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).