Turning the Paige

On the Monday 21 September episode of Monday Night RAW is WAR, TV's longest running episodic action adventure soap opera (or something), Paige cut a scathing promo. Or, if you prefer, she dropped a pipebomb. Personally I don't prefer, finding the term trite and irritating when applied to anything other than the segment which originated the phrase, CM Punk's show-closing hijacking of RAW on June 27 2011.

Paige cut her promo during the in-ring celebration of new Divas champion Charlotte (let the record show she'd defeated Nikki Bella for the title at Night of Champions the previous evening). After claiming she was the one who'd made the upturn in women's wrestling in the Fed possible, calling the interaction between Charlotte and her pa Ric patronising, and reminding everyone that she'd won the Divas title on her first night on the roster Paige laid into every member of the roster. Alicia Fox was labelled a third wheel. All three members of Team BAD were written off as all flash and no substance¹. Natalya was sarcastically referred to as MIA. Charlotte was called a placeholder champ, Lynch irrelevant, and there was heavy implication that storyline Paige believes the Bellas only got to and keep their spots because of who they're romantically linked to². It was good stuff, believable, relatable and understandable. Charlotte's response was slightly disappointing because she undersold the betrayal she should have been feeling and simply lashed out angrily. But it was at least spiritied.

Paige there, working herself into a shoot.

It's not the specifics that are important here, it's what Paige's words set up. And they set up a lot. There's the obvious Paige versus Charlotte match for the title. It also created issues between Natalya and Paige and Becky Lynch and Paige, the reasons for each being pleasantly different. Natty has been positioned as the old guard whom 'The Anti-Diva' considers irrelevant/past her prime, which Natty will clearly want to prove wrong.

Meanwhile Becky was labelled "the least relevant" woman on the roster by Paige. Since Monday she's taken the initiative (or been ordered to follow up on the verbal assault) and launched a series of pun themed insults at Paige on Twitter. The pun aspect isn't doing anybody any favours but 'The Lasskicker' firing back as opposed to meekly accepting Paige's low blow or waiting until the next TV show to assert herself is absolutely the right thing for everyone involved. It creates an issue between two wrestlers that gives them a reason to have a match that doesn't involve a championship. That's rare in WWE, especially in their women's league.

In a little under a week WWE have set the decidedly non-progressively named Divas up to have an interesting, layered division. Charlotte has a rematch with Nikki to come as well as her fresh issue with Paige to resolve. Paige has matches ready with both Natalya and Becky, which could both be run through before she gets her title shot opposite 'The Nature Girl' (no way Nikki's getting the belt back for a while). Sasha Banks has also been quietly set up for a larger role with TV wins over Paige and the emphasis on her being an established rival of Charlotte from NXT.

Whether the writing team follows through on any of this is something else. History tells us they'll mishandle things and deliver an uninspired sequence of matches revolving around the Divas title. But thanks to Paige's promo and the work that's been put into the division we can dare to get our hopes up that the MSG Network special or the Hell in a Cell PPV could feature Charlotte v Nikki and Paige v Becky, instead of the standard issue lone title match.

***

¹ The only one that could possibly apply to is Naomi, although I think it would be an unfair statement. Tamina has neither flash nor substance while Sasha Banks has both.

² The irony here is that until a few weeks ago that seemed to be a largely unfair statement. Then rumours started doing the rounds about Big Match John pulling strings to extend Nikki's title reign.

Revolutionising the Divas Division

The July 13 RAW saw the main roster debuts of Sasha Banks, Charlotte and Becky Lynch. Hardly breaking news at this point I know, it's taken me a while to get a post together on the call-ups. Not doing a post simply wasn't an option: the significance of the three women being promoted from developmental simultaneously cannot be understated.

Paige and her NXT allies, the unofficially dubbed Powerbuff Girls.

Moving a number of women from NXT's women's division is a sign that WWE management recognise change is needed in the way women are presented by the company. Having them be three of the four best wrestlers (the fourth, to clarify, is Bayley) is a sign that this isn't just a case restocking a depleted division but a drive to improve quality. Had the former been what the company desired they simply could have gone with utilising existing bit part players Alicia Fox, Cameron, Summer Rae and Rosa Mendes. That wrestlers who have been receiving critical praise were chosen to join the division tells us that creating a competitive, layered and compelling division is the goal.

As does, of course, the manner in which the three were promoted. They were introduced by Stephanie McMahon. Having a McMahon hype you up before your first appearance is a big deal, because they're the owners of the company and if they're going out of their way to talk you up it sends the message that you're worth attention¹. Te same goes for interacting with a champion in your first segment. Basically everything about the way the women were introduced was designed to let anyone unfamiliar with them know they're a big deal and reassure people who've enjoyed their work in NXT that they'll get the same kind of opportunities on RAW and SmackDown.

