Since the heights of the Attitude era, the WWE has not made it back to those levels. Since the death of WCW, the industry has declined over the past 15 years with declining ratings. But right now, the product seems to be heading towards good times. The potential is there, so all the WWE needs to do is make sure it’s fulfilled. If they play their cards right the WWE can have a great year.
With John Cena taking a step back from the main event, new and upcoming talent such as Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are taking centre stage. Rollins as the cowardly heel champion is working, and with the power of the authority behind him you just love to hate the architect. His feud with ex-Shield member Dean Ambrose was the hottest thing in the company last summer, and now it appears to be re-ignited. The lunatic fringe announced on Monday that he is after Rollins’ title, and with Roman Reigns still in the mix, the former Shield members seem to be on the collision course.
WWE can finish the year strong if they play their cards right
It is something that fans are dying to see. A Shield triple threat is imminent, and with the reaction a short reunion of the trio got at Payback, the fans still have the Hounds of Justice fresh in their minds. If the WWE plays it right, this could be one of the biggest matches of the decade so far. It’s a match the fans want to see, it’s a match that makes sense, and it’s a match that should deliver.
Whilst on the topic of The Shield, the rocket push of one of its members has thankfully been slowed down. Roman Reigns was the chosen one. He was the man to lead us into the future, and be the new face of the company. Reigns has the look, the athleticism and the rich family history behind him. However, the fan connection is not there to make Reigns the number one guy.
When Reigns won the Royal Rumble, the backlash from the crowd could not be ignored. The WWE universe was not ready to accept Reigns as the new face of the company. Trying to push him down our throats was not working. The backlash was real, and the boos were so loud you couldn’t edit them out. So what did the WWE do? They slowed down the rocket push of Roman Reigns. By not having Reigns leave Wrestlemania as the champion, they gave the majority of the WWE universe what they wanted. Reigns was not ready to be champion, and the fans were not ready to accept him was champion. Reigns has since been pushed down to the upper midcard to feud with the Big Show, and was only recently put back into the main event. Giving Reigns a slow push towards his inevitable title win will only do the 29 year old and the company good. Eventually the crowd will come to accept him as he improves as a wrestler and sports entertainer and they will be ready to accept him as the new face of the WWE.
With Rollins, Reigns, Ambrose and the impending return of Brock Lesnar leading the company into the summer, the main event scene looks exciting. And with new faces looking set to enter the picture anytime soon, that excitement will continue into the fall of 2015 and early 2016.
However, it is not just the main event scene that is looking promising. 15 years a go during the height of the product, a key component to the WWE’s success was the four-five star matches put on by the midcard and tag team divisions. Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho would tear the house down during the summer of 2000 along with the likes of Eddie Guererro and Perry Saturn. The Hardy boys, The Dudley Boys, Edge and Christian and many more tag teams would frequently excite the crowds with their own great matches often involving tables, ladders and chairs or all three combined. With the main event stories red hot, and the mid card/under card producing classic matches, the quality from top to bottom during this time was incredible.
With the talent that the WWE currently has, there is no reason why this can’t be somewhat replicated. Of course, it will be difficult to reach the heights of the year 2000 but it can certainly be very good.
The New Day and Cesaro/Kidd have breathed new life into a seemingly dying tag team division. Embracing The New Day hate was a fantastic move, and now you have the tag team champions as one of the hottest things in the company. Their matches with Cesaro and Kidd in the past two pay per views have been the highlight of both. Couple that with the Lucha Dragons being promoted to the main roster, The Uso’s set to return and many other teams showcasing their talents, the tag team division looks very healthy after years of being a throw away part of the show.
Speaking of throwing away, the Intercontinental title has been devalued over the past decade. What once was a ‘workers’ title held by the likes of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho. As early as this year, Bad News Barrett held the belt and was losing every week making the champion look weak. Then all of a sudden Daniel Bryan won the title and it felt that it meant something again. Okay, Bryan’s injuries have forced him to relinquish the championship, but with the Elimination Chamber coming up and a wealth of talent in the mid card, the WWE can make the Intercontinental championship mean something again. If held by a good worker who is not booked as a joke then it can be as prestigious as it once was.
The Intercontinental championship is not the only mid-card championship with added prestige after Wrestlemania. The biggest star in the company, John Cena, won the United States championship defeating Rusev at the company’s biggest event. The Champ then issued the US Open challenge where he would put the belt on the line against anyone who dared challenge him. Now this has received a lot of criticism and has been labelled as ‘The John Cena open burial challenge’. Yes, John Cena will win the majority of the matches during this challenge but that does not make it a burial. In fact the US Open challenge can be used to create a new star. Think about it, Cena will eventually lose the title and it will most likely be as a result of this challenge. How big would it be for a superstar to get the rub of beating John Cena? Imagine an NXT star making his debut by beating the company’s biggest star for the US championship. It would be huge for that said wrestler. It would get him over and make him legit from day one. On top of that it’s a fresh idea, and legitimises the belt.
On top of those you have fresh and exciting talent coming up from NXT. Expect Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and more to be promoted to the full roster in the next year. The Divas division isn’t great but it’s been worse believe me. I have not even touched upon the potential of the Bray Wyatt character, who if used right could be a big star.
Of course it will be difficult to hit the heights of the attitude era, but if the WWE plays their cards right, it could be a very good year for the company.
