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...

Dropping Angles: Creative's Short Term Memory

We gather here today in memoriam of the wrestlers and angles that the WWE has completely given up on: 

#1. The Nexus 

Yes, this event happened several years ago (2010), but it bears repeating in light of recent events. The Nexus was a group of aspiring wrestlers from the original NXT, back when it was a competition to get a contract from WWE. Wade Barrett led the rookies onto Raw and they proceeded to demolish the set. Afterwards, the Nexus began targeting veteran wrestlers for vicious attacks. One frequent target was John Cena. 

The brutality and relentlessness of the Nexus led to a showdown at SummerSlam, with The Nexus (Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, David Otunga, Skip Sheffield [Ryback], Michael Tarver, and Darren Young) taking on Team WWE (John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Bret Hart, John Morrison, and R-Truth) in an elimination tag team match. The match came down to John Cena against Barrett and Gabriel. Cena pinned Gabriel and, not even 30 seconds later, made Barrett tap out to the STF. 

Jericho and Edge have both gone on record saying it was a poor booking decision to have Cena so easily overcome the leader of Nexus, but they also said that Cena pushed ahead with it. In fact, they say the original plan had Barrett going over Cena, but Cena pushed for a change in the outcome. Jericho and Edge were both okay with putting over younger talent. Cena, apparently, was not. And as you’ll see, it’s a trait Cena has yet to drop. 

#2. Bo Dallas 

Bo Dallas appeared and entered the Royal Rumble in 2013. He was the NXT representative in the match and actually eliminated Wade Barrett. He returned to NXT and honed his character as a heel who thought he was a babyface. He won the NXT Championship, proving his ability to carry a title and work a main event program. He returned to the main roster as an inspiration character, telling other wrestlers that they could do better in life is they simply “BO-lieve.” 

He came back on a long winning streak. In wrestling, a winning streak typically means you are being built for a title run. Dallas carried a long streak that actually helped to grow his heel character status. That is, until he lost to R-Truth in a random match on Raw. Dallas proceeded to beat down Truth after the match. He lost again to Truth on the next Smackdown. What was a great heel character slowly became relegated to lower and lower places on the card. He’s now pestering Jack Swagger, saying Swagger is disappointing America by losing to Rusev. 

Dallas is a good wrestler. His character is utterly annoying, which is great for a heel. He’d make a really good Intercontinental or United States Champion. Instead, it looks like he’s going to feud with Jack Swagger for a bit. 

#3. (Antonio) Cesaro 

Antonio Cesaro is one of the most gifted athletes to enter the WWE in a long time. He’s naturally strong, as evidenced by much of his in-ring work. His early run as the snobby Swiss wrestler who won the US Title provided glimpses of what he could be. 

Cesaro joined Zeb Colter’s Real Americans team, a heel tag team. His moveset, though, is suited to a babyface. The high impact European uppercut, the Alpamare Waterslide, and the Big Swing really bring the fans to their feet. Which is bad, since WWE is dedicated to keeping Cesaro heel. At WrestleMania XXX, Cesaro entered the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and won. The match came down to Cesaro and Big Show. Cesaro scooped up Big Show in a move reminiscent of Hogan and Andre the Giant. He dumped Big Show out of the ring to win. 

The next night on Raw Hulk Hogan presented Cesaro with the battle royal trophy. Colter took the mic and started to talk about how he was the reason Cesaro was doing so well. Cesaro took the mic from Colter and said he was not a Zeb Colter guy, but rather he was a Paul Heyman guy. The teaming with Heyman didn’t last long, as Heyman used every available minute of screen time to promote Brock Lesnar. Cesaro was relegated to low-level heel. The most impressive athlete in WWE can’t catch a break. 

#4. Damien Sandow 

What happened to Damien Sandow? Two words: John Cena. I could go on for days telling you how Cena is responsible for the failures of WWE to build better superstars (and I will in the Wyatt Family section). 

Damien Sandow won one of the Money in the Bank briefcases back when there were two championships. He won the chance to go after the World Heavyweight Championship. Apparently, Sandow was a pet project of Triple H. Like Sheamus, Triple H saw potential in Sandow and brought him in as a snobbish heel with a high level of intelligence. Sandow won the briefcase and held it for a quite a while, even feuding over the case with Cody Rhodes, his former teammate. 
Then John Cena came back early from injury and defeated Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship. On Raw, as Cena was talking up his victory, Sandow came out. He claimed he was not going to cash in, but he then proceeded to beat Cena down with the briefcase, targeting Cena’s surgically repaired arm, rendering it useless. 

