Directions for WWE Following Bad Blood
That was a great night of wrestling. Major PLE’s are no longer the only shows where WWE pulls out all the stops. WWE Bad Blood had just about everything that one could want with a wrestling show.
Big-time matches, huge returns, and a couple of surprises brought the Atlanta crowd out of their seats.
The WWE machine keeps rolling, and now that Bad Blood is over, it’s time to look toward the future. What should WWE do with their talent going forward? Let’s take a look at some possible choices below.
Does CM Punk Continue His World Championship Journey?
CM Punk has vanquished his Scottish Psychopath problem. He went to places he never had before to finish his program with McIntyre, but it’s now over. What is next for the Second City Saint?
It would make sense for him to take up his cause to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
After the Bash at Berlin PLE, Punk stated that he was going after Gunther and his championship. Now that his McIntyre problems have concluded, it makes sense for him to continue with this line. It would be a fresh matchup and a major program for both men would be created.
Drew McIntyre to Take A Break
Drew McIntyre suffered a crushing defeat at WWE Bad Blood. Over the past year, he has committed all of his efforts to pushing Punk out of the company. Now that he has failed in this quest, the embarrassment could be overwhelming.
It would be hard for Drew to show his face in the company after such a huge loss, so now might be the best time for him to take a break.
If McIntyre doesn’t take a break anything other than a World Championship program would be a huge step back for him. It would be the only way to rebound from his defeat, and it looks like a few others will be laying claim to the 1# contendership.
He would be put to the back of the line, and some time off would be good to let him reset his character.
Damian Priest Demands His Rematch
Damian Priest has gotten his revenge on Finn Balor. After Balor’s deceit was revealed, Priest set out on a path of revenge. He got that measure of revenge at Bad Blood when he won the battle over his former stablemate.
The whole issue between the two started with Balor costing Priest his World Championship, and now that the problems are over it would make sense for Priest to want his rematch.
Gunther has a date set against Sami Zayn, but once that is over, Priest needs to lay his claim to a rematch.
A Heel Turn For The Tag Champs?
This is a small thing, but one that could blossom into a larger program. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill hosted Bad Blood, and it was a ceremonial affair for the most part.
They were in the sky box for most of the night, but a later interview provided some interesting developments.
Before the WWE Women’s Championship match, Bianca wished Bayley good luck in a very tongue-in-cheek way. Her thumbs up and smile seemed very forced and disingenuous.
It may not have been good acting, but the look she shared with Cargill shows that there may be more to this. There could be a possible heel turn on the way. A heel turn that would refresh the tag champs and give Bayley and Naomi an interesting program to enter.
Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton Move Towards A Cash In
Nia Jax and Bayley’s program was good, not great but good. Jax got another win over the former Hugger, and now is the time to move in a more intriguing direction.
Stratton and Jax’s alliance is shaky at best. It started fine, but Jax has been a bully to Stratton planting the seed for Tiffy to turn on the champ.
WWE has done a fine job sewing the seeds of doubt in their partnership, even going so far as to have Bayley and others bring it up in promos. After some dubious assistance from Stratton at Bad Blood it looks like things will finally come to a head.
Jax will not be happy after Bad Blood and will no doubt vent her frustrations at Stratton. This should lead to more cash-in teases and an eventual feud between the two.
Rhea, Dominik, and Morgan’s Feud Gets Some Legs
Another layer was added to the ongoing issues between Liv, Dominik, and Rhea. Raquel Rodriguez made her presence known, costing Ripley her chance at the WWE Women’s World Championship.
A lot can be played towards Ripley’s hubris costing her the match, but ultimately it will be Rodriguez who will get the heat for it.
If WWE was going to continue with this rivalry, something needed to be added to it, and that’s exactly what they did. We can expect Rodriguez and Ripley to do some of the heavy lifting for a while.
Pitting the two against one another is a great way to separate Morgan and Ripley slightly while still keeping them within range of one another. Morgan will eventually drop the strap to Ripley, but in the meantime, we will get some proxy action from Liv Morgan’s bodyguard.
A Lot To Unpack With The Bloodline Problem
The main event of WWE Bad Blood didn’t blow anyone away with its action, but its finish and subsequent fallout were fantastic. Jimmy Uso and The Rock’s return was a shock that caused a ton of questions.
Jimmy is back to support his cousin, Roman Reigns. There will be various tag matches between them and the New Bloodline over the coming weeks. No doubt Jimmy will team with Reigns at the upcoming PLE Survivor Series.
The Rock was the other major surprise return at Bad Blood. The Final Boss was going to make his way back to WWE, but this was an interesting time to do so.
He didn’t align himself with either stable, but his throat gesture appeared to be directed towards Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. It would make sense to have The Great One continue his heel run and take issue with both Reigns and Rhodes.
He promised Rhodes he would come back for the WWE Championship, and he can play off his disappointment in Reigns as a way to bring them together.
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