Five Biggest WWE Talking Points of the Week
The Reign of Jinder Mahal Begins
The man of the week really has been Jinder Mahal. He's the man that has completely divided fans around the world with one half loving the guy and all about his push while the other half are walking around in complete rage beyond annoyed at the fact that he is now the brand new WWE Champion. Over the past week I have taken the time out to express how I personally feel about Jinder and his sudden rise to the top and as most of you will probably know by now, I actually really don't mind what we're seeing. I for sure had my doubts at the start just as everyone else did. I wasn't all too happy to see a man who really has had no purpose or place on the roster from pretty much day one suddenly thrown into the main event picture and been given most prestigious championship in WWE history. However, over the past couple of weeks my opinions have changed completely. I do believe that one of the main reasons I was so happy to see Jinder walk out of Backlash as champion was because I strongly disliked Orton as champion. He's reign was boring, there was nothing to it, and at times I forgot he was champion. It didn't feel as though Randy was bringing anything to the title and the roster for that matter. While Jinder Mahal is a fucking strange pick as the next big thing it's working and fans are jumping on board. Again, it was a risk, a huge risk, but the WWE are constantly complaining about watching the same thing week in and week out. The same show with the same stars at the top yet the moment we are given something there's a whole bunch of fans that are still not happy because it's not exactly who they wanted. Sure there are current superstars also working on the Smackdown LIVE roster that most certainly deserved a push before Jinder because of their consistency, fan following, and skill however, the WWE had their marketing reasons for choosing Jinder, this wasn't a random pick, but he's also a young superstar that has been working his arse off for years and right now has genuine heat and a build-able character that has so much potential to grow into something really big and sucessfull. I'm most certainly aware of the fact that I'm currently coming across like the biggest Jinder Mahal fan but honestly I can't complain. I do have an issue with his skill set. He's not the most gifted in ring performer in the world and his mic work is something that needs serious improvements but as a whole I think we all jsut need to calm down a little. So far the WWE have been doing everything right with him. The way he won, his alliance with the Singh Brothers, and come on, are you seriously going to sit there and tell me that championship celebration on Tuesday night wasn't one of the highlights of the week. I sat at home freaking loving it. I was actually watching Backlash at home with my mum last Sunday and I said to her after he won that I really do want to see them go all out with a huge celebration this week and its exactly what they did. That was what the WWE needed to do. He came out looking like a real champion. In that moment I forgot that this was a man who literally had no purpose in the WWE a few months ago now the WWE Champion. I understand it will take time for fans to jump on board and see what I'm seeing but I do believe the WWE are onto something and if they can continue to use him correctly and use the time to really develop his character than I'm confident that the general opinion will change slowly and Jinder will have a very very strong and impressive reign.
Could Finn Balor be the Next Paul Heyman Guy?
This next point is a little far fetched but its something that the fans of the WWE have not stopped talking about following this weeks episode of Monday Night RAW. As we all know, in a weeks time Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Bray Wyatt will compete in the main event of the Extreme Rules pay per view in a fatal five way match to determine the new number one contender for Brock Lesnar's WWE Universal Championship. Now, I actually am pretty excited for this. It does most certainly have the potential to be a match of the year candidate and regardless of the end result will have everyone talking. On the topic of the end result this is something that again has split the WWE universe. While it's clear we can take out Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe for the win here the WWE did a fantastic job this past week on RAW making this match appear far more unpredictable. If you read my RAW Highlights post last week you will be aware that I believed Bray Wyatt would walk out of Extreme Rules the brand new number one contender. While it's not the favourite pick amongst fans it does seem to be the most likely and practical. We have seen the WWE edge away from the feud between Wyatt and Balor, something we did see the beginnings of last month and his consistent strong performances on Monday Night RAW has allowed him