Where's the Hate?

Last Thursday's episode of SmackDown was headlined by a singles matches between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Obviously this is notable for being a rare singles match main event, SmackDown usually having some sort of tag match on last. But the more notable thing about the match was that it was the first singles clash between Rollins and Ambrose since their Hell in a Cell match last October.

That HIAC match was the blow off to the long-running feud the pair had been having since June, when Rollins betrayed his Shield teammate Ambrose (along with Roman Reigns) and "bought in" to The Authority. Rollins came out on top in every (televised) match during that rivalry and ultimately won it. But at the time that didn't matter. Ambrose had stated that he wasn't motivated by beating Rollins. Instead he was motivated by the opportunity to hurt Rollins during matches. He also made a point early on to state that he would do anything in his power to stop Rollins successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank contract and becoming the WWE champion.

What motivates this man? Besides Renee Young.

Both of those things are rare in WWE. Generally speaking we're left to assume that any given wrestler is motivated to win because winning is better than losing. Which is, generally speaking, true but it's not particularly inspiring or interesting. There's never any mention of winners being paid more or a string of victories earning a wrestler a title match or anything else that would explain why guys choose to compete. It's a big contributing factor to WWE programming being so dreary. Nobody has a motivation to wrestle beyond the fact that they are a wrestler.

So when Ambrose said he didn't want to win, he just wanted the chance to hurt Rollins, it made him stand out. As did his promise to stop Seth getting a WWE title shot. The trouble is that his promise to try and stop Seth becoming champion was never fulfilled.

In and of itself this wouldn't necessarily be a problem. Ambrose could have been written out of shows before Rollins tried his various cash-ins, explaining why he didn't come out to stop him. But he wasn't. Every time Rollins tried exchanging the briefcase for a title match, up to and including his final and successful attempt at WrestleMania 31, Ambrose was, in storyline terms, perfectly able to dash to the ring and stop him.

An argument could be made in favour of this being the right approach. Ambrose moved on to programmes with Bray Wyatt and Bad  News Barrett after he'd lost to Rollins at Hell in a Cell. Having him still targeting Rollins would have jarred with the way WWE sequences things. It would have been a needless booking wrinkle too, each time Rollins appeared to attempt a cash-in Ambrose would either have to follow and be eliminated or provided with a suitable reason to remain absent earlier in the show. The writing team has enough headaches to deal with, adding another was less than desirable.

I don't think these are strong enough reasons to explain Ambrose failing to follow through on his promise though. If he truly felt betrayed by Rollins, and everything he said and did indicates that he did, he would have stuck to his promise and done everything in his power to stop Seth winning the world title. Being involved in a dispute with someone else shouldn't have been enough to stop him. You can, after all, dislike more than one person at once. That it would have upset the natural order of things on WWE television would have been a good thing, things on RAW are far too predictable and stale. The WWE formula has needed refreshing for years and this would have been an ideal first step to making changes. By forgetting that promise Ambrose has been shown to be just like every other WWE babyface. That may be part of the reason he's cooled off considerably since last autumn.

There is a silver lining to all of this. The writing team still has the option to have Rollins and Ambrose reunite at some point in the future (and that's going to happen, a Shield reformation is too lucrative a thing for WWE to pass on) and reveal that after they finished their initial feud they reached a secret understanding that Ambrose would not interfere in any of S-Roll's future cash-in attempts. They could even initially reunite the pair by having Ambrose aid Rollins in a title defence, perhaps in a match where there's a stipulation in place stating that no Authority members can interfere. That would set up the revelation of their secret pact nicely and create a new dynamic between the currently-still-friendly Reigns and Ambrose.

Motives need to be mentioned far more in WWE. They got it right with Ambrose last summer. Let's hope they can get back to that again, and with more wrestlers.

Swerve Return

By now you've probably seen the Hell in a Cell show. In which case you'll have seen Bray Wyatt return to attack Dean Ambrose, costing him his Cell match with Seth Rollins. It’s a move that has nicely set up a new programme between Ambrose and Wyatt and also allowed Rollins to head off into a presumed slow-burn programme with Randy Orton.

I’ve seen it said elsewhere that the finish was cheap and disappointing. I couldn’t disagree with this more. The ending reintroduced Wyatt after a TV absence that lasted over a month. The point of that absence was to provide the Wyatt character with a rejuvenation period so he could return with a new focus. Which is, of course, what we got when he assaulted Ambrose.

Best Hell in a Cell run-in since Kane's debut? Quite possibly.

The finish also got over the opportunist attribute of Rollins’s character. He doesn’t care if a victory is cheap, he’ll take it because a win ultimately makes him look good. By the same token it protected Ambrose: he lost after going through a table, taking weapons shots, various standards moves, and, finally, a beating from a completely fresh Bray Wyatt. The Uranage he was hammered with was particularly impactful.

The Rollins and Orton issue is something WWE have vaguely teased for a while but I get the feeling it’s not something they’d planned to go through with just yet. It’s possible that the light babyface side of the roster (caused by injuries, most notably to Daniel Bryan and Roman ‘Great Hope’ Reigns) is the sole cause for the move, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the recent spate of “Outta nowhere!” videos, seeing Orton edited into videos as if delivering RKOs to people falling on their faces, has sped things up too. They have made Orton more relevant than he’s been since at least June, and probably earlier.

It’s tough to judge how quickly the Rollins and Orton issue is going to develop. It could see them both remain members of The Authority for a while longer or ‘The Viper’ could cut ties with the group next week. I think the longer option is likelier. Survivor Series presents an ideal opportunity for Orton to be assaulted by his comrades, signalling his face turn.

Coming to a special event near you.

Both Rollins and Orton will presumably wrestle as part of Team Authority against Team Cena (and yes, that would mean another pay-per-view meeting for Cena and Orton). Orty could be pinned and then get duffed up by his teammates immediately afterwards or, more likely, on the following evening’s RAW. A more exciting way of doing things would be to have Orton RKO Rollins (outta nowhere!) during the match to get the young upstart eliminated, Orton’s reasoning being that he knows Seth’s after his spot. Sadly that jars with WWE’s formulaic approach to face and heels turns and so isn’t likely to happen.

As good as matches between Rollins and Orton could be I’m more interested in the Ambrose versus Wyatt. First of all Wyatt used a smoke hologram when he returned. If that’s not getting you interested in him I don’t know what will.

My more sensible reasoning is that Ambrose and Wyatt is a fresh singles match between two men WWE need to establish as headline acts. It’s exactly the sort of feud they should be doing and putting on towards the top of the card. With a Team Cena versus Team Authority match confirmed for Survivor Series it seems safe to assume Ambrose and Wyatt will take the semi-main event spot. That would help the standing of both men.