Naomi versus Banks could be great. Just saying...

Since the call-up the company has stuck to its guns on the revamped Divas scene. Charlotte, Banks and Brie Bella wrestled an eleven and a half minute three-way at Battleground. The following evening's RAW saw Charlotte defeat Brie in a nine minute match and Naomi and Banks topple Lynch and Paige in a little under fifteen minutes. The July 23 SmackDown saw a thirteen minute tag match, and the Monday 27 RAW a fourteen minute singles match between Paige and Banks. The newcomers haven't been booked to steamroll their more established counterparts but they have been made to look competitive, an intelligent approach that considers the long-term future of the division.

I'm not claiming the matches have all been classics. They haven't. The only one that can accurately be said to be n above average affair was the Banks versus Paige match, and that was at least partly due to Banks being the reigning NXT women's champion and 'The Anti-Diva's' history in the developmental league (and with that title) making for an interesting background to the meeting. But they have been longer than the average Divas match of the last few years, and they've been wrestled like the people involved have something to prove, presumably because they do.

The decision to form three factions is what I like most about the restructuring of the division. It keeps things simple and gives each Divas match a reason for happening. Going by the numbers there are now twenty-seven singles matches, eighteen tag combos, three six women tags, and the obviously climactic three-way trios collision that can be cycled through. That's easily enough to keep the division feeling fresh and exciting for months. If things are paced properly and the story is told right WWE could do something special with Nikki Bella edging closer and closer to becoming the longest reigning Divas champion ever².

Can Nikki Bella become the longest reigning Divas champion ever?
A strong maybe from me.

Whether Nikki achieves this feat or not, and personally I think she will because she seems liked within the company and the people that run the company are vindictive enough to want to take the chance to take an accolade away from AJ, she'll lose the title at some point. When she does it will be to a member of a rival faction, because these are the women who will form the focal point of the division for the foreseeable future. When that happens it opens up longer term stories of rivalries between people who are currently allies. Charlotte winning the title could set up a friendly series with Paige, for example, while Banks and Naomi seem destined to clash over "leadership" of their BAD stable.

It's taken WWE far too long to get back around to presenting its women wrestlers as athletes who have the same athleticism and competitive drive as their male counterparts but at least they got to it eventually. It was at least worth the wait as the situation they've created by going with three promotions at once has given us the most promising Diva line-up in years and dozens of potential storylines, matches and feuds. If they can meet half of the potential they'll be doing okay.

***

¹ we will at this point overlook the fact that Steph, while great on the mic, is nowhere near the level of her dad, the one and only Vinnie Mac.

² As things stand right now she will surpass AJ Lee's current 295 day record on September 15. That's the Tuesday before Night of Champions. It seems reasonably safe to assume that if Nikki leaves August's SummerSlam with the butterfly belt she'll make it NOC as champ, breaking Lee's record.

That RAW Recap 13.07.15

In my opinion the July 2015 edition of Monday Night RAW deserves to go down as one of the best episodes of recent times. As usual it featured both good things and bad but unlike usual the good things outweighed the bad and, more importantly, when things were good they were really good. And things were never better than when Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins faced off and when the Divas division finally got the shot in the arm it's needed for what seems like years.

Lesnar and Rollins was great because everyone involved knew exactly what was expected of them and made sure they were on top form. The pair were given the standard  issue WWE trope of a contract signing to play with but got to do something different with it. Rollins played the cocky heel who claimed to have a plan to take down his more dominant foe. Lesnar played the super-cool face not at all rattled by Rollins' bravado. Both were excellent, as were their respective seconds Kane and Paul Heyman.

I still love Lesnar even though they're going OTT with this Suplex City stuff.

What made the exchange truly great was the brawl (because there's always a brawl). Rollins tried to sneakily palm a weapon he'd stashed under the desk. Heyman noticed and called him on it. 'The Future' denied the accusation, playing up the affront for all it was worth. Lesnar's response was to flip the table over and pull out the stick¹ Rollins had hidden there. He then calmly placed it on the table and sat back down, gesturing for Rollins to make his move.

Rollins showed caution but did make his move, beaming with pride after he'd grabbed his stick back. He began taunting 'The Beast' but didn't get far before Lesnar sprang to his feet and lobbed the table in Rollins' face. A German suplex followed before Kane got involved, briefly helping Rollins to give Lesnar a kicking. Naturally this didn't last: Lesnar would shrug off Kane's efforts and F5 him outside the ring before smashing his ankle with the ring steps.

