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.

Snakeskin Case

It’s taken two years but Randy Orton is finally back on top of WWE. Well… sort of.

‘The Viper’s’ show-closing, briefcase-snatching victory at Money in the Bank has set him firmly back on the track to the WWE championship. That’s a title he’s not held since November 22^nd 2010. Funnily enough he lost it to a Money in the Bank cash-in from The Miz.

Part of what’s kept Orton away from the top is his history with WWE’s Wellness Policy. Having tested positive for banned substances twice Orton’s next infraction will see his contract terminated. Should that happen WWE would, by their own rules, be unable to rehire him until a year had passed and he’d passed a drug test. Naturally this sort of high risk situation is not something WWE have wanted to link to their top title.

Orton’s last brush with the top of the card came in 2011. He had the feud of the year opposite Christian for the World Heavyweight strap, winning it twice and leaving the rivalry with it. But as good as those matches were they were not for the company’s most treasured belt. Vacating the WHC or taking it off someone in a hurry would be an annoyance but it wouldn’t be a disaster. Getting the WWE title, the real world title, off someone in hurry would be.

Presumably ‘The Apex Predator’ has kept his nose clean for long enough (his last suspension came to an end on July 30^th last year) to convince WWE that he can be trusted with the championship. That he’s been outside of the main event bracket for so long and thus can be involved in relatively fresh matches and feuds probably doesn’t hurt either. In fact his briefcase win has put him on course for what has to be considered one of the freshest pay-per-view matches WWE can currently present.

I’m talking of course about the potential Orton versus Daniel Bryan series.

We’ve seen the two men wrestle several times before. They first clashed on SmackDown at the beginning of last year. The match was good but it was a standalone incident, something to keep both men busy. They’ve met again this year and actually had a respect based TV rivalry that saw them exchange clean wins in regular and gimmicked matches. Those bouts were never anything less than thrilling.

 

Orton has remained in an unassuming role since Money in the Bank. The most noteworthy thing that’s happened to him is getting low blowed by a fan in South Africa. The second most noteworthy thing that’s involved him was a short lived rumour that he was injured and would be missing ring time (in the end he missed one or two TV tapings and turned out to be fine). As far as scripted events go he’s done nothing of interest beyond walking out to pose with his briefcase during segments involving Daniel Bryan and-or WWE champion John Cena.

The message those posing scenes have sent has been clear. Orton intends to add himself to the WWE title picture. And soon.

 

Orton's been doing a lot of this since winning the case

 

The obvious time for this to happen would be the SummerSlam main event. I’ve outlined in a couple of posts now how Bryan could win the title to a huge ovation only to lose it moments later to Orton. Cashing in on in the ultra-popular ‘King of Beards’ would not endear Orton to fans and would make a natural starting point for a heel turn. Even if he lost his cash-in attempt, which seems incredibly unlikely, a villainous streak could emerge: he could become eaten up by frustration at losing in what was considered a “can’t lose” situation.

Orton winning the MITB briefcase initially disappointed me. It painted a dreary picture of his 378^th feud with John Cena. Thankfully WWE gave us a pleasant surprise when Daniel Bryan was awarded a title match at SummerSlam. Not only did that make use of a red hot talent but it also hinted at more Orton v Bryan matches, on pay-per-view and with one man playing a heel. If any changes could help them better their efforts of the last few months it’s an upgrade to PPV and one man playing an aggressive bad guy.

Further adding to Orton’s fortunes is the supposed elbow injury John Cena has suffered. I’m not convinced this isn’t a work to give Cena an excuse to tap out to the Yes Lock but whether it’s real or not it’s part of WWE storylines it hints that Cena will be taking time off in the next few weeks. That would leave Orton alone for a run opposite ‘The Dazzler’. Should Cena stick around we’ll see a three-way feud instead. That won’t be bad but I’d rather Bryan and Orton be left to tear it up alone.

Orton’s return to the main event could not have come at a better time.

The Positive Potential Champion

Can Daniel Bryan defeat John Cena for the WWE championship? That's the big question going into SummerSlam. Personally I think he can. Over the last eighteen months he has progressed from an upper mid-carder to one of the most staggeringly popular men in WWE. Considering that status jump it's easy to envisage him with the top title.

I should point out that when I talk about popularity I'm not referring exclusively to "Yes!" chants. They helped Bryan gain an initial nudge up the roster but his continued success comes just as much from his fast-paced, hard-hitting performances in the ring and general presentation as a man who won't back down as it does from an admittedly catchy one word chant. He's established himself as a star and WWE are doing the smart thing by making the most of his popularity.

Deciding whether or not Bryan's going to actually win the WWE championship is less a question of deciding whether he's ready and more a question of whether John Cena's latest reign as champion is ready for termination. I think it is. Cena's been the champion since WrestleMania in April. It's far from his longest run but Cena doesn't need the belt in his position. He's established enough to get by without it. He currently has the title for two reasons: because it had been a while since he'd been champion and because the stakes needed to be raised for his rematch with The Rock.

Having notched up a long enough run he's ready to drop the title. WWE now have the luxury of being able to relieve him of the prize whenever they choose, allowing them to select the ideal candidate. And Daniel Bryan seems pretty ideal right now.

 

The next WWE champion?

 

The thing is that it's difficult to envisage Bryan defeating Cena clean. I can't remember the last time someone not named Dwayne Johnson beat John Cena in an unquestionably untainted manner. For all the push he got CM Punk never managed it. Cena was always protected when facing him, to a greater or lesser extent. And if Punk, the man who’s gone from being just another guy to the promotion’s number full-time over the last two years, wasn't allowed to beat Cena clean I can't imagine Daniel Bryan will.

Nevertheless I do think Bryan will win at SummerSlam. There are numerous ways WWE could go about protecting Cena in defeat. The McMahon family feud has slipped into Bryan's orbit in the last two weeks. Triple H and-or Vince could head to ringside at SummerSlam. From there the execs could get into a shoving match that distracts Cena, allowing Bryan to get a small package victory. Or Vince could actively seek to cost Bryan, whom he's stated he doesn't think is WWE championship material, the match.

They could have the Nikki and Brie Bella, the girlfriends of Cena and Bryan respectively, interfere too. Hey, I’m being facetious but far crazier things have happened in wrestling.

A more likely option is a wrestler interfering who's not currently involved with either Cena or Bryan. The obvious choice there is Randy Orton. His Money in the Bank briefcase permits him a WWE title shot at any time he likes before next July. 'The Viper' cashing in would make sense for obvious reasons: turning him into a lead bad guy and starting at least one fresh feud.

