounding Kofi Kingston and the WWE Championship, cited from Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com.