Sandow turned to the referee and cashed in his title shot. And then SuperCena appeared. John Cena cleanly defeated Damien Sandow with only one arm. He even hit his finisher, the Attitude Adjustment. It was the beginning of the end for Sandow. The running theory was that Sandow angered someone within the WWE’s hierarchy. 

#5. Xavier Woods / Kofi Kingston / Big E (Langston) 

A few weeks ago on Raw, Kofi Kingston and Big E teamed up to take on Ryback and Curtis Axel. Rybaxel won the match, leaving a stunned Kofi and Big E standing in the ring. At that point, Xavier Woods came walking down to the ring dressed in a suit. He grabbed a mic and delivered a cryptically awesome promo about how they could not wait for things to be handed to them, but instead had to start taking. The next episode of Raw featured the group in the backstage area watching the Usos match. They came to ringside for the end of the match, though they did not get involved. 

On Main Event, Kofi and Big E teamed up and displayed a level of aggression they’d not shown in…well, ever. But, in what has become standard operating procedure for WWE Creative, the angle was unceremoniously dropped. The closest thing we’ve come to seeing the trio together was on Raw for Hulk Hogan’s birthday celebration, where they were all standing to the same side of the stage wearing similar colors.

There’s still hope that Creative will bring this angle back up. Kofi was on Raw Monday night in a losing effort to Bo Dallas, but he was wearing the red and black that the group had taken to wearing. Maybe these little clues are left behind as a bread crumb trail for anyone hoping the group will survive in a world desolate due to Creative’s neglect. Maybe we’ll see Kofi, Big E (hopefully with Langston reattached to his name), and Xavier Woods pop back up to start a solid new stable. 

But I’m afraid we’re at a point where, if an angle or wrestler doesn’t get over immediately, Creative simply drops their angle. There was rumor that the idea of teaming up three black wrestlers would be considered offensive or racist. But most hardcore fans wanted to see the group. 

#6. The Wyatt Family 

Basically, this is what Cena did to the Wyatts...

The WWE has apparently decided that the Wyatt Family doesn’t deserve a good story. Spoiler Alert: Bray Wyatt will lose twice on SmackDown. I don’t know who in WWE hates the Wyatts, but they obviously have a lot of pull. Wyatt’s downward slide began with Creative deciding that he didn’t need to look like a threat against John Cena. The “poop joke promo” superstar needlessly won at WrestleMania XXX in a match that could’ve established a new monster heel. But no, it was more important to the John Cena Toddler Fan Base that good triumph over evil. 

At the next pay-per-view, Cena once again took on Bray Wyatt, this time in a cage match. The point of a cage match is to stop the wrestlers from getting out of the ring, to stop other wrestlers from getting into the ring, and to basically force a resolution to a match. But at this PPV, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan constantly interfered. Even with that, Cena was about to escape the cage and win. He was stopped by a small child with a sore throat (and a poorly distorted voice). This simple trick apparently scared Cena so much that he stumbled backward into Wyatt’s waiting arms for a Sister Abigail. It was the only time Wyatt would win in this feud. 

The next PPV witnessed a resolution to their feud. Their Last Man Standing match was actually quite good. No, it wasn’t on par with the Triple H vs Chris Jericho Last Man Standing match at Fully Loaded in July 2000, but it was still good. The match ended with John Cena literally burying Bray Wyatt to stop him from getting back up. Why Cena had to win the feud is beyond me. The only thing I can figure is that Creative was afraid if Cena lost that toddlers would stop guilt-tripping their parents into buying neon-colored crap. 

As if that wasn't bad enough, on last Monday’s Raw, John Cena was fed Bray Wyatt. Cena was coming off the most humiliating defeat of his career, a 16-minute squash match in which Brock Lesnar simply destroyed Cena. So on Raw Cena interrupted a “Hall of Fame” Forum featuring Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Shawn Michaels. Hulk Hogan was so slobberingly adoring of Cena that I was actually waiting for him to pull a Frank Caliendo and say “John, I wrote you a poem…” 

Cena was advertised to fight Bray Wyatt. Cena won by disqualification, setting up a six man tag match with the Wyatt Family taking on Cena, Big Show, and Mark Henry. The good guys once again won, with Cena simply brushing Wyatt off like a cow swatting at gnats with its tail. At the Smackdown taping Tuesday night, Bray Wyatt was advertised to take on Roman Reigns, or, as we should probably call him, Samoan John Cena. Reigns won the match to open the show, then he was set to team up with Show and Henry to take on the Wyatt Family. Of course, the good guys won again. 

