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There were many talking points that emerged from WWE RAW this week, and you can read them all in this 'Best and Worst' list. But perhaps the biggest talking point of them all is what's going to happen at WWE Crown Jewel.
Both Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair will be leading their teams into battle as they storm into Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel. The captains have been announced too- Seth Rollins as well as Randy Orton.
But why has WWE chosen to announce a match of this nature at the Saudi Arabian pay-per-view? Worry not, because while I'm speculating, I do believe that I have the answer to the questions on your mind.
As always, I invite you to leave a comment below and let me know what you think of the rationale for the points.
#5 Allows legends to be on the bill without taking actual bumps
If you ask Hulk Hogan whether or not he could have another match, I'm sure the answer will be a resounding 'yes brother!' I'm sure you don't even need me to spell it out in the case of Ric Flair, because he seemed ready to go on this week's episode of WWE RAW. These are two men that have trouble leaving the glitz and the glamor of the squared circle behind them, quite clearly.
We also know that the man who rules Saudi Arabia is a big WWE fan and especially a fan of old school wrestlers. While I'm certain that he would have loved to see Hulk Hogan take on Ric Flair in a legendary match, this is the closest that he can get in the year 2019. I'm sure that the fans in attendance, who are starved for sports entertainment action, will also be thrilled with this matchup.
#4 A storyline that can play out over the following weeks
What this storyline achieves, in a sense, is that it allows for both Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair to be on RAW in the weeks that follow so that they can scour the ranks and recruit talented young men for their teams. It could also extend to SmackDown on FOX, where Flair may be tempted to give the nod to someone like Shinsuke Nakamura, to join his ranks. At the same time, Hogan may recruit someone like Aleister Black to lend him some credibility.
Ultimately, a storyline in WWE is a journey and not a destination and it's all about how it is going to play out in the weeks and months to follow. This is something that can keep fans active on social media, as they guess the members who constitute both the teams. This is also something that could lead to face and heel turns in the roster, considering that the members of Team Hogan may not necessarily like one another, forcing one of them to turn on the other.
If you're a fan of drama, I can pretty much guarantee that you'll get it in droves, in the coming weeks.
#3 Allows for underutilized Superstars to be a part of Crown Jewel
WWE managed to get a lot of WWE Superstars to travel to Saudi Arabia in the past as part of the Greatest Royal Rumble and as a part of the battle royals that have previously happened. This time, they will not have the luxury because it may just be overkill to do yet another battle royal in Saudi Arabia.
But this is a surefire way to get some underutilized talent on the card and have some of them become bigger stars by mere association. For example, someone like Cedric Alexander may not be the biggest star in the roster, but having him on Team Hogan immediately makes him a legendary performer.
The same thing could also happen on the heel side, where a heel like Samoa Joe who's been languishing in the mid card may actually ascend a level or two thanks to Ric Flair's endorsement in a backstage segment. One has to remember that Hogan and Flair are not just great professional wrestlers but trendsetters who are part of pop culture.
Even if the match is not necessarily a classic, everyone wins with the mere buildup, I think.
#2 Allows a very clear divide between heels and babyfaces
While Hogan eventually became perhaps the greatest heel in history as a member of the nWo, the fact of the matter is that he is also the greatest babyface of all time. In fact, modern wrestling as we know it, as a global phenomenon only became a thing because Hulk Hogan championed it and took it to the next level. For a lot of kids who grew up watching him, Hogan will always be the babyface in colors red and yellow.
Ric Flair has been a babyface at certain points in his life, but he was always at his best as a heel, at all points in time. Charlotte Flair, who has followed in her footsteps, too only came into her own when she became a heel and left her babyface ways far behind her. It is clear that Hogan will be leading the babyfaces while Flair leads the heels into battle at Crown Jewel.
This is also clear from the fact that Seth Rollins is a beloved babyface and Randy Orton is a despised heel. The signs could not be any more obvious and I'm curious to see who the other members of both teams will be!
#1 Sowing the seeds for Rollins vs. Orton
Whether or not you believe that Seth Rollins will remain the Universal Champion after Hell in a Cell this weekend, the engine that we know as WWE is guaranteed to chug on with every passing week. Seth Rollins will need new opponents after The Fiend, and I suppose Rollins vs. Orton will be a pretty big feud that the company could potentially book.
All of this could emerge from the match that is going to happen at Crown Jewel where these two men are the last men standing. Similarly, WWE could also book a feud between Rusev and Corbin and so on, and so forth from the contest.
I know that a lot of fans do not necessarily like Randy Orton because he works a slower and more methodical style than almost anyone else in the roster right now. But he is still someone that everyone, including every casual fan, knows and a performer like him is a global celebrity.
Pit him against Seth Rollins, who's been the face of the company over the last few months and you have the recipe for one of the company's biggest feuds in the modern era.
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