Orton could interfere in the match and then cash in on Cena. That would immediately turn him heel because he would have interrupted a highly anticipated match and also have bypassed Daniel Bryan, his actions being those of a man feeling he has more right to the title match than 'The World's Toughest Vegan'. They could also have Orton cash in on Bryan after he’s won a hard fought match with Cena. That would depict Orty as an opportunist and allow for a gradual heel turn.

It's the latter I'd prefer. A slow turn would suit 'The Apex Predator's' character better. The former has its good points too though, most obviously the option of linking it in to the Vince and Triple H’s latest feud. Orton could be presented as Vince's chosen one (Drew McIntyre is so 2009).

Either scenario would work, and give WWE a couple of different options for the WWE title feud: Orton v Bryan one-on-one, a three-way also involving Cena, or a rerun of the ever dependable Cena v Orton feud which completely omits Bryan. I'd quite enjoy a three-way programme for a month before giving Cena something new to do and leaning Bryan and Orton to it. That way the rivalry can go for longer. Hopefully Cena v Orton doesn’t return to our screens for a long time. I’d be quite happy if I never saw the two wrestle again.

Any sequence of events that sees 'The Apex Predator' leave SummerSlam as WWE champion should benefit Bryan in the long run. It allows him to continue chasing Orton as the wronged underdog. That’s a role Bryan's played well in his WWE career so far. I see no reason to drastically change things for him now.

I don’t know if Bryan will win. But I hope he does. Right now he’s one of WWE’s biggest potential stars.

 

***

 

Why not have your say on this topic? Until SummerSlam there's going to be a poll in the top right hand corner of this page asking if Bryan is the next WWE champion. Cast your vote now!

The Backstage Finish

We all know that backstage segments are a part of modern wrestling. They exist to further storylines and feuds, to provide short bursts of exposure for characters, and to give the ring crew time to set up elaborate sets in the ring. They’re incredibly useful and, when done well, enhance a wrestling TV show.

I’m very much in favour of backstage segments that consist of an interview and a wrestler. It’s simple and effective. The interviewer poses a question to the wrestler, usually about an upcoming match or the person they’re currently feuding with. The wrestler then cuts a short promo on the topic, establishing their motivation in an easy to follow manner.

Sadly this approach seems to have gone out of style. It was pretty common years ago but has been replaced by skits where people sit or stand around having a conversation about a topic an interviewer could easily pose. It’s daft because the camera crew standing mere feet away is never acknowledged. But it’s part of a business that’s about big muscly men fighting one another in lycra outfits, so they’re hardly the most ridiculous thing about a wrestling show.

Besides, there’s a far more irksome form of backstage segment: the ones that provide a pivotal moment in a feud. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with a feud being moved along, but important moments in a programme should always take place in the ring. That way the crowd are kept enthused (at least in theory) and the wrestlers get the best reaction possible to their work. Audiences cannot be expected to react with the same fervour to something shown to them on a screen as to something that they see unfolding before them.

Take the closing segment of the July 26^th SmackDown as an example. It saw Damien Sandow storm out to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico to retrieve his Money in the Bank briefcase from Cody Rhodes. Cody first made his former best friend beg to have his briefcase back. It was a distinctly un-babyface thing to do and the audience didn’t react well to it. They may have been just as subdued had the exchange occurred in the arena but obviously it’s not guaranteed. After that Rhodes hurled it into the sea (ocean? Gulf?), mocked his foe, and then wandered off, leaving Sandow to leap into the water before returning to dry land to cough and splutter his way off the air.

 

Damien Sandow, soon to be starring in Hamlet

 

The entire scenario played out over several minutes and completely failed to hold the crowd’s interest. They reacted to the case being chucked into the water and Sandow following it but were tepid for everything else. This harmed the image of both men. Which obviously isn’t a good thing for either man. Sandow appears to be heading for a World Heavyweight title reign sometime in the next year while Rhodes is in the process of being established as a babyface. Too many indifferent reactions could really hinder his chances of working out as a good guy.

I understand that these segments have to happen sometimes in order for programmes to have some variety. They shouldn’t be ending shows though, especially when they’ve gone for such a hefty amount of time, and be comprised of such questionable dialogue. If the babyface isn’t passionate about what they’re doing the fans aren’t going to be either.  Cody’s good but he didn’t seem thrilled with what he was doing on SmackDown. For a lot of the time he was simply stood around looking like an extra from an 80s heist movie.

Basically backstage segments should be kept as short as possible and everyone involved should be clear about what’s being accomplished. If they do have to run for several minutes then the wrestlers should be doing something that’s not been done before (and throwing things into bodies of water has happened many times on WWE and F programming). They certainly shouldn’t be closing shows.

That said… the feud of the former Rhodes Scholars and best friends is shaping up nicely. I’m looking forward to seeing them do more together. Though preferably in front of crowds.

Money in the Bank 2013 preview

This Sunday WWE will present what looks like their most packed card since WrestleMania XXIX in April. Featuring two world title matches, two ladder matches to determine which men will have the near-as-dammit guarantees to world title reigns sometime in the next twelve months, and the return of Rob Van Dam after half a decade away there's a lot for fans to look forward to. WWE have had a pretty good run of pay-per-views this year. This one doesn't look like it will deviate from that.

A few weeks ago I posted an article that advocated the idea of WWE presenting one Money in the Bank match instead of two (read that here... if you like). My logic was that one guy being able to cash-in on either champion would make unpredictable television, allow WWE to present a single match packed with the best talent, and make the Money in the Bank concept in general seem more prestigious.

We're getting the tried and tested two ladder matches format. It has been altered a little though, which is nice to see. Last year saw the ladder bout for the red (WWE championship) briefcase featured only former WWE champions. This year that match has become the bout for former world champions in general. The blue briefcase match will feature guys who have never (with the exception of Jack Swagger) held either of WWE's two world titles.

For those who aren't sure who the more important wrestlers are the red case match has been dubbed the All-Star match. The other match features up-and-comers. Those aren't my words. No, those are the words of Teddy Long (holla!). Yes, Teddy has made a seven man match and described the entrants as up-and-comers even though only two have debuted in the last twelve months and one has held the World Heavyweight championship before.

The other thing to note about the two matches is that one exclusively features faces while the other exclusively features heels. It's an interesting choice for WWE to have made. I imagine it was largely decided to do an all heel match because the event's being held in Philadelphia, a city whose fans will take in their stride an all bad guy battle. My assumption is that they'll pick one or two guys to cheer as the match goes on. Some of the guys may be booked sympathetically too, encouraging the audience to support them. Fandango has been used as a pseudo face on this week's TV and has proven popular in the past so he may be laying the blue eye on Sunday.