Once Lesnar had left Rollins would return to the ring and cut a promo on him, promising to "slay" him (because he's a beast, y'see) at Battleground. He then turned his attention to Kane, telling him he was nothing and stomping on his injured ankle.

Rollins left this segment looking like an opportunistic coward who people should be desperate to see receive his comeuppance. Lesnar left looking like an unstoppable juggernaut. Which is exactly what he should be. Along the way we were reminded that Lesnar is not just freakily strong but impossible to intimidate and smart, all excellent qualities in a take-no-prisoners type babyface. Basically it's stuff like this that reminds you just how great Lesnar is.

As good as the Lesnar-Rollins stuff was it's the stuff with the Divas².

Let's start with (an attempt at) a succinct summary with what happened. Divas champion Nikki Bella strolled out with her sister Brie and Bella groupie Alicia Fox. The usual routine of Nikki talking about being a strong champion only to be interrupted then played out. Paige being one of the people interrupting was not a surprise. Stephanie McMahon being the other, however, was.

Steph, inexplicably playing babyface³,  talked about Paige wanting to bring about a revolution in the Divas division and made it clear she thought this was commendable (and in fairness she couldn't have done this as a heel). She then introduced NXT stars Becky Lynch and Charlotte as Paige's allies. Charlotte, being the daughter of Ric Flair, naturally got the louder reaction of the two but not by a huge amount. That this can be said of Lynch shows how far she's come since she was entering to stereotypical Irish music and doing awkward jigs in the ring.

As Paige and her designated pals had a staredown with Team Bella the entrance music extravaganza continued and Naomi, the forgotten woman of the division, sauntered out with Tamina. Naomi said she had unfinished business with both Nikki and Paige before being told, almost patronisingly, by Stephanie that she absolutely deserved to be in the ring. Sasha Banks was then introduced as the new playmate of Naomi and Tamina and joined them in the ring to face off with Team Bella.

Finally, an exciting Divas scene.

Which is where things broke down. Nikki, Brie and Alicia turned around only to find they were also being confronted by Paige, Charlotte and Lynch. A brawl broke out. It was lengthy and a bit sloppy but it drew the audience in and it made it clear that all nine women were equals. It also ended exactly as it needed to, with Lynch trapping Brie in the armbar, Charlotte applying the figure eight leg lock to Alicia, and Banks giving Nikki the Bank Statement. It was the perfect introduction for the three women from NXT, and it was particularly nice to see women's champion Banks paired up with Divas champion Nikki.

What made all of this work is that WWE have spent so long getting around to it. It's would be misleading to say that they've done a slow burn build because they've have an awful main roster women's division for much of the last decade, but they have taken a more deliberate pace over the last few months. Team Bella has been built up as a dominant force ruling over a stagnant division. They've played on the fact that their women's division is weak as well as the common view that Nikki and Brie "don't know how to work" and written in a sensible story about a lone crusader, Paige, trying to instigate change.

With just one fifteen minute segment WWE made their main roster women's division interesting. There are so many directions they could take and matches they could present. I'm excited about the Divas division for the first time in years. And for that alone this episode will always be memorable for me.

***

¹ That it was a stick, albeit a very nice one (by which I mean it was nicely smoothed and had some varnish on it), was the only disappointing thing about this segment. With the current story being that Rollins is becoming increasingly like his on-screen mentor Triple H it would have made far more sense for him to have hidden a sledgehammer under the table.

² Look, I'm aware of how unprogressive it is to refer to women as Divas. I think we all are. But that's the label WWE (by which I mean Vince McMahon) has chosen for its female wrestlers so I'm going to use it. I'm nothing if not accurate when it comes to this sort of meaningless stuff.

³ To be fair Steph rapidly switching between heel and face is not new. She was doing it as long ago as 2003 during her time as GM of SmackDown, where she would happily play both good and bad on the same show. At least these days she tends to have the good grace to leave a few days between her turns.

The All New Divas Division

Think Stephanie McMahon is WWE’s top female heel? You’re right. She routinely gets more boos than any other woman in the company. That it’s through a combination of her character having over a decade’s worth of history behind it and her being positioned better than most other performers is irrelevant: Steph gets ‘em booing.

But as good as she is she’s not the top female heel wrestler. Because, y’know, she’s had one proper match in the last decade. It was a good match but still, it doesn’t really qualify as a regular performer.

Nikki Bella: winner.

