Fantasy Booking: WrestleMania 31

The Granddaddy of 'em All, WrestleMania 31, is right around the corner. This is the event that the WWE has been building toward ever since the Royal Rumble. Really, this is the show that the Creative team has had circled on the calendar ever since June 2, 2014, when Seth Rollins stabbed his brothers in the back and joined forces with Triple H and the Authority. There is a very high probability that all three members of the Shield will come out of WrestleMania 31 looking very good.

So how would I book the event? Read on and see. This is not about what I think WWE will do. No, this is how I would book the matches to end, in order to set up better stories going into the summer months...

The Matches:

Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton
Randy Orton returned at Fast Lane and laid out the Authority. Then, on Monday Night Raw, he basically rejoined the Authority. Anyone with half a brain could see this was a slow burn. During a handicap match against Roman Reigns, Orton turned his back on Rollins and left Reigns to demolish the former the Shield member. Orton then set to work claiming a revenge that was four months in the making.

Now, the two are set to collide in an official match at WrestleMania. I've heard some people say that the Money in the Bank briefcase should be on the line, but I disagree. This should be a no-holds-barred, no DQ, street fight. The WWE has shied away from it, but this is the one match on the card that should feature blood. There is so much anger and animosity here that someone should be hurt bad.

Orton should come out swinging and beat Rollins down. Rollins should get in some offense, but this needs to be Orton's match. This is the pay-off to Orton being beaten down by the Authority in November. Orton should demolish Rollins in this contest. And it should be the first match of WrestleMania 31...for good reason.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (announced participants as of 14 March: Curtis Axel, The Miz, Ryback, Fandango, Zack Ryder, Adam Rose, Jack Swagger, Darren Young, Titus O'Neil, Erick Rowan, Kane, Big Show, Sin Cara, Damien Mizdow. )


So far only 14 men have announced their participation in this 30-man battle royal. For me, it doesn't matter how many men are entered into this match. This is about two people: The Miz and dAmien Mizdow. For months, Mizdow has served as stunt double and personal assistant to The Miz. His antics have earned him the adoration of fans, and payoff is due. Miz has bullied and berated Mizdow for weeks.

This battle royal should come down to Miz and Mizdow being the last two standing. Miz should order Mizdow out the ring, handing himself the victory. Mizdow, looking downtrodden, climbs over the top rope and stands on the apron. He begins to lower himself down and Miz turns away, gloating. Mizdow then storms back into the ring and attacks. He tosses Miz over the top rope and claims the battle royal trophy. Miz and Mizdow then have a brief feud, which Mizdow wins.

AJ Lee & Paige vs. The Bella Twins
The hashtag #GiveTheDivasAChance carried the day for a brief minute, then stopped. The WWE, in the form of Vince and Stephanie McMahon, claimed they heard the fans who wanted longer Divas matches and better stories. Then, on Raw Monday night, the Divas were right back to their 2-minutes-or-less matches with no storyline development at all. Meanwhile, Triple H's NXT is just laughing at the main roster. AJ and Paige are set to challenge the Bellas. I honestly don't know how I would book this one, because the Creative team just doesn't seem to care about the women wrestlers any more. Once Triple H gains greater control, I think the product will get better. Until then...

United States Championship Match: John Cena vs Rusev (c)
Cena and Rusev has actually been a very entertaining feud so far. Rusev has pushed Cena to the brink, and the Bulgarian has taken on the true trademarks of heel work in the process. But Cena has a reputation for taking on up-and-coming stars at WrestleMania and beating them, stealing every bit of momentum from them. Case in point: Bray Wyatt last year. Wyatt was one of the hottest heels in the business, and had the fans on his side. He had Cena on the ropes, conflicted about how to defeat the new Face of Fear. Of course, Cena overcame Wyatt. The finality of their feud set Wyatt far enough back that it's taken him until now to reclaim a spot in the upper tier of the card.

Now, Cena has a chance to put over one of the best monster heels to come along in a long time. Chances are that Cena gets beaten within an inch of his life, only to hit an AA on Rusev and defeat him, finally taking down the Russian sympathizer and claim the US Title for himself. That's not how I would book it...

I would have Cena put up a valiant fight, only for Rusev to beat him down and put him in the Accolade. Cena would struggle, but Rusev would cinch down on the submission move and Cena would tap. Then Cena would have to explain to his legions of infant/toddler fans why he gave up. It would work. The Cena character needs something. He's been stale for years now, as his character refuses to change. On Monday night, Cena beat Rusev down, locked in an STF, and held it until Rusev passed out. Cena then dumped water on Rusev to wake him up...only to lock the STF in again until Rusev tapped. That type of aggression needs to be front and center in Cena, especially after Rusev beats him at WrestleMania.

The Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt





This is, without a doubt, the most difficult match to predict. Undertaker just suffered his first ever WrestleMania loss last year when Brock Lesnar took him down. Now that the allure of the streak is gone, we have a potential "passing of the torch" moment for this match. Bray Wyatt is the self-proclaimed "New Face of Fear." He has been verbally attacking the Undertaker for weeks, single-handedly carrying the feud on the mic. Undertaker accepted the challenge on Monday night, and we'll see two fairly similar characters take on each other at the biggest show of the year.

I'm torn. Does Undertaker defeat Wyatt? That would hand Wyatt another WrestleMania loss and basically consign him to the midcard for yet another year. Does Wyatt beat the Undertaker? That's back-to-back losses for the Deadman at the show he once dominated.


The best call for business is for Wyatt to win. Undertaker has, perhaps, one match remaining in him after this. The dream has always been Undertaker vs Sting at WrestleMania. So, for Taker vs Wyatt, what direction does WWE go?


I would have Wyatt simply beat down the Deadman. WWE is in need of a fearsome, monster heel. Rusev is a monster, but he can't play the headgames that Wyatt can play. Having Wyatt beat down the Undertaker in convincing fashion will immediately position Wyatt for an upper tier or main event run. After Wyatt defeats the Undertaker, I would have him enter into a feud with the winner of the next match.




Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Bad News Barrett (c) vs Dean Ambrose vs Daniel Bryan vs Dolph Ziggler vs Stardust vs R-Truth vs Luke Harper (vs Sheamus?)
A seven man ladder match is a bit odd. I think there will be another man added to this match as a surprise entrant: Sheamus. We've been told for a long time that Sheamus is coming back. He needs to return as a heel, preferably in the employ of the Authority. Sheamus can then bring a strong heel presence to this match. Let's be honest, Bad News Barrett has been booked so poorly as IC Champ that he's not a true heel at this point. Luke Harper could be, but Creative seems reluctant to push someone who doesn't look like a model.

The booking concept of having the title constantly stolen by those chasing it has been a load of fun. This match should be between Dean Ambrose and Daniel Bryan. Sheamus will probably be there in the end, as well. I would book Bryan to win this match. Stardust is a definite dark horse, but I'd rather he revert to the Cody Rhodes character before gaining the gold. Bryan wins the title, then Sheamus Brogue Kicks him into next week. While Bryan is knocked out in the ring, Bray Wyatt comes out, hits a Sister Abigail on Bryan, and steals the IC Title.

Sting vs Triple H
This is the match pitting the face of the WCW against the heart of the WWE. Sure, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock were more popular and widely known than Triple H, but the Game was the most loyal to the company. On the flip side of the spectrum, Sting was the stalwart of WCW, the franchise player. He never jumped ship. He never came to WWE after Vince bought WCW.

Sting has twice laid out Triple H, once at Survivor Series and once more at Fast Lane. Triple H has, basically, exacted no vengeance on Sting. That needs to change before WrestleMania 31. In order to better sell this match, the creative team needs to book Triple H to beat Sting up at least once, preferably on the go-home show ahead of WrestleMania. That way Triple H looks like a threat to the Vigilante. Right now, it's almost a foregone conclusion that Sting is going to win. No one doubts this, as bringing in Sting almost brought the surety of a Sting victory.

I have no problem with Sting winning. What I would do, though, would change the face of the business. I would have Sting and Triple H add stipulations to their match. Triple H should say if he wins Sting must retire. Sting should say if he wins, Triple H is truly out of power as part of the Authority.

At WrestleMania 31, Sting overcomes Triple H and wins. I don't care how they play that out. The next night on Raw, Triple H comes out to deliver a normal promo. He says that, since he lost fair and square to Sting, he has lost power in the Authority. Since his power officially ended at noon, he took several steps to make the business better. Triple H says that, effective at the end of April, SmackDown is ending on SyFy. Taking its place will be Triple H's pet project, NXT. Triple H then takes the helm at NXT and outright challenges Raw as a separate brand.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns very unpopularly won the Royal Rumble. For the third consecutive year, the Royal Rumble was extremely telegraphed for the fans. It was obvious who was going to win. There was not even an attempt at surprise. The fact that fans were cheering for the overly heelish Rusev to win the Rumble over Vince-McMahon-approved Reigns should tell them something.

So, now that Reigns has the main event at WrestleMania, here's how I would book it:

Reigns and Lesnar have a brutal slugfest. Lesnar hits two or three F5s, but Reigns keeps barely kicking out. Reigns hits a spear or two, but Lesnar kicks out. After a back and forth battle, Reigns finally hits a spear and pins Lesnar for the title. In a fit of rage, Lesnar absolutely demolishes Reigns, hitting another F5 on the title.

While Reigns is struggling to get up, Rollins rushes in and hits a few chair shots. He curb stomps Reigns on a chair and cashes in, winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Reigns and Rollins then have a long feud over the summer, with Rollins carrying much of the mic work.


ALTERNATE ENDING: Reigns and Lesnar have a brutal slugfest. Lesnar hits two or three F5s, but Reigns keeps barely kicking out. Reigns hits a spear or two, but Lesnar kicks out. After a back and forth battle, Heyman climbs up on the ring apron and hits Lesnar in the head with the title. Reigns nods at him, spears Lesnar, and wins the title. Reigns and Heyman then join forces.

A Few Thoughts on the Product

The Road to WrestleMania is already in full swing. In the course of the WWE bus getting on that road, they felt the need to undo everything that was accomplished at Survivor Series. At Survivor Series, John Cena's team defeated the Authority, with Dolph Ziggler eliminating the final three members of Team Authority, with a little help from Sting.


As a result of the victory, the Authority was stripped of power and removed from television. Thanks to Vince McMahon, John Cena was given the power to bring the Authority back or to keep them out of power. Just a month later, Seth Rollins knocked out Christian and, with the help of the Big Show, held the injured Edge's neck over the Money in the Bank briefcase and threatened to cripple the Rated-R Superstar if John Cena did not bring back the Authority. Cena gave in, and then all of Dolph Ziggler's hard work was rendered meaningless.

On the next episode of Monday Night Raw, the Authority held a John Cena Appreciation Night, during which they fired Ryback, Erick Rowan, and Dolph Ziggler, leaving a dejected Cena standing in the ring with the fired superstars. So now, with the Royal Rumble fast approaching, the over-arching storyline in January 2015 is the same that it was in January 2014, except that Batista isn't here.

Frankly, the truth is that the product stinks. So I put some thought into some different ideas about fantasy booking

The Royal Rumble's Final Four

One of the biggest things about the Royal Rumble is to pay attention to the final four wrestlers left in the match. This is, more often than not, an indication of who WWE plans to push in the coming year. Given the storylines the company has been pushing lately, the final four for this year’s event may seem obvious.