It’s also nice to see the storytelling in the company being changed up. Ambrose has been established as a man motivated by gaining retribution on those who wrong him. It proved the driving force of his feud with Rollins and provided a good starting point for his issue with Wyatt: ‘The Eater of Worlds’ stopped Ambrose delivering the final blow to his bitterest enemy and for that Wyatt has to pay. It’s nice to see some character consistency. It’s also an attribute that will generate some interesting scenarios for a heel Ambrose one day.

Could this be a career-defining feud for Ambrose and Rollins?
A resounding "maybe" from me!

Something that's important to note with these new and emerging rivalries is that the door has been left open for Ambrose and Rollins to resume their fight at some point. Which I'm sure they will. They're still less than two years into their (main roster) WWE careers but their rivalry already has the makings of being their generation's Orton versus Cena feud. Actually, that does the former Shield lads a disservice. It would be more flattering to say they could progress to an Austin v Rock scenario, feuding on and off across the years. They should certainly be aiming for Austin and Rock instead of Cena and Orton.

But that's for the future. For now we have Rollins versus Orton and Ambrose versus Wyatt. Fresh scenarios that should provide quality matches and (particularly in the case of the latter) quality promos. It’s looking as though WWE has finally committed to a new batch of headliners. Now all they have to do is legitimise them as main eventers.

Hell in a Cell 2014 review

The announced card for Hell in a Cell’s 2014 edition did not sound particularly appealing as it came together. Ambrose versus Rollins, the lone sane choice for a collision inside the Hell in a Cell, seemed good but WWE took their time announcing it and stupidly made Ambrose qualify for the thing in a pole match with John Cena. Any time a wrestler has to qualify for a match in what is essentially a blood feud something's gone wrong somewhere.

While mid-card title matches pitting Sheamus against The Miz and Dolph Ziggler against 'Don't Call Me Antonio' Cesaro both sounded enjoyable both taken place numerous times on free TV shows leading up to the pay-per-view. It's hard to look forward to a match-up, no matter how good it’s expected to be, when the combatants have wrestled numerous times in the space of weeks.

The rest of the card was a combination of rematches and unappealing borefests. Qualifying as both was John Cena versus Randy Orton in their second Hell in a Cell match (their first was at the dreary inaugural Cell PPV in '09). They're both legitimate stars but nobody wants to see them wrestle one another, Cell or not. Not helping the bout was the general feeling that it would close the show in place of the more deserving Ambrose v Rollins. Pleasantly this turned out to be incorrect. WWE let their new lads and future headliners close the show. That was a move that should pay off nicely as it helped with the pair’s reception as stars.

Did WWE manage to turn a bland line-up into a captivating special event offering? Let's have a look...

After a pre-show which saw dissension teased between Miz and stunt double Damien Mizdow, Sheamus Brogue Kick a camera (because all babyfaces should have a healthy disregard for expensive technological equipment), and Mark Henry handily defeat Bo Dallas, the show proper got underway with Ziggler's Intercontinental title defence against Cesaro, fought under two-out-of-three falls rules.

Not the greatest picture, but it's suitably dynamic.

The first fall featured a wonderfully crisp pin exchange sequence and a crowd-pleasing Big Swing. 'The Show Off' got a flash pin after rolling up the challenger. Cesaro controlled the pace of the second fall, immediately giving Ziggy a double stomp and battering him with punches and wear down holds. Ziggler survived this, a second double stomp, a double underhook power bomb, a fantastic second rope suplex, and a Swiss Death uppercut. Cesaro took an armbar (which he countered out of for the second rope suplex), and a Fameasser before falling victim to a super kick and a Zig Zag.

It was an electric opener, although somewhat surprising that Ziggler went over two falls to none. The pair have great chemistry. On top of that pretty much everything Cesaro does looks devastating, making him an ideal opponent for salesman extraordinaire Ziggler.

That was followed by a Network shilling spot. 'King' revealed people watching on pay-per-view had shelled out $54.99 for the show. That's a ridiculous price. Even if every match had been great there was no way the show was going to be worth that.

After a reminder that Seth Rollins had Curb Stomped Randy Orton on RAW we were shown The Authority backstage. Orty wanted to find Rollins, presumably to rough him up. Stephanie told him to focus on beating Cena and earning a WWE title match with Lesnar. Trips gave Orty a pep talk, spinning Seth's actions as him attacking Orton before Orton could attack him. After simmering down Orton said he'd do it The Authority’s way but made it clear he expected The Authority to deal with Sethy-B eventually.

Then... BRIE MODE!! The heated sister versus sister rivalry that started in the womb! So heated was this feud that the pair had agreed to a stipulation which would see the loser become the winner's assistant for a month. Because nothing says serious rivalry like someone losing and having to do whatever the winner says.

The commentators spent the match talking nonsense. 'King' opined that Brie v Nikki may have been the ultimate sibling rivalry in company history. Presumably he had forgotten the 2009 Matt Hardy versus Jeff Jardy feud and the many, many matches involving storyline brothers The Undertaker and Kane that were dished out over the course of an entire decade. ‘The King’ also revealed he'd pay money to be the assistant to either one of them. No comment could scream “Vintage Lawler” more.

The match was very good. If you want evidence that the Bellas are better workers than they're given credit for this was it. Brie did Daniel Bryan's suicide dive and Yes Lock while Nikki dished out some snug knee strikes and forearms. She was also very good at playing to the crowd. One pro-JBL chant aside the audience were invested throughout.

Nikki won after the match's second Rack Attack. Layfield and Lawler immediately started gabbling on about what Nikki would get Brie to do as her assistant. It was at this point that I realised how the storyline was the sort of thing Vince McMahon routinely booked himself in in 2003 and 2004. But there’s a charm to Vince’s peversion that JBL and Lawler (particularly Lawler) lack.

The expert panel were up after that. Alex Riley said Ziggler v Cesaro was a match of the year contender (it wasn't) while Booker T declared Nikki v Brie the Shucky Ducky Quack Quack moment of the night (it was). Paul Heyman said the night's most important match was Cena v Orton because it would decide the next opponent for his "challenger-eating carnivore" Brock Lesnar. Booker stared at Heyman in an attempt to make him laugh. Heyman didn’t break but Booker’s amazing for trying.

Golden boys.

The evening's third match was for the tag team championship. Stardust and Goldust defended against the Usos. It was the sort of competent match the two teams always have: fine but tough to get excited about because of how often we’ve seen it. It was essentially a reminder that these are the only two teams WWE has that currently mean anything. Goldust retained for his team after an elevated Cross Rhodes on Jey, set up with a kick to the leg by Stardust.