As far as female antagonists go the top heel wrestler in WWE is Nikki Bella. After turning on sister Brie at SummerSlam Nikki was briefly linked to The Authority before being separated to continue her feud, which let’s not forget started in the womb, alone. Which she’s done well. Not all of her promo segments have been great but enough have hit the mark to establish her new, conceited character. The quality of her matches has been better than expected too. In short Nikki has put in real work, particularly in the ring, to justify her push.

Which makes the decision to pit her against AJ Lee more than welcome. AJ’s feud with Paige started out looking promising but the two never really clicked as regular foes. Part of the problem was that the writing wasn’t particularly strong. Instead of being presented as rivals of equal ability who’s rivalry was more about respect than dislike (a standard wrestling plot, but one proven to work more often than not) they were booked to become friends before Paige went mad and started mimicking AJ’s mannerisms and acting as though she were in love with her.

That sort of story can work. It was a massive success for Mickie James and Trish Stratus in 2006, for example. But then it worked because it was given longer to develop and was presented as something other than a token women’s feud. It wasn’t the right approach for AJ and Paige. They would have been better served in a scenario that allowed fans to pick a side and cheer for their preferred wrestler, rather than trying to force people to boo one over the other. Longer, better planned matches would likely have helped too.

A woman in need of new opponents.

AJ facing Nikki gives us a new match and a new story. It also gives us a situation where one woman is someone fans will want to boo and the other is someone they’ll want to cheer. Judging by how Nikki’s been treated over the last few months it seems safe to assume WWE will give their match or matches longer than the AJ v Paige encounters. That’s something AJ has warranted for a long time and it’s something she’ll hopefully make the most of.

Looking at the current state of the Divas division it doesn’t seem inconceivable that WWE is setting Brie (Mode) Bella up for a Divas title reign. The Bellas’ feud has been presented as higher profile than the Divas title over the last couple of months, subtly positioning the twins as the real stars of the scene despite AJ’s grasp on the gold. Brie is currently spending a month as her sister’s assistant (due to a stipulation that could well be the lovechild of Vince Russo and various episodes of Seinfeld) and will clearly become more downtrodden as the weeks pass. Either Brie could be forced to help Nikki become the Divas champion and then be the next one to challenge her for it, or she could cost her the title, continue the sister versus sister programme, and pick up the title from AJ in a three-way.

Neither would be the worst sequence in the world, but by the end of the Nikki and Brie programme whoever had the championship would need some fresh opponents. Right now the women’s division only really has four characters in it: Nikki, Brie, Paige and AJ. While the sisters are locked up with AJ WWE should use ‘The Anti-Diva’ to help turn some of the current no-namers on the roster into characters people care about. They’ve made a stab at this with Alicia Fox, and could follow up with the likes of Emma, Summer Rae and Naomi, three women who already have the foundations of individual characters but just need some screen time with people we’re more familiar with.

Bubbles but not much character.

The specifics of the characters isn’t important. What matters is that they have these women interact with Paige and each other to establish characters that viewers can understand and become invested in. By the time the Brie and Nikki story finishes (which I’m assuming will be in January at the absolute latest) WWE could have a rounded group of female personalities at their disposal.

I’ve said many times before that WWE has the makings of a great women’s division. AJ, Paige, Natalya and Emma are all great wrestlers, with the Bellas being underrated after making significant improvements. If they invested time in the division they could make it mean a lot, in turn making the debuts of the likes of Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha Banks mean more when they come. Now is the time to start that, and as bizarre as it is to say the Bellas are the ones to get the ball rolling.

Diva Reconstruction

The WWE Divas division received a welcome boost on Monday when AJ Lee made a surprise return during RAW. After nearly three months off Mrs CM Punk sauntered down to the ring and defeated Paige, the woman who’d beaten her the night after WrestleMania XXX, to become a two time Divas champion. Her return is obviously a good thing. She’s WWE’s most over and capable female performer, and it opens up several storyline possibilities that could help to make the division, its title and its performers mean more than they currently do.

AJ Lee, celebrating her second title victory.

Judging solely by what occurred on RAW it looks as though AJ is going to be booked as a face. That would make sense. The reaction her return got shows that people are keen to cheer her, mostly because of how talented she is and because she carried the Divas scene for so long. Paige’s response to AJ’s return and the loss she suffered in their match was to look dejected and whimper a bit. It would seem fair to assume that she’ll try being nice about AJ’s entitled mean girl attitude for a few weeks before snapping and going heel, probably after failing to regain the gold.

Although Paige is a great technical wrestler she hasn’t managed to connect with audiences in her time on the main roster. She proved she could connect with crowds before her RAW debut (pretty much everywhere she worked, from SHIMMER to NXT). The reason she’s not managed the same in WWE is almost entirely attributable to her being given nothing to do but be a champion and work short title defences against challengers of the month.

