This is going to be a long post, but I'm going to be using a font size hierarchy so that if you don't want to read the really specific stuff, just don't read the small text. The WWE right now technically has four brands: Raw, Smackdown, Superstars and NXT. In this post I'm going to be addressing Raw and Smackdown in separate sections, and then Superstars and NXT will both be in one section towards the end. So if you don't care about the C and D shows, they're at the end and easily ignored. Convenient, right? My Power Rankings at the beginning of each brand are top 9, simply for the sake of aesthetics. That damn 10 looks so chunky below all those single digit numbers.
State of Raw
Relevant Babyfaces
John Cena
CM Punk
John Morrison
Alex Riley
Yep, that's it. You could count Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne, but as tag champs, they aren't really relevant, and on top of that they aren't exclusively Raw superstars since the Tag Champs are dual-branded. The WWE only having four relevant babyfaces on a brand is nothing new; they've been doing it for a very long time and a lot of people don't notice. It makes a lot of sense to me because the less babyfaces you have, the stronger they look individually compared to the heels, individually. If you've got a 4-on-10 fight, and the 4 guys win, obviously they look stronger. Babyfaces usually win big matches; it makes them look better that there are so many heels scheming and conspiring against them. That being said, we probably won't see another Punk/Cena match for a very long time. Summerslam was a Babyface vs Babyface match, which, in WWE's eyes, is a money match. See Austin/Rock, Rock/Hogan, and coming soon, Rock/Cena.
Power Rankings
1. CM Punk
2. John Cena
3. Triple H
4. Kevin Nash
5. The Miz
6. R-Truth
7. Alberto Del Rio
8. Dolph Ziggler
9. John Morrison
State of the Brand
Punk at number one is simple: he is the best draw in the WWE right now. He is the only guy that ascends wrestling into mainstream right now. Cena is second by a long shot with Triple H closing in on Cena as the top draw behind Punk. Kevin Nash is at number four because he's just that over as a heel right now. Every single person boos him. Kids see a guy who's trying to bully everybody, and adults see a guy who has way less talent than he'd ever let on and doesn't deserve the spot he's in. Nobody likes him in the same way that everybody likes Punk. The fact that Punk so subtly got Nash over as a heel using nothing but a "pipe bomb" really says a lot about Punk's talking talents. Miz gets relentlessly booed in most crowds and even when he isn't getting relentlessly booed he's getting a Cena-esque reaction with a split crowd booing and cheering him equally. Truth is another guy who is so evil that it's entertaining and crowds either hate him or love him.
Seems strange that the WWE Champion is so low in the rankings, doesn't it? I agree, but that's what Money in the Bank seems to do when it isn't built properly. The WWE did a brilliant job building guys like Edge, CM Punk, and The Miz as Mr. Money in the Bank before the cash in. Not so much with Swagger last year or Del Rio. Right now, Del Rio looks weak, but that isn't a good thing for a guy his size. When a 6'5" 250 lb guy who can wrestle with the best of them looks weak, you're doing something wrong. Del Rio is, ON PAPER, the best heel that the WWE could possibly offer. Then you see the reaction that he gets (or lack thereof) and you realize that something HAS to be missing. The question is, what? In my opinion, the missing link is that Del Rio never had a money feud to get him over. The Edge feud could have been that, but Del Rio ended up coming out of that feud looking just as weak as he did going into it. Then Del Rio lost a match to Christian (who looks pretty weak himself, nowadays) for the World Title. Then Del Rio got drafted to Raw where a roster shakeup had him a bit lost in the shuffle. The he had a very short feud with The Big Show and Kane which ended up somehow turning into Mark Henry's feud.