Both matches should be good, but i think the All-Star match is likely to be the best. It will consist of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, the returning RVD, Sheamus, Christian, Kane and Randy Orton. Well, I say 'The Big Red Machine' will be involved but he might not be: WWE are reporting that he suffered injuries after being attacked by the Wyatt Family on RAW. He may miss the event to sell that.

Bryan is an obvious guy to select as the winner. Over the last several months he's been striving to prove his worth, first as part of Team Hell No and then in his rivalry with Randy Orton. The natural progression of this is for Bryan to defy the storyline odds and unhook the briefcase, setting himself up to climb WWE's ultimate mountain: defeating John Cena for the WWE championship.

Bryan is my pick to win. It's a combination of wanting to see him enter the WWE title's orbit and the belief that Cena v Bryan is one of the best feud WWE could offer fans this summer. Besides Punk v Lesnar (more on which below) what other fresh matches and stars does WWE have access to?

They could do the feud without the briefcase or they could simply not bother with it all together, which means 'The Dazzler' is not the only option. Sheamus has been directionless for a while now. That's been a rarity over the last eighteen months. He could easily be plucked from obscurity to challenge for the WWE title. Cena v Sheamus is not a wholly fresh match but it is one we've not seen for a while.

 

It could even give us a surprise 'Great White' heel turn, not that I think that's likely. Speaking of which, a briefcase victory for 'The Viper' could play into that heel turn he's been rumoured to make for around a year. He could cash in, lose, and go nuts or opportunistically take his match against a prone Cena like a true villain. Either way it would set 'The Apex Predator' up as a bad guy.

Ultimately the MITB concept is one designed to favour wrestlers that have yet to become truly ingrained headline personalities. That's another reason I favour Bryan over Orton, Sheamus, and the rest.

The up-and-comers in the blue case battle will be Dean Ambrose, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro, Wade Barrett, and Faaaaaan... daaaaaan... goooooo. The best part of this match? There's nobody that even resembles an obvious winner. Swagger and Fandango were both in prime spots a couple of months ago but have lost momentum because of injuries (an arm injury for Swags, a concussion for Fandango). Had they not been forced to take a few weeks off either or both could be favoured. As things are they seem as likely to win as everyone else.

As a member of The Shield Ambrose has been used well since late last year and is now more of a singles guy than a trios guy but it feels too soon for him to be close to the WHC. The Shield will likely split before any of the three become that big.

Rhodes and Sandow have done nothing of note for months. The flip-flopping on their split during the WrestleMania build hurt them both. And Barrett and Cesaro both spent significant portions of the first half of the year as mid-card champions who lost more often than they won.

Arguments could be made for any of the seven men being potential winners. Most of them have been on the roster long enough to deserve the chance to be a top guy and all of them would inject freshness into the World title scene.

Of all the names involved I like Barrett's chances best. He has a handy combination of having very little to do and tenure on the roster. He'd be accepted in the role of 'Mr Money in the Bank' and world champion. That he dropped the Intercontinental title at Payback could have been WWE freeing him up for bigger things as much as anything else.

 

That's one busy ladder

 

Fleshing out the card are a number of matches that could be worthwhile. Top of the list for most people will be Chris Jericho versus The Ryback. I've found their antics boring for the most part. 'Y2J's' antagonised his foe while deftly avoiding a clobbering. It's the same routine we've seen him perform many times before. For his part 'Big Hungry' has done a lot of glaring and bellowing. Again, this is not fresh territory.

I'm hopeful that this match will be a cut above the average Ryback outing. He's shown in the past that he can have very good matches with smaller, faster men who are better wrestlers than he is. If they're given some time I think they'll have a very good night together.

Who'll win? The Ryback. This match seems designed to give him his much needed first pay-per-view victory of the year. It could also see Jericho written off TV too. He's got some Fozzy gigs coming up, y'see, and who better to be credited with his disappearance than the company's resident psychopathic musclehead?

Curtis Axel's first major title defence will be at MITB. He'll face former two time champion The Miz. I can't see why Axel would lose the belt after just four weeks so I expect a successful night for him. This match is unlikely to he wonderful. Axel is good and has connected well with crowds (Heyman's certainly helped in that regard) but 'The Awesome One' has been treading water for a while now. Fans aren't into him as they were. I still think he could be huge as a babyface but it's not something that can happen overnight.

The feud between Kaitlyn and AJ Lee, which had been teased for well over a year but only started just over a month ago, had been uninspiring until this week's TV rolled around. For too long it was basically AJ and Kaitlyn dressing up as each other and causing distractions. RAW saw them actually meet in a tag match and SmackDown on Friday will see the old contract signing trope trotted out. It may not be new but at least the ladies are being treated more seriously than they were.

I like both gals but this has been neither's finest hour. With just a bit of work this could have been one of Money in the Bank's hottest rivalries. Given some promo time and a remit to be a little more serious they could have built up a story of a friendship gone bad. It's a shame WWE left it so late to give them more to work with.

This isn't to say the match will be bad. I think it will be at least good and probably better if they're given the time. Their meeting at Payback was comfortably the best Divas match in some time. I expect AJ to win. She's the most effective female performer on the roster. I can't see what taking the title off of her would achieve.

The pre-show will feature one match (as is typical). Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns defend the tag team titles against Jimmy and Jey Uso. This is a wonderful example of why WWE should've spent a little more time on the tag team scene before The Shield became champions. That one of the promotion's best acts is wasting time on a pre-show wrestling against glorified jobbers is very disappointing.

Don't expect the Usos to win. It will take a massive disaster somewhere in WWE for them to ever be considered for a tag title reign.

World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio will defend against Dolph Ziggler. They'll have a tough job topping their excellent effort at Payback, especially in terms of storytelling. It was one of the smoothest plots to a wrestling match, in any company, that I've seen in a long time, and the greatest double turn since WrestleMania 13.

I had mixed feelings on ADR as a babyface. On the one hand he'd proven far better at it than I'd expected. He changed his facial expressions and wrestling style really well and managed to portray himself as a sincere individual (a not inconsiderable achievement). But on the other hand Ricardo Rodriguez outstripped ADR in terms of popularity and the programme with Jack Swagger had outstayed its welcome by the time it wrapped up.

Ziggler's turn had been building for a while. WWE's been smart to keep him mostly apart from 'The Essence of Excellence' over the last few weeks. It's made us keen for Ziggler to enact his revenge on the unsportsmanlike champion. The mini feud with 3MB is neither here nor there, as is the case with everything pertaining the 3MB. It was only meant to be a short term thing to keep the Zigster occupied.

