{"id":105482,"date":"2021-12-08T12:00:36","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T17:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=105482"},"modified":"2021-12-07T16:12:42","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T21:12:42","slug":"wwe-part-timer-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2021\/12\/08\/wwe-part-timer-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"The Part-Timer Problem of WWE"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>December 3\u2019s <strong>Friday Night SmackDown<\/strong> set the wheels in motion for <strong>WWE\u2019s<\/strong> newest addition to their pay-per-view calendar, <em><strong>Day 1<\/strong>. <\/em>There was little doubt that the January 1, 2022 event would be anchored by another installment in the <strong>Brock Lesnar<\/strong> v. <strong>Roman Reigns<\/strong> saga for the Universal Championship. However, SmackDown segued into this plot twist using <strong>Sami Zayn<\/strong> in a manner that inadvertently exposes the flaws in the dependence of WWE regarding part-timer talent like Lesnar.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Part-Timer Problem of WWE<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Brock Lesnar convinces Sami Zayn to try for the Universal Title | FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/I-d5sM-yok0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Sami Zayn&#8217;s Fleeting Role in the Part-Timer Problem<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The previous week, Zayn outlasted several other Superstars on November 27\u2019s \u201cBlack Friday Invitational Battle Royal\u201d to determine the next challenger for the Universal Championship, only for Lesnar\u2019s return to be announced at the end of the broadcast by <strong>Kayla Braxton.<\/strong> Zayn\u2019s victory was mined for laughs on December 3 with a tongue-in-cheek confrontation with Lesnar at the top of the broadcast. Zayn\u2019s title shot against Reigns ended in an attack by Lesnar, and The Usos<strong>, <\/strong>paving the way for an easy victory by Reigns and a title shot for Lesnar. There was never much reason to believe that Zayn, a comic heel character, would prevail against the most dominant figures on the roster, or that the stage would be set for anyone other than Lesnar to face Reigns on PPV.<\/p>\n<p>Much has been written about WWE\u2019s storyline model, which leans heavily on building up to pay-per-view appearances by popular, veteran performers like Lesnar and <strong>Goldberg<\/strong>, who are a consistently big draw. However, for the sake of the inevitable pop that these part-timer appearances elicit from the casual or nostalgic WWE fan, the talents of the regular roster are cruelly diminished.<\/p>\n<p>Zayn\u2019s eclectic body of work spans indie promotions like <strong>Combat Zone Wrestling<\/strong><em>, <\/em>international promotions like <strong>Dramatic Dream Team<\/strong><em>, <\/em>as well as a stint in <strong>NXT <\/strong>and a reign as NXT Champion. To see his 2015 introduction to <strong>Monday Night Raw<\/strong>, in his hometown of Montreal, Quebec, by no less a personage than <strong>Bret Hart, <\/strong>to challenge <strong>John Cena <\/strong>is to witness a moment ebullient with optimism and charged with promise. However, after years of diminished investment in his potential, he was reduced to a hollow man in service to the Lesnar angle.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" class=\"size-full wp-image-96225 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/07\/finn-balor-returns-on-smackdown.jpg\" alt=\"Finn Balor\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/07\/finn-balor-returns-on-smackdown.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/07\/finn-balor-returns-on-smackdown-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Shifting Gears to The Prince<\/h3>\n<p>A similar fate was <strong>Finn Balor\u2019s<\/strong> in the build-up to September 26\u2019s <strong><em>Extreme Rules<\/em><\/strong>. Balor returned to WWE\u2019s main roster after a stellar run on NXT, where he dropped his \u201cDemon King\u201d gimmick and its supernatural trappings for the minimalistic character &#8220;The Prince.&#8221; If the moniker was meant to be an allusion to Machiavelli\u2019s Renaissance how-to guide for liars, schemers, and double dealers, it was apt, as the Prince engineered the break-up of the <strong>Undisputed Era <\/strong>with subtle mind games. After dropping the NXT title to <strong>Karrion Kross, <\/strong>Balor joined the SmackDown roster, intent on reclaiming the Universal Championship he was forced to rescind due to injury. Live crowds thrilled to Balor\u2019s entrance, promos, and especially the return of his demonic alter ego\u2026 Only for all to end in a whimper, not a bang, with a contrived finish to the end of his <em>Extreme Rules<\/em> bout against Reigns. For Balor, as for Zayn, there was no real chance, and no chance that Reigns was losing the belt before his October 21 bout with Lesnar at <em><strong>Crown Jewel<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Zayn was once a contender. Just last year, Balor was a dominant force on NXT, and what\u2019s more his place in pro wrestling history is enshrined as <strong>New Japan Pro-Wrestling\u2019s<\/strong> first <strong>Bullet Club <\/strong>leader. Both have the talent and history to play a greater role in the Universal Championship race than pitstops in the greater Lesnar v. Reigns angle. After all, where can that angle lead? A part-timer like Lesnar is unlikely to take the title, and if he does it, will only elicit collective groans of dismay from fans-which has happened before. Another pay-per-view victory for Reigns, most likely due to interference from the Usos, will only make the <strong>Bloodline\u2019s <\/strong>dominance as predictable and cartoonish as Cena\u2019s became in the previous decade, a monolith that fans will clamor to topple with whatever this decade\u2019s equivalent to <strong>Bryan Danielson\u2019s <\/strong>\u201cYes!\u201d movement will inevitably be: an organic groundswell of demand to storm the gates and change the guard.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lesnar returns for the Universal Title Match Contract Signing with Reigns: SmackDown, Oct. 15, 2021\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5qcKiL7AOD8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Part-Timer Problem of WWE &#8211; In Closing<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A titanic name and presence like Lesnar\u2019s is a lure to pay-per-view viewers. However, WWE\u2019s year-round television viewing experience is diminished by the current model. As the current Universal Champion, Reigns&#8217;s victories look cheaply earned and predictable, biding time until a confrontation with a guest player which, for practicality\u2019s sake, he will also win. In the meantime, the regular roster is populated by wrestlers who are legends elsewhere, but props in narratives that diminish them, erasing their talent, history, and potential. \u00a0This robs the viewer of far richer stories that could be told, stunning matches that could be staged with talent who deserve a true shot. Although Reigns\u2019s victory at <em>Day 1<\/em> is all but assured, in this schema, no one truly wins.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stay tuned to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/watch.wwe.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WWE Network<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peacock<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>December 3\u2019s Friday Night SmackDown set the wheels in motion for WWE\u2019s newest addition to their pay-per-view calendar, Day 1. There was little doubt that the January 1, 2022 event would be anchored by another installment in the Brock Lesnar v. Roman Reigns saga for the Universal Championship. However, SmackDown segued into this plot twist [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3715,"featured_media":105492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,2192,4,3],"tags":[57,111,267,77,106,7994,153],"class_list":["post-105482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-brock-lesnar","tag-finn-balor","tag-goldberg","tag-roman-reigns","tag-sami-zayn","tag-the-bloodline","tag-the-usos"],"modified_by":"Robbie Sutter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3715"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}