5 Takeaways from WWE Backstage (December 17th)

The hits and strangeness kept coming as WWE Backstage welcomed both Alexa Bliss and William Shatner as special guests. Bliss provided great insight regarding her journey to becoming a WWE Superstar, as well as some of her personal struggles earlier in her life. Shatner seemed a little out of place, but had fun watching both Christian and Ember Moon perform impersonations of him. Captain Kirk was asked about the more rabid fan base, Star Trek fans or WWE fans, and he didn't really give an answer.

TLC was also a hot topic among the panelists. Some of the matches were discussed as was the PPV concept itself. Christian seemed to want the matches to mean more since the performers were putting their lives on the line at TLC.

Once again, Christian proved that he should be on the show weekly with his fantastic suggestions about both the PPV and the Women's Division. Moon replaced Paige this week, but was almost as outspoken as the 'Anti-Diva.' It was great to see her passion for the business and her fellow performers.

The big news coming out of the show was that all members of The New Day and The Street Profits had re-signed multi-year deals with the company. Here are five takeaways from the December 17th episode of WWE Backstage.

#5 Christian is criminally underrated and should be in the Hall of Fame

A few weeks ago, Alex McCarthy of TalkSport advocated for 'Captain Charisma' to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. CM Punk and the rest of the panelists echoed the sentiment last week and with each passing appearance on WWE Backstage, the movement is gaining more and more steam. Without Christian in the tag team scene at the start of the 2000s those classic TLC matches wouldn't have been the same. Additionally, Edge's ascent to the top would have also been altered.

Christian proves his worth to the business every week on Backstage and he often has the best insight. While he provided his usual stellar commentary throughout the night, he also reminded us why he is one of the best comedic minds in wrestling history.

Instead of the usual Promo Battle segment, both he and Ember Moon attempted to impress William Shatner with an impersonation of the iconic actor. Moon did alright, but Christian channeled his inner coffee house Shatner with his ode to Bray Wyatt. He dressed in the red sweater and acted out the Firefly Fun House theme song in Shatner-esque tone. It was hilarious and another reason as to why 'Captain Charisma' is one of the most underrated stars in WWE history.

#4 TLC Takeaways

The new version of Bray Wyatt wrestled his first match back since debuting as the Fiend.

TLC had some great non-gimmick matches (Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo, Buddy Murphy vs. Aleister Black) and also some strange bouts. The Ladder Match between The New Day and The Revival was of course great, but the the two TLC matches left a lot to be desired.

One match that stood out for various reasons was the bout between Bray Wyatt and The Miz. Instead of the Fiend wrestling in a match, we received the sweater-clad host version of Wyatt taking a beating from The Miz. It was a part of the character building for Wyatt, as the pain didn't bother him at all.

Christian felt that with the Fiend "it's all about layers and this guy has it to spare." 'Captain Charisma' also felt that Wyatt "has this persona down to a T" and that he "loves the little nuances he shows up with (different titles)."

Booker T wanted to see "how far he takes it" while Ember Moon was reminded of the movie Split due to Wyatt's different personas. She added that "her eyes are glued to the TV" whereas Renee Young revealed that she wasn't a fan of the mallet.

Ember Moon also had some great insight regarding King Corbin getting the win over Reigns. She said she was shocked because every time Baron Corbin's had a big feud against someone (John Cena, Seth Rollins) he has lost. Christian added that he wants more stakes for the actual Tables, Ladder and Chairs Matches instead of a win or loss. He suggested putting up a contract, cash, or a title because "the matches take years off of your career."

#3 Alexa Bliss interview

Alexa Bliss was one of the guests this week and went into detail regarding several subjects. One instance was how she got into wrestling. 'The Goddess' revealed that she took part in a several sports, but after college her trainer let her know that the WWE was having a casting call. Bliss then went on to say that she paid someone $100 to film an audition video for her at the gym.

