Content, Creative, and Crybabies, Oh My!

   Normally, the day before a WWE Pay-Per-View, I would write a blog about my predictions for that particular show. As you may know, tomorrow is TLC. However, I know I will get off on tangents due to it, so this blog will not be my normal prediction one. Though we have not yet found out what, if any, matches will occur on the kick-off show, it looks as though we're getting a total of 12 matches. Does that sound excessive to anyone else?  I know many of the old WrestleMania cards had as many as that, if not more, but this is just TLC, a run of the mill December PPV. After all, no one really cares about anything until the Royal Rumble anyway. In my opinion, that's way too many matches! 

   

   This therein leads into my next topic. Recently, some wrestlers and wrestling writers reacted to fans who have been criticizing the WWE product. Of course, this is not something new! However, Xavier Woods, for instance, said some fans were coming off as entitled crybabies. Writers said that fans don't seem to understand how hard it is to write a three hour show in Raw every week. First of all, I don't think fans are stating that they can write better wrestling television. There may be some know-it-alls out there, but not all fans should be lumped in with them. Don't get me wrong, because there definitely are fans out there that complain for the sake of complaining, act like crybabies, and possibly even some that claim they can write better shows. For instance, I really thought the crowd was being disrespectful during the Seth Rollins/Dolph Ziggler Iron Man Match at Extreme Rules. However, I know what I say is opinion and not fact and have never claimed to know anything about the business because I'm not in it. At the same time, I also don't want to be made to feel guilty for having an opinion.  Obviously, it has to be quite difficult to write a three hour show every week. Maybe that's the problem, though! Maybe there is just too much content for WWE fans, and especially WWE itself, to handle. 

   While I've always advocated for Raw to be cut down to two hours, that's not where it ends nor is it what I will mainly focus on in this blog. There is simply too much content out there! You've got a three hour Raw on Mondays, a two hour Smackdown on Tuesdays, a one hour 205 Live, a one hour NXT, a one hour NXT UK, as well as all of the PPV's and specials that occur often more than once a month. I can't forget the Takeover shows either! That's a lot of programming! I actually had no idea, but Main Event is apparently still going on as well. Not to mention, other original programming on the WWE Network! Lately, I've been more entertained by the thirty-minute Edge and Christian Show than the entirety of Raw. I also happen to love the way NXT is put together and often enjoy their one hour show over Raw or even Smackdown, which also more times than not, comes off more entertaining than Raw. NXT UK has just gotten started so they're not quite on the radar yet. As for 205 Live, as great as the matches can be, not as many fans watch it. For instance, the segment and match they gave to Mustafa Ali on Smackdown this week was probably more exposure than a talent like him has had since he began with WWE well over two years ago. 

   Am I nuts for not wanting all of this content? Perhaps! Then again, I've always adhered to the "less is more" approach. More doesn't always equal better! I'm definitely a quality over quantity guy. I know the ratings may not matter as much as they used to, but when the Smackdown deal with Fox goes down next year, they may affect WWE slightly. I don't think Fox is going to tolerate low ratings for long. Some even think Smackdown will end up presented as the A-Show over Raw. Raw has always been seen as WWE's A Show, even if Smackdown is often the better show. I find myself changing channels, dozing off, not paying attention or even missing a Raw these days because it's just not must-see anymore. I'm not comparing the product to the Attitude Era specifically, but back in those days, it was also the Monday Night Wars, where everything was must-see! 

   Let's start back at the top here for a second. I mentioned that a problem I see is that tomorrow night's TLC has 12 matches lined up. I'll be honest, half the card I don't care about whatsoever and are angles that can be cleared up on Raw and Smackdown, respectively. The following is the TLC card in no particular order. I might as well put my predictions in as well while I'm thinking about it!