During all of this, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan had engaged in an epic feud with the Usos over the Tag Team Championships. For reasons unknown to anyone except Creative, the Usos continually won the matches in which the titles were on the line. Finally, the Creative team simply removed the Wyatt Family from title contention. The Usos were out of opponents, but Creative still took away the Wyatts. It’s forced Creative to turn Goldust and Stardust heel. Having Harper and Rowan win the titles would’ve created multiple new feuds. But apparently Creative would rather have the babyfaces continually rise above. 

I’m not sure what Bray Wyatt did to anger WWE Creative, but they have done a brutally fantastic job at destroying the Wyatt Family’s momentum. These guys were pitched a monster heels on their arrival. They took out Kane. Wyatt demolished Kofi Kingston and R-Truth. He entered a prolonged angle with Daniel Bryan, leading to Wyatt winning cleanly at Royal Rumble. But, for whatever reason, Creative decided that the audience didn’t need a new heel in the upper tier of the roster. No, it was more important that SuperCena overcome the odds and win. Heaven forbid that the John Cena Toddler Fan Base ever think that the forces of good can be defeated by the forces of evil. 

The Myth of Brock Lesnar

WrestleMania 31 is still 219 days away. That’s all of September, October, November, and December of 2014, plus January and February of 2015, all the way to March 29, 2015, when WWE invades Levi’s stadiums in Santa Clara, California, for its biggest show of the year. Everything that the WWE does features WrestleMania as the final goal. From the blatantly obvious, like the winner of the Royal Rumble receiving a berth in the WrestleMania main event, to the mundane, like a title change in late August of the year before. 

That’s where we stand. John Cena was the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He’d held the belt since the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in June. His “inheritance” of the title, for lack of a better term, was greeted with enthusiasm by the younger, casual fan, while the older, more-invested fans simply gave an exasperated sigh. Cena was nothing more than the “safe” choice. He’s a proven, reliable wrestler who can carry a long program. But a change was needed. Sure, the younger crowd loves John Cena. I typically (jokingly) refer to his fans as the John Cena Toddler Fan Base. 

But the fans of the WWE have been longing for change at the top. This year has, in effect, been the year of the fan’s voice. It started at Royal Rumble, back in January. The fans in attendance were solidly behind Daniel Bryan, who was scheduled to open the show against Bray Wyatt. Bryan lost his match, but it was not uncommon for wrestlers to pull double duty at the Rumble. 

Returning “babyface” Batista was in the rumble match, and was projected to win. He had a movie coming out (the wildly successful Guardians of the Galaxy), and WWE loves to promote superstars with movies. So as the match wound down, and only one participant was left to enter, the fans began to chant for Daniel Bryan. When the clock hit 0:00, though, it was not Daniel Bryan, but Rey Mysterio, who came out. 

Mysterio is a fan favorite, beloved by almost any fan of wrestling. But on that cold January night in Pittsburgh, Mysterio received more boos than he probably had in his entire career combined. It wasn’t that the fans hated Mysterio. They like him. Still do. But he’s an aging superstar with a knack for injury, and he was taking away a slot from the fans’ chosen one, Daniel Bryan. The audience applauded loudly when Mysterio was eliminated. 

The match came down to the “babyface” Batista and a then-heel Roman Reigns. Reigns had set the record for Rumble eliminations during the match, and the Shield, while villainous, was incredibly over with the fans. The audience in the arena began to chant for Roman Reigns. Even though Batista won, it was an empty feeling, especially for one of the traditional “Big Four” pay-per-view events. It was a sound rejection of what the front office in Stamford, CT though the fans would want. 

As the biggest show of the year, WrestleMania XXX, drew near, it began to look as though WWE was going to plow ahead with their own corporately-suicidal plan. Batista had won the right to main event WrestleMania, but because of the fans’ reception of him, he had turned heel. Randy Orton was the holder of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but he was the Authority’s hand-picked champion, also a heel. The last time a WrestleMania main event featured two wrestlers with similar character alignments was 2001, when Stone Cold Steve Austin faced The Rock at WrestleMania 17. Austin famously turned heel at that event, joining with Vince McMahon. 