This match could be won by either guy. Winning the title back would certainly help Ziggler's perception as a good guy that can be believed in but a Del Rio win could set up another match between the two with the same dynamic for SummerSlam. 'The Show Off's' size and unparalleled bumping ability make him a natural underdog babyface, so I'm leaning more towards Del Rio winning via nefariousness. That would allow Ziggler to go into SummerSlam as the challenger again. Then he can win it and reign into the autumn.

I'll probably be happy with whoever wins. This feud has been great for both men. It should continue into SummerSlam regardless of who's champ because it's one of the best things going on in WWE right now.

Topping the bill there's the WWE championship match. John Cena's feud with Mark Henry got off to a strong (and well received) start with the lauded retirement swerve on the June 17^th RAW. Henry dominated Cena on that show and has dominated him since. On this week's RAW they even went so far as to tease that Cena can't lift Henry for the AA. That only happens when WWE are going all out to convince us someone's a threat. Sadly it's ridiculous because Cena's managed the feat of lifting Henners many times in the past. That means we can probably look forward to Cena trying and failing to hit the move throughout their match at Money in the Bank... before he inevitably does it and the crowd go nuts (and they will).

I'm surprised a stipulation didn't get added to this. Neither man excels in regular wrestling matches. Some sort of rule relaxation would have played to their strengths. There's still time for something to be announced I suppose, but it doesn't seem likely. At least without a gimmick they'll be able to focus on telling the story of Cena hefting an overweight man on to his shoulders. Who doesn't want to see that?!

A win for Mark Henry isn't the most ridiculous prediction that could be made. He's been built up as Cena's equal and, more importantly, WWE have displayed a worrying tendency to treat him as a valuable main event asset over the last few years. I thought him defeating Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight strap was an impossibility. Look how that played out. I shan't underestimate WWE's devotion to 'The World's Strongest Man' again.

But just because I recognise the possibility of Henry winning doesn't mean I think it will happen. Cena is still very much the top dog, pushed at everyone else's expense. Henry's been built up as a standard issue Cena challenger: someone big and heavy who can muscle 'The Champ' around before falling to an AA. This is just a particularly good example of the standard formula as far as I can see.

Then there's Brock Lesnar.

Don't be surprised if you see 'The Pain' make an unannounced appearance on this show. It's easy to envisage him stopping Punk from winning Money in the Bank to move their feud along. They could, in fact, achieve a similar result simply by playing Lesnar's music. That obviously wouldn't be as good though as it would deprive us of the chance to see some hot, hot Lesnar on Punk action.

This year's MITB instalment looks like it will continue the event's hot streak from previous years. It also looks like it will continue WWE's recent streak of very good PPV events. If they want to they can start building towards a spectacular SummerSlam card here. Whether they'll choose to is a question we won't have answered until next week. But I'm going remain hopeful.

Predictions summary:

John Cena to defeat Mark Henry
Alberto Del Rio to defeat Dolph Ziggler
Daniel Bryan to win the WWE championship Money in the Bank match
Wade Barrett to win the World Heavyweight championship Money in the Bank match
AJ Lee to defeat Kaitlyn
Ryback to defeat Chris Jericho
Curtis Axel to defeat The Miz
The Shield to defeat The Usos

The Best Thing Going Today

I don’t think there’s anyone in wrestling who’s having as good a 2013 as Dolph Ziggler. From lasting almost fifty minutes in the Royal Rumble to cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase the night after WrestleMania to being a part of the greatest double turn in sixteen years, he’s having a year packed with memorable moments.

Not even the loss of the World Heavyweight championship has hurt DZ’s momentum. He entered such a convincing performance and was booked so perfectly as the guy who wouldn’t give up that fans were even more into him after the loss than they were before. They empathised with him and wanted to see the unsportsmanlike Alberto Del Rio (and his smarmy sidekick Ricardo, who, when playing a heel, is comparable to Muttley of Dick Dastardly fame) get his comeuppance.

We’re being made to wait for that payback. Which is a smart move. Had Ziggler continually gotten the better of ADR then his status as the gutsy underdog, surely the best way for him to be portrayed now he’s a good guy, could have been jeopardized. ‘The Show Off’ is a guy who picks his spots.

 

Whether you like it, or whether you don't...

 

I’d understand if some people questioned the decision to enter the ex-champion into a feud with 3MB. It’s not a natural follow up or placeholder feud for a guy who’s just lost his first proper world title. Something similar happened to The Miz when he lost the WWE championship (he worked a pay-per-view match with Alex ‘Plank of Wood’ Riley) and he’s in no danger of headlining a pay-per-view any time soon.

But I don’t question the move. The mini-feud with 3MB has been designed to encourage cheers for Ziggler and creating a reason for him not to constantly be attacking ADR. It’s achieved those goals. It was a short term thing and has already been consigned to the history books, along with Ziggler’s stint as Chavo Guerrero’s caddy and his penchant for cheerleader outfits.

It will take a lot for WWE to mess up Dolph’s popularity at the moment. That’s not to say they can’t or won’t, but that they’d almost have to actively try to do so. He’s what fans seem to want right now: someone who’s earned their way to the top, can cut a damn fine promo, and doesn’t wrestle like John Cena. As far as WWE goes, Dolph Ziggler really is the best thing going today.

Making Money

On July 14^th WWE will present their fourth annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view, the focal point of which will be the titular ladder match or matches. It’s not yet been stated whether there’ll be one or two of them but if the last three years are anything to go by we’ll see two, each one linked to one of WWE’s two world titles.

Considering the state of the roster WWE should really just be planning on the one. There just aren’t enough guys to present the traditional two worthwhile matches at this year’s show. As Money in the Bank is a star making tool regular main eventers always feel like peculiar inclusions in these bouts. It’s a match designed to elevate mid-carders, and because the mid-card has been neglected for so long WWE only has enough guys to put together one decent match.

Promoting two would dilute the quality. Presenting one would allow WWE to use only the best talent and avoid sticking guys in just to keep the numbers up. I’d rather watch one very good match than two average ones. It would also allow a fresh scenario to be presented: the winner being allowed to cash-in their case against either of the company’s two world champions. It would make things far more unpredictable and give the company more for booking the cash-in.

What’s interesting now, over a month before the show, is how there aren’t any obvious candidates to win. Someone could still be plucked from the pack and given a push before the event but that’s probably not going to happen. The last few years have shown that WWE is much happier using a Money in the Bank victory as a starting point for a push to the top than as the culmination of months of work.