1. WWE Title - Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
prediction - Daniel Bryan

2. Intercontinental Title - Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
Prediction - new Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose (possibly with a Renee Young heel turn)

3. Raw Women's Title - Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax
Prediction - Ronda Rousey

4. Smackdown Women's Title Triple Threat TLC Match - Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka
Prediction - Asuka (possibility that they pull Becky out for a higher purpose)

5. Smackdown Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match - The Bar vs. The Usos vs. The New Day
Prediction - The Bar

6. Cruiserweight Title - Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander
Prediction - Buddy Murphy

7. TLC Match - Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin
Prediction - Braun Strowman

8. Tables Match - Natalya vs. Ruby Riot
Prediction - Ruby Riot

9. Ladder Match - Elias vs. Bobby Lashley
Prediction - Bobby Lashley

10. Chairs Match - Randy Orton vs. Rey Misterio
Prediction - Randy Orton

11. Mixed Match Challenge Finals - R-Truth & Carmella vs. Jinder Mahal & Alicia Fox
Prediction - R-Truth & Carmella

12. Finn Balor vs. Drew Mcntyre.
Prediction - Drew McIntyre (unless Finn is the Demon)

   That is a lot of matches, half of which have little to no momentum behind them. Though the stipulation for the Mixed Match Challenge is for the number 30 spot for their respective Royal Rumbles, I feel it could have occurred on Raw, Smackdown, or even a dual-branded House Show. I don't consider Braun vs. Baron to be important enough to be a TLC match. Though a ladder match with a guitar hanging is intriguing, Elias vs. Lashley doesn't seem to be important enough to be featured. As much as I love both Balor and McIntyre, there hasn't been enough build for a PPV match. I listed those matches specifically for a reason. Since lately there has been an affiliation between Baron, Lashley, and McIntyre, I would combine these matches into a six-man tag team ladder match. I'm happy that a non-Title program in the women's division is happening in Natalya/Ruby, but I'm afraid it will get lost within the show. The same goes for the Cruiserweight Title match unless you watch 205 Live. 

   It's possible some matches may not even take place. The jury is still out on whether Braun will be cleared. Also, rumor has it that Balor may not be able to participate due to a recent illness. The bottom line is that this seems like more matches than necessary and some will not get the time they truly need. For instance, at Evolution, the Toni Storm/Io Shirai Mae Young Classic finals match was only given ten minutes. I enjoyed the match but feel both competitors were slighted and with more time could have been match of the night. 

   I understand that everything is dictated by money, which is why we have a PPV once a month, if not more, and why we have a three hour Raw. Let's also not forget that WWE runs House Shows several times a week, so it's straining on both creative and the performers. There has to be a happy medium where the monetary value is still reached. yet without as much content. The importance of things happening on free television has made PPV's seem less important. If you've already seen matches or angles on Raw or Smackdown several times over, why would you care when they reach the PPV? These days, Raw and Smackdown aren't even built towards the PPV's anymore but rather the next week. While I do think continuity is important, there has to be anticipation built up to care about what happens at the PPV. 

   Since we're still on the subject of PPV's, the time has increased for all of them, not just the big four. The big four have been expanded to four, sometimes five hours with a two hour kick-off show, while the rest have been expanded to four hours with a full one-hour kick-off show. This year, along with the PPV's and Takeovers, we've had several glorified House Shows as Network Specials. Both the Greatest Royal Rumble and Crown Jewel took place in Saudi Arabia on the WWE Network, while WWE presented Super Showdown in Australia. I'm okay with the emphasis that was put on these shows but they didn't have to be televised. I'm of the opinion that Shawn Michaels should not have come out of retirement but even more upset that his come-back was wasted in a tag team match that should have seemed a lot more important than it was. Triple H's injury notwithstanding, HBK carried the entire match.  One PPV a month is a lot for me and these other shows is just overkill at this point.

