That Wrestling Podcast Episode 9

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 9 by Dave Hatton on Mixcloud

This episode of That Wrestling Podcast introduces a news feature to proceedings. News is something I’ve generally stayed away from before now as it’s boring to write up and anyone visiting this blog is likely to be seeing it elsewhere first. It would be an exercise in futility.

Two things make the news segment on the podcast different. The first is that we’re talking about it. It’s much easier to talk about something that write about it and then edit it and then post it. Basically it’s less work for me. I’m a lazy man, so that appeals. Secondly we’ve deliberately chosen marginal, comical stories that are entirely un-newsworthy and only appear on “the dirtsheets” (also known as wrestling news websites) because they feature wrestlers.

Don’t listen to this expecting a detailed view of recent happenings in the wrestling world. That’s not our style. I will say that we mention the wedding of Matt Hardy and Reby Sky, which produced the fabulous picture below.

The wedding of Matt Hardy and Reby Sky

Also discussed is WWE Battleground and the news that John Cena’s heading back to our screens for a World Heavyweight title match at Hell in a Cell. Plus there are tangents about Sami Zayn’s finishing move, Big Show’s potential turn, Stephanie McMahon, The Ascension, a potential Damien Sandow turn and how his cash-in could work at Hell in a Cell, and various other things.

It’s three quarters of an hour of pure wrestling talk! What’s not to like?

Battleground review

Battleground will not be remembered as one of WWE’s better pay-per-view efforts. When it was good it was really good, but unfortunately that wasn’t often enough. There were too many filler matches for this to be noteworthy.

Part of the problem there is that too many matches are left until the last minute to be put together. If Bray Wyatt and Kofi Kingston’s problems had started the night after the last pay-per-view (held only three weeks earlier) there would have been more reason for the crowd to be emotionally invested and, just as importantly, there would have been another match that could have convinced people to buy the show. With a three hour RAW, a two hour SmackDown and numerous superfluous programmes each there’s no excuse for WWE not to be creating more mid-card conflicts.

“Never before has WWE been so divided,” lied Josh Mathews as the pre-show kicked off. That set the tone comfortably low for the evening. The experts chosen to join him were The Miz, Tensai and Titus O’Neil. ‘The Big Deal’ didn’t shine as he has done on commentary before, but he still came across better than his fellow panellists.

The pre-show match saw Damien Sandow take on Dolph Ziggler. ‘The Intellectual Saviour’ prefaced his loss with a promo that referenced Benjamin Franklin. That served as a nice reminder that Sandow’s character hasn’t been drastically altered since being introduced last year. That’s a rarity in WWE these days and speaks to the good work he’s done with the character.

The show proper started with the World Heavyweight championship hardcore match. Champion Alberto Del Rio defended against challenger Rob Van Dam. It was an improvement on their match at Night of Champions. The relaxed rules and receptive crowd benefited both greatly. RVD shines when he can through pieces of metal at people’s heads.

For an opener the match was fine although it was a little deliberate in places, most notably when Van Dam was pratting about setting up the ad hoc weapons for his Innovative Offence™. The list of weaponry included a chair, a ladder, and a rubbish bin (or trash can if you're in North America). Ricardo also involved himself, smacking his former employer with the bucket he carries about. He got a pasting in return.

Ladder (tug of) war!

Van Dam’s undoing proved to be the Van Terminator. Once he’d missed that ADR quickly applied the cross arm breaker, with a chair added for additional pressure. ‘Mr Pay-Per-View’ had no choice but to submit.

Backstage Zeb Colter cut a promo about Buffalo being a haven for illegal Canadian immigrants. Cesaro and Swagger stood behind him mocking the audience. Naturally 'The Swiss Superman' showed more personality here than Swaggalag. His ability to make something as banal as standing around while someone else cuts a promo entertaining is one of the reasons he’ll go far in WWE. He’s just too good not to be given things to do.