Roman Reigns has been anointed by the WWE as the next big thing in wrestling. Problem is, his promo work is sub-par. He can work with almost anyone, although he’s still learning the babyface style, which in WWE means getting his butt handed to him for 90% of the match before executing a comeback of epic proportions and winning. John Cena is a master of this. Cena can, seemingly, be beaten within an inch of his life and then come back and win. Go ahead and chalk Reigns up as a final four participant.

The next man up, obviously, is Daniel Bryan. Bryan’s return from injury has been a feel-good story so far. Having him reach the final level of the Rumble would whip the fans into a frenzy.

So we have two babyfaces in the final four…who’s next? To get the requisite heel into the final four, we turn to Bray Wyatt. The Eater of Worlds has been on a steady rise since the summer. He’s scored victories, albeit dirty, over Dean Ambrose and Daniel Bryan in the last month. Wyatt would be a great choice for the final four, and it would set him up for a major heel push headed into WrestleMania season.

The final member of the Final Four is a fan favorite: Dolph Ziggler. The Show-off is probably the best ‘seller’ in the company, and can make anyone look good in the ring. Reaching the final four would set Ziggler up for a steady rise in 2015, leading to a big match at WrestleMania.

The End of the Rumble

Last year’s Royal Rumble was a debacle of near-biblical proportions for the WWE. The intention for Batista to win the Rumble was made clear from the day Batista returned to the company. Once Daniel Bryan did not enter the Rumble, the fans turned on the then-babyface Animal. Batista was left in the ring with Roman Reigns, whose Shield stable was still in their heel role at the time. The fans turned on Batista and began cheering for Reigns, a basically unproven rookie, to win the Rumble over the despised part-timer.

This year’s Rumble will be different. WWE has several options, but the apparent design at the moment is for Reigns to win the Rumble and face the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania 31.

But there’s another option that sets up almost every main event level storyline for the WrestleMania season. It’s a bit of fantasy booking on my part, but here’s a thought:

The final two wrestlers in the Royal Rumble are Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns. All other 28 wrestlers have been eliminated. Being competitors and babyfaces, the two men shake hands before engaging in what amounts to a one-on-one match to end the battle royal. That is, until the clock starts counting down, the number 31 appears on the screen and the Big Show comes out. Reigns and Bryan begin working together to eliminate Big Show. But the clock starts again and out comes Jamie Noble at #32, followed immediately by Joey Mercury at #33. Reigns and Bryan manage to eliminate Mercury and Noble, but keep struggling with Big Show.

The clock starts again and Seth Rollins comes out at #34. Rollins and Big Show work together, but Big Show is accidentally eliminated. Rollins begins to back away from Reigns and Bryan, leading to a bit of babyface vengeance as they beat down Rollins and eliminate him. Before they can restart their one-on-one, the clock starts one last time and, at #35, out comes Triple H. While Reigns and Bryan stare at the COO, Big Show, Rollins, and J & J Security sneak back in and attack them.

Big Show, Noble, and Mercury hold down Reigns in the corner while Rollins and Triple H decimate Daniel Bryan. Ryan suffers a Pedigree and, while he is struggling up, is curb-stomped by Rollins. Triple H picks Bryan up by the hair and throws him at the feet of Roman Reigns. He takes a mic and tells Reigns to throw Bryan over the top rope. Reigns at first refuses, but Triple H threatens to fire him if he doesn’t. Reigns reluctantly picks up Bryan and carries him to the ropes. He dumps Bryan over the top, but follows after him, simultaneously eliminating them both, and ruining Triple H’s plan.

Triple H, being the Cerebral Assassin, declares himself the winner of the Royal Rumble. It’s massive heat for the Authority. It sets up Reigns’s opposition to the Authority and Rollins in particular. It sets up for finally bringing closure to the Bryan-Authority angle.

Reigns can defeat Triple H at Fast Lane to regain the WrestleMania title shot. We can set up the inevitable Triple H vs Sting match that is sure to happen. Daniel Bryan will enter a feud with Seth Rollins.

Triple Threat Title Match

The WWE World Heavyweight Championship match was set to be John Cena challenging mostly-absentee champion Brock Lesnar. But, in one of the better heel moves in the industry, Triple H rewarded his protege, Seth Rollins, a spot in the title match for coercing John Cena into re-instating the Authority.

Lesnar, while being around only occasionally, has been quite effective as champion. Any appearance by Lesnar has enhanced whatever Raw it occurred on. Cena, while not the best choice for #1 Contender, is definitely the safest choice. WWE knows that Cena can carry a title program, so it trusts him against Lesnar. Rollins, meanwhile, has been on a steady climb up the ladder since destroying the Shield and aligning himself with Triple H. Rollins currently holds the Money in the Bank Briefcase, guaranteeing himself a title shot. 

The problem now, though, is what happens to Brock Lesnar? There's talk that Lesnar is almost done with the WWE. So now rumors are flying that the company is going to book Lesnar to lose the belt at Royal Rumble. I don't think so.

Lesnar needs to be champion at WrestleMania 31, so that the Rumble Winner gets the rub of beating the man who conquered the streak at WrestleMania 30. Whether it is Reigns or Bryan, defeating Lesnar will be huge...and it will set up the WrestleMania twist.

I would have Lesnar defeat Rollins, just so that Cena doesn't take yet another loss to Lesnar. Lesnar can finally gain revenge on Rollins and carry the title into WrestleMania. 

At WrestleMania 31, Lesnar will defend the title against either Bryan or Reigns. Lesnar will lose. It's inevitable. When Lesnar loses, he will snap and demolish the new champion, leaving them laying in a head in the middle of the ring in the middle of Levi's Stadium. As the new champion is struggling to his feet, Seth Rollins will cash in the MITB contract, curb stomp the champion, and claim the title. It will put massive heat on Rollins, and it will establish the WWE World Heavyweight Championship angle for the summer months.