  

   More times than not, I enjoy Takeovers more than their main roster counterparts, even the big ones, even WrestleMania in some cases. NXT UK has just begun and is finding it's footing. However, I'm looking forward to NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool. I've watched the shows and it's great to see what these men and women can bring to the table. UK Champion Pete Dunne always brings it, there's a great story with him and Mustache Mountain against the new group consisting of Wolfgang and the Coffey Brothers, a tournament will crown NXT UK Tag Team Champions, and inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion Rhea Ripley is making waves. NXT itself is always great to me and I look forward to each Takeover immensely. There is great story telling with little to no nonsense. I'm all for comedy in wrestling but sometimes I just want to get to the action and not have long drawn out promos made by wrestlers that can't really cut promos that well. I also think what wrestlers say is much too scripted but that's for another blog altogether.

   I've already mentioned it, but Raw would be better off as a two hour show. They've already gotten rid of the 15-minute over run on the USA Network for Raw so that's a good first step. I know the format for Raw and Smackdown is not the same as NXT, but sometimes those shows are hard to get through. We also cannot blame things entirely on creative when sometimes at the last minute, Vince McMahon himself will change everything and the performers have to improvise on the fly. Perhaps I'm the pot calling the kettle black with the amount of content in this one particular blog, but I have a lot to say on the subject. Thoughts? Comments? Anyone? Bueller?

 If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments.  Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans.  Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport.  For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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The Authors of Pain: How the Mighty Have Fallen

  Winning Championships does not always equate success if the act is not booked strong and smart in doing so. Nothing can closer resemble that statement than the way the Authors of Pain have been booked upon arrival on the main roster.  I understand that not every talent coming from NXT will be portrayed quite the same or reach success on the main roster in a short period of time. That's not what this argument is about! I'm not expecting every call-up from NXT to immediately win Championships. What I am asking for is for creative to have a plan for these men and women when they end up on Raw or Smackdown. Clearly, WWE had no plans for the Authors of Pain, despite just recently having a run as Raw Tag Team Champions. Even in winning those Titles, they were not booked strongly whatsoever. 

   I'll go back to the beginning when these two behemoths made their debut in NXT. Akam and Rezar were humble students, green as grass, at the Performance Center, waiting for their chance to make it on NXT Television. In June, 2016 at NXT Takeover: The End, two large men in matching tactical gear attacked American Alpha, who had just lost their NXT Tag Team Titles to The Revival. Seconds later, legendary manager Paul Ellering appeared on the ramp, closing the show, indicating that he was associated with the two men. Ellering, who brought the Road Warriors to success and Tag Team gold several times over, said his two men, Akam and Rezar, would be known as the Authors of Pain.

   From that moment on, they dominated everyone in their path in NXT and the first chapter was written. By November, the AOP ran roughshod over every team in NXT and defeated TM-61 to win the second annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic at NXT Takeover: Toronto, bringing an end to their second chapter. In January of 2017, the dangerous duo, with Ellering at the helm, set their sights on NXT Tag Team Champions DIY, who had just defended their Championships against The Revival. AT NXT Takeover: San Antonio, the Authors of Pain defeated DIY to win the NXT Tag Team Titles; and chapter 3 began. They successfully defended the Titles against DIY and The Revival in a Triple Threat Match at NXT Takeover: Orlando in April of that year. At NXT Takeover: Chicago in June, they defeated DIY in a Ladder Match, retaining the Championships. Unrelated, this was the night Tommaso Ciampa did the unthinkable and turned on his DIY partner and long time friend Johnny Gargano.

   The Authors of Pain then got into a feud with the stable Sanity and became fan favorites. At Takeover: Brooklyn III in August of 2017, the AOP lost the Titles to Sanity. At War Games later that year, they teamed with Roderick Strong against Sanity and the Undisputed Era in a Triple Threat War Games match, in which the Undisputed Era came out the victors. At Takeover: Philadelphia in January of 2018, they unsuccessfully challenged the Undisputed Era for the Tag Team Titles. At Takeover: New Orleans, the Authors of Pain fought the team of Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong, as well as the Undisputed Era. It was clear they did all they could in NXT and were officially out of contention for the Championships. There was nowhere else to go but up.