The Real Americans beat The Great Khali and Santino in a forgettable tag match. Cesaro got the win after a lengthy big swing on Khali. Yes, the big swing is now a convincing finish in WWE. Add that to the list of reasons to like Antonio Cesaro.

Another nothing match followed: Intercontinental champion Curtis Axel defeating against R-Truth. In fairness Axel did what he could to perpetuate the image that his title means something. It’s not his fault that it’s been devalued over the course of a decade by indifference from the writing team. Cole told us that “many people say Axel is the perfect Paul Heyman guy.” What he didn’t say is who these people are or why they’re saying such stupid things.

Match four (or five if you’re a pre-show counter¹) saw Brie Bella strut out to the ring to challenge for the Divas championship. The champ skipped out with the modern-day-female-Diesel, Tamina Snuka. She more than counteracted Brie’s second, Nikki.

I like the pairing of AJ and Tamina. Her previous affiliation with Big E Langston showed that AJ was the sort of character who worked well having a heavy at ringside. Tamina makes more sense in the role because she can actively involve herself in AJ’s matches, where Big E couldn’t. It also gives her something to do. She’s not a bad wrestler but without this new link she wasn’t going to get anywhere while the AJ versus Total Divas plot was going on.

Michael Cole chose the opening moments of this match to reveal the results of the greatest power couple poll that had been running on the WWE website (or on their app or… somewhere). The winners were Edge and Lita. Personally I can’t see how anyone could justify voting for any couple other than Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. They’re a combo so powerful they’ve had storylines dedicated to their heelish management styles twice and who genuinely run the company.

AJ won a short, basic match after Brie was distracted by Tamina throttling Nikki. It was not of the calibre we've become accustomed to from Ms Lee. That was more of a time issue than anything else. Simply put, they didn’t get enough.

Backstage Dusty Rhodes told Renee Young that no matter the outcome of their match the Rhodes family would leave Buffalo with their heads held high. Goldust, whose facepaint seemed to be patterned after Darth Maul, said he and Cody would expose The Shield as puppets of the regime (someone should have told him that was never a secret). Cody put over his dad’s charisma and his brother’s natural ring ability before said they were fighting for their lives and their family. It was good stuff.

Business picked up with the tag match that followed. All four men did their absolute best to make the match a good one and the crowd came to life. They built to a great conclusion: Dusty dropped Ambrose with a Bionic Elbow and was about to get attacked by Reigns (presumably he would have been treated to a spear) but Goldust made the save. Back in the ring Rollins tried to sneak in a win with rollup but Cody escaped and hit Cross Rhodes for the three count.

This picture was included solely because of Goldust's cartoonish facial expression

The low card gang (and Dolph Ziggler) came out to congratulate the winners in the aisle. Nothing says a big match has just been won by the appearance of Zack Ryder, the Usos and Justin Gabriel. Up in the expert skybox Miz said he wanted to be the first to welcomes the Rhodes boys back to WWE. Presumably he’d missed everyone else just doing that exact thing.

Brad Maddox was shown on the phone to Triple H and-or Stephanie McMahon. The point of this was to let us know that they’d left the arena. Apparently they'd been called to an emergency meeting. After nine. On a Sunday. During a live PPV. If this doesn’t sound feasible then you’re probably new to wrestling storylines.

Beat Wyatt beat Kofi Kingston in match number six (or, indeed, seven). The highlight of the match was Bray walking upside down on his hands and feet. That’s something I imagine we’ll be seeing ‘The Eater of Worlds’ do again. I like it. It made it clear that he’s a peculiar guy (not that that point wasn’t already clear). He won after reversing the SOS into Sister Abigail.

After the match Rowan and Harper hit a back breaker and a big boot on Kingston. Bray then told everyone to follow the buzzards.