Next thing you know Del Rio is cashing in on a massively over babyface CM Punk at Summerslam, which would have added to his heat if Punk would have been the guy feuding with Del Rio after the match, but Punk went after Nash. So now we have a momentum-less, heat-less, basically faceless WWE Champion that doesn't draw a dime. How do you get him heat, though? The obvious choice is to have him feud with John Cena, but Cena is so polarizing that he might kill some of Del Rio's heel heat and give him some babyface reactions that he does not want. Unfortunately, the WWE looks like they are going to do exactly this and I honestly think that, whether Cena puts Del Rio over or not, Del Rio will look stronger but won't be this ultimate heel that he has the potential to be.
How would I book it? I would give Cena something better to do, like putting over Dolph Ziggler who has potential as both a heel AND babyface. Cena puts over Ziggler while Del Rio feuds with another upper-mid carder in John Morrison. Del Rio vs Morrison would be this year's version of Morrison vs Miz from last year, but with less history. Morrison is pure babyface; he never gets booed, he has mass appeal, and he is on that brink where a WWE title shot wouldn't be too hard to believe that it'd kill the prestige of the title. What does this setup do? First of all, it gives you two guys in Morrison and Ziggler that can step up into the main event scene at any given moment if one of your already established top guys goes down with an injury. Second of all, it makes the United States title look much better because if Cena wants it, it's gotta mean something. And finally, it gives your WWE Champion some credibility and makes him easier to hate because it's one more heel WWE Champion that kept John Morrison away from the big one. At the same time, since Alex Riley has been in a mini-feud with Dolph Ziggler (but more so, Vickie Guerrero) he turns his attention to Jack Swagger, Vickie's new "client". Since The Miz and R-Truth have recently seemed to join forces, what better target for them than the Tag Belts that were recently won by two pure-babyfaces in Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne?
Fantasy Feuds
John Morrison vs. Alberto Del Rio (c)
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. John Cena
CM Punk vs Triple H (or Kevin Nash)
Air Boom vs Awesome Truth
Alex Riley vs Jack Swagger
So how does this all happen? Starting with Morrison/Del Rio, Del Rio needs to beat John Cena cleanly at Night of Champions. I highly doubt this will happen, but it would instantly give Del Rio credibility as an in-ring competitor, ESPECIALLY if he gets Cena to TAP OUT to his arm bar. Cena never taps out. Maybe Cena doesn't tap out, but passes out, a la Steve Austin in 1997 to Bret Hart? Either way, Cena doesn't get another WWE title shot, so he decides to put his focus on the next best thing on the brand: the US Title. Around that same time, the WWE doesn't have a #1 contender for the WWE title, so they hold a Battle Royal to find that contender. John Morrison wins the match and is immediately attacked by Del Rio, but he doesn't get stuck in the Arm Bar because of his flexibility and parkour style; he finds a way to flip and maneuver his way into avoiding Del Rio's finishing maneuver. This leads us into a Del Rio vs Morrison feud AND the Cena vs Ziggler feud that both would be so great for business.
On the other side of the main event, CM Punk NEEDS to fight Kevin Nash at Night of Champions. Not because I really want to see the match, or because I think it'll become a classic that will be revered as one of the greatest technical exhibitions in pro wrestling history. Just because it makes sense. CM Punk got screwed by Kevin Nash, not Triple H. Whether Triple H sent the text or not, Nash needs to stay Punk's target. As long as Kevin Nash is in the picture, Punk won't win another big match. On top of that, Punk NEEDS to win. CM Punk vs Kevin Nash should be a four to five minute squash match with Punk looking like a young, 34 year old MMA master and Nash looking like a 52 year old with bad knees. It's that simple. Punk should beat Nash with the Anaconda Vise to prove that he doesn't need the GTS to win and that he can take out giants just as well as fellow average sized superstars. I'm not saying Punk should never face Triple H; quite the contrary. I think Punk vs Triple H NEEDS to happen, but at the same time I think it needs WAYYYYYYYY more build up than it has right now. Punk vs Triple H needs to be at a big venue, like the Royal Rumble or even Wrestlemania. As soon as Triple H announced on Monday Night that he was going to be Punk's opponent at NoC, I said, and I quote "DAMNED HOTSHOTTERS". You can check my twitter for proof: http://twitter.com/aPond404
The WWE putting Triple H and CM Punk across the ring from each other literally a month after issues sprouted is just way too soon. Punk needs to go through the big man before he can get to the COO. He needs to go through The Big Bossman before he can get to Vince McMahon. Just like Austin did. Punk vs Triple H needs to be the Austin/McMahon of this era; the rulebreaking rebel against the conservative, although pompous, boss. Triple H needs to put his ego aside and do the job; Punk needs to come out of this entire angle looking like the #1 guy in the entire industry. If they allow him to look like that figure, he WILL BE that exact figure. He'll be the best figure for the industry since the Attitude Era, and at the same time, he'll be a much better role model than Austin or Rock ever were because of his straight edge lifestyle.
