If you listen to a lot of wrestling podcasts, you are probably accustomed to hearing about how WWE creative has not been delivering.
Sure, some of the current storylines are dreadful, but that has always been the case for WWE in its various incarnations. You learn to accept the good, the bad and the ugly, yet hopefully know to focus in on what is great and exciting.
Here are seven recent WWE creative developments which are drawing me in, at least for the time being:
– The Titus Brand – Titus O’Neil has endured plenty of false starts within his WWE career. The former tag team champion has even worked as an enhancement talent at times. But O’Neil is finally getting the chance to shine as the leader of his Titus Brand faction. The two superstars currently aligned with O’Neil have almost nothing to do with one another: cruiserweight Akira Tozawa, a babyface, and Apollo Crews, a main roster character currently working as a tweener. Beyond O’Neil’s amusing promos, it will be interesting to see if more superstars will be joining his roster, and in general if the company brings back the concept of having heat-seeking managers with stables.
– Big Cass’ Turn – It had been rumored for months that Big Cass was turning heel, which finally happened in June. Given the popularity of Enzo Amore and Big Cass, as evidenced by the crowd reactions and the merch sales, this was a surprising break-up from a business stand-point. But Cass’ first heel promo was arguably the best promo he has cut since being on the main roster. Cass has a lot of upside as a monster heel if he is given strong creative. There are not a lot of superstars on the current roster that look imposing when standing next to Brock Lesnar or Braun Strowman, yet Cass is on that shortlist.
– The Introduction Of Mike and Maria Kanellis – During her first WWE run, Maria Kanellis was effective in her initial ditzy character, just as she was working with Santino Marella in a more comedic light. In this new role with husband Mike Bennett, a Ring Of Honor, New Japan and Impact Wrestling journeyman who absolutely worked hard to get this opportunity with WWE, she seems poised to be a top female heel. I am expecting strong matches from Bennett-Kanellis and humor-heavy promos from the former WWE Diva with their “lovebirds” gimmick, which seems to have been stolen from The Miz and Maryse.
– Breezango’s Development – A year ago, Fandango and Tyler Breeze both looked like they were on thin ice with WWE based on their enhancement roles. Their initial joining together as a tag team seemed like a way to just use the two characters in an enhancement function, rather than a smart concept. These days, the two not only put on entertaining matches, but their backstage skits are genuinely-funny. The writer(s) behind these vignettes are simultaneously writing great comedy — I appreciate last week’s references to Eddie Money — and actually pushing the characters’ developments forward. This is a babyface tag team that people care about even if they are not currently chasing titles.
– AJ Styles’ Babyface Run – When AJ Styles came into the company as a “surprise” a year and a half ago, he was a good guy but did not speak much. After he turned heel, he was overly-confident and snarky on the mic. Now, Styles is being cheered organically — I don’t recall him ever officially turning babyface — while also full of confidence when speaking. He is still one of the best performers on the roster, yet one of the oldest at 40 years old of age. There are still plenty of feuds that would make sense for Styles, including the current one with Kevin Owens.
– Elias Samson’s Character – I assume that I am one of the few WWE fans who enjoyed Elias Samson’s run in NXT as The Drifter. At that point he was bringing the guitar to the ring and playing along with his theme, but he was not singing to draw heat. What Samson is doing now has the potential to be as magical as the pre-match promos that The Genius was cut in the 1980s WWF. I am curious to see if he knows how to play barre chords, though, since he’s been staying within the first few frets.
– Women’s Money In The Bank Matches – Say what you want about “the Women’s Revolution,” whether it has been a success or not. However, Raw and Smackdown have had multiple main events using the female talent within the past year, and most of them have been compelling. The Women’s Iron Man match — which I thought should have been called an Iron Woman match — was ground-breaking. The recent Money In The Bank matches for the Smackdown brand were very entertaining. I think it gives hope to the roster eventually having a female Royal Rumble match, and I would love that.
So WWE, let me be among the few writers to say that you are producing some compelling characters and storylines even while still stupidly pushing Roman Reigns as a top babyface.