Fantasy Booking: The Road to WrestleMania 31

The Road to WrestleMania typically begins with the Royal Rumble. This time, though, it began immediately after Survivor Series. That event in 2014 signaled a bit of direction change for the WWE. John Cena's team, with the help of wrestling icon Sting, overcame the team put together by Triple H and the Authority. Thanks to a stipulation instituted by Vince McMahon, the victory allowed John Cena to disband the Authority and gave him alone the power to bring them back.

The current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar, is about as part-timer as a part-timer can be. He rarely shows up on WWE programming, and in my opinion it is hurting the product. The current frontrunner for the title is the aforementioned John Cena, and that is hurting the product. The writers for the main roster have become so afraid of taking risks that they've simply counted on John Cena to go after the title. Their big plan for the future is Roman Reigns, who has yet to prove his place among the top tier of wrestlers. He has the look, but his mic skills are lacking.

The Tag Team Championships currently belong to The Miz and (the wildly more popular) Damien Mizdow. They're feuding with the Usos at the moment. The angle has been interesting, but mostly because Damien Mizdow is rising above anything the other three are offering at the moment. The United States Champion is Rusev, and his reign has been getting better. While he still needs a mouthpiece on the mic, and Lana has been fantastically heelish in the role, Rusev's actions in the ring are improving on a week to week basis. The Intercontinental Champion is Dolph Ziggler and, lately, Ziggler has been carrying the program. He, along with Money in the Bank Briefcase holder Seth Rollins, have upped the bar on wrestling skill and performance.

So, with the company firmly on the Road to WrestleMania, how would I book things going forward? Yes, this is pure speculation. It's basically guaranteed to be wrong. But it's fun to write.

The Tag Team Championships

 The Miz and Damien Mizdow (formerly Sandow) hold the copper belts. Mizdow was brought in as a "stunt double" for the Miz's ultra-heel Hollywood celebrity gimmick. Mizdow mimics every move The Miz does, and the fans love him for it. The current champs are going to break apart. That's a given. Mizdow is so over that he has to eventually break away and overcome The Miz. I actually look for that to happen before WrestleMania, so the two can have their big payoff match on the grandest stage.

The titles, meanwhile, will probably drop back to the Usos. The Usos are very talented, though their act is growing a bit stale. They may be turning heel by the summer, but ay WrestleMania 31, they'll probably face the Ascension, a team that is set to debut on Raw on December 29.

The United States Championship

Rusev beating up Big E Langston

Rusev should, by all rights, hold this title until WrestleMania 31. Who is opponent will be, though, remains to be seen. Rusev has yet to lose by pin fall. He's been disqualified and counted out, but never pinned cleanly. He's overcome Sheamus, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, and the Big Show. The logical opponent for him is John Cena, though I have bigger plans for Cena.

Bo Dallas is due to return from injury soon, but I don't think he works here. I think the better way to go here would be fore Rusev to carry the belt into WrestleMania and face someone like Big E Langston or Kofi Kingston. Once Rusev wins and beats down his opponent afterwards, Kurt Angle comes out from backstage and hits an Angle Slam on the Bulgarian, leaving him laid out in the ring. Of course, this requires Kurt Angle to return.

The Intercontinental Championship


Dolph Ziggler is a midcard champion that should be in the main event at WrestleMania. But, thanks to Vince McMahon's love of muscle-bound brutes, Ziggler has likely hit his ceiling in the WWE with the IC Title. His recent battles with Luke Harper and Seth Rollins have stolen every show they've been a part of. Ziggler is, hands down, one of the best wrestlers in the industry.

He should still be champion at WrestleMania, and his opponent should be someone who melds well with his style. For Ziggler, because he has a ring chemistry with almost everyone, that leaves us a wide range of options. Knowing the current main roster writers, they'll probably stick him against someone like Kane. Nothing against Kane, but his better wrestling days are behind him, Ziggler needs to face someone like Rollins or Ambrose. But I would actually book him against Adrian Neville for the title. Those two would deliver such a good match.

The WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Absentee champion Brock Lesnar will likely carry the title into WrestleMania. I like Brock's character, and I love any moment in which Paul Heyman can be on TV. But I'm sick of Lesnar as champion. I actually want John Cena to defeat Lesnar at Royal Rumble just to get the WWE World Heavyweight Championship back on regular TV. But I have another motive...

Cena doesn't need the MITB briefcase, but he
could probably get it if he wanted it...

Roman Reigns is going to win the Royal Rumble. This fact might as well be chiseled in stone in the WWE corporate office. With Reigns set to win the title, WWE is probably bent on having Reigns face Lesnar, since the company seems to have given themselves over to catering to a five-year-old audience in which there can only be babyfaces and heels. Think I'm joking? Okay, name one 'tweener' on the main roster.

Couldn't do it, could you? Instead, I would have Cena beat Lesnar at the Rumble and have Reigns win the Rumble match itself. At WrestleMania, Reigns and Cena would square off in a babyface vs babyface contest. Reigns, of course, would win this contest, taking the title off Cena. The face of the company would congratulate the new champion by taking the title to present it Reigns. That's when it finally happens. Cena instead blasts Reigns with the title before hitting an AA on the belt.


As Reigns writhes in agony, Seth Rollins comes out with the Money in the Bank briefcase. As Reigns is coming back around, Rollins curb stomps him on the title belt, cashes in the briefcase, and becomes the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. As Rollins is celebrating with the title, John Cena climbs back into the ring. He stares down Rollins before shaking his hand.

The next night on Raw, John Cena opens the show by introducing the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins. Cena and Rollins join forces and tear through the main roster. Rollins and Reigns battle through the summer for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Cena targets Dolph Ziggler and the Intercontinental Championship. To show his heelishness, Cena even brings back the Authority, aligning himself with Triple H. We all want the Cena Heel Turn, so let's make it happen.

