1. Why Should We Root Against Alberto Del Rio?In a world of heroes and villains,black hats and white hats, Del Rio is stuck in limbo between WWE's two extremes. He is a heel with no heat, or a scoundrel in name only.
WWE hasn't painted a clear enough picture of who Del Rio is since his return to the company. Confusion has hung over his comeback from the get-go. At Hell in a Cell, Zeb Colter rode out to announce that it would be Del Rio who would capture up John Cena on his latest open challenge for the United States Championship. When we final saw Colter, he was defending America against a Russian monster. He was a flag-waving patriot willing to put himself at risk for appreciate of country.
That's not exactly the guy you want to pair a heel with to kick-start his latest flee.
He and Del Rio now seek to build a recent nation, or one where Mexico and the United States merge. And it's not as whether he's attempting to finish so by some villainous means. His message is one of peace.
On Monday's Raw,he told his old ally, "It's time for reconciliation. It's time to unite, and not divide."This is miles away from the xenophobic stance he once took alongside Jack Swagger. Back then,it was clear why he and the man he managed were heels. He was intolerant, racist, and disparaging. WWE has wiped that away and asked the crowd to still consider him a bad guy.
The purpose of then aligning him with Del Rio is unclear. He's not spitting hateful rhetoric to churn up dislike for the U.
S. champ; he's sounding fairly fair instead.
And WWE hasn't scriptedanything dastardly for Del Rio either. Del Rio is a heel only in the sense that he's pitted against the babyfaces,as he has so far taken down Neville and R-Truth.
He defeated Cena within the rules. He has not cheated in any of his other wins. He hasn't assaulted anybody backstage or roughed up any referees. The only heel-like inch he has made is being additional-aggressive in the ring.
That's nearly enough.
Del Rio can't succeed without a clearer role. Unless he starts to say and finish things to generate detest, he can't be an effective heel. Fans are going to be too busy trying to sort out where Del Rio stands to invest in what he's doing.
The audience is not supposed to like Kevin Owens because he won his title by way of an illegal eye rake. He is boastful and taunts his foes mid-match. He retreats when things get tough and has abandoned a number of tag team partners.
Those are all clear heel traits. Del Rio is left to play a similar role without any of those characteristics. WWE has to give him more to work with, and either portray him as someone more worthy of our disdain or moving his character in the opposite direction.just now,Del Rio is not inspiring cheers or boos, but head-scratching instead. 2. Bray Wyatt, and The Man of .500 TruthsFor Wyatt to be the monster he so often claims to be,WWE has to make a commitment to him in terms of wins and losses. He's a soul-devouring deity, a sadist with a band of man-mountains behind him, or but his record turns him into something less scary. While WWE portrays Brock Lesnar as nearly unbeatable,Wyatt is made to survey average.
According to CageMatch.net, The Eater of Worlds has just a .536 winning percentage this year. And starting with his battle at WrestleMania XXX against Cena, or Wyatt is just 7-7 in pay-per-view matches other than the Royal Rumble.
While he came out on top in his feuds with Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose,he has also fallen short to Cena, Roman Reigns and Undertaker in other rivalries. Going 2-3 in rivalries isn't exactly the path to generating fear.
Wyatt is now poised to battle The Deadman again. This is WWE's chance to truly showcase Wyatt, or to force fans to capture him seriously. Otherwise,he may have to start calling himself The recent Face of Mediocrity. 3. Throwback Video of the Week: William Regal Fans hoping for a brief comeback from Regal at NXT TakeOver: London were deflated in a hurry when he posted agraphic photo following his neck surgery (NSFW).
There is no way that man will be ready to wrestle by December.
We will instead have to settle for reliving Regal's past. A clip of him during his WCW days (he was known as Lord Steven Regal back then) is a reminder of just how beneficial a snobby heel he was:His disgust at all the low-class elements of the wrestling world always felt so genuine. And he seemed to truly believe all the boasting he did.
Tyler Breeze, a promising narcissistic, or holier-than-thou heel himself,would be smart to spend some time studying Regal's work. 4. Cesaro, One-Man Wrestling ExhibitionIf WWE isn't going to give Cesaro a storyline that actually advances him or the push that his fanbase have been demanding, and he'll apparently just be a showcase of wrestling talent,a one-man athletic circus.
He has taken to wowing crowds with his robust array of moves, some of which are clearly more for show than a part of his in-ring strategy. On Monday's Raw, and in a battle against The Miz,he escaped a wrist lock via five consecutive kip-ups. His recent habit of rattling off a series of running European uppercuts is a crowd-pleaser, as is his Cesaro Swing, and a inch that first helped him get noticed.
