Week after week, the WWE and the WWE Universe seem to be stuck in a vicious cycle where the fans demand one thing, and the company delivers something completely different, thereby disappointing the viewers.
The viewers swear that they’ll never watch the product again, but inevitably return the following week. With said cycle in mind, Sportskeeda brings to you 5 things we wanted from WWE this week and what they delivered. A weekly piece that analyses if the WWE delivered what fans asked for.
This week’s Monday Night Raw and Smackdown Live were quite underwhelming, to say the least, and what makes it worse is that these were the final episodes of each show before the first post-Wrestlemania pay per view of the year, WWE Payback.
The fans were hoping for something to help build the hype for this Sunday’s big event, but it just didn’t happen. So, without any further ado, here are 5 things we wanted from WWE this week and what they delivered: 25th April 2017:
#5 What we wanted: American Alpha bouncing back; what we got: Breezango surprising everyone
This was one of the more pleasant surprises from this week’s episode of Smackdown Live. When the Beat the Clock challenge was announced for the No 1 contendership for the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships, everyone expected American Alpha to win and challenge The Usos again.
But, what we got was a curveball almost as big as Jinder Mahal winning The Six Pack Challenge from last week to become the No 1 contender for the WWE Championship as the team of Tyler Breeze and Fandango – or Breezango as they're called – won to earn the right to challenge the Smackdown Tag Team Champions.
Sure, it might be out of the Blue (get it?), but they don’t call Smackdown Live The Land of Opportunity for nothing, clearly. It is a refreshing change to see these neglected superstars get a chance to prove themselves.
#4 What we wanted: Seth Rollins debuting his new finisher; what we got: Exactly that
Seth Rollins has been using a new finisher at house shows which looks a helluva lot better than either The Curb Stomp or The Pedigree. It’s a copy of Kenny Omega’s Rain Trigger which involves a stiff knee to the face of his opponents.
With everyone clamouring for Rollins to start incorporating the move on live TV as well, The Architect finally delivered on this episode of Monday Night Raw. Teaming up with Big Cass and Finn Balor to take on Samoa Joe and The Club, Rollins used the new move on Karl Anderson to pick up the win for his team.
It will be interesting to see if it will earn him the win against Joe this Sunday at Payback.
#3 What we wanted: No filler segments on Raw; what we got: Filler segments on Raw
At this point, everyone is thankful that they no longer have to endure Stephanie McMahon’s half an hour monologues to kick off Monday Night Raw, but there are still way too many filler segments involved on the show. The three-hour duration is killing the quality on Monday nights.
The first segment involving Chris Jericho, The Miz, and Dean Ambrose went on forever, and there was no real rhyme or reason for it other than to fill some time on the schedule. Sure, there were a couple of chuckles to be had, but it’s probably better to just watch the YouTube video instead. It even went on some more with backstage segments.
The second segment guilty of this was the Raw Women’s Championship segment where Sasha Banks made an inexplicable appearance during Alexa Bliss and Bayley’s promos. Improve your production or shorten the show, WWE.
#2 What we wanted: Shinsuke Nakamura wrestling; what we got: Nakamura’s awkward interview
Shinsuke Nakamura’s greatest strength is that he can kick some serious ass with his Strong Style Wrestling, and that is what has made the man such a famous figure in the industry today. So, after a couple of weeks of teasing, the WWE Universe have been waiting with baited breath for Nakamura to wrestle on Smackdown Live.
Also read: 5 Opponents we want to see Shinsuke Nakamura face on the main roster
Unfortunately, what we got instead was a weird interview segment where he was rebranded from The King of Strong Style to The Artist and wasn’t allowed to exhibit his best traits at all.
You better get your act together when it comes to Shinsuke, WWE.
#1 What we wanted: A confrontation between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman; what we got: Braun losing to Kalisto clean
This seemed like the ideal time to light a match under the fuse that is the Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman rivalry, right on time for it to explode at WWE Payback. The payoff for this could have been a rabid match at the PPV.
Also read: Reason why Roman Reigns didn’t show up on RAW
Instead, we had Strowman losing to Kalisto in a bloody dumpster match of all things and then proceeding to beat the little guy to a littler pulp. Sure, it was nice seeing Strowman destroy the Luchador, but it was a huge letdown that not only was there no confrontation but that Strowman also lost so much momentum heading into Payback.
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