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It’s been quite a week for WWE, with a number of notable events. I wanted to take a look at the major happenings that occurred during one of the most eventful weeks that the company has had in a long, long time. The news is largely positive, but there was one glaring negative that occurred this week, and it's one that can still be fixed.
Sunday was the universally praised Battleground PPV, which was one of the best shows that the company has produced in a long, long time. While it was the last event of the old era, in some ways it was the first show of the new one as well. The biggest question going into the show was where the WWE Title would end up. They made the right call with keeping it on Dean Ambrose, for a few reasons. For one, it helped continue the making of him as a top guy. Whether it succeeds or not, WWE has shown a commitment to seeing if he can lead a brand and be a legitimate top talent. And just as importantly, it sent the belt to Smackdown, symbolically showing that the brands would be looked at as “equal”, or at least as much as they can realistically been seen as such given Raw’s status as the cash cow of their TV shows. Kudos to them for pretty much everything that they did on Sunday night.
Monday was the first Raw of the new era and they hit a home run with the show, no doubt. They wanted to start the new era hot and they did. They also had a lot of opportunity, given that they got more over talent on the brand and due to the void of having no Title, they could stage two incredible Fatal Four Way matches. Then, they booked the final in perfect fashion as Finn Balor beat Roman Reigns. They established Balor as a star on day one, which is something that hasn’t happened enough with debuting NXT talent. They also took the pressure off of Reigns by moving him, for now, out of the Universal Title picture. Hopefully the fans will lay off him and actually watch him work. He is not being pushed as Superman (not that he ever really was). So watch him work and you may be surprised at how good he is. Add in that they finally took the handcuffs off of Charlotte and Sasha Banks and let them tear down the house and Raw was an amazing show, and that is coming from someone that went from not wanting a second Title to excited for Balor vs. Seth Rollins.
Smackdown Live debuted in earnest on Tuesday night and had to follow two amazing shows. When it didn’t blow everyone away the way that Raw did, people complained. But, they shouldn’t have. Smackdown was not given the talent roster that Raw was. They didn’t have the Title hole to fill that Raw did. They didn’t have Sasha and Charlotte at the ready to tear down the house. And people need to really take a look at that roster. The theme for the show is redemption and second chances. That doesn’t happen in one show. We have criticized Vince McMahon for saying that he can get anyone hot whenever he wants to. He can’t. It doesn’t work that way and we know it. Every talent that was already on the roster has created a perception in the minds of the fans. It can’t be changed in a day and people need to remember that. Work has to be put in to rebuild these talents and if one steps away and really looks Tuesday’s show, they started to build a foundation that the brand can be built upon. Just in Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews and Zack Ryder we got three guys who got elevated. And Dolph Ziggler got a Title shot. No amount of hotshotting would have been the right call and I love the decision to keep American Alpha off of the show. As I mentioned earlier today, I would love to see them doing a welcome interview next week, get interrupted and in a minute or two decimate the tag team that did it. They can show the world from the first time they seem them how great they are. The build of Smackdown is a marathon, not a sprint. Let's give it some time.
Of course also on Tuesday, TMZ reported that WWE will not suspend Brock Lesnar after his failed USADA drug tests due to the fact that he is a part time wrestler. I think this is a monumentally bad decision by WWE. What they are telling the world is that there are two sets of rules and now they open every person with a great physique up to speculation as to whether it was created through hard work or other means. That is a major mistake. Also, the message it sends to the locker room is terrible too. There are already talents that grumble around WrestleMania time when older talents come back and take spots on the card. Now, WWE has made it clear that those wrestlers are not subjected to the same set of rules. If the goal of testing is wrestler health, that should apply to all wrestlers. If Brock failed the tests after WWE allowed him to work for UFC when they didn’t have to, he should step up and tell them flat out to suspend him for a month. It is the right thing to do. They put their trust in him and he screwed them, if he doesn't win an appeal. He should do the right thing and take the bullet for his mistake.
Happily, this column doesn’t have to end on a downer because the jewels of the WWE Network saved the day, NXT and The Cruiserweight Classic. This week’s edition of NXT was a largely an “advance the storylines” show, and that is perfectly fine. Some weeks, that is what is needed. We get Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Bayley vs. Asuka in less than a month at Takeover so I am fine with building the anticipation. I also liked what they did with No Way Jose. They are showing he has fire to go with his fun. As a fan of character development, I enjoyed the show a lot.
As for the CC, it was another amazing week of great action. The show is awesome every week and as usual, I enjoyed all of the matches. I watch the talents on the show and see some I never saw much of before, and of course see guys I have seen many times. All of the wrestlers were fantastic and on a personal note, it was great to see a guy like Tony Nese, who is spectacular, finally get a chance. That is awesome.
And of course, today WWE reported their earnings. While they missed on profits, their overall numbers were very strong. The market figured that out and after being down early, the stock closed up two cents. WWE is strong right now and hopefully they will continue to get stronger.
This was the best week that the company has had in quite some time. Here’s to hoping that the momentum continues.
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