In spite of all the eyes glued to the screen to see what happens next, the WWE has always been a thing to complain about, mainly because fans usually don’t get what they want. In the same token, even when some do get the result they hoped for, a whole other group of people will complain. It’s a never-ending cycle that leaves fans wanting to see things change to favor their opinions, leaving eyes glued to the screen every time SmackDown, Raw or a PPV airs, regardless of everything I just mentioned.
This is why I’d like to pull a Robert Frost for a moment and take the road less traveled by. It's time to talk about the top 4 things the WWE is getting right that I think the majority of fans will definitely appreciate. But before I begin, I want to comment on the number 5 honorable mention: Nia Jax, who is becoming the Braun Strowman of the women's division. From having her back up Alexa Bliss to turning against her and saying it's her time to shine, this truly feels like her moment to win the belt and be at the top of her division. It will make the already limited women's division more entertaining and because of her uncommon size and stature for a female wrestler, give the division more attention as well. Now onto the list.
4. Ambrose & Rollins as Tag Team Champs
Using the nostalgia of The Shield and making two fine in-ring competitors/fan favorites reunite definitely helped get more attention on the belts. Now that they've won, everyone will watch as their reign goes through its ups and downs as they continue to put on good matches. That is until the likely 'heel turn' from one of them after they eventually lose the belts.
3. John Cena’s character
He is a 16-time world champ who has seemingly done it all (besides win the intercontinental title). Despite constant fan hate/complaints from his opponents and now with his recent feud against Roman Reigns, he doesn’t care what anyone thinks about it. His promos all sound like shoots instead of scripted banter, as he outwardly analyzes his opponents’ careers instead of how he’s going to beat them. He has turned the tables of how the fans will look at him and it certainly adds a good dose of fuel to the fire to build up his feud with Reigns, another corporate commodity.
2. Roman Reigns
Look I’m no fan of his, but objectively speaking, he’s looking more like the badass they sought out to sell him to the fans as than before. Beating the Undertaker in a slug fest at WrestleMania didn't help him get much credit as a good wrestler, but since then he has garnered heat with many fans, which brought out the indifferent, intense side to the character. In addition, while he’s not winning all the time now (which is great) by putting people over through his defeats, he still appears as a threat to his opponents because they still put him in the main event picture.
Since his recent loss at the fatal 4-way match, they’ve had him take a step back to take on John Cena. This is even better for him because win or lose he’s not being shoved in our faces as the next champ again and again, but as “The Guy” he says he is, he’s now going against the face of the company. The feud should be good as the rivalry heats up, and who knows, it may make way for an interesting heel turn (which at this point, doesn’t really matter).
1. Braun vs Brock – Battle of the Behemoths
From the character development to the relevance of the title over Brock’s shoulder, this definitely seems like an excellent feud in the making. Braun Strowman went from being green and looking like another big, stiff illegitimate wrestler to a red hot up and coming superstar, sprinting up the ranks. I have and continue to feel that his clean loss to Roman Reigns at Fast Lane was such a dumb decision by the WWE in an attempt to protect Roman Reigns. It honestly could have pushed the both of them if Strowman won after Reigns kicked out several times and been shoved through a table or something.
Nevertheless, they’ve done a great job building him up afterward, from showing him lift an ambulance, to injuring Reigns, to beating him at a PPV. All the way, until his most recent loss at the fatal 4-way main event at SummerSlam, where he decimated current champion Brock Lesnar decimated current champion Brock Lesnar current champion Brock Lesnar, slamming him through TWO tables. Luckily for Lesnar, he was able to get back in the match and pin Reigns to keep the belt, which brings me to the champ.
Brock Lesnar is the epitome of a part-time money-maker, whom the WWE loves to bring in for elevated sales and to create a stronger sense of realistic matches with the fans. He’s a way better champion than Jinder Mahal is (to say the least) and is elevating Raw with his occasional appearances and matches. After winning at SummerSlam, he’s still looking strong as hell, but with this Strowman match coming up, things are looking even more interesting for the fans.
Lesnar has also stated in interviews that he views the WWE as a regular job, so putting people over is not a problem for him, because it’d be part of protocol. After his feud with Goldberg earlier in the year, which culminated in a victory at WrestleMania (after quickly losing to his opponent prior to the event on two separate occasions), Lesnar has looked potentially vulnerable, something fans haven’t been used to. Since then, he has kept the title, but recently got his ass kicked by Braun at SummerSlam. When celebrating his victory, the next night on Raw, he was outwardly pissed when Braun interrupted him, which was followed by another beating and Strowman holding up the belt, as to say he’s the next champ.
The WWE is doing a great job overall at making this title change a possibility by first booking Lesnar to basically sneak away with the title (in comparison to his usual dominance) and then being beaten the following night. This match of monsters is definitely something to look forward to and will definitely keep fans anticipating the future of both superstars. In addition, as more superstars are getting time to shine at different times of the show, it will give way for others to step up as competition and still have eyes watching in anticipation, to see what happens next. Even I'm a little excited for the upcoming PPV, "No Mercy." Hopefully it delivers along with the build up to the main event, and is enjoyable throughout.