There are several guys who could be picked to win the match (or one of the matches). Kofi Kingston is not amongst them. ‘The Wildcat’ has been given time off to get elbow surgery and is expected to return in early August, weeks after the Money show. He’s used every year to make up the numbers so he would certainly have competed in a ladder match this year had he been healthy. WWE having exhausted most of their other options for new stars he would have stood a slight chance of winning too.

Cody Rhodes is someone who could be pushed to the top. He’s a reliable member of the roster and has enjoyed a couple of reigns with a mid-card championship. That’s the established background of several previous MITB inners, including Dolph Ziggler, Edge and Daniel Bryan. Also in Rhodes’ favour is that he can work as either a heel or a face. He’s been a bad guy for years now but he was effective as a fan favourite when he was first introduced. A face turn could be what he needs to help him make the leap to main events.

 

Is this Cody's year to grab a case?

 

The other half of The Rhodes Scholars, Damien Sandow, is also a possible winner. ‘The Duke of Decency’ has a solid gimmick and, like Rhodes, the ability to wrestle lengthy, enjoyable matches with most members of the roster. His chances of winning are not great though: his character is incredibly enjoyable but it’s not the sort that WWE would slap a world championship on. He’s not the worst choice you could make though, which says a lot about the options WWE have left themselves with.

Sticking with heels who could win (because there aren’t really very many credible faces outside of the main event in WWE) there’s Wade Barrett. The former king of bare knuckle boxing (or whatever his gimmick is) has seemed on the cusp of getting a tryout as a headliner for a while. He may be saddled with the IC strap right now but his feud with The Miz and Fandango (and no Curtis Axel) could see him free himself of the mid-card trinket before heading on to bigger things with a briefcase.

Barrett has the promo skills, look and ring ability to work as a main event wrestler in WWE. If the company can bring themselves to keep a push going for more than a few weeks he’d prove he’s ready for better things.

If WWE wanted to create a new face star they could have Big E Langston win a briefcase at this year’s show. He’s the sort of wrestler they like to have as a lead babyface (basically, he’s a strong dude). That’s in his favour, as is his affiliation with current World Heavyweight champion Dolph Ziggler. Big E could win the MITB case and then tease turning on ‘The Show Off’. If planned and timed correctly that could be an enjoyable story that turns Langston into a huge face when he finally flattens Ziggy.

Of course it could also backfire and result in Langston being booed in favour of the already over and far more tenured World champ. That’d be fine too: the feud could continue with ‘The Heel’ in the babyface role, perhaps with AJ turning on her man to side with Langston.

The only current babyface that strikes me as having a realistic chance of being entered into a Money in the Bank match and winning is Daniel Bryan. ‘The Dazzler’ has been one of the company’s most popular wrestlers since the yes and no craze took off at the beginning of last year, despite WWE trying to bury him at times. The weak link storyline he’s heading into at the moment could culminate with him winning Money in the Bank for the second time, thus “proving” to everyone that he’s a credible wrestler.

 

Could he be a two time 'Mr Money in the Bank'? Yes! Yes! Yes!

 

Curtis Axel isn’t the most ridiculous guy to suggest as a winner either. The company seems to be behind his push and it could be used as a way of launching him further up the card. I personally think this year would be too early for him to be a world champion, but this time next year he could be ready if he remains protected and affiliated with Paul Heyman. Of course, he could lose his cash-in too. That could harm him but it could also be used to tell a new and interesting story that MITB’s not been used for yet: a mid-card guy being too cocky on his cash-in and failing due to that overconfidence.

The final guy I think has a reasonable chance at becoming ‘Mr Money in the Bank’ is Antonio Cesaro. He’s been on a well-documented losing spree since the start of the year, falling to fellow mid-carders and high card talent alike, having to satisfy himself with wins on weekend shows and NXT.

That’s part of WWE’s standard approach when using someone who was popular in the indies. The same thing happened to both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. They’re both doing okay now. By the time Money in the Bank comes around WWE may have stopped the nonsense with ‘The Swiss Sensation’ and be prepared to start positioning him for a top spot.

Even if that doesn’t happen I’m confident Cesaro will be in Money in the Bank as a reliable hand to make up the numbers. And he won’t be the only one. We can also expect the likes of Sin Cara, R-Truth and Christian to flesh out the Money matches (especially if WWE goes ahead with two). It’s possible we’ll see former champs like Jack Swagger, The Miz and Alberto Del Rio getting in on the act too. The former champs could win I suppose, but it would be a bad decision on WWE’s part. As I said above, Money in the Bank is a star-making tool. Former world champions winning just helps to maintain the status quo. And that’s the last thing WWE should be doing.

Long Live the King(s)

I'd been watching wrestling for about six months when I was first introduced to the King of the Ring concept. It was a sixteen person tournament (the number of participants varied each year depending on the strength of the roster) that pitted various mid-carders against one another in a series of matches. There was no overriding point to the series beyond signalling a push, which obviously wasn't the on-screen reason given but it amounted to the same thing. It was an unwritten rule by the late nineties that headliners were above King of the Ring.

That year the tournament was won by 'Bad Ass' Billy Gunn. He was not a shining example of what winning King of the Ring could do for a performer. Kurt Angle's win in 2000 was a better use of the gimmick, as were the victories of Edge and Brock Lesnar after that.

While there's not really anything for the wrestlers to win with King of the Ring besides a bragging right it was still a very useful idea and annual event. It would be slightly overdramatizing things to say that winning the tourney launched the careers of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Triple H and Bret Hart but it did play an important part in each man's rise up the card. The same is true for Angle, Edge and Lesnar. Winning King of the Ring was a sign that each man was above their mid-card peers and destined for better things.

When WWE retired the tournament both as a pay-per-view and an annual occurrence in 2003 a lot of people thought it was a poor decision. While not everyone selected to make it to the finals and win had become a player for the group (joining 'Mr Ass' on that list are Mabel and Ken Shamrock) there were more successes than failures. It was a useful tool for raising wrestlers' profiles and WWE casually cancelled it, preferring instead to push their solo brand PPVs.

 

Yeah, this actually happened

 

The tournament made a low key return in 2006 as a tournament exclusively open to SmackDown wrestlers. It was won by Booker T, who changed his ring name to King Booker and became the brand’s top heel. It would become one of the best runs of his WWE career and was a perfect example of how the tournament could be used to build a new character (even if it did ignore the unwritten rule that only mid-carders got to win King of the Ring).