   Just days later, the Authors of Pain showed up on Raw with Paul Ellering and fans were excited. Here's where it all fell apart! After their match, they dumped Ellering as their manager. After defeating a few jobber teams, they weren't seen on television for weeks. There were many reports questioning the reason for parting ways with Ellering. Rumors stated he did not want to travel but those were false. It was soon reported that WWE management felt he was too old, which is beyond ridiculous. In September of this year, 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick appeared on Raw at their side and became their new manager, in what was one of the dumbest ideas WWE creative has ever had.

   In November, the duo defeated Seth Rollins in a handi-cap match to win the Raw Tag Team Titles, since Rollins' partner Dean Ambrose turned on him weeks before. They did not look strong at all by defeating one man. Though they did defeat Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Bar at Survivor Series, the only thing people remember from that match is Drake Maverick pissing his pants. To make matters worse, this past Raw saw them lose the Tag Team Titles to the makeshift team of Bobby Roode and Chad Gable. The entire booking of the Authors of Pain has been absolutely dreadful. I'm almost at a loss for words at this point. How do you take a team that dominated in NXT and reduce them to jokes? They did the same to The Ascension and The Revival, and Sanity is barely even on television as it is. Again, I'm not asking for NXT talents to be pushed to the moon upon arrival to the main roster, but there should be at least some kind of plan or slow build booking. I honestly don't know how the AOP will recover from this. It's frustrating! What else can I say?

https://youtu.be/njpPFC2RgKg



 If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments.  Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans.  Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport.  For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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Time To End the Failed Experiment Known As the Brand Split

   In a much shorter time period than the first, WWE's brand split is already running its course. Due to the brand split, the tag team divisions on Raw and Smackdown have both suffered. The same goes for the women's divisions. With the Universal Title barely being seen and the way the WWE Championship has hardly, if ever main evented a PPV, the top tier divisions have also suffered.  I may have indirectly pointed out that the reason why the brand split is failing its individual divisions could be because of too many Championships. Should the Titles be merged again, it would be more pointless to have split rosters. These problems definitely go hand in hand.

   For a long time, Tag Team Championships for the women have been rumored. While I don't hold a position on the subject either way, I can see both sides of the argument. How would this arrangement work? Would there be two different sets of Tag Team Titles for Raw and Smackdown like the men have? If that's the case, it continues to dilute a Championship's importance and adds even more unnecessary Titles. It's overkill! The more conventional idea would be to have floating Tag Team Titles for the women from brand to brand. If that's the case, which I would be more in favor of, doesn't it then become redundant to have two singles Titles for the women? I would only be in favor of Women's Tag Team Championships if the singles Titles are unified. Based on the way the men's tag team divisions look, I'm not too hopeful for the women.

   While I'm on the subject, I'll focus on the tag team divisions. Raw's is a complete joke at this point. While the Authors of Pain make sense to be holding the Titles, they weren't pushed correctly until recently and even then, their existence has been tainted by defeating only one man for the Titles, piss jokes, and the fact that WWE replaced Paul Ellering with Drake Maverick of all people. Don't get me started on The Revival! Who did they piss off? In NXT, they were the top team and their matches with DIY were classics. I know they have been plagued by injuries but that doesn't mean they should be treated like jokes when they are healthy. The B Team are jokes, the Ascension haven't been relevant on the main roster ever, you've got a makeshift nonsensical team in Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, and unless you've watched 205 Live, you'd have no idea where the Lucha House Party came from. WWE had Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler briefly hold the Titles in a ridiculous story with Braun Strowman and The Shield only held the Titles to help Roman Reigns not get booed as much.

