It looks like Roman Reigns and DB will finally throw down for the first time in about 4 1/2 years at Clash of Champions. From a fan’s perspective, it seems like it was a case of extremely poor planning on WWE’s parts to not orchestrate a match between these two at SummerSlam and therefore not have one of the top superstars in the company participate at the second-biggest event of the year. This may have all been orchestrated, however, on purpose.
Let me Explain: WWE could have purposely set up the timing of this storyline so that it could culminate with the big reveal of Roman’s attacker on SmackDown’s debut episode on the Fox Network on October 4th. WWE will make this episode huge (arguably bigger than the 20th anniversary episode).
Chad Gable’s character may be repackaged soon under a new name: Shorty G (that’s probably why Shelton Benjamin was calling him Shorty in the ring on SD Live this week. I feel Gable is in a very similar position to that of Robert Roode on Raw. They are both in the process of being revitalized and prioritized more in the eyes of WWE. Roode is now teaming with Dolph Ziggler and will be challenging Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman for the Raw Tag Team Championships. I’ve also heard Gable will be teaming with Benjamin more consistently in the future, and this may even lead to them getting a Smackdown Tag Team Championship opportunity (again, remember how great of a team they were a couple of years ago) and winning the belts from The New Day.
Speaking of The New Day, Big E absolutely has a legit future with WWE and as a legitimate major title contender, as was evidenced this week in his match with Randy Orton. He should obviously stay with The New Day for now, because they are still too over for WWE to break them up now.
Shinsuke Nakamura definitely needs someone who can articulate for him and make the Intercontinental Championship relevant, and Sami Zayn is great on the mic so he is a great choice to do this. It’s just unfortunate though that someone who is so good in the ring has been funneled out of what he is best at, at least for now. From an optimistic perspective, maybe this will serve as a way for him to connect with the WWE universe on a deeper level and it will make them care more about him.
Side Note: The first and best match of the night was between Buddy Murphy and Ali. This was a big win for Ali since Murphy defeated Daniel Bryan just one week prior. The future of WWE is in great hands with performers such as these. Kevin Owens also redeemed himself by giving Elias a Stunner this week after looking a little soft last week, apologizing to Shane McMahon.
Lacey Evans is quite clearly overhyping herself. She’s not Charlotte Flair, she hasn’t proven herself enough yet to automatically be placed into the conversation for a title opportunity.
Lastly, Randy Orton has been able to elevate The Revival very successfully after forming an alliance with them just a few weeks ago. The Revival will look back on their careers at the end and realize just how big of a “thank you” they owe Orton.