With WWE No Mercy behind us, we can now look forward to what the rest of 2017 has for us. No Mercy was a solid, if unspectacular, event, and fans will surely look back on it as a good show. But what do WWE need to do, in order to keep this momentum going?
Both RAW and Smackdown! Live have been home to their fair share of quality moments since the brand split came back into effect this past July. In order for the opening year of the new brand extension to be viewed as a success, the quality of programming must remain high until at least December.
Here are five things that WWE needs to do before 2017 arrives.
#1 Continue Styles' phenomenal run
At Backlash, AJ Styles became WWE World Champion just 8 months after his debut in the company. It was shocking for many to see, but absolutely the right move. Styles is up there with the best in the world and is still at the peak of his powers.
Despite the fact that he’s approaching 40 years old, Styles is still superbly athletic in the ring and has reinvigorated his character with a heel turn earlier this year. Recently, his work with John Cena and Dean Ambrose has been highly entertaining, probably more so than the title picture over on RAW.
WWE needs to take advantage of this, and continue to book Styles into high profile matches and segments. He gets a big reaction from the crowd, both boos and cheers, so it’s evident that the people want to see Styles on their screen. Let AJ Styles continue to showcase his superiority over the rest of the roster.
He needs to come out every week on Smackdown, tell everybody why he’s fundamentally better than them, then defeat whoever Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan choose to be his opponent.
This would solidify him as a heel champion who doesn’t run from a fight and wins simply by being better, a type of character that has increasingly become rarer in WWE of late.
#2 Keep Reigns out of the main event
Don’t get me wrong. Roman Reigns is a very good wrestler, and in my opinion, he certainly doesn’t deserve the overly negative response that he gets. However, his detractors do have a good point, which is the fact that it’s boring to watch the same man be handed opportunities at the top of the card constantly, purely because the management likes him.
As a result of this, Reigns should be kept out of the main event at least until the Royal Rumble. His current standing as US Champion means that he’s sitting just outside the main event right now. His entertaining feud with Rusev looks set to continue until Hell In A Cell.
After that point, WWE may be tempted to have him drop the title and return to battling for the Universal Title. This would not be a good decision. The fans are booing Reigns slightly less, which of course is what Vince McMahon wants, now that he’s dropped down the card slightly.
The boos are still there but are nowhere near as noticeable as before. This is a sign that the WWE Universe is warming up to Roman. For now and the foreseeable future, Reigns should remain as the US Champion, attempt to build back up from outside of the main event spotlight.
#3 Legitimise Dolph Ziggler
For the first time since 2014, Dolph Ziggler holds a title once more. At No Mercy, Ziggler put his career on the line for one more shot at the Intercontinental Title and came out as the winner. Now he holds that championship for a fifth time, WWE has to take advantage of this and establish the Intercontinental Champion as a force to be reckoned with.
Far too often over the past few years, Ziggler has been plagued by inconsistent booking. Now that he holds one of WWE’s oldest and most prestigious titles, this cannot be allowed to happen, for the sake of Dolph himself and for the title.
The Intercontinental Title has, through Miz and Ziggler’s recent battles over the belt, been returning to relevance over recent months. Ziggler is exactly the man to continue that run. Always known as a man who symbolises in-ring excellence, Ziggler can restore the IC Title to its glory years.
Traditionally, the title was reserved for the workhorse wrestlers, the guys who had incredible talent but are just outside the main event.
This description fits Dolph Ziggler perfectly, and WWE needs to ensure that his title run is not a disappointment. No more losing to Heath Slater or Tyler Breeze, for Ziggler. He needs to win most of the time, and be difficult to defeat. This is what being a champion is all about.
#4 Bring back the RAW v Smackdown Survivor Series 5-on-5 match
When the original brand split was in effect (from 2002-2011), the battle for superiority between RAW and Smackdown was something that the company put a fair amount of focus on. For quite some time, Survivor Series played host to a war between RAW and Smackdown.
Recently, the 5-on-5 Elimination Match has truly lost its special aura and is no longer regarded as a big event on the WWE calendar. Last year, it was relegated to the pre-show at Survivor Series, featuring The Dudley Boyz, Goldust, Neville and Titus O’Neill vs The Cosmic Wasteland, The Miz and Bo Dallas.
Not exactly a star-studded line-up, but for this year, a RAW v Smackdown match certainly has a lot of potential. Even if you leave the WWE World Champion and the Universal Champion out of their respective teams, there’s still a lot of ultra-talented guys who could fill out the spots in each team.
Qualifying matches to get into each brand’s team, if they should occur, would only add to the hype surrounding the match, taking up a good chunk of WWE programming and selling it as a huge event. Rollins,Enzo and Big Cass, Rusev and Rich Swann vs Wyatt, Harper, Corbin and The Usos has never sounded more attractive.
#1 A surprise promotion from NXT
Much has been made of how successful NXT has been over the years. 2015 was viewed as the golden year, but 2016 has been hugely successful for the brand as well.
Some of this years’ NXT highlights include: Sami Zayn vs Shinsuke Nakamura arguably putting on the match of the year at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, The Revival’s ascent to become one of the world’s best tag teams, the debut of Bobby Roode and Nakamura winning the NXT Title.
On top of all that, a lot of talent has already been promoted to the main roster from NXT. Names such as Finn Balor, Alexa Bliss, Apollo Crews and Bayley have found themselves a new home on either RAW or Smackdown! Live this year.
It’s time for another name to enter the fray, and with Smackdown! Live currently being rather light on big name talent, perhaps that would be a good destination for them. The prime candidates to come up from NXT presently are Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe.
Nakamura has been even more impressive than anybody could have imagined in his NXT run thus far, winning over the Full Sail crowd with absolute ease. Joe has been at his brutal best in 2016, ruthlessly running through every opponent set in front of him.
Both men would bring their own set of unique qualities to the main roster, as there’s currently nobody on RAW or Smackdown! Live like either man. Imagine the excitement if one, or even both of these men get called up unexpectedly. WWE needs to make it happen.
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