to gain a great deal of much needed momentum. Now, I not for one minuet have believed that Bray Wyatt will be the next WWE Universal Champion however, looking at the line up he seems the most likely to win at Extreme Rules and lose to Brock Lesnar. He has picked up a number of victories, closed the weekly show on a high and remains a talking point since he arrived over on RAW and more importantly he appears to be the only man in this fatal four way that the WWE will let lose clean to Lesnar. Now, I felt this way heading into this weeks episode of Monday night RAW but come the end of the night my opinions had slowly began to change. Of course, any one of these superstars could win and it would work and make sense. There's history between Rollins and Lesnar, the beat and Samoa Joe is a dream match of mine, I have explained about Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns is a huge favourite for the win considering this could open the doors for a championship match between Lesnar and Braun Strowman, but then we have Finn Balor. The man who really does have the right to a title shot considering he was the first champ and never actually lost the title in the first place. However, until last night he wasn't someone I believed could actually walk out of Extreme Rules with the win. His segment with Paul Heyman is what had me thinking and changing my opinions almost completely. One of the highlights of the night, the two took part in one of the most talked about moments of the show this week. With Heyman talking of Balor Club and Finn's undeniable talent some believe that the WWE could be hinting at a new direction for both men. Now, this is very far fetched and leaning more on the dream booking side but some do believe that this week week we saw the seeds planted for something very exciting. Finn Balor becoming the new Paul Heyman guy. This is something that some fans have been talking about for quite some time and personally, while I doubt it will happen is something I would pay serious money to see. Could you imagine if Balor does with at Extreme Rules and when facing Lesnar the closing moments see Heyman call out Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows to help Finn creating the Balor club and brand new clients for Paul Heyman. As I said this does lean towards the fantasy booking side of things but lets not rule out. I am going to be talking about this in a full creative post soon so keep an eye out for that! But let me know if you believe this could be an option and if its something you would like to see.
Money In the Bank Announcements Made
I have previously gone on record to so say that the Money in The Bank pay per view is one of my absolute favourites! An unpredictable, thrilling, and exciting pay per view its one that divides fans and has everyone up on their feet. In recent years the likes of Seth Rollins, Sheamus, and Dean Ambrose have walked out victors and this year the Smackdown LIVE roster is set to take over St. Louis in four weeks time to host the very show itself. Now, I have to admit that I'm surprised this is a one brand specif pay per view. I was expecting this to feature both RAW and Smackdown LIVE superstars but I'm not going to go one big rant about that and instead I'm going to focus on what we know is going down and what we can expect. So, this weeks episode of Smackdown LIVE kick started with commissioner Shane McMahon who had a huge announcement in regards to the up and coming Money in the Bank pay per view. We soon found out that five men would compete in the traditional ladder match, those five superstars consisting of AJ Styles, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and new comer Shinsuke Nakamura. Shane was then convinced by Kevin Owens to add the US Champ to the line up making the ladder match now consisting of six superstars. Again, I can't complain.The superstars chosen do feel like they should be in the match. I do have a slight problem with Shinsuke competing. Okay, wait, don't kill me, hear me out. While I understand completely why he will be apart of this match and I personally would have added him to this match also I need to make it perfectly clear that he most certainly does not need to walk out as Mr Money in the bank. He doesn't need that brief case what so ever and the win should for sure go to either Sami Zayn or Baron Corbin. Looking at the men set to compete in this match these are the two that standout as obvious picks for the win this year. I have previously spoken about why I believe these men should be the favorites this year in a recent post which will be linked bellow. The only other problem I have as well is the fact that Luke Harper isn't apart of this match . I have previously mentioned that both Erick Rowan and Luke Harper appear to be a little lost on the roster at the moment and keeping them out of this match doesn't feel like the right idea. Not to mention.... where is my RuRu!?
A Huge Mistake at NXT Takeover Chicago?