CM Punk and Ryback took the semi-final spot and had a decent match. There was nothing especially memorable about what they gave us. It was the standard Ryback-slash-Punk-slash-WWE main event format. The babyface got beaten down for a bit before making some comebacks, with some ringside brawling featured for good measure. ‘The Second City Saint’ won with a low blow, which he managed to sneak in as the referee was telling Paul Heyman to give up a kendo stick he’d yanked from beneath the ring.

The final visit to the expert panel revealed that they were all backing Bryan. I’ve written before that Bryan getting as much support as he does in such situations doesn’t do the underdog image he trades on any favours. That’s as true now as it’s ever been.

The production truck suffered from technical difficulties during the video package hyping the main event (known as “pulling an ROH” in wrestling circles). This resulted in several seconds of Justin Roberts standing around looking gormless followed by an apology from Michael Cole. Hey, at least the problem didn't effect a match.

The match was slow to get going which left the commentary team to provide some highlights. They did so. ‘King’ said Bryan's living his dream, referring to the Brie proposal and winning then losing the WWE title. The Brie bit I understand but how is being stripped of a title living a dream? Later on he would bring up Bryan having worked in Memphis (around a decade ago) as further proof Bryan was living his dream.

Michael Cole made reference to Bryan’s old 'American Dragon' moniker and the eye patch era (which came about thanks to an errant blow from Takeshi Morishima). It was surreal hearing these things referenced on a WWE event. They famously don’t like to acknowledge things they’ve not created themselves.

Eventually Bryan and Orton’s pace picked up. When that happened the audience became louder, clearly in support of Bryan. ‘The Viper’ tends to wrestle slower matches, which surprises me when you consider that he’s probably one of the best conditioned men on the roster.

Thing from The Addams Family was the guest referee

The finish is what this match will be remembered for. Bryan had Orton in the Yes Lock and Big Show's music started playing. 'The Giant' thundered down to the ring and pulled the ref to the outside before KOing a perplexed Bryan. Brad Maddox then appeared and dispatched the mysteriously rehired Scott Armstrong to the ring. At this point it seemed as though the Show heel turn I'd predicted was on.

This turned out to be a fine swerve. ‘The World’s Largest Athlete’ pulled Armstrong from the ring before he could count the match in ‘The Apex Predator’s’ favour. He got blasted with the WMD too. Show finished by lumbering into the ring and hitting Orty with perhaps the weakest KO punch he's ever performed. Maddox looked stunned as Big Show hollered and then stared at him.

A WWE PPV ending on a non-finish? It was common in the Attitude Era. It's rare now. Here it worked as it was clearly setting up a return match for the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. It also featured Show finally standing up to the McMahon fam, which is what made the live audience accept it. Had things ended with Show officially turning heel and the match going to a non-finish things would have been different².

As WWE pay-per-views go this was slightly below average thanks to the high number of matches with no background to them and the forgettable nature of the two largest bouts. It was a good night for Cody Rhodes though. If he makes it high enough to get the DVD set treatment I’d expect the tag match from this show to make an appearance. On that level at least, Battleground was a success.

***

¹ If you are you’re an animal!

² For the record Show turning heel and Orton winning the championship probably wouldn’t have annoyed fans as much as Show KOing Bryan to instigate a DQ finish with no new champ. We don’t need to worry about this though as neither actually happened.

Battleground preview

Battleground feels like it will be another filler pay-per-view, one that exists to keep storylines ticking over between bigger shows without having much worth in its own right. Even if this is true it's not a guarantee that the show won't be worth paying attention to. The card looks noticeably more appealing than Night of Champions did three weeks ago. It's almost certainly going to lack the impact of 2013 stablemates like SummerSlam and Royal Rumble but not everything can hit those heady heights. If expectations are kept in check it looks like it will be enjoyable enough.

The main event match is Daniel Bryan v Randy Orton for the vacant WWE championship. Technically this will be the third PPV in a row where they've faced each other but the first, at SummerSlam, was more angle than match. However you look at it we're well into Bryan versus Orton as a feud. The matches and the majority of their interactions have been very good. Crowds have bought into 'The Viper's' heel turn and continued to back 'The Dazzler'. Which is exactly what WWE wanted.