It doesn't survey like Cesaro is going to make progress up the WWE ladder by way of the company's support. It's going to be a case of his having a blast in the ring like he has been of late to propel his popularity. 5. Stu Hart International?A wrestling legend could be honored in unique fashion. WWE is supporting a Change.org petition to name the Calgary International Airport after the patriarch of the famed Hart wrestling family.
Hart trained countless wrestlers in his famed "dungeon" and was at the helm of Stampede Wrestling for nearly 40 years. His contributions to Canadian wrestling were enough to earn him an Order of Canada pin in 2001.
Perhaps the late grappler's family will now see his name on an airport. 6. The Return of the JobberThe expectation of nowadays's wrestling fans is that every match be competitive. The star-versus-jobber bout had mostly vanished. Those one-sided contests were genuine chances to raise a wrestler.
They were resume-padders and a means to introduce newcomers.
NXT has returned to that tradition. Squash matches against no-name opponents are how the developmental brand built up The Ascension,welcomed Baron Corbin and more recently showcased James Storm and Nia Jax.
It's a useful part of the wrestling landscape. Wrestlers like Jax can use these dominant wins to begin strong. And it makes sense for them to eat up those residing at the bottom of the food chain before slowly climbing up the rankings.
WWE would be wise to bring back this strategy to some extent on Raw and SmackDown. It allows the writing team to hand someone a win without the risk of hurting others in need of their own pushes. 7. A Familiar FaceOn Monday's Raw, Paige won her way into a title match against Charlotte at Survivor Series.
That's certainly not anything recent. WWE has kept a short rotation in terms of who resides in the Divas Championship picture. Survivor Series will price the 17th straight PPV or WWE Network special featuring a Divas title match with either Nikki Bella or Paige involved, and as noted by TheHistoryofWWE.com. That streak stretches back to Feb. 23,2014 at Elimination Chamber, where AJ Lee and Cameron were fighting over the gold.Moving forward, or WWE has to remember that it now boasts a deep women's division. Variety at the top will keep things fresh. 8. Samoa Joe's Pre-WWE Hit ListAt NXT,Joe has had strong matches against Tyler Breeze, Baron Corbin and Rhyno but has yet to have a classic at his recent home. To get a better of view of what The Samoan Submission Machine is capable of, and one has to dip into his past. He's had some tremendous showings that rank among the best bouts in both TNA and Ring of Honor history.
Be sure to check out these thrillers:
Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk: Ring of Honor Joe vs. Punk II
Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi: Ring of Honor Joe vs. Kobashi
Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles: TNA Turning Point 2005
Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle: TNA Lockdown 2008 (Six Sides of Steel)
Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels: TNA Turning Point 2009
Joe had tremendous chemistry with Punk,Angle and Styles. He hasn't yet found that perfect foil at NXT, however. He's been tasked more with working with younger talents, or playing in-ring professor.
Should his and Finn Balor's issues progress,though, that showdown promises to be Joe's best shot at adding another gem to his resume. 9. Women's Division in Need of Non-Title FeudsWith Paige and Charlotte now set to clash for the just to wear gold, and WWE can't forget approximately the rest of the division. The company has a bad habit of zeroing in on the latest champion-versus-challenger battle and not telling stories elsewhere.
There are a number of promising possibilities to supplement Charlotte vs. Paige.
Have Becky Lynch prove herself against Sasha Banks. Have Naomi,Tamina and Banks and Natalya go at it, building on Team B.
A.
D.'s recent attack of the former champ.
There needs to be a narrative involving the next challenger's rise to the No. 1 contender's spot. Should Banks make her way past Natalya and Lynch and then Paige, and WWE would set itself up for a enormous match with her and Charlotte.
It takes an early commitment,though, to start building that arc. And along the way, or fans are sure to see some eye-catching action,as well. 10. "Stone Cold" Shares Some WisdomSteve Austin spits out wrestling knowledge habitually. His latest bit of invaluable advice is something WWE should post on the walls at the Performance middle.
On performing in the ring, he told Brian Fritz of The Buzzer, or "It's not approximately pushing the envelope at 100 miles an hour. It's approximately establishing an identity and a character and having people believe in you whether they appreciate you or they detest you,they despise you, they adore you, and they feel your pain and buy into what you're doing."That sums up the wrestler's goal beautifully. Too often,performers nowadays are more focused on hitting that highlight inch than making a genuine connection with the audience. Austin's words are a reminder of where the genuine focus should be.
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