The post-WrestleMania buzz has apparently come to a close for another year, but there is still plenty going on for WWE fans to enjoy. This week we began to see the planting of some – at times, quite surprising – seeds in the run up to WWE Payback and Backlash. This may not have been a week in which the company set the world alight, but there are still some talking points to go over and some questions that need to be answered.
#1 Raw is Braun?
After his somewhat disappointing involvement in Wrestlemania earlier this month, it looked as though the promising feud Braun Strowman had with Roman Reigns throughout March was all going to be for nothing. Now that the feud is back on, it seems Strowman still has a few more months of the spotlight to enjoy. One could argue that Braun was the principal feature of this week's episode of RAW.
Not only was his beatdown of Reigns the sole focus of the pre-RAW video package, but he also cut an opening promo with the new General Manager, Kurt Angle. He was then featured throughout the episode backstage, beating up people like Kalisto, Goldust and R-Truth before finding himself in the main event with Big Show.
Also read: Braun Strowman is proving that he is the next big thing in WWE.
Strowman is showing a lot of promise, and being the anti-Roman Reigns is currently working for him, in terms of fan reception. It is slightly baffling that fans are able to see past his lack of mic skills and cheer him regardless, especially when you consider that poor mic skills are part of the reason for their hatred of Roman Reigns. However, Strowman is probably considered good enough to warrant a bit of attention.
He is at the point in his career where the only way to get better is to feature him prominently and hope for the best. He certainly didn’t ruin RAW this week, which is probably all management were hoping for, and his match with the Big Show was actually very entertaining – especially when you consider the ring collapse at the end. Only Brock Lesnar, Mark Henry, and Big Show himself have been afforded that kind of OMG moment to close out a match before.
#2 The Miz can get a good promo out of anyone
Like Strowman, there was some cause for concern regarding the direction of the Miz, post-Wrestlemania. His promo work with John Cena was one of the highlights of the Mania build, and he certainly deserved more than he got at the Show of Shows. Thankfully, however, he is being allowed to carry on, much in the same vein as before, on Monday nights.
This week, the Miz TV segment involved the Intercontinental Champion, Dean Ambrose. Anyone who appreciates the mid card belts should be encouraged by Miz’s involvement in this feud. In recent times, nobody has been able to make the IC belt feel like a big deal to the extent that the Awesome one has. Part of the reason for this is his ability to get the most out of his opponent.
Also read: Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship set to happen at Payback
His feud with Dolph Ziggler last year made fans emotionally invested in the Ziggler character in a way they had not felt since his World Heavyweight Championship cash in on Alberto Del Rio, a few years back. Miz is the quintessential ‘guy you love to hate’, and anyone who stands across the ring from him receives instant crowd support.
Ambrose was another superstar to have a relatively disappointing Mania this year, to the point where people were even questioning his motivation. Indeed, it was this theme that played out throughout the Miz TV segment, prompting Ambrose to deliver the most heartfelt and believable promo since his days in the Shield. For any superstar worried about becoming an afterthought, the Miz is probably the guy you want to be feuding with.
#3 Cesaro is a true ‘ring general.'
Despite the immense, popularity the Hardy Boys are currently enjoying as a tag-team, you couldn’t help but feel even more excited at the prospect of seeing Jeff Hardy in single’s competition for the first time since his career-ending match with CM Punk in 2009. Add in the fact that his opponent was the Swiss Superman Cesaro, and you had all the makings of a real dream match on your hands.
Jeff isn’t quite the in-ring performer he was back in 09, and for the time being, at least, he will probably be featured mainly as a tag team wrestler. However, the match itself was fairly entertaining, and fans were able to re-live some of the Jeff Hardy magic, especially if you’re not a big fan of TNA or other non-WWE wrestling.
The match could have been that much better had Jeff not visibly tweaked something in his lower back part way through. Hopefully, it wasn’t anything serious, but most fans were able to see that Jeff was struggling throughout most of the second half of the bout. Luckily, he was across the ring from Cesaro, who has the pure wrestling talent and knowledge to be able to carry somebody to the end of the match when they most need him to.
Cesaro certainly does not receive the kind of opportunities he deserves in WWE. No doubt fans love him, but there is something stopping management from finally inserting him into the main event scene, and as the years go by, you do start to worry whether his chance will ever come. After watching his performance this week, you have to say that the WWE will soon be running out of excuses as to why he is not fighting for a world title yet.
#4 Jinder Mahal is a gamble the WWE can probably afford to take
Undoubtedly, the biggest talking point of the week was the decision to make former 3-man band member Jinder Mahal the number one contender for the WWE Championship. When the six participants for the number one contender match were initially announced, more than a few eyebrows were raised. It was genuinely difficult to pick a likely winner, apart from maybe Sami Zayn who the fans were almost unanimously backing throughout.
Instead, Mahal was the one to come out with the victory, and the fans were not willing to shy away from showing their disapproval. There is a fine line between giving somebody an opportunity they deserve, and simply throwing somebody unexpected into a title picture to see how they do. However, SmackDown is living up to its name as the land of opportunity – after all, it is hard to imagine Jinder being involved in any title scene on RAW – but is this an opportunity fans can get behind?
Also read: 5 reasons why Jinder Mahal is your new number one contender for the WWE Championship
Well, if his promo after the match was anything to go by, maybe Mahal has enough about him to get through. He did show genuine emotion as he berated the fans for not believing in him. He probably does harbour some real animosity towards the company for making his character a joke during the vast majority of his career.
Also, now that Wrestlemania is behind us, and Summerslam is still a few months away, SmackDown does have the time and space to experiment with somebody new. Worst case scenario, Jinder fails to get himself over as a heel, and we put it all down to a misguided mistake. At best, we have a new main event talent on the scene.