There's been a definite pattern to the programme so far. While Bryan's championship victory at Night of Champions disrupted the standard formula and came as a surprise the weekly stuff has been more predictable. Bryan has found himself beaten down by 'The Apex Predator' and-or The Shield and-or Big Show but refused to give in. It's a fine, effective approach but I can't help but think WWE are going to need to do something new with all parties after Battleground. The method will have run its course.

This probably won't be an issue. While Bryan and Orton could easily do another pay-per-view match or two before people are sick of them together I suspect they'll be going their separate ways after Battleground. The Big Show swerve turn I predicted for NOC (you know, the one that never happened) could just as easily happen at Battleground.

'The World's Largest Athlete' could cost Bryan the title and then wrestle him at Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series before Bryan gravitates back towards the title. That was the approach WWE took with Punk in 2011: he lost the gold and then had some matches against and alongside Triple H (he never faced Kevin Nash, sadly) before regaining the belt three months later.

Should Show’s turn happen Orton would be left free for a feud with... ummmm... pass. There's no obvious challenger for 'The Apex Predator' but I'm sure WWE could cobble something together. Perhaps Cody Rhodes could get the nod. He's likely to "have a job again" by the time we reach HIAC.

I'm going to predict a Daniel Bryan loss. Orton winning and continuing to work as a placeholder for Bryan, Cena or Punk makes far more sense than putting the title on Bryan again. Another short reign would harm his credibility and turn people off of him. At this point he’s more effective as an underdog chasing the gold.

A strange tie-in to Bryan v Orton is the Divas championship match between AJ Lee and Brie Bella. Newly single Randy Orton took a leaf out of Ric Flair's play book on RAW and hit on (a term I despise that feels apt here) Brie. She is, of course, the fiancé of Bryan and so turned Orty down. The show ended with Bryan being duffed up by Orton and Brie running out to help, only to stop when she remembered how ineffective her efforts would be.

Linking the Bellas (more Brie than Nikki) to Bryan on Total Divas is one thing. It's a largely scripted reality show but it's still based on what's real, and what's real is that Bryan and Brie are in a relationship. WWE had little choice but to acknowledge that there. Linking them on RAW is quite another thing. The shows are effectively two separate worlds and the company could quite easily have downplayed or ignored aspects of Total Divas, the Bryan-Brie relationship among them. By linking them in such a meaningful way on RAW WWE have made it clear that Brie is to be considered a face.

What this means for her title prospects (and her sister) is anyone's guess. WWE may be determined to present Brie as a good gal, and some fans may go with it, but the majority are still going to cheer for AJ Lee. She's the one we want at the top of the division. She's earned it. Brie is never going to be seen in the same light because she does not come across as someone with as much passion for wrestling as AJ.

My prediction is that the ladies will get their usual crowd reactions at Battleground and that Brie will go down in defeat. There's a chance she'll win to set up the predictable "your girlfriend won but you didn't" routine but I'd like to think WWE has more faith in and respect for AJ and what she's trying to do with and for the division than to shortchange her like that.

Also towards the top of the card is the Goldust and Cody Rhodes v Shield match. The tag team titles aren't being defended, instead this match has been given some stips depending on who wins. If Rollins and Reigns are victorious the Rhodes boys will be banished from WWE "forever" and Dusty Rhodes will lose his job as an NXT trainer (he's already been placed on sabbatical as the general manager, replaced by Stetson-wearing, hot stepping Texan John Bradshaw Layfield). If the brothers are the winners then they'll get jobs with WWE.

