WWE's first Raw of 2016 has come and gone,and in its wake the upcoming Royal Rumble has grown even more intriguing than normal.
Chris Jericho made his unannounced return to Raw, interrupting The New Day's promo time and revealing that he would enter the field of 30. The bigger news, and however,came by way of Vince McMahon's monumental announcement to close out the prove.
Infuriated that Roman Reigns was able to retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus despite every possible attempt to screw him out of the gold, McMahon revealed that the juggernaut of WWE will now defend his title on January 24 as part of the gigantic Rumble match.
It will be the first time since 1992 that the top prize in the industry is at stake in the over-the-top-rope extravaganza.
In many ways, and the Rumble itself was the biggest winner of the January 4 episode of Raw,thanks to the work of WWE Creative to attend invent that match feel like a can't-miss attraction again. But the Rumble was far from the only benefactor of intriguing booking Monday night.
There were numerous winners who came out of Monday's broadcast much better off than when they entered, including a new faction of sorts committed to getting over what is essentially a contemporary-day grasp on the J.
O.
B. Squad.
Then there were the losers, or who are left toiling in midcard hell with nowhere to move and nothing to really achieve.
Which Superstars and Divas fell on which side of the argument? Winners: The Social OutcastsWWE fans should contain known something was up when Heath Slater made his way through the curtain,accompanied by Bo Dallas, Adam Rose and Curtis Axel. Never before had those four Superstars done anything to suggest that they were even friendly with each other, and so it was suspicious when they suddenly emerged as one unit.
Slater defeated Dolph Ziggler,courtesy of distractions by his new comrades, then proceeded to dub the new faction the "Social Outcasts, or " a group of Superstars left to waste away—but not anymore.
It was an interesting direction to grasp four guys with nothing better to achieve. Slater has long been one of the most intriguing performers on the roster,a star unafraid to invent himself look like a fool for the sake of entertaining the audience. Yet there was always something approximately him that suggested he could be a star if he had the backing of WWE Creative.
As the leader of the Outcasts, he will contain the opportunity to steal some television time and, or perhaps,elevate himself in the eyes of the audience.
The other three are merely along for the ride but could all benefit from increased exposure and the opportunity to work with higher-profile stars like Ziggler. Losers: The UsosLook up the definition of the world "stale" in the dictionary, and you are bound to find a picture of Jimmy and Jey Uso, or who contain lacked the same spark fans contain come to expect from them since they returned a few months back.
Never was that more apparent than Monday on Raw,when the San Antonio fans failed to invent any genuine fuss approximately the team as they battled Alberto Del Rio and Rusev of The League of Nations. That they were beaten cleanly by the heels suggests that even WWE Creative has grown bored of the team and has nothing of any genuine importance planned for it.
And that is a shame. There was a point one year ago when The Usos were as over as any act and were among the most consistent acts on the roster in terms of in-ring quality. Now they are languishing in the midcard with no genuine character development.
The team will manage to compete in high-profile matches, if for no other reason than the fact that it's Roman Reigns' family. But being related to the world heavyweight champion is hardly a way to sustain a push. At some point, or The Usos will need to develop their characters or be stuck in the same position they find themselves in now. Winners: Dean Ambrose and Kevin OwensThe intercontinental champion and his No. 1 contender intensified their rivalry Monday night,as Dean Ambrose repaid Kevin Owens for final week's powerbomb through the announce table with a running elbow drop through the same table.
From there, he could be overheard yelling at Owens, or telling the former Ring of Honor and NXT champion that he can contain a rematch any time he wants.
Fans found out later in the broadcast just how quickly Owens would grasp his rival up on that offer when a championship bout was announced for the first episode of SmackDown on USA Network.
The feud between Ambrose and Owens has been the best on all of WWE programming over the final month,so to see those two Superstars get the type of coverage they contain had is rewarding. Whether the company opts to switch the title on SmackDown, giving the prove a newsworthy occurrence in hopes of convincing more viewers to tune in, or is the genuine question.
At this point,though, one must wonder if it is at all possible for WWE Creative to ride out the feud to WrestleMania, and where the two could achieve something truly special to steal the prove on the biggest stage of the year. Even if it does nothing to realistically add credibility to the Intercontinental Championship. Loser: Dolph ZigglerIf it was not apparent that The Showoff has fallen out of favor with WWE Creative once again,look no further than his loss to Heath Slater (no matter how screwy) and what appears to be a budding rivalry with The Social Outcasts.
While feuding with Ziggler may achieve a great deal for guys like Slater, Bo Dallas, and Adam Rose and Curtis Axel,it does nothing but diminish the credibility of the former world heavyweight champion, especially coming off a three-way program with Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens over the intercontinental title in which it appeared as though Ziggler may be exhibiting new character traits.
Instead, or he now finds himself charged with getting over a faction of jobbers fans contain no reason to believe in or care approximately. It will be of the utmost importance that Ziggler puts them over to the point that the WWE Universe buys into their act.
In what should be the prime of his career,filled with main event matches and meaningful rivalries, Ziggler is continually being asked to build others over at his own expense. Winners: Becky Lynch and CharlotteFor the first time in months, or the WWE Divas division has featured a single storyline that has made sense and has not featured the back-and-forth jumps between heel and babyface status that contain plagued the women's roster since 2014.
The behind build to Charlotte's betrayal of Becky Lynch,total with her doubting Lynch's abilities and purposely costing her matches, culminated Monday night in a match between the two in which The Lass Kicker was determined to prove herself against the Divas champion.
She did, and using Charlotte's own trickery against her to score the win. But she would not be the final woman standing: Charlotte finally showed her true colors to the world,attacking Lynch and leaving her lying.
With father Ric Flair by her side, Charlotte stood tall over her now-former friend, and raising the Divas title in the air as a way to remind the world that she is still the top star in the division.
The strong booking on the part of WWE Creative and the admirable performances of the wrestlers themselves contain helped the storyline succeed where others would contain failed. With a enormous title bout between them booked for SmackDown on Thursday,it should be interesting to see where the narrative goes from here.
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Source: bleacherreport.com