The gimmick returned on the April 21^st 2008 episode of RAW. The finals came down to CM Punk and William Regal. They had a very good outing which ended with a surprising win for Regal. It failed to spark a career renaissance for the Brit. Two years later the gimmick was dusted off again, this time to give Sheamus a boost. That resulted in his bizarre run as King Sheamus that saw him dressing like Loki from The Avengers.

 

And so did this

 

The last time we saw a King of the Ring show was then. I think the event is due a proper, regular comeback. It's the ideal tool for launching new careers because it creates so many booking options. Anyone winning would be signalled as someone due for a shove up the ranks but even non-finalists could be elevated by a surprise win in preliminary rounds.

There are plenty of ways to utilise the tournament format. It could provide a solid month’s worth of programming for RAW. That shouldn’t be dismissed as the show is currently pretty aimless. You could have a heel dominate all the ay to the finals, only to be upset by a plucky, young babyface. It’s the sort of thing WWE were going for earlier in the year with Bo Dallas before they lost interest in him.

It could be used to start rivalries too. There would obviously be a favourite in every match, and it would be very simple to book one guy to score a surprise win over another. The problem of there being no actual point to the event could easily be remedied by granting the inner a title shot at SummerSlam. It could even replace Money in the Bank, of WWE were feeling daring.

The tournament would be something fresh for WWE programming and could be used to spark some new stories. That alone makes it worth considering.

Considering the size of the roster there's never been a better time to resurrect King of the Ring. The promotion needs to make new stars as well as flesh out TV with interesting and talented characters who aren't necessarily in the main event. They need something that can highlight multiple wrestlers at once and create some surprises that aren't just booked for the sake of being surprising. The King of the Ring is, as it always has been, the perfect tool for the job.

The Return of Jack Swagger

On the September 3^rd 2012 edition of Monday RAW Jack Swagger suffered a loss to Sheamus. It was the latest in a long line of quick defeats that had plagued Swagger all year. In a backstage segment later on in the broadcast he informed General Manager AJ Lee that he would be taking time off. “I’m better than this!” he told her.

On the February 1^st 2013 edition of Friday Night SmackDown Swagger made his triumphant return to WWE television. His sabbatical was immediately referenced by Josh Mathews on commentary. JBL chimed in that Swagger had spent time away from WWE refining his game.

Neither claim was true. Swagger had not been on a sabbatical from WWE. He’d been removed from television because the writing team didn’t have a clue what to do with him. He had remained a regular on house shows and in dark matches at TV tapings. He had not undergone the image overhaul that JBL seemed to believe he had either. Unless you count growing your hair a little and introducing a beard to your face a radical new look that is.

I like Swagger and I want to see him succeed. His scripted lines on the September 3^rd RAW couldn’t have been more true. He is better than continual and meaningless losses.

Swagger has the height and look WWE is known to crave in their headliners. He has an impressive and well-documented amateur wrestling background. His verbal skills, while not the best, are enough to get him by if his limitations in the area are catered to. Yet he still finds himself not being taken seriously.

The reason for this is the way he was booked for much of his first year or two in the company. The writing team gave nobody any reason to view him as anything special. He wasn’t portrayed as a star on the rise or a headliner in the making. He was just another guy who wrestled and talked like everybody else.

A fine example of this mistreatment came during his World Heavyweight title reign in 2010. ‘The All American American’ won the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania XXVI (the last match of its type to take place at a ‘Mania, fact fans!) and cashed in two nights later to beat Chris Jericho at a SmackDown taping. He went on to have a reign that included defences against ‘Y2J’, Edge, Randy Orton, Big Show and Rey Mysterio, but was never granted a clean win over any of them. It was incredibly clear that Swag was a fluke champion and not in the league of the seasoned main eventers.

 

The most under-pushed World Heavyweight champion ever

 

Later in 2010 the mistreatment of Swagger reached its zenith when he was paired up with his own personal mascot, a soaring eagle played by Chavo Guerrero and Jamie Noble (though never at the same time). Swagger was clearly a comedy character by this point. That a man his size needed help from someone in an eagle suit to win made it clear he was not to be seen as a threat to the top guys or as a serious wrestler.

The lunacy continued in 2011 as Swagger became Michael Cole’s on-screen coach during his insanely over-pushed feud with fellow commentator Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler. This situation could have been salvaged had Swagger and Cole’s roles been reversed. It would have made far more sense for the former World champ to represent Cole in a match against Lawler at WrestleMania XXVII rather than run interference at ringside. But then the entire Cole push was ludicrous from beginning to end.

Swagger was briefly rehabilitated later in 2011 when he joined forces with heel magnet Vickie Guerrero and bump machine Dolph Ziggler. Thanks to ‘The Show Off’s’ distinctly average height Swagger looked larger than usual during their partnership, and the two proved to have good chemistry as a tag team. Meanwhile having Vickie as his manager paved over the weakest area of his work: promos.

By the time September 2012 rolled around Swagger had been split from Ziggler and Guerrero and been used as a glorified jobber with no proper role on any of the company’s TV shows for months. It had reached the point where he needed to be taken off TV to give fans a break from him, allowing him to return fresh for a renewed push sometime down the line.

Unfortunately it doesn’t look as though the refresh has had as much thought put into it as it should have. As I mentioned above Swagger’s new look is pretty generic. He’s not got himself any new ring gear or changed up his style. He has to shoulder as much blame as the writing team here: it’s up to wrestlers to give the creative types a reason to invest time in them. Longer hair and beards don’t qualify. At the very least Swagger should have invested in some new singlets and decided on a new move for his arsenal.

Despite the half-hearted approach to Swagger’s rejuvenation taken by all involved the decision was made to bring him back to TV. There Swagger cannot be blamed: he has nothing to do with WWE’s scripts. That his return was attributed to Teddy Long taking a random interest in him is either ridiculous or an insult… or a ridiculous insult. Swagger and WWE’s audience deserve better.

There was nothing about Swagger’s promo or match on the February 1^st SmackDown that indicated he was a changed man who would soon be headlining cards. I assume that his return means he’ll be a part of the blue brand’s Elimination Chamber match on February 17^th. Why would he return in this fashion if not to take part in the match?

I can’t envisage him winning this match. In fact beyond making up the numbers in a cage match while Sheamus is off tangling with The Shield I can’t see any reason for his return to television. There are no clear feuds for him over the next two months. There is no clear match for him at WrestleMania. There just doesn’t seem to be anything for him to do.