The final two feuds feel natural. With Cena going after Ziggler, and Dolph starting more and more to show signs of kicking Vickie Guerrero to the curb, we can have a natural transition from Dolph to Jack Swagger. Vickie becomes Swagger's manager and Riley continues to target Vickie's client. We get a GREAT feud between Swagger and Riley where Riley gets an opportunity to hone his in-ring skills with one of the most technically gifted guys in the WWE who can shoot on Riley if he botches too much. That feud, and the new Tag Team feud between Air Boom and Awesome Truth, will become the new midcard (and lower card) on Raw.
State of Smackdown
Relevant Babyfaces
Randy Orton
Sheamus
Daniel Bryan
Sin Cara
Justin Gabriel
The first thing I'm going to say here is this: don't count on this current stable of relevant babyfaces to stay like this for very long. Daniel Bryan and Sin Cara are both looking like they are going to be turning heel within the next month or two. At the same time, Cody Rhodes is turning on Ted DiBiase, which will likely see DiBiase turning babyface in that month or two. So, here's a revised list.
Relevant Babyfaces (in a month or two)
Randy Orton
Sheamus
Ted DiBiase Jr
Justin Gabriel
That's more like it. Orton and Sheamus are entrenched into the top 2 babyface slots for the long run; I don't see either of them turning heel by Wrestlemania. At the same time, Justin Gabriel, the international sensation that the WWE WISHED they had in Sin Cara, is a true blue babyface who fans have been wanting to cheer even since he was an evil conspirator in the original Nexus. DiBiase has everything you could ask for in a babyface: heritage, the look, in-ring ability, and a southern accent. Right? Right. At the same time, Cody Rhodes is one of the top two or three heels on the brand right now, so a feud with Rhodes would put DiBiase into a top babyface slot pretty quickly, especially considering how few of them there will be after Bryan and Cara turn.
Power Rankings
1. Randy Orton
2. Mark Henry
3. Sheamus
4. Christian
5. Cody Rhodes
6. Wade Barrett
7. Daniel Bryan
8. Sin Cara
9. Ezekiel Jackson
State of the Brand
Orton at the top should come to no surprise. He's the biggest name on Smackdown by a mile. Mark Henry at #2 shouldn't come as much of a surprise either, although he and Sheamus are more like a 2a and 2b than a clear cut 2 and 3. Sheamus will most likely be the next guy to feud with Christian, and as with all Christian feuds, he'll most likely look great coming out of it. Will Randy Orton actually put MARK HENRY over and let him be champion for a month or two? I doubt it, but with the heat Henry has been getting it's hard to believe that the WWE won't at least give him a shot with the title. They gave Christian a shot with the title and it lasted a whole 2 days...or 5 if you live in WWE fantasy land. Who's to say they don't do something similar with Mark? He's never held a major title in the WWE before, and he's been there since the mid-90s. He's paid his dues, I wouldn't mind seeing him as the World Champion. If he does become World Champ, though, don't be surprised to see a lot of the same crap: Henry vs Orton and Henry vs Sheamus. Nobody else can really look credible against Mark in the ring unless you throw Ezekiel Jackson in there as a one-off just for something new, but at the same time, why is Ezekiel Jackson still a babyface? Is it because the only way the WWE knows how to book a big, muscle-bound black guy is already being used on Mark Henry? Who knows, but it's probably a good thing that Zeke isn't on TV much anymore. He was getting dangerous in the ring, and every time he picked somebody up for that scoop slam I cringed a bit.