Given that WWE has been pretty good at honouring stipulations recently and that Cody has at no point stopped being employed I find it hard to imagine the Rhodes brothers losing here. There's also the fact that Goldust has only been offered a job, the inference being it will be something we don't expect. Also, a Shield loss would probably setup a rematch for the belts, which is something I can imagine filling time on the post-Battleground RAW. The story of the Rhodes versus the McMahons could continue whoever wins but the good guys going over makes far more sense as it would set up so much.

The World Heavyweight championship will also be defended in a rematch from Night of Champions. On that show challenger Van Dam won by disqualification after uber-macho Alberto Del Rio refused to release his cross arm breaker submission hold because he's just so manly. The DQ finish was WWE's way of not burying RVD in front of his home state fans as well as setting up a rematch.

Frankly either man could win. ADR has either been the WHC or the lead challenger since the start of the year. I wouldn't be surprised to see him distanced from the title soon. Nor would I be surprised if Van Dam were given a run as champ to make the most of his popularity. I don't feel strongly enough about the situation to argue that a title change will definitely happen but I also can't deny the time doesn't feel right. This being a hardcore match also favours ‘Mr Pay-Per-View’.

Another screwy finish with 'The Essence of Excellence' leaving as champ would set up a Hell in a Cell collision though, so bear that in mind. I'm going with a Van Dam victory. It's nice to have a world championship match that's tough to predict. Hopefully they'll give us something worthwhile to watch.

Intercontinental champion Curtis Axel will go from wrestling the second most important match on the last pay-per-view (admittedly as a passenger) to the least important on this one. He'll defend his prize against R-Truth. The best we can hope for is something inoffensive that's used to lead into Ryback v Punk. Axel to retain. What's up, Truth? Your eyes as they stare at the lights.

On the subject of filler there’s been talk of Bray Wyatt v Kofi Kingston happening. If it’s going to happen I expect it to be confirmed after this week’s SmackDown. If it goes ahead I think we’ll see Wyatt win. Kofi’s role is to make guys like the Wyatt Family look good.

Four months ago Dolph Ziggler was one of the two hottest guys in the company. Since then he's lost the WHC and slipped down into a spot lower than the one he was in at the start of the year. Three months ago Damien Sandow won a Money in the Bank briefcase. Since then he's made one further supershow appearance losing to Cody Rhodes. These spirals of disappointment will entwine at Battleground when the two men wrestle one another in the pre-show match.

Yep, the pre-show match.

There's nothing wrong with being on the pre-show. It's better than not appearing at all and WWE seem to have picked up on the fact that it's an advert for their pay-per-views so it's probably best to include a good match. As such being placed on the pre-show can be taken as a vote of confidence. That said there's still a stigma attached to the position. It stems from the days of guys not over enough to be used on the main show being tossed out there to warm up the crowd.

I'm sure 'The Intellectual Saviour' and 'The Show Off' will put on a cracking match. Hopefully they'll get to do so, in a rematch or with others, on the Hell in a Cell show later this month. Either could win but I'll pick Ziggler. A face win would set a good tone for the evening.

 

Paul Heyman gets his guys on posters

 

Finally we have CM Punk versus The Ryback. It was around this time last year when they began their first feud. The roles were reversed then, as was Paul Heyman’s allegiance, and 'The Human Wrecking Ball' seemed like he could become the next big star. Had WWE treated him better he could still have been on course for that now. Instead he's been misused throughout 2013 and is just another guy on the roster.

Punk has been pinned on the last two pay-per-views and WWE has made it incredibly clear that protecting 'The Big Guy' is not a priority for them anymore. And  ‘The Second City Saint’ has lost or failed to win in his last three supershow outings. So on the surface a CM Punk victory seems inevitable. But it may not be.

Wins and losses don't mean a great deal in WWE once someone has reached a certain point. Punk has reached that level and doesn't come across as someone who has a problem with losing on pay-per-views (a medical condition known as Michaelsaphobia). It's easy enough to imagine Heyman interfering on his client's behalf to cost Punk a win. There's been no indication that their feud is going to end soon and a Punk loss is a solid way of maintaining the status quo.