Surprisingly, and pleasingly, the Orton versus Cena match followed the. It was preceded by an excellent, if ridiculously hyperbolic, video package. Cena and Orton's seemingly never-ending rivalry was compared to Hogan-Savage, Flair-Rhodes, and Austin-Rock. Anyone who's seen any of their matches knows how ridiculous that is: they do not have the heated, energetic of those more famous rivlaries. The video was on safer ground paralleling the pair's rise through the ranks and making note of them starting in WWE at the same time. This is the sort of thing WWE does well, so it's not surprising this was as good as it was.

Orton brought a chair into the match almost immediately. Cena was tasked with some early selling, which he did as good a job with as could be reasonably expected. It was a logical thing to do. Having Orton keep the pace slow, battering Cena with a chair and ramming him into the cage and ring posts, should have gotten the crowd invested in Cena, encouraging them to desire a grand comeback. Unfortunately the crowd seemed mostly disinterested, not that they can be blamed for that.  

Cena got a few hope spots, one of which saw him smack 'The Viper's' head into the cage long enough to grab a table from beneath the ring. His AA attempt failed when Orton flipped the table, drop kicked him, and ran him head-first into a chair. Moments later Orton hit an RKO (outta nowhere!) for a two count. He followed that up by lobbing Cena through the table.

Ring steps were next on 'The Apex Predator's' list of weaponry. But their introduction backfired on him: Cena shoved his way out of an RKO, hit his shoddy belly-to-back- suplex-slash-blue thunder bomb and followed up with a Five Knuckle Shuffle. Boos rang through the arena. Orton escaped an AA. Cena evened things up by avoiding a Punt and slapping on the STF.

Orton looks delighted to have that chair, doesn't he?

The match chugged on for a while after that. Cena lobbed ring steps at Orton, who side stepped them, before dropping him with an AA. ‘The Viper’ kicked out and turned another AA into an RKO. In perhaps the most boring advancement possible Cena simply picked Orton up and hit another AA. That got him a two count so he set up a table in the ring and, after a little back and forth in the corner, AAed Orton through it from the top rope for the win.

The match could have been far better. It could also have been far worse. On balance I think we should be pleased with what we got.

Backstage Big Show told Mark Henry he was going to beat Rusev. For Texas. For Mark Henry. For AMERICA!!

Back in the ring we got the US championship match, Sheamus defending against The Miz. It followed the pattern of their TV matches. Sheamus dominated Miz until Mizdow provided a distraction that set up a change of pace. After several minutes Sheamus escaped an SCF and a figure four then got distracted by Mizdow, who distracted the ref during a Shaymo pin. Surprisingly that didn't lead to a Miz victory and a title change. Instead ‘The Awesome One’ got lamped with a Brogue kick as he jumped off the top rope.

After the match Sheamus manhandled 'The Awesome One' and Mizdow mimicked it all to the delight of the crowd. ‘Great White’ then floored Miz with another Brogue kick. What happened to being a star, Sheamus?

In the car park Brie was shown putting a bag in Nikki's car. Nikki showed up to make sure Brie had made her dinner reservations and then poured a smoothie over her. Then she drove off. Leaving before the final bell? Nikki's lucky Bill Watts isn't around.

A video reminded us that Rusev is Russian and Big Show is American. Then 'The Bulgarian Brute' went to the ring. Lana cut a promo asking people to show respect and rise for the Russian national anthem. That was the cue for Show's music to blast over the speakers and 'The World's Largest Athlete' to lumber to the ring.

Bulgarian brutishness.

Rusev dominated the first few minutes of the match. He targeted the giant’s leg and also busted out an impressive suplex. Show came back with a Haas of Pain-like hold and then muscled Rusev around a bit. Both guys did a good job of selling when required. That has been a consistent strength of Rusev’s.

After Show had speared Rusev, Mark Henry walked down to ringside. Show hit what Maggle Cole referred to as a "choke slam for America" which only earned him a two count. Rusev got back to his feet and hit Show with a super kick. Henners lumbered onto the apron and took one too. Show was sent to the mat with a further two super kicks and then placed in The Accolade. He tapped out, failing himself, the crowd, Mark Henry and… AMERICA!!

Henry checked on Show after the match. No swerve turn occurred but there was a little hug between the big lads. That was nice to see.

Somewhere in the building Dean Ambrose said Seth Rollins looked like a descendant of Dracula and that he was prepared to burn in Hell in the main event. It was not his best work.

Paige and AJ Lee's latest Divas championship match took the pre-main event slot. They had another disappointing match, although it wasn't the worst entry in their series. AJ won when Paige submitted to the Black Widow. After the match Paige gave Alicia Fox (the new BFF she'd brought to ringside) a slap, blaming her for the loss. Fox looked surprised, as though she wasn’t aware that Paige is not the most stable of women. Maybe she should start watching RAW.

The main event was Ambrose and Rollins in a spot they deserved but many (myself included) didn't think they'd get, as discussed above. They were also treated to a top notch video covering their history as part of The Shield and the four month rivalry they’ve had since Rollins turned heel and joined The Authority.

Ambrose entered first, a kendo stick slung across his back. He threw half a dozen chairs into the ring and then climbed onto the roof of the Cell. Because why not, right? Rollins walked out and heelishly dispatched New Stooges Mercury and Noble to retrieve 'The Lunatic Fringe'. This move was met with laughter from Ambrose and a "You sold out!" chant from the crowd.

Wheeeeeeeee!

Mercury and Noble took a caning, allowing Rollins to scale the Cell and attack Ambrose from behind. Ambrose was beaten down for a minute or three before dispatching The New Stooges with a suplex and a clothesline. Rollins went to escape, climbing down the commentary side of the structure. Ambrose caught up with him halfway down. After trading blows they took simultaneous Shawn Michaels bumps off the cage and through the announce desks. It obviously didn’t come close to matching the iconic Mick Foley falls from King of the Ring ’98 but it was impressive and should make for excellent additions to highlight packages and career retrospectives on the two in years to come.

Medical staff came out and both men did stretcher jobs. Cole did a particularly poor job making the devastation seem real. Instead of talking about the career-shortening, potentially career-ending, falls Ambrose and Rollins had just taken he emphasised their storyline feud, reminding us that what we were watching was a scripted wrestling show and making it all the more likely that one or both men would leave their stretcher to attack the other.

Which is, of course, exactly what happened. Ambrose leapt off his stretcher and attacked Rollins, throwing him inside the Cell and slamming the door on his head. Despite protests from New Stooges Noble and Mercury the bell rang and the match officially started.