   While Smackdown's division is better, it's only by a short margin. While The New Day, The Bar, and the Usos are great teams, it's getting a little tiresome to see the same teams feud. Sanity was brought up and have been barely used, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson haven't been used right since they left New Japan, and the Colons were never even relevant to begin with. I think it's time to merge the tag team divisions and Championships, get rid of the dead weight, stop using makeshift teams as much, and focus on teams that could use the spotlight every once in a while. I know they're different animals under the WWE umbrella, but NXT seems to have itself a pretty great tag team division, which I thought was not going to be the case after the heartbreaking breakup of DIY and the call ups of the Authors of Pain and Sanity. The Undisputed Era, now at full force with the return from injury of Bobby Fish, are absolutely killing it. The likely next Champions are the impressive War Raiders. Waiting in the wings are popular teams like Heavy Machinery and the Street Profits, the wily Aussies known as The Mighty, a team flying under the radar in the Forgotten Sons, and the underdog duo of Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. There's also Mustache Mountain, varying between the main NXT brand and NXT UK.

   Even worse than having two women's titles and two tag team titles is having more than one top Champion. Even in a brand split, it still makes no sense! How can one company have more than one World Champion? Which one is the top belt? You can't have two! For a majority of its just over two year existence, the Universal Championship has been with Brock Lesnar, who rarely makes appearances or Title defenses. To me, the Universal Title means nothing and is not a true World Title. Meanwhile, the WWE Title, which has been around for 55 years, is often considered an afterthought and its Champions are rarely, if ever, featured in the main event. While it was great to see AJ Styles have a year-long reign based on the Title's legacy, he was passed over in main events for Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns, therefore slightly diminishing his accomplishments. Unfortunately, Roman Reigns had to make a gut-wrenching announcement. Due to this, WWE scrambled and because of how they messed up Braun Strowman, they almost had no choice but to put the Universal Title on Lesnar again. I don't mind Lesnar's few and far between appearances, but I do when he's the Champion. He's at the level where he's an attraction and no longer needs Championships to be relevant. Unifying the main Titles would be a very welcomed thing.

   Some argue that having separate brands enables superstars to grow and win the top Championships they may not have won without the brand split. I can understand that, as without the brand split the first time around, would we have seen Eddie Guerrero or Chris Benoit win World Championships? On the other hand, the brand split saw JBL hold the top Title for nearly 10 months, which would have been doubtful if there was no brand split. In today's standards, the brand split saw Jinder Mahal hold the WWE Title, which would never have happened without it. The brand split may have given us Christian and Mark Henry finally getting their moments, but we also had to suffer through the Great Khali and Jack Swagger. I understand that not everyone can win a World Title and that's okay. Ted DiBiase, Mr. Perfect, and Roddy Piper may not have won World Titles in WWE but it doesn't make them any less of the legends they are.

   While guys like John Cena and especially the Undertaker have earned being able to go wherever they please, it takes away from the purpose of the brand split, which is to create two different and unique brands. Because the brand exclusive PPV's weren't as profitable, WWE decided to have duel-branded shows. While it makes the cards significantly better, it also takes away from the point of the split. Also, some wrestlers appear on each other's brands haphazardly so it isn't a true split anyway. The "shake-up" is the new form of the draft but it has become pointless. Then there's the promotion of NXT talent to the main roster without any plans for these men and women. In fact, NXT is arguably more of a separate and unique brand than Raw or Smackdown.

   While the Championships may in fact be props, they should still be treated as if they're prestigious. Can we at least try to maintain some kayfabe? I believe unifying the World Titles and the Tag Team Titles would do loads of good. Also, Tag Team Titles for the women should only be introduced if there is a unification of the singles Titles. I'd be okay with the mid-card Titles both being around but then again, the end of the brand split should also unify those Titles as well. WWE ran for almost 40 years before the first split and did just fine. When the first brand split ended, it had lost all meaning a few years before anyway. The same could be said for this time around. It's time to end the experiment. It failed once and it is failing once again. This may not be a solution to all the problems within WWE but it's a start.



 If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments.  Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans.  Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport.  For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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