Cody Rhodes is the #3 heel behind Mark Henry and Christian right now. He will probably eclipse Christian for the #2 spot within the next few months, though, since Christian just lost his title and there is no sign of him getting it back any time soon. I'm guessing Orton will beat Mark Henry at Night of Champions. At the same time, I'm guessing Ted DiBiase completes his transformation as a babyface by then and challenges Cody for his IC Title. DiBiase won't win it at NoC but I would not be even the least bit surprised to see DiBiase winning the Intercontinental Title at Hell in a Cell in October. HiaC is a match usually designed for the babyface to come out on top. At the same time Orton will most likely hold the World Title and retain it at HiaC. That sets up for an Intercontinental Champion Ted DiBiase to go into a feud with a guy like Christian who can elevate him and make him look good. Not only that, but it sets up for a Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton feud for the world title, leaving Mark Henry and Sheamus in their dust.
While this is all going on, we've got an ongoing feud between Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett. This leads me to something that I want to talk about: Daniel Bryan's potential to turn heel. I've been calling it now for a few days that Daniel Bryan is going to turn heel within a few months because of a few reasons that seem kind of obvious to me.
Reason #1: The Beard. When Daniel Bryan was on the independent circuit, his heel persona was infamous for his bald head and lumberjack beard. Bryan has vowed to not shave his beard until Wrestlemania. It adds up.
Reason #2: The Losing Streak. Daniel Bryan has been losing a lot lately. A lot of people see this as a bad thing; I see it as opportunity. When somebody starts losing a lot, it usually means they're getting repackaged. If Daniel Bryan starts cheating to win matches out of sheer desperation, it could be the catalyst that sparks his heel turn.
Reason #3: The Heelish Tendencies. Daniel Bryan is a modest, docile guy who usually doesn't do much trash talking and loves putting on a flashy show for the fans. In his match with Sin Cara last night on Smackdown, he was shouting "TAP! TAP!" while he had Cara in a surfboard/dragon sleeper combo. That is, psychologically, a heel tendency.
Reason #4: The Briefcase. It's easy to hate somebody that has, basically, a one-way ticket to the heavyweight title that they choose when to use. Daniel Bryan has announced that he's using his MitB title shot at Wrestlemania, but if he turns heel, who's to say he doesn't use it ahead of time? Say, he uses it after the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match, which is sure to be brutal, especially if guys like Kane and Undertaker are back in the mix by then. That would allow him to ensure that he is the main event at wrestlemania because he'd be going into wrestlemania WITH the title, not chasing it. At the same time, he'd look like a real heel for doing it because he cashed it in on somebody who just went through a grueling, usually 30 minute plus match. And he didn't break a sweat doing it.
Reason #5: The Four Relevant Face Rule. I made this rule up a while ago, but I stand by it. At any given time, the WWE generally has four relevant babyfaces on either brand's roster. I demonstrated that with my Raw Roster and my PROJECTED Smackdown Roster which should shape up nicely over the next month or two. If Bryan stays babyface and Sin Cara turns, Ted DiBiase becoming a babyface would crowd the picture.
Reason #6: In-Ring Ability. The ideal heel is somebody that can make whoever he is in the ring with look like a million bucks. That's why Christian is such a great heel. That's why Dolph Ziggler and CM Punk are such great heels. That's why Daniel Bryan would make such a great heel. End of story.