Once inside the cage they had a fulfilling brawl which included chairs, tables, the Money in the Bank briefcase, cinder blocks, multiple finishers and finisher attempts and liberal use of the Cell wall. Each man took a turn smashing the other with a barrage of chair shots. Ambrose elbow dropped Rollins through a table while Rollins power bombed Ambrose through one, the latter after Kane had teleported down to ringside and squirted a fire extinguisher into Ambrose’s face.

The finish began when Ambrose puts Rollins’ head on cinder blocks and prepared to unleash a Curb Stomp on him, calling back to an episode of RAW where Rollins did that to Ambrose (in order to write Ambrose off TV to go and make a movie). Just before the move could happen the lights went out. The crowd booed and we heard some chanting over the speaker system. A light came back on to reveal a lantern in the ring. Smoke billowed out from it and Ambrose puzzled got up to look at the thing. As he got close Bray Wyatt leapt through the smoke and pummelled Ambrose, flooring him with a high Uranage suplex. He then slumped down in the centre of the ring as Rollins crawled over and covered Ambrose for the three count.

The match was a satisfying collision, one that provided a good cap on their current feud. I’m sure they’ll feud again in the future, and probably get back together as The Shield alongside Reigns. But a Cell match made sense for them at this time and they delivered a good performance. They showed that WWE was right to put them on last.

 Wyatt versus Ambrose. Best for business.

After the match Ambrose’s new rival picked him up and gave him a Sister Abigail. That met with boos, as had the interference in general. That’s a promising sign. That the audience was willing to boo somebody monstrously popular for costing Ambrose a match with the hated Seth Rollins shows how invested they are in Ambrose and his cause. Ambrose versus Wyatt is a new singles pairing featuring two guys who are over but new to the top of the card. It’s exactly the kind of thing the promotion needs to be doing right now.

As good as the main event was, and as promising as the new direction for Ambrose is, the show as a whole was not that great. While only one match was less than good (Paige versus AJ) there were too many rematches on offer. The show felt more like a polished episode of RAW with some particularly fancy gimmick matches than a special event.

Results summary:

Dolph Ziggler defeated Cesaro two falls to none to retain the Intercontinental championship
Nikki Bella defeated Brie Bella
Goldust and Stardust defeated Jimmy and Jey Uso to retain the tag team championship
John Cena defeated Randy Orton to earn a WWE championship match
Sheamus defeated The Miz to retain the US championship
Rusev defeated Big Show
AJ Lee defeated Paige to retain the Divas championship
Seth Rollins defeated Dean Ambrose

Hell in a Cell 2014 preview

So here we are. The sixth annual Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. The sixth!  They shouldn’t have gotten to the first. A gimmick match being the focus of an annual event devalues it, as I’ve written many times before (usually during Hell in a Cell previews). The entire point of stipulation matches is that they get wheeled out when a rivalry calls for it, not because the name of a show dictates it.

But hang on a moment. This year we actually have a fitting feud for the Hell in a Cell, WWE’s premier gimmick bout and feud-ender. Former Shield brethren Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins have been waging war on one another since the beginning of June. Clocking over four months and a surprisingly slim number of televised bouts¹ they’re the natural pair to close this show inside the cage.

Only they’re probably not going to get to. John Cena and Randy Orton have also been booked to clash in the Hell in a Cell for absolutely no logical storyline reason. They’re meeting again because they need something to do. That’s it.  Ambrose defeated Cena to earn his match against Rollins, a foolish move in itself: Cena being in contention for a Cell match with Rollins detracted from the animosity between Rollins and Ambrose. Losing to Ambrose meant Cena got a Cell match with Orton.

Cena and Orton meeting in a Cell brings with it a barrel load of monotony. The two have collided on WWE television dozens of times over the years and have never produced anything beyond an average match together. They’ve faced off on pay-per-view a few times this year alone, most notably at Royal Rumble where they began their anything goes encounter (brought about by Orty viciously attacking Cena’s father) with a lock up. Had their programme rumbled on since then the Cell would have at least made sense, although we should probably be thankful that it didn’t. Eleven months of Cena v Orton (they’d started off with a staredown at the end of the 2013 Survivor Series) is depressing just to think about.

Also worth noting is that this isn’t even the first time the two have met inside the Hell in a Cell. They went on fifth at the inaugural 2009 HIAC pay-per-view (in what was billed at the time as their final encounter EVER), a show that was opened by CM Punk v Undertaker and closed by D-Generation X v Legacy. Yeah, Punk, ‘Taker, Orton and Cena all worked Cell matches lower down the card than Ted DiBiase Jr yet Rollins and Ambrose likely will not close the 2014 instalment.

Wherever they’re put on the card the former Shield lads will almost certainly produce the better bout. In an ideal world Cena and Orton would open up the card and do everything in their power to make it the best entry in their never-ending rivalry. With the rest of the card in between the two Cell encounters Ambrose and Rollins would be afforded as much cool down as possible and could go out and tear the house down with a Cell clash given a suitably different layout.

But we don’t live in a perfect world. WWE could pull these matches off (just) if they wanted to. But that would involve portraying Ambrose and Rollins as the biggest stars of the night. I just don’t think it will happen. Cena and Orton are the established names and they’re the ones WWE is convinced the majority of people are tuning in to see.

Let’s pick winners. Cena seems likelier than Orton to win. They’re not actually feuding with each other and when that’s said of a Cena PPV match then he’s usually the safer choice. Meanwhile Ambrose probably needs the win in his match more than Rollins. He’s only beaten Seth once on TV (and that’s the only place it counts in WWE) and this is the environment in which ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ has to win if he is to be the anti-hero we can believe in, overcoming everything Sethy B lobs his way. That includes the likely Kane interference.

The rest of the card is very clearly intended to be filler.

Paige and AJ Lee will have their fourth consecutive pay-per-view bout. Only one of the previous three was not a singles match (Night of Champions saw them joined by Nikki Bella for a three-way… get your minds out of the gutter) and they’ve had a few singles matches on TV too. None of them have risen above average. I had high hopes for the programme when AJ returned but it’s become one of the dullest long-running programmes in years.

I’ll pick Paige to win as that would get the title back on her and allow AJ to be put in the chasing babyface role she’s better suited to at this point. Note that I’m expecting their feud to continue. WWE doesn’t have any other women ready to step into a featured feud, even for the meaningless Divas championship. The frustrating thing is that they could have a stellar women’s division if they wanted one.

Sheamus’s United States title defence against The Miz is mostly an excuse to get the popular Damien Mizdow character on to the show. It’s a good call as he’ll get the crowd reacting while the two former WWE world champions put on a good match. I think this could play host to a title change. ‘Great White’ has done nothing with the belt since winning it in May. Putting it on Miz would allow Mizdow to do the replica belt shtick he did with the IC title on the September 22 RAW. Beyond that sight gag it could also lead to a Mizdow face turn and a feud between the star and his stunt double, perhaps restoring some credibility to the championship and making something of Sandow’s popularity.