No such turns appeared evident for this ‘Mania. But a glimmer of hope shown on the horizon. Daniel Bryan and some obviously planted fans executed an “Occupy” Raw event, taking over an episode of the WWE’s flagship show. Given that the “Occupy” movement had largely vanished from the public memory already, it was a bit untimely. But Bryan’s actions brought out Triple H, who had served as the key heel figure of the Authority. Triple H agreed to face Bryan at WrestleMania, with the stipulation that if Bryan won he would go on to the main event. Triple H eventually amended the stipulation to give himself the right to main event WrestleMania XXX if he won. 

Bryan won their match, and in the main event of the biggest WrestleMania in years, Daniel Bryan accomplished the fans’ dreams. He ended the show standing tall and holding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. And all was right with the world. The underdog had overcome. The Authority had been silenced. The hated Batista had been defeated. John Cena was nowhere close to the title picture. 

And then Daniel Bryan got hurt. He’s been out of action for months now with a neck injury. The Authority stripped him of the title, an obvious heel move that put even more heat on them. The title was put up for grabs in a ladder match at the Money in the Bank PPV. Cena won. The old guard was re-established. Vince McMahon’s chosen order to the universe was restored. The Authority was basically in full control. Triple H had ended the Shield by turning Seth Rollins on his brothers. Rollins would win the Money in the Bank briefcase, guaranteeing him a title shot anytime within the next calendar year. For all intents and purposes, the WWE in early August 2014 looked very similar to the WWE of several years ago. 

And then came SummerSlam. 

With the Authority needing a challenger for John Cena, Triple H turned to a man that is, for lack of a better term, his protégé: Randy Orton. Orton, though, lost his chance at the title because Roman Reigns, now a babyface and carrying a lot of support from the crowd, took him out. As Orton and Reigns battled their way out of the arena, a loud screech came over the speakers and a famous guitar riff started to play. Paul Heyman appeared on the stage, followed by the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar. 

Lesnar hadn’t been on WWE programming for quite some time. He was still riding high after becoming the first man to ever hand the Undertaker a defeat at WrestleMania. Heyman had cryptically told Triple H that, while Orton might be “Plan A,” and Rollins was his “Plan B,” that it might be time for the Authority to enact “Plan C.” Triple H nodded, shook their hands, and gifted a title shot to the Beast. 

At SummerSlam, Lesnar and Cena met in the main event. Within the first 30 seconds of the match, Brock Lesnar hit an F5 on Cena. After that, it was a fully one-sided contest. Lesnar hit 16 german suplexes on Cena. He hit another F5 on the champion. The announcers began to wonder if the referee would stop the match to save Cena. Finally, after 16 minutes of beating, Lesnar pinned Cena. It was almost merciful. Never, in all the years that I’ve watched wrestling, has John Cena been so thoroughly dominated from start to finish in a match. 

And now Brock Lesnar is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The rumor is that Triple H wants Lesnar to retain the belt until WrestleMania 31, which is, as I wrote at the opening of this article, 219 days away. That’s a long time, especially when your champion is a part-time wrestler who might not even be on Raw again for over a month. Lesnar is already booked to face Cena in a rematch at Night of Champions in September, but I can’t see Lesnar losing the title that quickly. 

The problem is, I believe, WWE has almost made Lesnar unbeatable. His last two PPV victories are at WrestleMania over the previously 21-0 Undertaker, and SummerSlam, in what was effectively a squash match over John Cena. Every wrestler on the roster has struggled against Cena, and only a few have ever scored victories over him. The mythical status of the Undertaker at WrestleMania has now transferred to Brock Lesnar. It may take Lesnar's often-prolonged absences to weaken that mythology in order to allow someone else on the card, likely a Roman Reigns or Daniel Bryan, to overcome him in the future and take the title.

This table represents the current title picture in the WWE (current as of noon, 22 August 2014). I’m listing Dean Ambrose as a “should be” contender for the Intercontinental Championship, though Ambrose is currently written out to film a movie. I’ve also listed Roman Reigns as a contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, even though he’s not fully to that level. It’s obvious that WWE plans for him to contend for the title soon enough. 

WWE World Heavyweight Champion:	Brock Lesnar
Contenders:	John Cena (#1)
	Randy Orton
	Roman Reigns
	Seth Rollins (MITB)
	Daniel Bryan (injured)
Intercontinental Champion:	Dolph Ziggler
Contenders:	The Miz
	Dean Ambrose (should be)
United States Champion:	Sheamus
Contenders:	???
Divas Champion:	Paige
Contenders:	AJ Lee
Tag Team Champions:	The Usos
Contenders:	Big Show & Mark Henry
	Goldust & Stardust
	Luke Harper & Erick Rowan