A heel turn would suit Paige, basically. And an official face run would give AJ fresh things to do. Although the gulf between them is vast Paige and AJ are WWE’s most prominent and able female performers. They are the natural choice for the Divas division’s top feud.

But AJ Lee and ‘The Anti-Diva’ are not the only two ladies that are currently giving the division hope. Although they haven’t been the most exciting things to ever hit a wrestling show there are two other rivalries involving women in WWE at the mo: Summer Rae versus Layla and the (heart-breaking) splintering of much-loved institution The Funkadactyls.

The former was over the affections of love rat Fandango so it was hardly a great achievement for feminism but, on the plus side, it did at least see WWE’s writing team dedicating time to female wrestlers that weren’t involved in a title feud. That’s a step in the right direction (with either gender). Meanwhile the split of Cameron and Naomi is still in the early stages but every indication is that it will be awful. Though, again, it’s encouraging to see the writers doing something with female performers without the title being used as the impetus.

In addition to this recent booking has hinted at a showdown between Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella sometime in the future. Perhaps it’s been decided that Triple H will sit SummerSlam out and Steph will represent the family in the ring. It’s unlikely to be a technical clinic but Steph v Brie has potential thanks to the heat Steph will bring. Plus I maintain that Brie is underrated as a worker.

This is not the best use of Emma.

These rivalries display a cast of Divas that is deceptively well-developed in terms of character. And they don’t include Alicia Fox, who has been cast as an overly excitable poor sport and shown herself to be a far better wrestler than she’d previously been credit for. It also discounts Emma who, brush with the law and multi-hour unemployment stint aside, still has the potential to overcome being saddled with Santino, get her NXT dance moves over and establish herself as a perennial contender to the butterfly belt and someone who can always be relied upon to churn out a solid bout.

Meanwhile in NXT Natalya’s reinventing herself on a developmental roster that includes captivating cheerleader cum fairy Alexa Bliss, the almost-certainly-not best friends forever Beautiful Fierce Females unit of Sasha Banks and Charlotte, the starstruck and naturally likeable Bayley, and the disappointingly stereotypical Becky Lynch. All of them are ready for the main roster in terms of wrestling ability. There are just a few wrinkles to be worked out in terms of gimmicks and characters in some cases. Considering the drought WWE’s women’s league has been in pretty much since Trish Stratus left in 2006 that’s a welcome sign.

With AJ and Paige on top wrestling for the championship, time being dedicated to non-title programmes, and a nice number of names waiting on the developmental roster the Divas division could very well be poised to become must-see wrestling viewing. That’s not something I would have expected to write six months ago. It’s a nice surprise.

Payback 2014 preview

Another month, another WWE pay-per-view. Or special event. It's not entirely clear what we're meant to call them anymore. They're still available on pay-per-view so that seems safe enough.

This show is an odd one. It was originally going to be headlined be three matches that had, in one form or another, taken place on previous supershow Extreme Rules. It was an undesirable situation that came about through the WWE writing team's failure to prepare anything fresh. But one of those three matches has been dropped, because of an injury to WWE champion Daniel Bryan. That’s made an undesirable situation worse, and here WWE's writing team are completely blame free. It's just one of those unfortunate, badly-timed things that happen.

Daniel Bryan will still appear on the show. He just won’t wrestle. Monday’s RAW saw Stephanie McMahon ask D-Bry to vacate the championship, explaining she didn’t want to strip him of the gold because it would only encourage people to support him more (a nice little way of stringing the plot out). Bryan refused so Steph decided to play hard ball, revealing that if Bryan didn’t turn up and hand over the gold at Payback she’d fire his wife.

It’s impossible to tell what will happen at Payback. It depends entirely on how quickly it’s believed Bryan’s going to be back in the ring. It was said on RAW that his time away was expected to be longer than had been hoped but there’s no way of knowing if that was a true statement or not. It’s possible WWE have been told Bryan could be back in the ring in a couple of months and they’re hoping to keep the championship on him.

Either WWE are trying to see how long they can hold out with an inactive champion because they don’t have a solid enough backup plan or they know Bryan’s going to be disappearing from TV for a while and they want him to be written out as a hero. I suspect it’s the latter. Although I hope I’m wrong and Bryan’s only going to miss a few months I don’t think it’s likely.  

Of the two big rematches left the one I think will main event the show is The Shield v Evolution. To be honest I'm surprised they didn't go on last at Extreme Rules. It was reassuring that Bryan got to headline, especially with what's happened since, but it felt as though the six man match had been set up to take precedence. The match in question was slightly plodding for its first half but picked up significantly in its second. Here the six men are being blessed with a no disqualification stipulation and an elimination format. If it can equal or better the quality of the Extreme matchup it should be a fitting headline bout, and those rules additions should see that it does.