We all know that Big Show versus Rusev will end in one of two ways. Either Rusev wins clean or Big Show wins via disqualification. I think it will be the former. There’s also a chance that Mark Henry will turn on Show to start a pointless rerun of that feud. They’d be of more interest contributing to the tag division as that’s something new for them but a split seems inevitable.

Goldust and Stardust will defend the tag team titles against the Usos. We’ve seen these teams face off many times. They can be trusted to produce something competent without burning the crowd out.  I’ll predict the champions to retain, because why not? As is the case with the Divas, WWE could have a solid tag division if they wanted one, making these constant repeats obsolete.

Not confirmed at time of writing but expected to happen is Cesaro and Dolph Ziggler. They are two of WWE's best and should put on the best match of the night outside of Rollins v Ambrose. An Intercontinental title reign would be nice for Cesaro at some point as he's the sort of guy who could have a good run with it. But before that happens the belt needs to be given meaning again, and the best way for to achieve that is to keep it on 'The Show Off' for a while and continuing to give him lengthy matches on TV and PPV. Ziggler to retain here, but let Cesaro take it from him in the future.

Finally, there’s the Nikki Bella versus Brie Bella match with one of the most wrestling stipulations WWE has done for quite a while. In a move straight out of the Jerry TV pilot in Seinfeld the loser of the match will have to be the winner’s PA for a month². It’s the sort of scenario that can only work if a heel is the victor, and it would also provide a natural setup for a rematch. So I think Nikki will win. As for match quality… the match will certainly happen.

Hell in a Cell seems very much like a one match card. I can’t imagine anyone being interested in the Cena v Orton match, even with the desperation (overbooked, call it what you will) stipulation that the winner will get the next shot at Brock Lesnar’s WWE championship³. Ambrose versus Rollins in the top gimmick match the company has is the clear draw. The mid-card has nothing to offer beyond Cesaro v Ziggler and Miz and Sheamus’s match, and the latter’s only of interest because of a man at ringside. Hell in a Cell 2014 will have a tough job of being an interesting show.

Predictions summary:

Dean Ambrose to defeat Seth Rollins
John Cena to defeat Randy Orton
The Miz to defeat Sheamus for the United States championship
Dolph Ziggler to defeat Cesaro
Rusev to defeat Big Show
Nikki Bella to defeat Brie Bella
Goldust and Stardust to defeat the Usos
Paige to defeat AJ Lee for the Divas championship

***

¹ They were both involved in the Money in the Bank Ladder match on June 29, won by Rollins; Ambrose lost to Rollins and Kane in a handicap match on the July 29 SmackDown; Rollins won their enjoyable lumberjack encounter at SummerSlam; and Ambrose picked up his sole televised win over Rollins on the August 18 post-SummerSlam RAW.

² “Is this common in your legal system?”

³ Presumably this will take place at Royal Rumble. That will give WWE three months to promote their number two card of the year. Good move. Thumbs up!

That RAW Recap 13.10.14

I'm calling this That RAW Recap but it's really not really a recap. It's a series of observations regarding things that happened on RAW. Specifically things involving John Cena and Dean Ambrose. The title’s about as appropriate as anything else I could use.

The opening promo segment started off with Ambrose stating that he’d like nothing more than a Hell in a Cell match with Seth Rollins. That made sense: the pair have been embroiled in a very personal feud (what could at one time have been dubbed a blood feud) since June. There are no two men on the roster better placed for a Hell in a Cell match right now. Ambrose then acknowledged the finisher exchange he and Cena shared last and declared that his plan was simply to beat Cena in their contract on a pole match to earn his match with Rollins.

All of that was fine. Ambrose ran through what was essentially a recap and exposition in entertaining enough fashion and his motivations and “plan” made sense. He wants Rollins because Rollins wronged him and wants to beat Cena for no other reason than because he needs to to get to Rollins.

"I'm the star!"

Things started unravelling once Cena showed up. He patronisingly told Ambrose to relax, reminded him that their pole match (which he referred to as the match of Ambrose’s life) was still two weeks off, and offered up some veteran advice (which was basically “Prepare for the match”). As was the case on the October 10 SmackDown Cena seemed to be going out of his way to undercut and marginalise Ambrose, doing everything he could to remind viewers who was the bigger, more established star.

Ambrose offered up a spirited response. Cena came back with more of the same (although he made the addition of calling Ambrose “son”). The crowd booed Cena heavily. So much so, in fact, that Cena turned his head towards the entranceway, mistakenly thinking that The Authority had made their scheduled arrival early and without music. If even Cena is mistaking his heat for lead heel heat there’s definitely a problem.

When Trips and Stepher did join the segment they segued it into a triple threat match. Ambrose and Cena were paired up to face the Usos and the dust brothers. Naturally as the feuding main eventers who’d never worked as a tag team before Ambrose and Cena won. The Authority then returned to reveal that the pole match was being moved forward to the RAW main event.

And it was in that main event that the real hatchet job took place.

The match started with both Cena and Ambrose making a dash for the corner¹. Neither of them managed to grab the contract, obviously, and so they went into a regular match. The handful of times Cena had Ambrose downed he made a play for the contract, and got stopped. By contrast Ambrose was booked to ignore the contract on five distinct and separate occasions, opting to continue beating up Cena rather than grabbing the contract to win (which, remember, would have earned him the Cell match he desperately against Sethy B that he craved). Michael Cole made an attempt at covering for the way in which Ambrose was booked to behave by talking about how he wanted to prove himself against Cena (which in storyline terms was plausible enough). Sadly that was quickly trampled over by JBL, who was far more interested in denouncing ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ as an idiot. Oh, and for good measure Triple H, Randy Orton, Kane and Rollins, all of whom were at ringside for the match, had a good laugh about Ambrose ignoring the contract too.

Lovely font work on the contract.

The right decision was made for the winner at least: Ambrose left victorious. But the way in which he managed it was less than inspiring: after being tossed aside by Kane, Ambrose left the Authority henchmen to target Cena and took the opportunity to climb up the turnbuckle to grab the prize. So he was only permitted to beat Cena because Cena was distracted by heel interference (which he overcame, leaving him to dejectedly stare at Ambrose’s unassailable position). And that’s overlooking the fact that the reason this was a pole match in the first place was to avoid having Cena getting pinned.

The final touch was Cena’s response to losing. He applauded Ambrose’s ingenuity and gave a wry smile. The message he was conveying seemed pretty clearly to be that Ambrose had one because Cena took his eye off the ball, not because Ambrose was a serious competitor who was on Cena’s level.

