The WWE Report, April 2016
After a bizarrely booked Wrestlemania 32 we arrived at #RawAfterMania, from the results of Mania we presumed WWE would fall back into it’s usual routine of Vince and or the Authority leading the show. Unbeknownst to the viewer WWE had other plans and they included the Shane McMahon character running the show, Vince opened the show but Shane would then appear to congratulate his father and thank the fans for their loyal support. In another turn of bizarre events Vince placed Shane in charge for the immediate future, completing ignoring Shane’s Wrestlemania stipulation as he lost.
Shane then proceeded to inform us of the changes that would be happening with him in charge, new matches, new feuds, new superstars, change was on the horizon it seemed. Therefore as it always does the night after Wrestlemania WWE introduced a flurry of new talent from NXT, it was the now annual WWE/NXT draft. Between that evening’s Raw and the following day’s Smackdown Enzo & Cass, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Vaudevillians all debut on the main roster to varying degrees of success. Another notable event on the Raw broadcast was AJ Styles successfully becoming the new No1 contender to Roman Reigns newly won WWE World Title.
Another new idea but not an original would be a Tag Team title tournament, which started the second Raw after Wrestlemania, new and existing teams would compete over multiple weeks then meet at the final this Sunday at Payback. The two remaining teams are the Vaudevillians and Enzo & Cass, personally I would like to see Simon Gotch & Aiden English win the tournament, from a wrestling perspective they are leagues ahead of the loudmouth Enzo Amore and Colin Cassidy. Where the Vaudevillians fall behind Enzo & Cass is their promo skills, however the Villains showed great improvement on recent episodes of Raw & Smackdown. It’s more than likely that Enzo/Cass will win and go on to face the New Day, much entertainment I’m sure will come from that feud.
Following the chaotic Ladder match at Wrestlemania 32 Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have finally circumnavigated back towards each other and this Sunday this finally meet on a WWE PPV. The real life best friends who have a rich wrestling history have brought their feud to WWE. They both had a storied history in ROH which then came to NXT where we saw them have two of the best most hostile matches in the yellow brands history. Now in 2016 the feud between the two Canadians comes full circle and this Sunday at Payback you can see this very personal on screen feud come to life in WWE. This match will be one of many between the two in 2016.
The best heel in WWE right now is Chris Jericho, the veteran WWE performer is back to his best and right now he is the best. After beating AJ at Mania Jericho found himself at odds with Dean Ambrose, who was fresh off a loss to Brock Lesnar in a very mediocre bout at WM32. The two have chemistry, the feud on TV has been played beautifully and Jericho has been the personification of perfect, he more than anyone has been WWE’s star performer in 2016. Dean after his very underwhelming Wrestlemania match needs a lift, but will he get that lift from beating Jericho? I think not. Chris however maybe happy to elevate Ambrose and give him the rub, but Jericho is hot right now and I feel it’s building towards something in the near future. This match again add further intrigue to Payback.
The other debutants Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews have both been thrusted into feuds and have been kept strong, Baron has been given Dolph Ziggler while Apollo has been feuding mostly with the Social Outcasts and most recently Stardust on this weeks Raw. Baron is another who I think has massive potential going forward, he may not be the finished article in the ring but he makes up for it with best heel gimmicks of recent years. Baron does everything right, the stance, ring style and persona are spot on, a win against Dolph at Payback should give him another boost on his way to becoming one of WWE’s top heels. Apollo although impressive is still finding his feet on the main roster, I think a surprise match at Payback and strong win should help him further.
The biggest news heading to the end of the month has been the debut of former Bullet Club members Doc (Luke) Gallows & Karl Anderson, their first move was to attack the Uso’s which instantly made people think it was connected to the ongoing feud between AJ Styles & Roman Reigns. Their subsequent attacks on the Uso’s and Roman Reigns on this weeks Raw have heightened the rumours around AJ, Gallows and Anderson joining forces at Payback and possibly costing Roman the WWE Title. The debut of the former IWGP Tag Team champs has turned the main event at Payback into a must see match, AJ denials have also added intrigue into what may occur in the championship match, many have also asked if Sunday is the right time to have Finn Balor step up and finally complete the Balor Club that he has so heavily pushed on social media. Whatever may happen on Sunday A&G’s arrival has added great interest and has made Payback one of the most exciting PPV’s in recent memory.
No matter where you stand on WWE’s new direction there is no denying it has awakened old and new fans, their certainly seems to be some sort of heightened interest right now with WWE. Shane who has been the face of this recent new direction will have his fate decided at Payback, Vince is scheduled to return to decide if Shane continues his reign in charge or if Stephane and Triple H are to return to be the Authority.
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