Most of SmackDown’s attention at the moment seems to be on the US title with guys like Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Baron Corbin all involved, so it makes sense to try something new with the WWE Championship. It’s not as if Jinder does not have the experience to carry himself through to a respectable feud with Orton, and Backlash is going to be in Chicago, a city that typically supports the heels over the babyfaces. It’s only fair we give the guy a chance before we judge him or the WWE, too harshly.
#5 American Alpha are in big trouble
After a lopsided Superstar Draft last year, Monday Night RAW captured most of the fresh, exciting talent. One notable exception for SmackDown was the acquisition of American Alpha. Now that NXT has put tag-team wrestling back on the map, and the RAW tag team division is getting some decent air time, you would have assumed Jason Jordan and Chad Gable would be central to the SmackDown brand by now.
Instead, the pair has only been involved in forgettable feuds with the likes of the Usos and the Wyatt family and haven't been given enough spotlight to showcase themselves as the high energy, high impact team they became over in NXT. Despite holding the tag-team titles for a while, things just haven’t clicked for them.
What they need now is a solid feud with a popular tag-team that would complement their style of wrestling. Perhaps bringing the Revival up to RAW and re-visiting that rivalry would have been more beneficial for them. Instead, they are currently tied up with the Shining Stars, who appear to have reverted to their ‘Colons’ gimmick.
Fans clearly don’t care much for either of the Colons, and SmackDown is not going to benefit as a brand from having them. American Alpha need to be as far away from them as possible right now so that the WWE Universe can get behind them once again. What doesn’t help is the fact that for two straight weeks now, the Colons have been made to look dominant.
The best case scenario would be to have American Alpha go over strong next week on SmackDown, and start building a proper programme for them. Either way, the SmackDown tag team division is not looking particularly healthy, and American Alpha aren’t in a position to prop it up.
#6 This was a week for the women
The 'Women's Revolution' is now definitely more than just a media soundbite. It has been this way for quite some time, and this week's action was a strong indicator of that. It was suggested in last week's article that losing Charlotte was really going to hurt the RAW women's division. Not enough time has gone by yet for that to have been confirmed or denied, but one thing is for sure, the fatal four-way number one contender's match was one of this week’s highlights.
The jury is still out over Sasha Banks’ ability to be the leader of the division, and the company haven't yet figured out how to best utilise Nia Jax. Luckily, the red brand has Alexa Bliss, and having her go over was absolutely the right decision. She has this ability to make the women's belt feel important, and she makes you believe in her in a way that no other woman, apart from maybe Charlotte, can.
Alexa wasn't part of the original Four Horsewomen group but has quietly made herself an invaluable component of the product since her time with Blake and Murphy on NXT. Alexa Vs. Bayley should be more than worthy of a title match at Payback.
Not only this, but the RAW women's division also has some real depth. Emma and Dana Brooke are slowly building up a programme between themselves, and there are more than enough reasons to pair off Sasha and Jax, going forward.
Over on SmackDown, the addition of Charlotte is already making itself known in a big way. She started off the show this week and hit a very convincing promo on Daniel Bryan, Shane McMahon and the rest of the SmackDown women's roster. Like Bliss before her, she was able to take her rightful place as the number one contender for the blue brand's women's title after defeating the champion, Naomi.
SmackDown is also showing that it is willing to exploit the depth in its own women's division by having a kind of 'anti-Charlotte' faction form between Carmella, Natalya and Tamina. Hopefully, this story goes somewhere as it would give the division more to focus on than just the title scene.
#7 Tye gets the send off he deserves
Tye Dillinger is currently over in a big way. His Perfect 10 gimmick is lighting up the WWE universe, and he is somebody the fans can get behind due to his in-ring work and charisma. Other than perhaps Shinsuke Nakamura, he is probably the highlight of the NXT graduation class for 2017. Coming onto SmackDown felt like a big deal a few weeks ago, and hopefully, he can make big strides over the course of the year.
Last week, we saw NXT give Nakamura some time in the ring to thank the fans and receive adulation from the rest of the roster. Tye similarly received his farewell party this week by having a main event steel cage match with Eric Young of Sanity. It made sense to bring this rivalry to a close and make Tye look strong going forward. Sanity has at least another year in NXT to show what it can do as a stable, so giving Dillinger the win was definitely the right decision.
Sanity is showing a lot of promise at the moment, and you can already picture them on the main roster. There is something about them that spells money for the company. Now that Tye has officially flown the nest, NXT is going to need to build some stars to take his place, and Eric Young along with Nikki Cross could be the ones to fill that void.
#8 The WWE Superstar of the week is...Charlotte Flair.
Choosing a standout superstar this week was a challenge, as this felt like a week in which the WWE wanted to showcase some newer talent. Braun Strowman’s central position on RAW made him a possible contender, as did Alexa Bliss’s victory in the fatal four-way match. Jinder Mahal could have been an option too, considering he pulled off the upset of the entire week. However, the accolade should really go to the new Queen of SmackDown.
Also read: 5 things the WWE won’t tell you about Charlotte
Charlotte kicked off SmackDown and instantly got the crowd engaged. There was a brief moment in which you thought maybe she had been transitioned to a babyface. Luckily, however, she will instead be playing the same character on SmackDown that she so expertly built up for herself on RAW.
Her match with Naomi was pretty decent, and you could tell both ladies were holding a little bit back for their championship match next week. Not only this, but Charlotte also seems to have found herself in an additional feud with Carmella, Natalya and Tamina. She has taken the SmackDown women’s division by the scruff of the neck in just two weeks and made it feel just as special as the US and even the WWE Championship picture. Congratulations, Charlotte.
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