I've not been the biggest fan of their rivalry, which started in July and has felt like it’s dragging for much of its time, but the fact that Heyman has various clients for Punk to battle has at least kept matches fresh. I wouldn't be surprised to see another handicap match inside a HIAC, this time putting Ryback and Heyman against Punk, followed by some sort of team outing at Survivor Series. The latter match could be a nice way of showing us the next Paul Heyman guy: they could defect from Team Punk mid-match.

The long and the short of this is that I think Ryback will defeat Punk. As with ADR v RVD this one could go to either guy but I like The Ryback's chances slightly more.

Predictions summary:

Randy Orton to defeat Daniel Bryan
Ryback to defeat CM Punk
Goldust and Cody Rhodes to defeat The Shield
AJ Lee to defeat Brie Bella
Rob Van Dam to defeat Alberto Del Rio
Dolph Ziggler to defeat Damien Sandow
Curtis Axel to defeat R-Truth
Bray Wyatt to defeat Kofi Kingston (if the match happens)

The Rhodes Boys

On the September 2^nd RAW Triple H fired Cody Rhodes. At first it appeared to be nothing more than a convenient way to give Cody a few weeks off to get married and have a honeymoon (you know, like a normal person). It did the job of excusing Cody and got over 'The Game's' heel act, and it seemed that that was all it was intended for.

It has developed into far more. Cody's dad and brother appeared on TV in his stead to discuss him getting him his job back. Both were humiliated by the McMahon fam. Dusty took a solitary punch from Big Show on the orders of Stephanie while Goldust wrestled and took a pasting from then WWE champion Randy Orton at the order of Tripper.

These could have been throwaway or filler parts of their respective episodes. They weren't. Everyone involved did their best to make them memorable pieces of WWE television. Goldust in particular shone. He did an exemplary job of emphasising the importance of his return to RAW and his match with 'The Viper', which would have seen Cody rehired had he won.

The match itself was great. Fans were drawn in in part because of ‘The Golden One’s’ status as a character from the company's past and the rehiring stip. But the quality of the match and the performance of the two wrestlers undoubtedly helped.

Based on that single episode of RAW alone WWE could do worse things than rehiring Goldust as an agent. He could teach a lot of guys a good deal about creating and establishing a character. There may not be any as outlandish as Goldust on the roster anymore but his knowledge would still apply.

That wig has seen better days

 
The September 23^rd RAW saw Cody and Goldy run in through the crowd and attack The Shield in response to their father’s treatment the previous week. Wherever the storyline is going it's clear it's not yet peaked. There are various things we could see happen. Cody and Goldust could be made to wrestle for a contract, which could be a very emotional match with the right crowd. It could harm Cody’s face turn though, which is the main reason I think this is something we won’t see.

A swerve turn and singles match isn’t out of the question although it would be asting a clearly popular performer in Goldust and potentially risking Cody’s face run. The two have wanted to face each other at WrestleMania for years so it shouldn’t be ruled out completely. It’s certainly the sort of thing I could imagine WWE promoting on one of their strong B plus level pay-per-views.

What comes to mind for the pair’s immediate future is a match with The Shield. I’d like to see them against Rollins and Ambrose although the combo of Rollins and Reigns seems likelier. Hey, maybe they'll push the boat out and give us a six man match pitting the Rhodes family against 'The Hounds of Justice'. Longer term Goldy and-or Cody could find themselves tangling with Big Show and possibly even ‘The Cerebral Assassin’ himself.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter what matches we get. This is a way of elevating Cody Rhodes. He’s someone that is capable and deserving of a higher standing in the company. It’s nice to see WWE recognising that and Goldust getting to contribute too. This is proof that over the last twelve months WWE has seen a return to form when it comes to creating stars.