Up next we have the only NXT point I will be talking about in today's blog post and it of course has been one of the biggest talking points of the past week; why Ciampa why? The NXT Takeover Chicago show was one of the highlights of the week. Headlined by the tag team division, The Authors of Pain defend their tag team championships in the first tag team ladder match in NXT history against one of the most popular tag teams in the world today, DIY. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that this was one of the best matches of the past week. I have already mentioned that this was one of my favourite matches not only of the night or the past week but of the year so far and will likely go on to remain that way. It was exactly what The Authors of Pain needed to establish themselves and they were finally able to grab the attention and respect of the NXT universe. However, come the end of the night the impact the champions made wasn't what had everyone talking. Instead after failing to recapture gold DIY stood in the middle of the ring completely distraught and disappointed and while it appeared to be looking as though this would be their final NXT appearance and the pair would go on to compete up on the main roster for either RAW or Smackdown LIVE Tommaso Ciampa had other ideas and in a shock twist turned on his long time friend and tag team partner, Johnny Gargano. I know some people have mentioned that they expected this to go down but personally I wasn't and I was watching this full of all different emotions. I was angry, disappointed, frustrated, and genuinely upset. These guys really were one of the best tag teams the WWE had and I was so excited to watch them go on to kill it over on the Smackdown LIVE roster over the coming months. Splitting the two up really in my eyes was a big mistake. While I completely get why the move was made, and I'm confident the two will have a fantastic feud and a phenomenal one on one match I'm just a little pissed off to be honest. However, like I said these two superstars could so easily give us the best match and feud of the year and while the decision was controversial and in the long run could be a huge mistake I'm remaining positive as things to at least look promising for both superstars.
Standout Superstars of the Week
And finally its time to take a look at some of the standout superstars of the week. First up,we have Alexa Bliss.The only women to feature in today's post and rightfully so. To be honest we haven't really had anything standout from the women's division this week but I can say is I did like what saw go down over on this past episode of Monday night RAW between Bliss, Bayley, and Mickie James. With James and the champ going one on one in a non title match the bout itself was again, nothing standout but it gave Alexa more momentum heading into her Extreme Rules title defense and the attack on Mickie after was perfect. Of course being so barbaric I would have loved to have seen the attack a little more intense and brutal but I liked the fact Bayley came down for the save. The little moment between the three superstars was for me a little highlight of the night and the exchange between them was done really well. Bliss and Bayley did deliver a very strong match at the Payback pay per view so I am hoping to see a repeat in a weeks time. Keeping on the topic of RAW standouts up next we have Elias Samson. If you are reading and this and you have been following me for quite some time you will know that I haven't always been the worlds biggest Elias Samson fan. I wasn't keen on his work down in NXT, his character was never something I clicked with and he struggled to standout on a busy roster. However, since his call up to Monday night RAW I have been pretty damn obsessed with the guy. Watching him wonder around backstage playing the guitar and not saying a word to anyone just worked for me. I really liked it. This week Elias made his RAW in ring debut going one on one with the Intercontinental champion Dean Ambrose. Now, while I haven't been Samson's biggest fan over the years one thing I will say is that he has always been impressive in the ring. He's a talented guy more than capable of putting on a strong match/performance. His singles match against Ambrose this week was one of my favourites of the night and he really did establish himself. He may have had the help from the Miz to get a DQ victory but he made an impact. He was fairly over with the crowd and his reaction was actually pretty strong. The timing was right and everything was done really well. No complaints at all and I hope the WWE keep Elias on this run they have him on at the moment. And finally, I have to talk about Breezango. Their booking has been rather strange over the past week but that doesn't take away from the fact that they are massive talking point in the world f wrestling at the moment. The duo made a pretty big impact the Backlash pay per view when they had one of the most entertaining performances of the night. They managed to really change the general opinion of the fans and find themselves now really really over. It would have been nice to have seen them actually take the titles home just because I feel as though they would have been entertaining champs and given us something different. However, with the New Day looking to be arriving on Smackdown LIVE very soon it feels as though Tyler and Fandango may struggle to stay on the current high they have found themselves on right now so I wanted to make sure to squeeze them into today's post!
As I said, it has been a rather long and interesting week in the world of pro wrestling but there is plenty to talk about and to look forward to. In the coming weeks I have plenty of creative posts I want to get done and uploaded to you. I don't know how frequent my uploads will be next week but I will be live tweeting throughout every show as per usual. You can of course let me know what you thought of everything this week by leaving a comment bellow or by dropping me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.
How the WWE Can Make a Huge Star Out of Erick Rowan
NXT Takeover Chicago Review
Five Things to Take Away from WWE Backlash
Five Superstars to Watch This Summer
How the WWE Can Make a Huge Star Out of Erick Rowan
NXT Takeover Chicago Review
Five Things to Take Away from WWE Backlash
Five Superstars to Watch This Summer
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