WWE being as formulaic as it is would usually make me expect a victory for Evolution here. They lost the only other encounter the teams have had so they'd get a win here to set up a deciding third encounter for the near future. I don't think that's going to happen though. I think 'The Hounds of Justice' are going to get their second straight win over the three former world champions.

The elimination rule allows for a booking approach that can make a member of The Shield look strong, with two members being eliminated early by the veterans and leaving the third man to valiantly battle back against long odds. If this formula is used it seems pretty safe to assume that Roman Reigns will be the lone man battling Triple H, Orton and Batista. Something practically identical happened at Survivor Series and WWE have been keen to present Reigns as a wrestler who's not easy to put down for a three count. What better way to make him look a beast than to have him take on all three members of Evolution?

There are other things this booking approach has going for it. The first is that if Rollins and Ambrose are to go out first the opening minutes will be a blaze of fast action and big bumps as the two cram in as much as possible while they have the chance. It also allows WWE to tease the idea of a Reigns versus 'The Game' singles encounter. I'm torn on whether it's a good idea to have this match come down to those two. It would be a great moment if Reigns pinned Trips to win (or if Trips stole a victory by cheating) but it could also run the risk of giving too much away and devaluing a singles match.

Whatever the finish ends up being I'm picking The Shield to win. If Evolution do go over it'll likely be a quick pin after Reigns makes his second elimination. I'm convinced Reigns is going to go it alone for much of the match.

Down in the middle of the card we have WWE's secondary and tertiary titles being defended. Yes, the US title is being defended on a pay-per-view! I can't remember the last time that happened.

The night after Extreme Rules Sheamus won a battle royal for the United States championship, ending Dean Ambrose's eleven month run. He'll defend it against Cesaro. I like 'The King of Swing' and his association with Paul Heyman a great deal. I am distinctly less keen on 'The Celtic Warrior'. But as uninterested as I am in him I do think Cesaro is a good choice of opponent for him. They're a big pair of hosses who work pretty rough matches. It'll be fun if you like that kinda thing (and I do when Cesaro's involved). That said the most interesting aspect of the match for me will be seeing whether the fans turn on Shaymo and cheer Cesaro. I want them to.

The Intercontinental title match will see the fascinatingly popular Bad News Barrett defend against Rob Van Dam. It strikes me as weird that this is a rematch of the tournament finals held just before Extreme Rules. Bad News won there and went on to win the title. What has RVD done to earn a title shot against a man who beat him to progress to a title shot of his own just over a month ago? The situation demonstrates what a mess the middle of the WWE card is and how little planning went into 'Mr Monday Night's' latest stint with the promotion.

Since bringing his JBL and Cole Show antics to television Barrett's been entertainingly sarcy and had some good matches (nothing that explains why practically every audience cheers him despite him never officially turning face, but that's fine). I hope he gets given enough time to have another good showing here, and that he's able to work out how to do so around Van Dam's notoriously awkward, nineties spot-based style.

I don't think either of these championships will change hands. Both men have only just got their hands on their respective prizes and I think WWE's got plans for each. For Barrett the plan’s simply to finally get him over. For Sheamus it’s a heel turn (which for some reason involves the US title). Also making me doubt title changes is the fact that short reigns are fairly rare in WWE now.

In other title action Paige will defend her Divas championship against Alicia Fox. Yes, that’s Alicia Fox the wedding planner turned wrestler who has been built up as completely unstoppable over the last month. She’s been decent in her recent matches but it’s still disheartening to see WWE putting her against Paige when they have Emma and Natalya on the main roster and Sasha Banks waiting in NXT. All three all have more interesting characters than Ms Fox and are better wrestlers too.

I’ll be amazed if Paige wins. The entire purpose of Alicia’s push seems to be to make her appear unstoppable so it’s more impressive when Paige overcomes her challenge. Fingers crossed for a more competent challenger next month, and some of those hundred and eighty minutes of RAW we get every week getting devoted to making a worthwhile women’s division soon.

Providing the prerequisite filler are Big E and Rusev, who have had one of the most uninspiring feuds over the last several few weeks. It seems way too early to be putting ‘The Super Athlete’ against someone who’ll work a competitive match with him. I’d expected another month or two of squashes.

It will probably be Rusev who wins, although I wouldn't be surprised if Big E got the nod. He’s been a bit aimless lately. Being the man who ends Rusev’s undefeated streak would, in the hive mind of the WWE writing team, "get him back on track". Never mind the fact that the streak becomes more impressive the longer it goes. That’s not how these things are assessed in WWE.