At the same time, you have Sin Cara who supposedly just turned heel when he kicked Daniel Bryan in the head on Super Smackdown last night. I don't think that's exactlly what happened. I think that since the WWE has had 2 guys under the Sin Cara mask, they're going to turn that into a storyline. New Sin Cara, or "Imposter" Sin Cara, is the one who kicked Daniel Bryan in the head. REAL Sin Cara is slowly getting back to health from the Sheamus Power Bomb through a ladder at MitB a month and a half ago. The WWE has allowed the wrong guy to wrestle for them.
Over the next few weeks slowly have Imposter Sin Cara continue his heelish ways; grabbing the trunks here, feet on the ropes for a pin there. Small stuff. And have him continue his trend of disrespecting opposing competitors after matches. Soon after NoC, have the original Sin Cara come down to the ring while Imposter Sin Cara is having a match. Have them face off. Initiate Hunico vs Mistico storyline. It isn't rocket science, people. The real Sin Cara is too much of a cash grab for the WWE. Do you realize how many masks this guy sells? Him turning heel would do nothing but hurt the WWE's stock.
Fantasy Feuds
Randy Orton vs Mark Henry (now)
Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes (next)
Mark Henry vs Sheamus (next)
Cody Rhodes vs Ted DiBiase (soon)
Sin Cara vs Sin Cara
Daniel Bryan vs Justin Gabriel
Wade Barrett vs Sheamus
That's all I've got for Smackdown. Orton beats Henry at NoC and moves on to Cody Rhodes afterwords. Henry probably only loses to Orton thanks to Sheamus interfering so Henry goes back after Sheamus who is becoming "I'm Not Dead Yet" guy. DiBiase stands up for himself and feuds with Rhodes leading up to him taking Rhodes' title and allowing Rhodes to move on to Orton's WHC. Sin Cara feuds with his imposter. Daniel Bryan turns heel and feuds with Justin Gabriel (I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE MATCHES THAT THESE GUYS PUT ON) while Wade Barrett interjects himself into the Sheamus/Henry feud to take on Sheamus, a guy worthwhile; clearly not a jobber. One thing that I would LOVE to see is Skip Sheffield return to take on Mark Henry in another great Super Heavyweight feud that would elevate Skip in every way possible. That being said, where has Skip Sheffield been? Is he ready to re-debut soon? I hope so.
Regardless of that, I don't have much more to say about Smackdown. Moving on...
Superstars and NXT
Does anybody watch Superstars or NXT anymore? It sure doesn't feel like it. To be completely honest, the best part of Superstars, for me at least, is finally getting to hear Scott Stanford and Matt Striker on commentary. It's unfortunate that they don't work TOGETHER on commentary for the whole show. Frankly I think Korpela needs to go and Matthews is above this. At the same time you get some solid wrestling matches every thursday (something Impact hasn't delivered on in years) and you get to see some guys that aren't on Raw or Smackdown from week to week. Perfect examples are Drew McIntyre, Tyson Kidd, Yoshi Tatsu, and...well, Divas not named Kelly Bella Beth or Nattie. I'll watch a shortened version of Superstars with no commercials or rebounds on YouTube on occasion, but I've never watched a full episode of it on the night that it was aired.
NXT, on the other hand, while probably a lower quality show overall, intrigues me much more. I try to catch it every week at 10pm on a Tuesday...and it seems like every week I am disappointed. When is season 5 ending? Can somebody please tell me it's soon? I'm so ready to see the FCW talents get showcased...and new ones, not redone formerly eliminated contestants from seasons past. I want to see Seth Rollins, Richie Steamboat, Bo Rotundo, Leakee, Rick Victor and even guys like Orlov and Jon Moxley aka "Dean Ambrose". Derrick Bateman needs to win this season, stay a heel, and keep Daniel Bryan (who will turn heel as well) as his heel Pro in NXT Season 6. Sounds almost too good to be true, doesn't it?
Of course it does...so does most of the other fantasy feuds that I discussed in this post, though. The most we can do is hope, right?
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