I’ve defended Cena on this blog before. I’ll probably do so again. But he was wrong here. The booking was not designed to help Ambrose. In places it seemed to be intended to hinder him. That’s not Cena’s fault and ultimately he couldn’t do anything about it. But he could have done more to help Ambrose within his own, unscripted promo material. Not patronising, undercutting and generally belittling his foe would have been a start. And a slightly more heated reaction to the loss wouldn’t have hurt either.

I understand why WWE protects Cena so much. They rely on him a lot, and for far more than just merch sales. But protecting him doesn’t have to come at the expense of establishing new names. Sooner or later the company’s overly protective attitude towards Cena is going to do real harm.

***

¹ If you’re new to this, item on a pole matches see a pole attached to a ring post, from which the item in question is hung. Generally speaking you win by being the first to grab the item, although there are variations².

² Apologies if this explanation is patronising. I just feel that pole matches can be a particularly bewildering aspect of pro wrestling if you’re not au fait³ with the logic.

³ It’s French. Deal with it⁴.

⁴ Yes, that is a deliberate reference to Batista.

Night of Champions 2014 review

In my Night of Champions preview I wrote that it looked like a show that had the potential to be good but was relying heavily on its main event. Now, with the show having taken place, I stand by those remarks. The show as enjoyable enough and featured a handful of title changes, but it was the main event that made it what it was. With the Cena versus Lesnar SummerSlam rematch the 2014 Night of Champions would be a far more forgettable affair.

This is not the sort of thing that should be said of any of WWE’s not so special events right now. A big part of the marketing strategy for the WWE Network is getting to watch these shows as part of the subscription. If they’re not any good then how worthwhile is their inclusion in the Network package? If WWE expects people to stay signed up to the Network they need to make these shows feel significant. One match in the main event spot cannot do that.

Don’t get me wrong here. While WWE is struggling with crafting an undercard of matches we want to tune in and watch he quality of the matches was mostly pretty high. They’re getting some things right, just not enough.

The show kicked off, as all WWE special events do, with a video package. This one featured footage of Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin and Ric Flair during their respective world title reigns, with audio excerpts from promos playing over them. It was well done and nice to see acknowledgment of the legacy of world titles in wrestling. It helped with the theme of the pay-per-view.

Another nice touch was showing former champions before each title match (with the exception of the main event, oddly). Opening the show, the tag title match was preceded by shots of The Legion of Doom (not the Road Warriors, because this is WWE, yo), Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson, and Edge and Christian. It sounded lie the latter got a pop but I may have been wrong.

Bad guys. Don't forget it!

Goldust and Stardust got a good reaction when they walked to the ring. The crowd must not have gotten the memo about them being heels now. Goldust had gone heavy on the black makeup while Stardust was doing everything in his power to come across as a weirdo.

The dusts controlled the match. They isolated Jey at first, then we he managed to tag out they isolated Jimmy. It was a good match wrestled at a fast pace. Everyone did what was expected of them with Goldust deserving special credit for trying to work in a more aggressive role.

Eventually Jey was tagged back in for the finish. He gave Stardust a top rope body block and a Samoan drop before Stardust came back with an inverted DDT (which has been one of Goldust’s many finishers) for a believable two count. After a dive sequence on the outside they returned to the ring, where Jey went for a splash and got hit with Stardust’s knees. The winded champ was rolled up by Stardust for the win and the straps.

Backstage Byron Saxton spoke to Dolph Ziggler and his stunt double, hired to combat Miz’s stunt double, R-Ziggler (it was R-Truth). Ziggles said Miz pretends to be a Hollywood star but he's the IC champ and that's better. Even with Dolph involved this was a nothing segment.

Despite the fact that we’d just seen the Intercontinental champion it was the United States championship match that came next. Champions shown beforehand were Harley Race, Sting (chosen for the obvious reasons, I’m sure), Ricky Steamboat, Eddie Guerrero and Booker T. Cesaro entered first wearing a red robe and a black towel over his head, like a cross between Rick Rude and ECW era Taz.

The pair started out with some technical exchanges but it didn't last long. Cesaro gave Sheamus a slap after breaking on the ropes and that got started fighting. They brawled around for a while before Sheamus did his skinning the cat to the top rope spot (to boos) and got lamped with an uppercut (to cheers). Cesaro took control with a sleeper. Shaymo absorbed a pair of clotheslines and a pair of uppercuts before firing back with a pair of Irish Curse back breakers. Cesaro countered the ten punch on the apron spot (which did get cheers) and booted Sheamus in the face. Not to be outdone, Sheamus yanked Cesaro off the top rope and attempted a Brogue kick.

Cesaro ducked it and hit Swiss death. Sheamus blocked a double underhook bomb and went for another Brogue kick. Cesaro dodged and connected with the double underhook bomb, which ‘The Celtic Warrior’ kicked out of. Cesaro landed on his feet after being back dropped out of a Neutralizer attempt and avoided another Brogue kick, muscling Sheamus up into a modified burning hammer. That yielded a fantastic two count.

Cesaro slapped Sheamus, then gave him an uppercut into the corner. Sheamus shoved him off and called for more. Cesaro obliged before getting dragged off by the referee before, finally, eating a Brogue kick. More matches like that and people might care about Sheamus and his championship.

We were shown Mark Henry getting ready for his match in a locker room. Big Show joined him and asked if he was ready, focused and aware of what was on the line. Henners said that he knew and he said he wouldn’t let people down. Show told him he had 18,000 tag partners with him (which seemed a bit unfair). Show then gave Henry a new outfit and told Henry to tear Rusev's head off. Henry said he would because that's what he does. He walked off leaving Show to stare after him like a proud dad. It was a standard pandering, pro-America bit to remind everyone why they should cheer for Henry.

Florida Georgia Line, the hottest band in the world according to 'Big Daddy Hip' Michael Cole, were introduced as guest commentators before the Intercontinental title match, which was preceded by shots of Pat Patterson, Pedro Morales, The Honky Tonk Man, Mr Perfect and Razor Ramon. I’d hoped for a shot of Jeff Jarrett but it wasn’t to be.

I’ll say here and now that Florida Georgia Line were an irritating addition to the show. The first half of the match was broken up by constant shots of them sitting at commentary and none of the three people paid to talk about what happens in the ring did anything to put over Dolph Ziggler, The Miz or the Intercontinental championship for the majority of the match.

Things changed when Damien Sandow (currently trading under the name Damien Mizdow as Miz’s stunt double) shouted at FGL one too many times and they shoved him onto his backside. Proving that they could handle a wrestler they sat back down and left R-Truth to chase Sandow to the back. Yeah, Sandow was booked to run away form a pair of weedy-looking singers. I think we can all agree his career isn’t getting back on track anytime soon.

Like twins.