2013's Seventh Champion

As part of the ongoing Daniel Bryan v Triple H saga the WWE championship has been vacated. This is not something I’d expected to happen (which I'm sure certain parties in WWE consider makes it an instant success). I'd thought Randy Orton would enjoy a lengthy title reign before losing the belt to Bryan or a transitional champion. Surely 'The Face of WWE' should have had the title for as long as possible?

The WWE title being vacated doesn't bother me like the ROH title vacation earlier this year did. The companies operate very differently and portray their championships accordingly. Ring of Honor, as a promotion that promotes good sportsmanship and wrestling as an athletic contest, needs to ensure their top title is always seen as the most cherished prize to its wrestlers. They’ve traditionally done this by conserving title changes for special occasions and ensuring only the best men hold it, although they've not consistently managed that for a while before the vacation, I admit.

WWE uses its title to signify who's a headliner and who's someone we should believe can win. It's an important part of WWE but it's not always at the centre of the top plots. The history of the title is, in many ways, more important than its current status. Being able to rattle off the name of greats to have held it during modern title matches is what matters, especially where John Bradshaw Layfield is concerned.

 

Is this a sight we'll see again?

 

There are several ways we could see the story advance. A singles match could be announced to determine a new champion. Randy Orton could prove to ‘The Game’ as Mrs McMahon-Leveque that he’s worthy of being their figurehead by punting a few skulls. He made a good start showing that he’s still got his mean streak when he (storyline) injured The Miz on RAW.

Daniel Bryan would almost certainly be the other man in this scenario. His inclusion doesn’t need to contradict Triple H’s stated feelings on him. The COO could have his hand forced by the roster threatening to walk out if Bryan’s not given a fair shot. Trips could even decide to put Bryan in the match of his own volition, trotting out the “it’s best for business” line before screwing him and getting the belt back on Orton.

However a Bryan v Orton match was brought about it would be a disappointment given the situation. Why vacate the title in the middle of their feud only to have them face off again with the championship vacated?

Personally I like the idea of a tournament being held for the title. WWE’s not the kind of company that would book a sixteen man tournament for its top prize, although they have the roster depth to give us a good one. An eight man tournament would be ideal for several weeks of television.

Battleground could work nicely as a starting point in this scenario as it would allow four matches featuring big names to have some meaning on the card. Bryan could be pitted against corporate stooge Big Show. Orton could be put against someone at the Zack Ryder level, allegedly to give someone lower down the ranks a chance but really to give Orty an easy first round. The expected CM Punk v Ryback bout could even be incorporated into the tournament, with whoever lost costing whoever won their second round match to keep that programme separate and away from the title.

This isn’t a path WWE are likely to take though. They’re not a company keen on tournaments or stories that revolve around wins and losses. As good as this would be for stretching out easy to follow stories for a few weeks it’s simply not something WWE are likely to have an interest in.

A four man tournament seems a little likelier. They could get that out of the way in one night and involve Bryan, Orton, Big Show and one other person whom they deem fit to give a crack at headlining. That would also allow them to present that Bryan v Orton match that we can probably expect to decide a new champion.

The final option that occurs to me is omitting Bryan entirely and giving ‘The Viper’ an easy ride to regaining the gold. That would take us back to the situation of a few weeks ago, thus being pointless, but that’s not something likely to stop WWE. This idea has one interesting possible scenario: Orton being put in a match with Big Show to decide a new champ and ‘The World’s Largest Athlete’ refusing to lay down and battering Orton, forcing him to overcome ‘The Giant’. Or at least taking a beating before Trips and-or Steph ordered Show to “take it easy” on Orty.

The championship being vacated presents WWE with some interesting booking options. I’m interested to see what they go with because it will not only tie into the Orton v Bryan programme and Bryan’s push but also because they’ve been going out of their way since SummerSlam to give us match results that don’t fit with their usual approach to the progression of main event feuds. We may be seeing a different format emerging. That’s something WWE should have experimented with years ago.