Two other matches look likely for the show based on recent television happenings. The first is Jack Swagger v Adam Rose. I like the Rose gimmick a lot. As long as he gets an entourage of a decent size for his special event debut I'll be happy. Match quality is irrelevant in this. That's not the point of the Rose character. He'll probably win and Swagger and Colter will be peeved.

The second is a tag team title match between the Wyatt Family and championship pairing the Uso brothers. It’s been obvious for a while that WWE were planning to give us the Usos versus the Wyatts because Harper and Rowan are only team on the roster never to have challenged for the tag team titles and because they’re over. If the match happens a title change isn’t impossible but I’d slightly favour Jimmy and Jey winning, either by a flash pin or by disqualification. That would set up a rematch for Battleground.

Of course if the tag title match doesn’t happen I expect all four will get involved in the latest instalment of the Cena versus Wyatt programme. It's worth mentioning that this feud started in January at Royal Rumble. It was left alone for a month and they didn't actually have their first match until WrestleMania but that's still a long time. And it's entirely possible it will continue beyond Payback into Battleground and Money in the Bank. I hope it ends here because I can't imagine what the pair could do to keep things going for that long. My interest is already flagging and I’ve enjoyed a lot of what they’ve done.

Another thing worth noting about this match is that it's to be fought under Last Man Standing rules. Cena has a good record with that stipulation, both in kayfabe and non-kayfabe terms. In kayfabe terms he's never lost a LMS bout. In non-kayfabe terms he almost always produces something worthwhile with the stip. There's something about it that brings out the best in him and suits his style. Which is a bit odd when you consider the match is actually about pacing comebacks and selling, two things that are not Cena strong points.

This could be a worthwhile match. Which is good, because it needs to be. Their 'Mania bout wasn't bad but Wyatt losing was a disappointing result. The Extreme Rules cage match was mostly bereft of heat and featured one of the most ridiculous finishes I've ever seen. It was inventive but didn't do Wyatt any favours and went far too far in its goal of protecting Cena. This series really should be the making of 'The Eater of Worlds', something that propels him up the card. If it's to do that then at least some of these matches have to be memorable for being really good as opposed to memorable for their insane endings.

I'd like to pick Wyatt to win at Payback. It would be two singles victories over Cena in a row as well as Cena's first loss in a Last Man Standing bout. Those are things that could be used to hype Wyatt, noting that he’s achieved things few other wrestlers could. But I've got a feeling that Cena's going to win. He doesn't need to. A victory over Wyatt does nothing for him. But this match is one that could go to either man, and in those situations, if he’s involved, it tends to go to Cena.

This show doesn't look anything special, which is a pity but not a surprise. The injury to Daniel Bryan hasn't helped but it's not the only problem. WWE have done well introducing their new characters to TV but less well at giving them things to do. Both areas need equal attention for shows like this to have the strong appeal they should. Hopefully WWE will make the best of a bad situation and focus on areas on their entire roster in the build-up to Battleground.

Oh, and this show being held in Chicago and all CM Punk returning probably needs addressing. Not gonna happen. 

Predictions summary:

The Shield to defeat Evolution
John Cena to defeat Bray Wyatt
Sheamus to defeat Cesaro
Bad News Barrett to defeat Rob Van Dam
The Usos to defeat The Wyatt Family
Paige to defeat Alicia Fox
Rusev to defeat Big E
Adam Rose to defeat Jack Swagger
El Torito to defeat Hornswoggle

NXTweet 19.09.12

Why Rick Victor was chosen as an opponent for new NXT champion Seth Rollins I cannot say. He looks like an enhancement talent from the days of Heat and Velocity. While Rollins is clearly destined for the bright lights of the WWE roster at some point Victor is not.
 
The first man to try to make a name on the new champ should have been someone with an equally dazzling future. Associating Rollins with a guy sporting a dated look and working such an uninspiring style does him no favours at all.
 
Had Victor been made to look like a potential star by the encounter then I'd understand the decision but that wasn't the case. The match wasn't bad but it wasn't especially good either. It stank of mediocrity. Importantly it was not the sort of bout we've come to expect from Rollins. As the league's figurehead he should be moving forward with dynamic encounters every week.
 
There was some enjoyment to be found in the match. As I mentioned above it wasn't bad, and the nonsense about Victor being the last graduate of the Hart family dungeon (an accolade also given to Tyson Kidd before now) was amusing. The crowd seemed lively enough and JR was on commentary so at least there was a good atmosphere. The wrist biting gimmick was gold too.
 
