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...