With the seconds gone Ziggler got a near fall off a super kick before ‘The Awesome One’ placed him in the figure four. After a rope break he dropped Miz with a Fameasser for two. The champ prepped for the Zig Zag as Sandow returned, taking a super kick from ‘The Show Off’ but providing enough of a distraction for Miz to get a roll up and a handful of trunks for the win. Florida Georgia Line just sat there and let Miz win the title by nefarious means. Sickening.

That was followed by a video of roman Reigns discussing his bladder region. I think that’s all I need to say here.

Seth 'Hawkeye' Rollins walked out. He did a lot of smiling and posed on a turnbuckle. The announcers talked more about him walking to the ring than they did about Miz v Ziggler.

Rollins cut a promo and had Charles Robinson count Roman Reigns out of the match and declare him the winner. Michael Cole bleated about "Mr Reigns" being unable to make it to the building. Rollins went back to the mic and ran down Reigns some more before issuing an open challenge. His reason? He knew people wanted to see him compete.

In the back a taxi cab was shown arriving. Out got Dean Ambrose to one of the biggest reactions of the night. ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ stormed to the ring, immediately taking down Rollins and brawling into the crowd with him. The Authority brought out security and a bunch of agents to stop the fight. Ambrose leapt off part of the entrance structure, wiped them all out and carried on the fight.

They returned to the ring where Ambrose grabbed a chair. Before he could use it he was once again taken down (by Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble, fact fans!) and swarms by security. With plastic cuffs applied to his wrists Ambrose was carried out of the arena. Rollins was left to pitch a fit at ringside with H3 and The Stepher. It was a hot angle. If WWE don't push Ambrose hard in Reigns's absence something will have gone wrong. He’s the most over man in the company.

Over at the expert panel set Renee Young mentioned the title changes. A-Ry rambled on about nothing. Show said if Henry can stay focused he'll send Rusev home. Booker said "it" was "all about America!" The message was clear: America is the bestest thing ever.

Henry wandered out in his patriotic singlet... and a scarf for some reason. Lilian Garcia sang the US national anthem because AMERICA!! Henry cried. The crowd ate it up and burst into a USA chant afterwards. Rusev, hero of the Russian federation, came out to a surprising lack of heat. I’ll put that down to the crowd. He usually gets far better (or worse, depending on your point of view) treatment than that.

Henry sent Rusev rolling from the ring twice at the start of the match then knocked him off the apron as he tried to dash back in. After chucking him out for a third time Hnery followed him. That turned out not to be the brightest move: Henry was rammed into steel steps and then splashed in the corner back in the ring. Despite the rousing patriotism, Henry’s early offence, and Rusev’s shady method of gaining the upper hand the crowd were dead at this point.

Henry came back from a sleeper with some basic moves. He didn't get long before Rusev floored him with a spinning heel kick and tried for the Accolade. Henry powered out, took a kick and then hit the World’s Strongest Slam. Rusev rolled out of the ring to avoid being pinned (which the crowd did react to). Henry stupidly stuck his head out between the ropes and took a super kick. Rusev returned to the ring and connected with a second, then applied the Accolade for the tap out victory.

Rusev and Lana: Mr and Mrs Russia.

After the match audience members were shown looking disappointed. JBL declared that he was disappointed in Henry. That was a poor call, in my view. Considering the heavy patriotism of what we’d seen it felt as though Layfield was admonishing Henry for not being a good enough American. It would have made more sense for him to say that if Mark Henry, ‘The World’s Strongest Man’ and a former World Heavyweight champion, can’t beat Rusev he doesn’t know who can. But no, Layfield had to act the super patriot. Because AMERICA!!

A recap of Michael Cole’s interview with Brock Lesnar followed that. ‘The Pain’ said both he and Cena were fired up for the rematch but that Cena will get another ass beating. The crowd understandably cheered that.

They also cheered Chris Jericho's entrance. Which is far less understandable.

Jericho and Randy Orton put on a better match than I thought they would. They made good use of their plethora of signature spots and finishers to craft interesting sequences and believable near falls. Highlights included an Orton to Jericho superplex; a wild over the turnbuckle bump to the floor from Jericho; a Punt being reversed into a schoolboy; Jericho countering an RKO into the Codebreaker; and the match-winning cross body block turned into an RKO (which was predictable and sloppily performed but still good to see). Meanwhile, on commentary, commentary JBL said Orton reminds him of a young Barry Windham and Cole said that’s high praise. I’d be amazed if he’s ever watched a Windham match for pleasure.

That said, the match was still slow in places and I don’t think it’s too much to say that we could have expected more form the pair considering the time they had, their standing in the company, and the number of times they’ve worked together. Nothing I saw made me change my mind about ‘Y2J’s’ presence in WWE in 2014.

The Divas championship match was preceded  a video of Paige talking about AJ being her frenemy and putting down Nikki Bella as unworthy of a title shot. Lots of shots of Paige applying the PTO were included. It did a lot to make Paige look like a serious competitor with a personality. And a nasty submission hold.

Backstage Byron Saxton asked Brie Bella what she thought of the Divas championship match. Brie said everyone he was the first person to ask her that. Everyone else, apparently, is more concerned with asking when Nikki will “get hers”. So, not when her husband’s coming back then? Brie said Nikki shouldn't be the champion because she's self-centred and obnoxious already. Basically she delivered poor banter poorly.

Divas champs shown before the match: The Fabulous Moolah, Wendi Richter, Lita and Trish Startus, none of whom ever held the Divas championship. I wouldn't have mentioned that but Cole got snippy with JBL for saying the APA had been WWE tag champions, correcting him and saying he was a world tag champion. You can’t have it both ways, WWE.

AJ got cheers when she entered. Nikki and Paige got apathy. Paige deserved better considering the video they’d played and the fact that she’s mimicking the popular AJ.

The AJ Lee dead sell. It's a classic.

It was a standard WWE triple threat: the three combatants took it in turns to catch their breath at ringside while a string of singles matches took place in the ring. That finish saw Nikki tossed off the apron by AJ and then a Black Widow applied to Paige for the submission. New, three time, Divas champion crowned in a nothing match. Something fresh needs to be done if the rivalry is to continue into Hell in a Cell (the show, not the gimmick match).

Over at the expert panel set Alex Riley agreed with Paul Heyman’s sentiment that Cena has to become a beast in order to defeat Lesnar. Big Show said he should stick to his usual approach and remain true to himself. Booker T, with the only insightful comment from the trio all evening (I know right, Booker T!) said he noticed Cena trying for takedowns in their RAW scuffle and that he should do that in the rematch.

The pre-match video package was predictably excellent. Cena was positioned as a man with a fresh game plan who wants a fight as much as the championship. Lesnar was positioned as someone who's not just unstoppable but someone who has Cena's number.