The Sad Dawning of a New Day

On the July 21 episode of Monday Night Raw, Kofi Kingston and Big E took on Ryback and Curtis Axel. RybAxel won the match fairly decisively. As Kingston and Big E stood in the ring talking to each other about the loss, Xavier Woods made his way to the ring. Woods grabbed a mic and delivered the following promo:

“Everybody listen! I need you to pay attention to what I’m about to say. This is exactly what I have been talking about. You cannot move ahead by shaking hands, kissing babies, singing and dancing, like a puppet. You cannot move ahead by always doing what you’re told. Now…this is our time. This is our place. It is time for us to find focus. It is up to us to find order. Together it is our time to find purpose. Because we do not ask any longer…now, we take.”

Kingston began nodding in approval almost immediately, and Big E got on board as Woods finished speaking. The trio began working together, and the next night on Main Event, Kingston and Big E crushed Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil. But, this being WWE, since the group didn’t have 100% fan support after one match, they were shoved to the back burner. They continued working together at house shows, but on Raw and Smackdown they were clearly not working on the same team, although their ring attire always seemed to match.

What the Woods Factions could have been...

Then, a few weeks ago, WWE began airing pre-taped vignettes featuring Xavier Woods dancing in front of a gospel choir. The tag line at the end said a “New Day was coming.” A week later Kofi Kingston got in on the act. Another week went by and Big E started appearing in these videos. A New Day, it appeared, was upon us. And good grief has it been a disappointment.

Xavier Woods promo about it being their time to focus and take, which bore all the hallmarks of a turn into heel or tweener territory, was basically scrubbed from history. Instead, WWE resorted to the worn out trope of casting three black men as southern African-American evangelists. There was a design, it seems, that was set to cast the Woods Faction as angry, almost militant, black men tired of being held back by their gimmicks. But after the continual uproar and fallout from Ferguson, Missouri, it appears WWE decided to scrap that plan for fear of offending anyone.

So a new gimmick was rapidly drawn up and thrown on them. They debuted on Smackdown, which WWE doesn’t even care about anymore. Their first match on Raw was ruined almost from the start. As the trio appeared on stage, Jerry “The King” Lawler was quick to announce “Hey look, they’re happy.” Right, God forbid an angry black man not named Mark Henry exist in the WWE. The faction was beaten fairly quickly in a tag team turmoil match, but their defeat paved the way for a feud with Goldust and Stardust.

What WWE Creative turned the Woods Faction into...

I had high hopes for the Woods Faction, but for now it appears as though WWE has set them up to fail.

And of course New Day is going to fail. WWE is so afraid of pushing the envelope by having legitimately angry black men in a group that they reverted to the tried and true, happy-go-lucky African-American southern evangelist trope for the entire group. How they went from Xavier Woods's "now we take" promo to this is sad, but not a mystery.

WWE could've easily capitalized on the group by turning them tweener/heel, but apparently the toddler fan base they are catering to would not accept a heelish Kofi Kingston, so Creative instead took Kofi's happy-in-the-face-of-all-injustice personality and slapped it on Woods and Big E as well. It wouldn’t have been a difficult booking effort, either.

At Survivor Series, a Fatal-4-Way tag team match was contested for the Tag Team Championships. Near the ending point of that match, having the Woods Faction interfere would’ve been the perfect introduction. They could beat down every team in the ring and then, as Woods said in his promo, “take” the Tag Team titles and leave. Over the following weeks they could defend the tag titles with both clean victories and dirty victories. Once their claim to the titles was legitimized, all kinds of feuds would be available. Feuding with the Dust Bros would be just as easy as feuding with the Usos.

You would have a true tweener group. An intense tweener group would've done wonders for the tag team scene and the midcard. Instead, true to the 4-year-old demographic they are targeting, WWE is casting all wrestlers in good or evil mode. There are no tweeners anymore. There are no anti-heroes. That would've been a great slot for the Woods Faction. Instead, we get super-babyface, so-happy-it's-sickening, Kofi, Big E, and Xavier Woods, doing exactly what Xavier Woods said had held them down in the past. So either Woods is far more stupid than his documented education would lead us to believe, or Creative is so afraid of offending someone that they reached into the bag of stereotypes instead of creating something new. It's disgusting how badly Creative has already screwed the pooch on this one.

State of the WWE, Post-Night of Champions

We’ve now had time to digest what happened to the WWE at Night of Champions, and we’ve seen the fallout from the pay-per-view event. Let’s examine a few issues going on at the moment… 

The United States Championship Feud 

Sheamus is still champion. In one of the best matches of the evening, he and Cesaro basically stole the show. I figured Sheamus would win, and he did. But the trouble is his character remains staler than month-old bread. Cesaro is rapidly approaching the same stage of his career. WWE seems adamant in not wanting to change either man’s character or alignment, yet they’re just watching both men tumble down the roster. If Sheamus is going to remain a babyface then he needs to enter a program with Rusev for the US Title. If he’s going heel, then I can think of several wrestlers he could feud with to get him there, including one who might be able to pull off the double turn. 

Cesaro, back when he was US Champ

Cesaro, meanwhile, now moves on from chasing Sheamus. I’ve yet to determine why WWE is dragging their feet with Cesaro. He has all the talent in the world and he has a move set perfectly suited to a babyface. Yet the stubbornly keep him heel. When he began to get too popular, around the time of WrestleMania, WWE latched him on to Paul Heyman, just to try to remind people to hate him. But the thing is, we love Paul Heyman. Sure, he’s a smarmy heel, and you hate his character…but Paul Heyman the man is no mere mortal when it comes to wrestling. Cesaro needs a shot in the arm, and more importantly, WWE Creative needs a shot in the arm to realize how to properly utilize him. 

The Intercontinental Championship Feud 

Alright, here’s the deal: I really like Dolph Ziggler. The guy should be main eventing by now. He’s got the moves, he can sell an opponent’s offense like no one else (Seth Rollins is the only other guy that can remotely sell like Ziggler), and he has the attitude. But, for some reason, WWE would rather keep him mired in the midcard while guys like Roman Reigns, who are bigger but have less personality, climb to the top. I also like the Miz. There, I said. I like the Miz. I like his character. He does exactly what you want a heel to do. He makes you hate him. 