Because management liked her personality and her knowledge of the business, she was given the in-ring tryout in Los Angeles. An interesting tidbit was that she received a phone call while flying back home telling her that she made the cut, but wasn't going to the tryout. Instead, they offered her a deal on the phone because they liked her and "they hoped she was as athletic as she looked."

The multi-time Women's Champ praised both Charlotte Flair and Shaul Guerrero (Eddie Guerrero's daughter) for taking her under their wings. They imparted "the knowledge of the culture of WWE" as they guided her. Bliss also revealed that Charlotte Flair always texts her after her matches.

The partnership with Nikki Cross was also tackled. Bliss mentioned that she really wanted to work with Cross and that after both women talked to Vince McMahon, he "gave us his blessing." She liked how the pairing was "this odd tag team that somehow works well" because they travel together and work on everything together.

Bliss was also asked about her history of body image struggles and how she has handled the battle. She wasn't comfortable going public with it 10 years ago because she "didn't want to be judged" or "get sympathy."

'The Goddess' added that "it's an internal battle" and that she "wanted to be the person who said 'I've gone through this'" to people she meets nowadays who are also struggling with body image." Bliss didn't really get that connection with someone while she was struggling. Since she had the history of struggle, she wanted to be the one to tell those struggling with it that the illness "won't always control you or define you."

#2 New contracts for New Day and Street Profits

WWE managed to lock up two tag teams that are at different points of their respective careers. A few days after Kofi Kingston revealed that he had signed a five-year extension with the company, Ryan Satin revealed that both Xavier Woods and Big E had also re-signed new five-year deals.

Satin also mentioned that they "all negotiated the same pay to show solidarity" since Kingston had gone on a great singles run as WWE Champion earlier this year. While Woods is currently injured, Kingston has stepped in his place alongside Big E in the SmackDown Tag Team Division. Both men could also have concurrent singles runs, if things fall into place.

While SmackDown locked up its top tag team, RAW locked up one of its newer teams, The Street Profits, to "multi-year" deals. Satin did not elaborate any more on the specifics as to the new deals.

Both Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins joined Monday nights only earlier this summer, so the jury is out as to how far they can go on RAW. With AOP and The Viking Raiders to contend with, those three teams could battle for the RAW Tag Team Titles over the next few years.

#1 Panelists on the state of the Women's Division

Paige said what a lot of people were thinking when she stirred the pot with an appearance on the After the Bell podcast. She stated that she wanted more opportunities for the rest of the division instead of just the top ladies. 'The Anti-Diva' added that "a lot of the girls are being held back" and that there should be an Evolution PPV every year.

Ember Moon agreed with Paige 100% as only "four or five of superstars" have really been featured since WrestleMania. Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Becky Lynch and to a lesser degree, Sasha Banks, have been the main women featured in WWE in the second half of 2019. Since Moon is currently injured, she felt that "it's irritating to sit back and watch people not get opportunities."

Some women have received a brief push (Lacey Evans, Natalya, Bliss/Cross) only to fall back into the crowd rather than being allowed to stand out. Bliss hoped to see more from the Tag Team Division since she felt that "some of the most talented women on the roster" are in the division and are "just not getting the consistent opportunity" to shine.

'The Goddess' added that as a division "we're only as good as the amount of women carrying the evolution" and "if we're only focusing on a certain number of women, where do we go from there?"

Ronda Rousey was also addressed. Christian felt that "it hurts when you lose a star the caliber of Rousey" because regardless of how we may feel about her, she's "one of the biggest draws in all of sports." Her departure following WrestleMania "opens the door for someone else to move up and fill those shoes." While true, it only works if they have the support of WWE Creative.

Moon added some more great insight, stating that "just because Ronda is gone it doesn't mean that there isn't a Women's Division." She praised the likes of Sarah Logan, The IIconics, and Dana Brooke, who haven't had the level of exposure of the top four or five ladies in WWE. She also reiterated Paige's feelings of wanting to have Evolution every year because they "deserve to have it every year."

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Edited by Michael McClead