There was a mostly positive reaction for Cena's entrance. Lesnar's got a roar of approval. The in-ring intro got cheers for Cena and a mixed reaction for the world champion. There were duelling chants at the bell.

Lesnar took Cena down at the bell. Cena escaped a German suplex attempt, dropped Lesnar with a clothesline, and hit an AA. It didn’t even earn him a two count. A visibly angered Lesnar applied the kimura arm lock. Cena grabbed the ropes for a break. Lesnar mauled him with knees and connected with a German suplex.

Cena popped up and fought back. Lesnar halted him with knees and snapped on the kimura again. Cena got a rope break and hit some punches before German suplex number two and the Three Amigos (a spot I love Lesnar doing because it references one his more entertaining feuds from over a decade ago). More strikes went Cena's way before Lesnar ran through him with a lariat. Cena tried a takedown but Lesnar hammered his back and applied a standing kimura, Cena once again having to rely on the ropes for escape.

‘The Beast’ threw Cena with a belly-to-belly suplex. Cena came back with some more right hands but Lesnar easily spun him round for some shoulder barges in the corner. The challenger hammered back with a barrage of rights on Lesnar. But it did nothing. Lesnar shrugged them off and nailed a third German suplex then smashed his foe with more shoulder charges.

One of the match's many kimura locks.

A surprise AA put Lesnar down for a two count. He hauled Cena up for the F5 but Cena escaped and applied the STF. Lesnar slipped out of that and clamped on the kimura again, positioning himself between the ropes and Cena's free arm to keep Cena trapped in the hold. Cena got to his feet (because he’s Cena) and rammed Lesnar into the turnbuckle for the break. He hit the third AA of the match, opting to apply the STF again instead of trying for a cover. Lesnar kept crawling to the ropes, forcing Cena to break and dragging him back to the centre of the ring to reapply it (like a player spamming a hold in a wrestling video game). On the third application it felt like Lesnar was close to tapping.

But he didn’t get the chance to: Seth Rollins slid into the ring and hit Cena with the money in the bank briefcase for the disqualification finish. He walloped Cena again, sending him out of the ring and then gave Lesnar, who was staggering to his feet, a Curb Stomp. Rollins left the ring for the ceremonial handover of the briefcase that signals a Money in the Bank cash-in then made to get back into the ring to pin the champ.

Cena stopped him, pulling him from the apron and sending him scurrying to the back. Cole was exceptionally quick to point out that the cash-in match bell hadn’t rung so Rollins’s title shot was still safe. It was almost as if he were being promoted.

Cena slumped against the ropes looking dejected. When he got up he was immediately slapped with an F5. The official announcement came in: Cena had won the match by DQ but Lesnar had retained the gold. It was a clever way of keeping Cena and Lesnar’s rivalry alive for a final outing at Hell in a Cell. I’d much rather see Rollins and Ambrose clash inside WWE’s premiere gimmick but I won’t deny putting Cena and Lesnar in there makes sense.

Results summary:

Goldust and Stardust defeated the Usos for the tag team championship

Sheamus defeated Cesaro

The Miz defeated Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental championship

Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns via count out

Rusev defeated Mark Henry

Randy Orton defeated Chris Jericho

AJ Lee defeated Paige and Nikki Bella for the Divas championship

John Cena defeated Brock Lesnar via disqualification

Return of 'The Lunatic'

Fans of WWE Studios movies (and I’m sure there are loads of them) will know that Dean Ambrose has been away for the last five weeks filming Lockdown. Those of us more interested in WWE’s wrestling output will know this too, of course, because Ambrose has been absent from RAW and SmackDown, being written out of plots after supposedly having his head caved in by Seth Rollins. It was an absence that hurt WWE because he was arguably their most popular wrestler before he was written off TV.

Ambrose’s five week stint on a movie set may have halted his momentum but it’s also likely that his time away will have made people keen to see him again. As my old pal Jim Cornette would say, nobody can be missed if they don’t leave. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.

Ambrose is listed amongst the superstars confirmed for tomorrow’s episode of Monday Night RAW. That means we can expect to see him on that show but it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be returning there. He could just as easily show up at this evening’s Night of Champions to gain some unadvertised retribution on Seth Rollins.

In fact, a Night of Champions appearance seems likelier than a return on RAW after the news that Roman Reigns has been pulled from the pay-per-view due to injury and will be out of action for somewhere in the region of two months. It’s easy to imagine Rollins hitting the ring to have himself announced the winner of his match with Reigns via forfeit only for ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ to charge out and give him an impromptu battering. The crowd would eat that up, it would get the Rollins v Ambrose programme back on track, and keep Rollins on the pay-per-view. Three wins.

But is that the best course of action for WWE? Personally I’d like to see them take another route. Have a backstage segment in which The Authority gloat about Reigns being injured and tell Rollins that he’ll still be in action, but wrestling for the Intercontinental championship. Or have Rollins crash Christian’s pre-show Peep Show to make the announcement himself. At the start of the scheduled Miz versus Ziggler match Rollins could go to the ring only to sit at commentary, explaining that he’ll face the winner of the IC title match. ‘The Show Off’ could retain and then lose the title to Rollins immediately afterwards.

Then Ambrose could show up to give the new champ a kicking.

Give them the Intercontinental title. Both guys and the belt would benefit.

This would achieve a few things. It would keep up Rollins’ status as the spoilt chosen one of The Authority: he’d have been handed a championship match (which the commentary team could put over as unjust) and beaten a popular guy in unfair circumstances (unjust again, obvs) to win the gold. It would get the IC belt involved in the company’s hottest and longest running feud, potentially restoring some of its lustre. It would also set Ambrose up for a title win at some point in the future, further painting him as a man destined for the top and again giving the title’s status a boost.

Whether they involve the Intercontinental championship Ambrose v Rollins is the perfect match to get the Hell in a Cell treatment in October. The problem with attaching the gimmick to a pay-per-view is that it doesn’t always sync up with rivalries that are worthy of it. Hell in a Cell, as WWE’s (in theory) premiere feud-ender, is something that should be built up to over time and only used for the most serious of grudges. If there’s been any feud in WWE over the last year that deserves the Cell treatment it’s Ambrose versus Rollins.

I’m going to hope WWE see sense and book Ambrose and Rollins to close the Cell PPV inside the cage. Closing a major show would give both men a credibility boost (and the Intercontinental strap, were that involved), and Cena could always be slipped into the penultimate spot to combat concerns of there being a lack of established headliners at the top of the card. If WWE wants to get new stars over they need to break from their long-established patterns. Ambrose and Rollins closing Hell in a Cell would do that.