Once Ziggler and the Miz began feuding, their feud reached comedic proportions, but it was keep the fans’ attention. Miz brought in Damien Sandow (now Mizdow) as his stunt double. Ziggler countered by bringing in R-Truth as “R-Ziggler.” 

At Night of Champions, Miz defeated Ziggler for the title, grabbing the tights when he rolled Ziggler up. On Raw the next night, Ziggler reclaimed the title, using Miz’s own tricks against him. An argument could be made that trading the title back and forth so much cheapens it, but I don’t really agree. It shows that the feud is fairly evenly matched. If given the opportunity, I would eventually have Miz win the feud, maybe at Hell in a Cell. Afterwards, Miz starts calling out wrestlers that we know are not in the building, and then bragging about how no one will face him. Meanwhile, he keeps belittling Damien Sandow. Finally, Sandow snaps and blasts Miz with the title, setting them up for a feud and getting Sandow to be a babyface for the first time. 

If you don’t know, Damien Sandow is fantastic on the mic. For some reason, WWE thought it would be a good idea to let him win the World Heavyweight Championship MITB briefcase in 2013. When John Cena returned from injury and defeated Alberto Del Rio for the title, Sandow confronted Cena the next night on Raw. He beat Cena with the briefcase and then cashed in. For whatever reason, though, Creative could not get past the idea that Cena has to win every time, and so a one-armed John Cena defeated a fully healthy Damien Sandow. This sent Sandow into a character tailspin. Of course, Creative’s reliance on John Cena has sent many characters into a tailspin. 

The Curious Absence of Bray Wyatt 

Case in point, Bray Wyatt. The feud Wyatt and Cena carried into WrestleMania was actually quite good. Everyone around will tell you that Wyatt should’ve won, but again, WWE thinks John Cena should only ever win. Cena and Wyatt faced off at Extreme Rules and it took Wyatt, Harper, Rowan, and a child with laryngitis to defeat Cena. At Payback, Cena and Wyatt engaged in a Last Man Standing match that saw John Cena literally bury Bray Wyatt. 

Wyatt was thrown into the Money in the Bank ladder match, but did not figure in the decision. He then attacked Chris Jericho, leading to a series of matches, one at Battleground, one at SummerSlam, and finally a cage match on Raw. Wyatt won the feud, but once again WWE Creative booked him to look as weak as possible. 

I wrote to a friend the other day that it seems as though the Creative team called Wyatt into the office and said “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to book you against John Cena. You understand that John Cena is the greatest thing to ever happen to me…er, I mean, to the WWE, and so I can’t…I mean, we can’t let you dominate him. Cena’s gonna win at WrestleMania, we’ll let you win at the next pay per view, but we’ll come up with something creepy, like a hoarse childe or something, and then at Payback, well, Cena’s gonna have to bury you…literally. I mean, we’re not having a Buried Alive match, but if we still did, Cena would be dancing on your grave at the end of the night. Then, if you’re still over after our best efforts to destroy you…I mean, build you into a monster heel, we’ll talk about our next step. Now, go wait in the hall and send in my favorite wrestler…err, John Cena.” 

Then, at Night of Champions…no Bray Wyatt. On Raw the next night…no Wyatt Family at all. On SmackDown? Same story. The problem is the WWE have a true monster heel, but they’re so encumbered by their TV-PG rating that he can’t do anything. The heels basically have to be cowards in TV-PG, because the heelish things they did in the Attitude Era are no longer allowed. The television rating is quite literally holding Bray Wyatt down. 

The Tag Team Title Feud 

The Dust Bros. are your new tag team champions. They bested the Usos at Night of Champions. Honestly, the Usos should’ve dropped the titles long ago. WWE had plenty of chances to put the belts on the Wyatt Family and create some new feuds, or on a babyface version of the Dust Bros. But no, they turned the Bros. heel and had them beat down the Usos. 

Now, with the Dust Bros as champions, the potential contenders are: The Usos. Yep, that’s pretty much it. Are you noticing a pattern yet? What I’m trying to drive home is that WWE Creative has failed to properly build their roster. They have plenty of talent, but they try so hard to get the babyfaces over and to make the heels look like cowards that it destroys the credibility of the wrestlers. 

The tag team division should have the Usos, the Dust Bros., the Wyatt Family, the Ascension (currently NXT), Slater Gator (Heath Slater and Titus O’Neil), the Woods Faction (no, I’m not letting that one go), and the World’s Strongest (oldest) Tag Team. Instead, expect another few months of Usos vs. Dust Bros. Why build up someone new when you can keep going back to the same match week after week? More on that later. 

The Seth Rollins Saga 

Former Shield “Architect” Seth Rollins currently holds the MITB briefcase. He was scheduled to face Roman Reigns at Night of Champions, but Reigns was rushed to the hospital Saturday for legitimate emergency surgery. The last I heard, Reigns is out for the next 4-6 weeks. Rollins instead took to the ring and issued basically an open challenge. He was met by the returning Dean Ambrose. 

Seth Rollins trying to kill Dean Ambrose

On Raw, Ambrose opened the show by saying he was there for Rollins and would not leave the ring. He grabbed a chair and sat down. Then we heard the music of Career-Obliterator John Cena. Ambrose smirked at Cena and, in some ways, teased a potential feud. They were met by the Authority, with Seth Rollins hiding behind everyone. Ambrose and Cena attacked and got to Rollins, who ran off. Triple H ordered Kane to face Ambrose (boring, as Kane is past his prime and has slowed considerably in the ring), and Orton to face Cena for about the 150th time this year. 
Obviously, this is leading to Rollins vs Ambrose in a Hell in a Cell match. Now it’s just to see if Creative will see it through, or if they’ll try to saddle us with another lumberjack match. 



