Everyone expected some type of resolution to the state of the WWE Title this past Monday on RAW. Instead, the WWE did the old “hype a big announcement, only to have the announcement hype up something for next week” trick. I didn’t like how that was handled considering that they made everyone believe all week that a final decision was going to be made. The WWE, however, decided to put it off another week. I guess the reasoning for that is two things: 1. They didn’t want to give the answer away on a pre-taped show. 2. They still didn’t know how long Daniel Bryan would be out for.
I understand that Daniel Bryan is the best act the WWE has going right now. But neck injuries in wrestling are a very serious thing. It doesn’t matter how severe or not severe they are. No one should be rushed back from any kind of injury. Various neck injuries have altered the careers of wrestlers such as Steve Austin, Edge and Chris Benoit. It is why I have always been an advocate for some type of break for wrestlers. Whether it’d be a one month break at some point or an actual off-season, it is something that needs to be thought about. Another idea would be two separate house show circuits (which they already have), but only one group tours every weekend. It’d be a lot easier if the WWE didn’t have so much damn TV time to fill. Cutting an hour of RAW would be a great place to start. But this still seems like a pipe dream.
The reports out there say that Daniel Bryan could be back by Money in the Bank at the end of June. While having Daniel Bryan back soon is obviously better for the short term, you have to look at the long term with Bryan now and not risk any more serious injury. And while it may not be the most popular decision, I’m in the camp that the WWE should probably take the WWE Title off of Daniel Bryan. And if I am them, I’m taking the risk of keeping Bryan off of TV until the build up to SummerSlam. While the short term product may be affected, I’m more worried about Bryan’s health going forward. With the WWE Network, you don’t have to worry about PPV Buys suffering with Bryan gone.
So, what would be potential options for the WWE Title if Bryan were to be stripped of it? I think there are a good amount. Lets take a look at them.
1. Bryan Is Stripped Of The Title And A Tournament Is Held
-This would probably seem like the most logical option. Instead of just awarding the Title to someone the WWE could have an 8 or 16 man tournament to determine the new Champion. Depending on how big the WWE wanted to make it. Most people might complain and say there are only a couple of logical options to win, like John Cena, Randy Orton or Triple H. One thing that I think TNA actually does somewhat right is the Bound For Glory Series, but obviously the WWE isn’t doing something like that here. You could do the first couple rounds on RAW and give a lot of these matches close to 20 minutes to take some time. Then do the semi-finals and finals at Money in the Bank.
The ideal scenario here would be to have someone go through four matches and win the Title and “break out” as WWE Champion. It could be someone like Cesaro, or Bad News Barrett, or even Bray Wyatt. This would be an easy way to build someone up and show that they earned the Title win. Tournaments are usually one of the easier ways to handle things in situations like this.
2. Brock Lesnar Wins The WWE Title
-Ever since Brock Lesnar returned to the WWE, people wondered if he would win the WWE Title. I’ve always thought he should. I have less of a problem with Brock winning the Title than I did The Rock winning. With both guys, you would have to worry about the Title not being on the house show circuit or the Champion being on TV every week. But unlike with The Rock, you would at least have Paul Heyman on screen every week as the advocate for Lesnar.
In this scenario, I’d have Lesnar win some kind of one night Battle Royal with former WWE and World Champions. Again, I’d probably have the battle royal at Money in the Bank. Lesnar could win the Title and be around through Night of Champions. Then you can hold off on bringing Lesnar back until after Elimination Chamber. With this scenario you can still do the Daniel Bryan/Brock Lesnar match that many people assumed would happen at SummerSlam. You could even add the tease of Cesaro winning the Money in the Bank match and adding a little tension between Paul Heyman’s clients. If the WWE is okay with their Title being off house shows and some TV, this may be the scenario that creates the most buzz.
3. Roman Reigns Wins The WWE Title, Dean Ambrose Wins Money in the Bank
-Here’s a scenario that popped in my head while I was writing this. I would do pretty much the same thing I suggested in the second scenario. Here, Roman Reigns wins the battle royal instead of Brock Lesnar. Have that match take place at the Money in the Bank. Meanwhile, Dean Ambrose wins the Money in the Bank ladder match earlier in the show. And just like that, there is tension added within The Shield that teases a break-up down the line.
Obviously there are a couple of different things one would question in this scenario. The first is whether or not Roman Reigns is ready to win the WWE Title. There are a lot of people who would probably say no. I’ve always been in the camp that Reigns should win the Rumble next year and win the Title at Wrestlemania 31. So this kind of fast tracks this. The other question you would have to ask is how quickly you would want to go through with the break-up. This would be a move that would have people talking and obviously be the catalyst to the eventual break-up of The Shield. It plants a lot of seeds. But would the WWE be willing to hot shot a Roman Reigns title win? I don’t find that likely.
So what do you think will happen with the WWE Title?
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
