Step into the Ring

Wednesday 20 May 2015

THE PAYBACK OF PAYBACK



This week, we’re going to take a brief look at the results of WWE Payback and what they mean for the company. So let’s crack on with this week’s musings.

The first of our subjects is what transpired at Payback this past Sunday. For those who didn’t see the event, which I know won’t be many of you now the WWE Network seems to be running just fine on almost every device, then it was once again a worthy event. In fact, it was the third enjoyable WWE pay-per view in as many months with last stinker being Fast Lane in February. However, several things stood out for me at Payback which could do with addressing further down the line. The first was the WWE Tag Team Championships which were contested in a thrilling two out of three falls out between The New Day and Tyson Kidd and Cesaro. Now, those who have been regular readers of this blog will know my thoughts on The New Day and even more so on them taking the titles from Kidd and Cesaro at Extreme Rules.

I wasn’t a huge fan of The New Day for the longest of times when they formed. Why you may ask. Well the truth is that it looked as if WWE had cobbled together three men who meant nothing to the company anymore just to keep them in the spotlight. Xavier Woods was as good as heading for the exit door, he was present that little in the company and the last thing I remember him doing of any substance was losing comprehensively to Rusev in a two on one handicap match at last year’s Extreme Rules. Big E’s career had stalled drastically after being forced to submit twice to Rusev twice on pay-per view and Kofi Kingston was so stagnant on the roster that he’d been crying out for a makeover for at least three years. It really did seem as if WWE were scraping the barrel for ideas.

However, since capturing the tag titles at Extreme Rules last month, I have revised my opinion of the trio as have WWE. You see, they’ve been thoroughly excellent in matches with Kidd and Cesaro and even been given the honour defeating Roman Reigns and Randy Orton in tag team matches on Raw. This is huge for The New Day who I am now convinced can do excellent things if WWE keep them relevant and pit them against teams who can get a great match out of them. Kingston and Big E will defend the titles inside the Elimination Chamber and should they hang onto the gold then, without wishing to use the pun, it really could be a new day for WWE’s doubles division.

The second thing to come out of Payback was just how sparse WWE’s divas division is getting. With A.J retired and Paige gone for the foreseeable future to take up a role as trainer on Tough Enough, Nikki Bella is really struggling for challengers to her throne. Which is why WWE should either give Naomi a decent shot at the gold as she seems to be Champion elect or bring up some new talent from NXT. Right now, the prime choice would be Charlotte, who is beginning to tread water in NXT.

For those who have watched NXT over the past year, Charlotte has done some amazing things inside the ring with women like Sasha Banks and Natalya so it’s only right WWE bump her up the ranks to their main roster. Charlotte may actually be able to have to gripping bouts with Nikki Bella, Naomi and Natalya should WWE give her the time she needs in the ring. If Triple H were to oversee the divas division then it could be a tremendous part of WWE’s product, because the man knows the talents of his women and knows the time it will take for them to get over in the ring. Like Kevin Owens vs John Cena at Elimination Chamber, if Triple H were to convince Vince McMahon to allow Charlotte to make her main roster debut against Nikki Bella on pay-per view then it could be massive for her career.

However, that leaves the quandary which is Naomi. The real life Trinity is a beautiful girl and a hell of a wrestler, there’s no doubt about that. But there’s the question of whether she can withstand WWE’s usual treatment of its female stars. Naomi isn’t a star yet but could be if WWE give her a long and involved run with the title. This however would be a result of the audience’s reaction to her on a weekly basis. If Nikki Bella was to lose the title, there’s no guarantee Naomi would be accepted as Champion without good reason. Which is why I’m suggesting WWE delay the switch for two months until SummerSlam, have Naomi defeat some reputable divas by pinfall and then by the time she gets to the title match, she’ll be good to go.

The biggest thing to come out of Payback however, is the announcement that NXT Champion, or at least he is as I write this before tonight’s NXT pay-per view, will challenge John Cena at Elimination Chamber in a non-title match. Now, I know what you’re all thinking. It’s what I was thinking when it was announced on Raw. But this could be massive for NXT and Kevin Owens. It could also be a turning point for John Cena. You see, John Cena has made his last few weeks about fighting younger, up and coming stars. He disrespected Sami Zayne in a really good bout by not selling his moves properly and did the same to Neville but rightly lost via disqualification. Now, on pay-per view, WWE cannot allow John Cena to do this and neither can they have him devalue their brightest NXT star.

Kevin Owens is awesome. We all know that. His NXT run has been so good that he’s the natural born successor to John Cena’s throne. However, he has to get over this hurdle first. John Cena would be respected the world over by wrestling fans if he lost clean in the middle of the ring to Kevin Owens at Elimination Chamber. Cena has won the last three pay-per view bouts, it’s time he lost one and made up for the damage he did to Rusev. If Kevin Owens was to defeat John Cena as he should, then it opens up an avenue down the line when John Cena predictably regains the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. You see, Kevin Owens will be NXT Champion for a very long time, it’s written in the stars. Which means WWE could build Kevin Owens as the man John Cena cannot defeat.

If both were to clash off of this encounter in a title vs title match for the United States or WWE World Heavyweight Championship then Kevin Owens could defeat John Cena again, take his first main roster title and make the transition to the main roster as easy as blinking. WWE cannot waste this opportunity and Triple H needs to fight for his star. John Cena can only prosper from doing such a job, anything less would diminish Owens and his reign and standing in NXT. This is the time for John Cena to do the right thing and we know he’s capable of it.

Onwards and upwards…