The highlight of the show for me was the brief Kassius Ohno outing. His two wins, both via kravat, over a random jobber showed how good he is despite not lasting long. I can't write enough that Ohno should be KOing guys on the main roster rather than ploughing through nobodies on NXT. Still, we have his showdown with Richie Steamboat to look forward to. I expect that to be very enjoyable considering how good both men are.
 
Finally I feel I should mention Trent Barreta. He returned to action after six months recovering from injury. While I'm not one of the (seemingly many) people that think Barreta is tremendous and deserving of an upper mid-card spot I do appreciate he's sound in the ring (and wears good tights). WWE should be making use of guys with any level of popularity. That includes Barreta. It was nice to see him back and I hope he's put to good use.

Opening credits

Tweet 1: NXTweet.

Tweet 2: Someone mentioned the other day that Byron Saxton sounds like Joey Styles. I hadn't noticed before. I'm hearing it immediately now.
Tweet 3: Rollins v Rick Victor. Um... Wow?

Johnny Curtis v Trent Barreta

Tweet 4: Oh hey, Trent Barreta.

Tweet 5: The once promising Johnny Curtis there. I wish they'd used him properly on the main roster.
Tweet 6: Trent looks very skinny. I'm sure he's big compared to average guys but in WWE he's going to struggle to make an impact.

Nice to see this dude back

Tweet 7: Curtis using the AA there.
Tweet 8: Clumsy sunset flip. I didn't notice it the first time it was shown. I think that proves that replays aren't always a good thing.
Tweet 9: More wrestlers should wear tights like Barreta's.
Tweet 10: Barreta's winning move looked like a Sick Kick. Is he secretly a member of the House of Truth?
Tweet 11: Judging by that graphic Alicia Fox doesn't have a problem with fur.

Alicia Fox v Paige

Tweet 12: Why is Paige so over with the NXT crowd? #notcomplaining #justsaying

Tweet 13: I don't like this ref. He's shifty.
Tweet 14: I think Fox just botched an uppercut. At least I think it was an uppercut. I'm not sure. It was THAT bad.
Tweet 15: I wish ECW Cyber Slam '00 was online. I think Saxton's voice has made me think of that.
Tweet 16: "Alicia Fox is top notch" - William Regal

Conor O’Brian v Jimmy Uso

Tweet 17: My laptop has just started showing Game of Thrones. Oh wait... hang on. It's just The Ascension.

Tweet 18: Conor O'Brian looks like a cross between a ferret and a goblin.
Tweet 19: How can a tag team have an enforcer, Byron? A stable, sure, but not a tag team. Fool.
Tweet 20: Another win via kick to the face? This is shoddy booking.
Tweet 21: They don't do it quite as well as The Eliminators used to be I like The Ascension using Total Elimination. It's a good, believable finish.

Michael McGillicutty interrupts the pontifications of Bo Dallas

Tweet 22: Briley Pierce looks familiar... #Dolphsbrother

Tweet 23: Michael McGillicutty didn't display much conviction during that promo interruption.

Kassius Ohno v Oliver Grey

Tweet 24: It's Kassius... OHNO!!

Tweet 25: This was billed as a sparring session but it's just a regular match.
Tweet 26: Johnny Saint reference.
Tweet 27: Ohno wins by kravat. Little nod to fans of a guy named Chris Hero there...
Tweet 28: Chris H... Sorry, Kassius Ohno wins again with the kravat. And now here's valiant babyface Richie Steamboat.
Tweet 29: I'm looking forward to the inevitable Ohno v Steamboat match.

Leo Kruger vignette

Tweet 30: It sounds like Leo Kruger is doing a very bad (and very racist) Indian accent.

Tweet 31: "Tata" - Leo Kruger

Rick Victor v Seth Rollins

Tweet 32: Rick Victor looks like he belongs on Velocity.

Tweet 33: You know you're watching an NXT main event when you hear Jim Ross.
Tweet 34: Rick Victor was the last graduate of the dungeon? I thought that was Tyson Kidd.
Tweet 35: Guys will be debuting in twenty years and be claiming they've been trained in the Hart dungeon.
Tweet 36: Young boys is trending. #puroresu
Tweet 37: Rick Victor biting his own wrists there. He wants Kruger's madman gimmick.
Tweet 38: "This guy's obviously very talented or he wouldn't be on NXT" - JR, with a comment that doesn't make too much sense if you think about it
Tweet 39: Rollins loves to fight. Like Finlay.
Tweet 40: Rollins gets the predictable win with a Black Out. I'm slightly disappointed by that match. Rollins is usually far better.