It’s a great waste. Swagger could be a star if used with a little thought. He could have been reintroduced to TV as a babyface and set against Antonio Cesaro. Swagger has been a pro-American heel throughout his entire WWE career. A minor tweak, turning him into a good guy, would have refreshed his entire character without requiring any sweeping changes. WWE fans always respond well to a flag-waving hero.

WWE has surprised us with Swagger pushes from nowhere before. They have never gone well. The best approach to take with a guy like him is to prepare him over a course of a few months before launching him to the very top and sustaining his push. Swagger’s confidence has been battered by prematurely quashed pushes before. If he’s going to amount to anything now he’s back on TV then WWE need to come up with a plan for him and stick to it. He’s good but he’s not the sort of guy to become a star overnight.

Leading Man

On June 27^th CM Punk cut his famous worked shoot promo during the closing moments of RAW. Two weeks later he became WWE champion for the first time. Just over a year and a half later he will defend that championship against The Rock. Barring a three month detour Punk has been WWE champion since Money in the Bank 2011, his second and current reign lasting well past the one year mark.
 
In hindsight it's difficult not to see this as a long-term, well mapped out master plan from WWE, designed to culminate in ‘The Second City Saint’ clashing with ‘The Great One’. It's not though. Punk is, in many ways, simply the beneficiary of good fortune. The decision was made to give him a hefty shove up the top of the card for two big reasons and it’s his hard work that’s kept him there.

The first was that Punk was very serious about leaving the company in the summer of 2011. That aspect of the promo and story were not a work. While Punk’s claim that he didn’t sign a new contract until the evening of the MITB cannot be verified it is known that he was prepared to leave WWE and go home. He’d made enough money to live comfortably. Had he wanted to remain active he could have returned to the indies and toured Japan.

 

Not ready to replace John Cena

 

WWE didn’t want this to happen, naturally. While he hadn’t been used as a star the writing team, along with Vince McMahon and Triple H, knew that Punk was a valuable asset to the company. He could be relied on to put on good matches and help to raise new stars. They didn’t want to lose him.

The other reason they chose to push him was because he was adamant in his dealings backstage that he could be just as valuable to WWE as John Cena. Realising how burnt out Cena was becoming WWE saw giving Punk the super push treatment as a way of lightening the load of their leading man and giving him a chance to prove himself. Ultimately they wanted to create a new big name drawing card that would work full time, their only one at that time being Cena.

That Punk, the only major full-time draw besides Cena, is facing The Rock is what could make people think this has been planned all along. Rock’s only in-ring matches of the last decade have both involved Cena. He’s battling Punk because Punk has gotten himself over so well in his number two spot, not because WWE had planned for it to happen a year and a half ago.

The Cena v Rock WrestleMania bout did big business. It’s only natural that WWE would want to use ‘The Great One’ again. Punk was selected as his opponent not because there’s no interest in a Cena v Rock rematch, but because that rematch has to take place at ‘Mania. Having Rock wrestle at the Rumble is a good move because it will provide an excellent start to the build-up to WrestleMania. With Cena not an option Punk, as the number two, is the natural opponent.

Punk deserves a match with The Rock. It will probably be of a higher quality than the bout that headlined WrestleMania XXVIII. But it’s not an indication that he’s replacing John Cena, or that he’s even close. It’s still possible we’ll see that happen, but not yet.

Tables, Ladders and Change

Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose, the group collectively known as The Shield, are certainly being given every chance to impress. They made their WWE television debuts by blasting Ryback, the most heavily pushed new act WWE has seen in 2012, through a table on pay-per-view. They did it again on the following evening’s RAW. They've been booked strongly against Kane and Daniel Bryan. The former has been one of the company's most reliable acts for years while the latter is one of the most popular men on the roster, despite the writers not knowing what to do with him.
 
Topping this is the fact that the three men have been selected to make their in-ring debut on pay-per-view against the good guys mentioned above. That's a high profile position. It's come about because of a minor knee injury suffered by CM Punk. The WWE champion was scheduled to defend the belt against Ryback in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match on the show. He will now spend it on the sidelines so that he's healthy for his showdown with The Rock at Royal Rumble in January.
 
The situation puts me in mind of last year's TLC event. At the 2011 instalment WWE deliberately omitted John Cena from the card as part of a storyline that allowed Zack Ryder to challenge for, and capture, the United States championship after months of chasing.
 
That show also featured CM Punk defending his title against The Miz and Alberto Del Rio and Daniel Bryan cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase to defeat Big Show for the World Heavyweight title. Neither man was as big a star at that point as they are now. While 'Long Island Iced Z's' push may have faltered Punk and Bryan benefited greatly from a show without Cena. WWE used TLC to solidify their pushes and allow them more time in the spotlight. 
 

Night off at TLC. Bonus!

The radical change to this year’s main event provides the members of The Shield with the same opportunity. They are not only replacing Punk’s advertised match, they are competing on a show that will not feature him. As he’s one of WWE’s biggest stars this is a perfect chance for all three newcomers to establish themselves.
 
There’s talk of The Shield’s six man outing headlining TLC. I’m not sure we’ll see that. I can imagine WWE being happy to put Ryback and Kane in the final spot but I’m less sure they have that level of confidence in Daniel Bryan and the NXT three. Expect a tables stipulation to be added to this match, because of Ambrose and co’s hardware-related attacks on ‘Big Hungry’ since they first appeared, and for the bout to get the semi-final spot on the show.

John Cena v Dolph Ziggler strikes me as a far more likely main event. 'The Show Off' has been rising steadily up the card all year and his current rivalry with Cena is one of the most established on the roster. Couple with that the fact that 'The CeNation Leader' is WWE's top star and that the match is for a Money in the Bank briefcase and I think that would be a far more logical choice of headline bout.

On the subject of Ziggler and Cena: it’s possible the two won’t clash for the MITB contract. Ziggler, as the sneaky heel, could cash-in his case before the ladder contest. If he he to defeat the winner of the Sheamus v Big Show collision (which I expect to be on a little over halfway through the broadcast) bad guy logic would state that he wouldn’t have to defend his contract against Cena. Of course that could prompt a Vinnie Mac appearance (when did he last show up on PPV?) to announce that Ziggler will put his WHC on the line in place of the briefcase.

Of course another possibility is that Cena will win and reach some sort of agreement with Vince that he can cash-in the briefcase for a WWE championship match (it’s currently only valid for a World Heavyweight title bout). I don’t like it but it looks as though Cena is still very much a part of the world title picture (or should that be pictures?). Perhaps the unification idea I posted a month or so ago is still a possibility.

