Cesaro possibly a Potential Top Star
Cesaro has clearly emerged as the top star of his tag team with Shinsuke Nakamura. This can be seen dating all the way back to WrestleManiia 36 when Cesaro defeated Drew Gulak in a singles match on the pre-show on Night 1 of the event. Cesaro, one half of the current SmackDown Tag Team Champions, participated in yet another singles match with Gran Metalik of Lucha House Party this week.
Cesaro and Nakamura became champions at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules in July 2020, and Cesaro should be expected to continue his momentum as the leader of this tag team because he resonates more so with the WWE universe. On a personal note, I felt several years ago he had earned a WWE Championship match. Let’s hope he gets one in the near future before The Swiss Superman exits his prime years.
Alexa’s Transformation is Imminent
The Fiend didn’t make an appearance this week, however his presence and influence could absolutely be seen and felt when Alexa Bliss hit Sister Abigail on Lacey Evans after doing the same to Nikki Cross the previous week. She had the same faraway look in her eyes that the WWE universe would see in the eyes of Bray Wyatt from time to time when he was fully embodying the persona of a cult leader. Based on these events, a logical inference might be that Alexa is becoming infatuated with the demonic presence of Sister Abigail, so this storyline might be taking a rather sinister direction.
The Fiend has drastically changed the character of every superstar he has ever worked with (other than the poor booking decision of inserting Bill Goldberg into The Fiend’s storyline and winning the Universal Title from him, which did not make much sense). Finn Balor left the main roster after SummerSlam 2019 and after serving as The Fiend’s very first opponent to introduce the character to the WWE universe, returning to NXT (like Broadway as The Prince calls it) as a heel and becoming NXT Champion about a year later.
Seth Rollins turned heel and turned his back on the WWE universe, who was not particularly happy with some of Seth’s tweets in 2019, becoming effective as the Monday Night Messiah. Daniel Bryan did change the direction of his character, but for the better as he became a babyface once again (which is clearly the leader of the Yes! Movement’s niche). Whenever John Cena decides to return to WWE (that is assuming he will), one has to imagine he will also be a completely changed character. About the only thing John has not done with WWE is turn heel, so he could very conceivably portray this change in attitude. Finally, Braun Strowman has just crossed brands from SmackDown to Raw for a fresh start, so it’s very likely that Alexa will undergo some sort of rapid transformation within the coming weeks (possibly becoming the human embodiment of Sister Abigail).
A Modern-day Version of HBK vs. Razor Ramon with a Slight Wrinkle
In the Intercontinental Championship picture, WWE is rehashing a storyline the company executed in the early 1990s. Shawn Michaels won the title in what I believe was 1992 and left WWE for personal reasons, so Razor Ramon was awarded the title. When Michaels returned and laid claim to the fact that he was still the champion, it was ultimately settled at WrestleMania in the first ladder match at the biggest show of the year.
This is almost identical to what going on right now in the Intercontinental Title scene. Sami Zayn won the title on March 8 at Fastlane and successfully defended it at WrestleMania 36 against Daniel Bryan before leaving the company for personal reasons – he would fall in the same boat as Roman Reigns. He decided not to perform for a few months during the pandemic, which is completely respectable. Zayn relinquished the IC Title and AJ Styles won a tournament to crown the new champion. However, AJ still had disagreements with Jeff Hardy. Hardy would win the title from Styles right before SummerSlam 2020 and Zayn returned the following week.
This somewhat chaotic storyline will likely conclude with a triple threat match between all three of these men for the Intercontinental Championship (and if the events of this week were any indication it might be a ladder match – Jeff Hardy’s favorite). This is essentially a rehash of that old storyline I mentioned, but with one extra wrinkle of a third man being involved – AJ Styles is the third man.
The Foundation for Big E’s Singles push has been laid with Sheamus. This rivalry might end with a blow-off match between the two men at Hell in a Cell on November 1 (since Clash of Champions Gold Rush is reserved for title matches). It’s great to see E finally reaping the rewards of what he has earned over the last several years. Once upon a time this guy was one of the two men – along with Roman Reigns – Mr. McMahon was making a choice between to become the face of WWE.
The Tribal Chief Celebrating with his Family
It was Mr. McMahon’s decision to portray The Big Dog as a heel for a number of months – and ultimately the WWE universe would revert to chairing him as a babyface because of his likability. I was not quite sure originally if this strategy would pan out, but after the first night of seeing Roman in a legitimate match since becoming Universal Champion it might actually work exactly the way Mr. McMahon planned it. Roman is being given the freedom to be his authentic self in front of the WWE universe, which is something, which Chris Jericho has been an advocate of for years. Seeing Roman embrace his family in the middle of the ring is simply priceless and one cannot help but resonate with that.
King Corbin was much more productive in 2019 than 2020. He retired Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 35 and won King of the Ring in 2019. He is merely coasting off his accomplishments in 2020. Corbin’s biggest highlight of 2020 came in January when he lost a Falls Count Anywhere match to boot Roman Reigns as part of a rivalry that lasted far too long. There are ebbs and flows to anyone’s WWE career. Corbin could be a world champion in 2021.