Overall Product 

I saw written in another place the statement that part of the reason for the downfall of WCW was their continual (over)reliance on already established wrestlers instead of working to establish new guys. When you look at WCW from 1995 to their final collapse in 2001, you see that the top of their card was Hogan, Flair, Sting, and Savage. Before the end of the Monday Night Wars, WCW would lose a lot of young talent to WWE. Guys like Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and Raven would all jump ship from WCW. 

Well, it’s pretty obvious that WWE is now in that same position. The roster has loads of talent, even if it’s not that deep. 

The main event tier at the moment is John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Randy Orton. If healthy, Daniel Bryan would be on that list. Roman Reigns is fast approaching that tier. 

The upper midcard, guys that can either main event, if necessary, or play foil on the midcard titles, is made up of Sheamus, Big Show, Mark Henry, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler, the Miz, and Cesaro. 

Everyone else basically slots into lower tier spots on the roster. The problem is, WWE only seems capable of managing one storyline at a time, so a lot of these guys suffer from having characters with no direction and no drive. There are all kinds of things WWE could do to alleviate that problem…it just requires them actually crafting good stories… 

Some Actually (Hopefully Halfway Decent) Story Ideas

1. Have the Intercontinental Champion be guaranteed a WWE World Heavyweight Title Shot at one of the B-Level pay per views. This would enhance the value of the Intercontinental Championship and would create some interesting story lines. Imagine if Randy Orton was WWE World Heavyweight Champion and Seth Rollins was the Intercontinental Champion at the time of the appointed pay per view… 

2. So something special for the US Title. Maybe have two guys go Best-of-Seven or have an Iron Man match for it. Do some things that will elevate the prestige of the title. 

3. For the love of all that is holy, stop using Raw and SmackDown as a vehicle to promote Total Divas. 

4. Have more #1 Contender tournaments. Not Battle Royals. Tournaments. 

5. Bring back the King of the Ring, with the winner getting a WWE World Heavyweight Title shot at SummerSlam. 

6. Create a Tag Team Money in the Bank briefcase. 

Fantasy Booking: Night of Champions

WWE Night of Champions is just around the corner. The card is set, at least for now. Remember, the card is subject to change. Here's how I would book the event and the fallout from it.

Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho 
The match: This one is simple. Randy Orton wins. Jericho winning this match accomplishes nothing. Orton winning keeps him riding high after falling a bit down the card. I have this match opening the show for a reason. 
The future of the angle: There is no future to this angle. Jericho returns to his rock star life and Orton moves on to his next feud. 

Rusev vs Mark Henry 
The match: There is a rumor that WWE will use this match as an opportunity to have Hulk Hogan come in and “assist” Mark Henry to a win. It would work, and it would maintain Rusev as a monster heel. The biggest knock on Rusev is that he requires a mouthpiece to get him over. Here’s how I would book this: Rusev dominates Henry at first, allowing for the big babyface comeback. As Henry makes his comeback, Lana again interferes. Big Show comes out to back up his partner. They eventually scatter, leaving Rusev kneeling in the ring. Lana grabs a mic and says the feud is not over. 
The future of the angle: If played properly, the feud can last until Survivor Series, with these guys leading teams into the traditional-type 4 vs 4 Survivor Series match. Rusev can claim he’s bringing in people committed to changing our way of life or something to that effect. His team would be Rusev, the Ascension, and Bo Dallas. Mark Henry would lead himself, Big Show, Adrian Neville, and Jack Swagger. The match would end with Rusev standing tall over Henry, but then Kurt Angle’s music hits and he returns to WWE. He hits an Angle Slam on Rusev and receives cheers from the crowd. 

Sheamus vs Cesaro – US Championship 

The match: If ever a match featured two incredibly stale characters, this is it. And there’s one thing that can solve it. A Double Turn. Sheamus needs to be a heel. Plain and simple. Cesaro has a move set that is suited to a babyface. They should pull the double switch in this match…of course it may take until the next night to cement the change. Sheamus retains the title. 
The future of the angle: On Raw, Sheamus is seen in the backstage area talking to Triple H. They shake hands and walk off. Later, during a segment when Triple H is on screen, he’s surrounded by the Authority and Sheamus is with them, preferably in a suit. Cesaro squashes a couple of low-level heels (though not Bray Wyatt) before once again challenging Sheamus for the US Title at Hell in a Cell. 

Dolph Ziggler (w/ R-Truth) vs The Miz (w/Damien Sandow) – IC Championship 
The match: Ziggler and Miz can put on some pretty good matches. I would have both guys come out with their recent partners in order to even the sides. Ziggler wins a hard fought back and forth match. Right as the referee counts three, instead of Ziggler’s music we hear Bray Wyatt’s music. Wyatt comes out on stage and R-Truth gives Ziggler a look, seeing as Truth has been demolished by Wyatt before. Wyatt delivers a promo telling Ziggler that his days of showing off are over, and that, concerning the Intercontinental Title, he’s coming for it. 
The future of the angle: For the next few weeks, Ziggler and Wyatt trade promos. At Hell in a Cell, Wyatt defeats Ziggler for the IC Title. The two continue to feud over the belt until TLC in December, when Wyatt wins a Tables match to retain the title. Ziggler goes off to the Royal Rumble and Wyatt enters a feud with Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Title. 