Back to The Shield. Wherever they appear on the card I think Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins have a perfect opportunity to solidify their spot on the card at TLC. It's encouraging to see WWE making the most of a bad situation and trying to use the show as a way of showcasing newcomers. With WrestleMania Season just a month away the timing couldn't be better. If things go right for them they could find themselves a part of a major storyline at WWE's peak time of year.

Backing it Up

Three months and still no cash-in from Money in the Bank winner Dolph Ziggler. While it took John Cena all of eight days to trade in his briefcase for a chance to take the WWE championship from CM Punk 'The Show Off' is being made to wait for his moment in the spotlight.
 
Not rushing Ziggler's cash-in is a smart move. It allows speculation and anticipation to build up for the moment, and allows the booking team to seed 'The Heel' into main event storylines so that he doesn't look out of place when he captures the WHC.
 
A lack of preparation is something that has harmed a number of MITB victors upon cashing in. The Miz has slipped back down the card since his five month championship reign ended last May. A lack of credible opponents resulted in him having a less-than-memorable run. Jack Swagger had an even worse experience in 2010 and has an even worse position in the company now than does 'The Awesome One' (he's currently off TV while the booking team come up with something worthwhile for him to do).
 
CM Punk, now WWE's most over performer, was also short-changed by the writing team during his first Money in the Bank-induced World Heavyweight title reign in 2008. He was presented as a fluke champion and given no status enhancing victories over any existing headline talent. At the time (and in hindsight for that matter) it felt like a token attempt to create a new headline star, but one the company weren't willing to commit to seriously because they didn't think Punk would catch on.
 
Daniel Bryan very nearly had a disastrous first World Heavyweight title reign too. He was added to the feud between cumbersome lumps Mark Henry and Big Show after he won the title at TLC last December. Such a pronounced size difference would have ruined a lesser performer's prospects but 'D-Bryan' pulled through thanks to his ability to work convincing bouts with larger foes and the emergence of his "Yes!" catchphrase.
 
Ziggler's recent pay-per-view losses to Randy Orton and Chris Jericho may have felt like setbacks at the time but in the long run they're good moves. When (not if) 'The Heel' takes the World championship he will have two established and talented opponents to return the favour and put him over.
 
This of course raises the question of when Ziggler will cash in his case. The likelihood is that Ziggler will beat Sheamus for the title. Switching the belt to a heel only to have another heel beat them would seem counterproductive as it would instigate a heel versus heel programme, not something WWE is likely to want.

Is that a teal...?

 
Ziggler seems the safest bet to beat Sheamus for the title and it also seems reasonable to assume he'll do it soon. Sheamus has held on to the gold for well over six months and he has been booked so strongly it's impossible to imagine him losing the title clean. If Ziggler were to defeat Sheamus after he's been through a gruelling match with 'The World's Largest Athlete' it would create heat for the incoming champion and keep the Irishman strong.
 
Unfortunately the former Spirit Squad member's immediate prospects as champion don't look particularly rosy. Assuming (again) that he gets the WHC relatively soon there aren't that many challengers ready for him. Rematches with 'The Viper' and 'Y2J' would, as noted above, be a boon to a man enjoying his first proper world title reign but it's possible neither will come to pass: Jericho is not expected back in WWE until sometime next year and Orton will apparently be turning heel before the end of 2012.
 
Ziggler is guaranteed a memorable moment thanks to the Money in the Bank briefcase. I'm confident it will lead to a title victory. Good work has been done preparing him for the top of the card and the man himself has proven that he's ready for the promotion. I hope the writing team will be able to say the same when they have to write for a heel champion that isn't CM Punk.

No Longer a Lord

What happened to the push of Tensai?

The former A-Train returned to the promotion to much fan interest after several years away from WWE wrestling in Japan. During this time he improved as a worker and became a genuinely big star for Pro Wrestling NOAH.

His return was not only heralded by a series of vignettes but also a new character that was different to everything else on the roster. With his height and bulk, not to mention his improvement in the ring, the feeling was that Matt Bloom would receive a big push under the new guise of Lord Tensai. There were rumours he would be associated with then on-screen boss John Laurinaitis and feud with John Cena. It looked as though Bloom was going straight to the top.

Anyone who has been watching WWE programming over the last six months will know that this hasn’t happened.

Things started off well enough. Lord Tensai won his first few matches via squash and the commentary team went out of their way to put him over as an experienced competitor, mentioning his time in Japan and the fact that he had had a less than stellar run in WWE a decade before. This is rare behaviour for Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler. That they were putting Tensai over indicated that management had big plans for him.

It was only a few weeks after he’d returned to the promotion that Lord Tensai was permitted the ultimate honour: he defeated John Cena. He didn’t do it clean, David Otunga, John Laurinaitis and his personal manservant Sakamoto all involved themselves in the no disqualification bout and Tensai used the dreaded Green Mist™ finish, but it was still a promising sign. That he was booked to beat Cena, the company’s golden boy, in any fashion was big news.

 

Tensai has proven a textbook example of how to bury someone. Good work, John...

 

From there it all just… stopped. Tensai toppled Cena in a few more outings but it didn’t take ‘The CeNation Leader’ long to get his win back. There was no pay-per-view clash between the two and Tensai found himself without any actual storyline. He was simply hired muscle that happened to be doing a Japanese gimmick.

It wasn’t until July’s Money in the Bank, three months after he had returned to WWE, that Tensai wrestled on pay-per-view. He made up the numbers in the World Heavyweight championship MITB clash. By this point fans had accepted he wasn’t going to be used as a headliner: he had been booked to lose numerous times to wrestlers of varying status, from Cena to Tyson Kidd, and had numerous tweaks made to his character (such as the loss of his Lordship) that made him stand out less.

It’s a pity. Had WWE formulated a plan for using Tensai he could have been an interesting addition to the main event scene. His size allows him a surprising amount of versatility: he could be booked as a monster against the likes of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, muscle around giants like Kane and Big Show, or have an intense “slobberknocker” of a match with a guy like Sheamus.

Tensai is one of the few men on the roster who can get a bearable outing from John Cena. WWE can still book this match whenever they like but we’ve seen it several times over the last few months and it won’t feel particularly special anymore.

Had Tensai decisively beaten Cena at Over The Limit and No Way Out he could then have been used as a contender to World Heavyweight champion Sheamus at Money in the Bank. Had that happened then ‘The Celtic Warrior’s’ run with Alberto Del Rio wouldn’t have outstayed its welcome and there would have been a purpose to Tensai’s return to the company.

As things stand right now Tensai is lost in the mid-card and doesn’t look as though he’ll be doing anything meaningful any time soon. Another wasted chance by WWE’s creative team.