The Usos vs The Dust Bros. – Tag Team Championship 

The match: The Usos and Dust Bros tangle in a hard-fought match that may very well steal the show, which does give me pause on the ending that I would book, but follow me on this. The teams trade several near falls. Goldust and Jey Uso are laid out at ringside. Jimmy Uso and Stardust perform a simultaneous crossbody block and knock each other out. At the moment, Xavier Woods music hits and he, Big E Langston, and Kofi Kingston walk to the ring. They proceed to demolish both teams, with Langston hitting the Big Ending on one Uso and one of the Dust Bros. Xavier Woods grabs a mic and says that his team is tired of being held back and trying to make it in the world by dancing and smiling and shaking hands. It is time for them to “take” what should rightfully be theirs. The trio leaves with the Tag Team Championship belts. 
The future of the angle: Knowing WWE Creative, they would screw this up within the first week. But the actions of the Woods Faction would set them apart as true tweeners, willing to take on anyone. We’d have a three-way feud for the tag team titles, eventually allowing the Woods Faction to legitimize their claim. New feuds would then abound. 

Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns 
The match: Reigns and Rollins put on a match that could steal the show. It’s a battle. No, Reigns does not dominate this match. That would hurt Rollins. Instead, they battle back and forth until finally Reigns gains the advantage. As he goes for the pin, Randy Orton runs in and hits him with the MITB briefcase. As Reigns struggles to get up, Rollins hits him with a Curb Stomp. Reigns is still fighting, though. As he tries once more to get up, Orton lines him up for the Punt Kick. Before Orton can land it, though, Dean Ambrose storms in and takes him out. Ambrose then turns to Rollins and the two brawl their way out of the arena. 
The future of the angle: On Raw the next night, Ambrose opens the show with a promo targeted at Rollins. Triple H comes out and tells Ambrose he’ll have to wait for Rollins, as his next opponent is Randy Orton. Rollins storms out and begins to claim he could take Ambrose out whenever, causing Roman Reigns to come in and shout him down. Triple H, channeling the spirit of Teddy Long, changes his mind and sets up Rollins and Orton vs. Ambrose and Reigns as the night’s main event. The feuding continues until the October PPV, Hell in a Cell, in which Ambrose and Rollins have the only Cell match of the night. 

Paige vs AJ Lee vs Nikki Bella – Divas Championship 
The match: No, I would not have Nikki Bella win this match, no matter how much WWE wants to push Total Divas. I would have Brie take her out just as it appears she was going to win. Paige locks in the Black Widow on AJ, but AJ finds a way out of her own submission move. AJ hits Paige with the RamPaige. Paige kicks out. Paige hits AJ with the Paige Turner and wins the match. 
The future of the angle: The next night on Raw, as Paige celebrates, AJ confronts her, demanding one more match. Paige agrees. Are AJ and Paige good enough to carry a cage match at the next PPV? Hmmm… 

Brock Lesnar vs John Cena – WWE World Heavyweight Championship 

The match: There is only one reasonable outcome to this match: Brock Lesnar wins. The story to be told is how Lesnar will win. Here’s what I would do: The match is just as brutal as the SumerSlam bout. Instead of a pinfall victory, though, Lesnar makes Cena tap out. 
The future of the angle: Monday night on Raw, Cena has to explain to the Cenation why he “gave up.” After all, he spent weeks telling Paul Heyman that he would never give up. Heyman comes out and mocks him. This begins a bit of a tailspin for Cena and we begin to see darker elements to his character. It’s not a true heel turn, but it gives him more depth than the current happy-go-lucky, smiling, buy-my-merchandise Cena. 

Fantasy Booking: Sheamus and the US Title

The mid-card titles of the WWE, the United States Championship and the Intercontinental Championship, and the wrestlers who currently hold them, have been woefully misused over the last few years. Let’s focus on the United States Championship, or US Title, for the time being. 

The current title-holder is Sheamus, who took the belt off Dean Ambrose in what was one of the most poorly executed start-then-suddenly-stop heel turns in recent memory. Sheamus, you see, is a bit stale. His character is basically the same as it was three years ago. WWE sought to shake things up a bit, and so they moved to turn him heel, using the slow burn heel turn. 

Whether or not this slow-burn turn is still in effect is debatable. Sheamus won the title by Brogue Kicking Dean Ambrose during a battle royal for the title. The Irishman tossed Ambrose from the ring and captured the gold. At the time, both wrestlers were babyfaces, though Ambrose was rather newly minted as a babyface. It was the perfect storm. Everyone knows that Sheamus is work-out partners with Triple H, so having him turn heel, and presumably join the Authority at some point, made great sense. 

But instead, WWE halted the heel turn and continued to run same old boring Sheamus out for match after match. Ambrose, meanwhile, drifted away from the US Title and was embroiled in a feud with Seth Rollins before being written out in order to film a movie. 

That leaves us with a stale babyface holding a mid-card title and no real challengers on the horizon. Sure, there’s been a bit of a program with Cesaro, but he’s another character stuck in WWE creative limbo. 

So let’s engage in some fantasy booking… 

Sheamus defeats Cesaro at Night of Champions, retaining the US Title. I personally think this is a given, so it’s not really fantasy. 

The next night on Raw, John Cena, having lost once again to Brock Lesnar, states his case that he’s the only one capable of defending the WWE against the Beast Incarnate. Triple H, tired of Cena’s schtick (aren’t we all?), calls him out. As the Authority surrounds Cena, looking to beat him down, Sheamus, the Big Show, and Mark Henry run down to make the save. Triple H sets up a tag team match featuring Cena and Sheamus against Rollins and Orton. 

As the match draws toward the end chaos ensues, as is typical for Raw, and all four men end up in the ring. Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick…on John Cena. He doesn’t even act like it was a mistake. Instead, he picks up Cena and hits and Irish Curse backbreaker and then White Noise. Sheamus turns to find Triple H standing on the ring apron. They shake hands. 

Violá, Sheamus is a heel and he’s in the Authority. This is automatic new life to the Sheamus character. Think back to his time as a heel when he first came to WWE. It’s that, but with the full backing of the front office. A newly-heel Sheamus can carry a program with Cena until Lesnar returns. He can function as the non-cowardly heel, willing to take on any fighters.

Of course, this is all just a crazy idea that'll likely never come to pass...