What were the five key moments that the WWE creative team got absolutely right this week?
The week that passed by us in the WWE saw creative build towards the upcoming TLC PPV. It also had us witness the aftermath of the events that unfolded during Hell in a Cell. Both brands came up with above average shows this week and the result was quite an interesting week in the WWE. While it is always a subject of debate as to which brand was better this week, it can’t be argued that both brands featured some great segments.
On Raw, the Shield reunion was the center of the story. At least, inside the ring that is. Shocking rumors of Neville possibly asking for his release from the WWE have been pouring in from all over. Regardless, the Shield’s reunion and the subsequent attacks on the Miz, Cesaro and Sheamus and Braun Strowman later in the show were the talking points of many podcasts this week. The show would once again feature the Cruiserweights in the main event, and a new champion would also be crowned by the end of the night.
SmackDown Live, much like I predicted a few months back, on the other hand, had a more focused show. The Usos and the New Day shared a moment of mutual respect and admiration. In addition, the champs found out who their next challenger is. Vignettes hyping the debut of a new tag team were aired, . However, the biggest story the Blue Brand had to offer was Sami Zayn’s heel turn. It is still hard to believe that he is a full-on heel. Hence, the success of this angle would depend entirely on Sami’s ability to sell this and to convince us. Amidst all these, what were the five ideas that creative absolutely nailed this week? Here are our picks.
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5. The tag team division on WWE SmackDown Live
For months, the Usos and the New Day crafted high-quality matches on a regular basis. Chants of ‘This is awesome’ were a common entity in almost all of these matches. Rarely do tag team rivalries over a title reach such a level of animosity. The entire feud would finally be settled inside the Hell in a Cell structure. The Usos walked out as the new Tag Champions. The match would put an end to one of the best tag team rivalries in recent times.
The Usos would kind of make peace with the New Day following this. However, soon they would get interrupted. Tag team after tag team would make their way down to the ring to make their case for a shot at the title held by the Usos. Though this is something that usually happens with the Women’s division on Tuesday nights, it was refreshing to see this in the Tag division. Teams like Breezango hadn’t competed inside the ring in quiet a while. Not to mention the Ascension.
The segment helped all those teams to gain some much-needed exposure. The match that preceded it to determine the new number one contenders for the Tag titles saw Benjamin and Gable pick up the win. They were the most logical team to step up to the Usos at this moment in time. They are able to match with the Usos in terms of speed and agility. This has set the stage for yet another great tag title match in the future. Additionally, the segment managed to showcase the competitive nature of all other teams. as well as the impending implosion of the Hype Bros. Smart use of a segment in every way.
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4. The Shield attacking Braun Strowman
After completing their reunion earlier in the night by triple power bombing the Miz, the Shield would return once more later in the night to make their presence felt. This time it was after Braun Strowman’s match with Matt Hardy. The match itself was a pretty decent one with Strowman one-upping Hardy at every corner. Never before have I seen someone no-sell moves so elegantly. However, it was the aftermath of the match that caught everybody’s attention.
The Hounds of Justice would show up at the end to take care of some unfinished business with the Monster Among Men. The trio would proceed to attack Strowman much like the good old days. Though Strowman had a slight upper hand momentarily, he too eventually fell prey to the numbers game in the end. The attack managed to accomplish a number of things in retrospective.
First and foremost, it established the Shield as an unstoppable force and a cohesive unit. If Braun Strowman couldn’t harm them, then who can? Secondly, it showed us that it took the combined efforts of all three members of the Shield to finally put Strowman down. Lastly, it played up a nice bit of continuity. Strowman has always had beef with Reigns. In addition, he has had matches with Rollins and Ambrose over the past few weeks. This moment’s played off from those matches nicely and gave a subtle message that the Shield never forgets anything!
Hell in a Cell. Photo by WWE.com
3. A phenomenal start to Baron Corbin’s US Title reign
The Lone Wolf had us all worried for a moment. Despite being a promising star on the rise, he would suddenly lose his Money in the Bank briefcase in embarrassing fashion and then lose cleanly to John Cena. However, as it stands, all it takes for someone to become relevant once again is to have a feud with AJ Styles. The Phenomenal One has brought out the best in Baron Corbin. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, seeing as how Styles is one of the best wrestlers on the planet right now.
Corbin would win his first title at Hell in a Cell by pinning Tye Dillinger. The following edition of SmackDown Live saw Styles invoke his rematch clause. At the end of a competitive match, Corbin would get a clean win over Styles. It doesn’t get better than that. Moreover, you couldn’t have asked for a better stars to Corbin’s title run at this moment. He could now move on to his next challenger, possibly Tye Dillinger or Shinsuke Nakamura.
A lot of the credit for this goes to Styles. He was the one who made Corbin look so good. In addition, creative finally got the presentation of the Lone Wolf right. He thrives as the arrogant champion who loves to rub it in the face of the fans. Hopefully, the weeks ahead will further solidify Corbin as a legitimate champion and potentially a future WWE champion.
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2. The TLC main event match
Two weeks ago, the WWE Universe was worried that the much awaited Shield reunion would be happening against the lackluster Miztourage. Last week, we had all but confirmed that instead of Axel and Dallas, the opponents would be Sheamus and Cesaro. However, the WWE had a cherry on top for us. As if seeing Cesaro and Sheamus lock horns with Rollins and Ambrose once more wasn’t enough, we now have Braun Strowman in the mix.
The instant classic the tag champions could craft with their premier challengers, the savagery Reigns and Strowman could add to this match, and the old-school heel antics the Miz could capture will make this much a must-see affair. Throw in the added stipulation of a TLC match and you might have a match of the year candidate. Such is the level of talent and star power involved in the match.
By having the Shield attack Strowman and then by inserting him to this match, creative has come up with a main event for the ages. Throw in Axel and Dallas who will possibly be at ring side and you can expect a lot of carnage. Expect chair shots, broken tables and kendo sticks to fly around. This match is going to be a war. Bodies would possibly fill the field at the end of all this, and the Hounds of Justice will most likely stand tall.
Photo by WWE.com
1. The reunion of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
This was the best thing ever to come out the creative team’s pool of ideas. Despite putting on a classic match every time they met in the ring, the creative team really had milked out their rivalry. The only logical step now was to reunite them or move the to different brands. Boy did creative play their cards right.
Sami Zayn would shockingly come to the aid of his former best friend during the main event of Hell in a Cell. He would protect Owens from certain injury at the hands of Shane McMahon as he leaped off the top of the Cell. In addition, Zayn would make sure Owens got to pin Shane before Shane was carried away. We all knew this had to happen. But none of us actually expected the WWE to go through with this idea. It always seemed like they just didn’t know what to do with Sami despite him being a great wrestler and massively over with the crowd.
His allegiance to the dark side might just be what boosts his career. However, there is no other word to refer to this than ‘unholy’. In the realm of the WWE, Zayn was the sheer definition of a babyface. Kevin Owens was the epitome of a heel. To see these to join hands and hug it out in the ring was surreal.
Next: WWE 5 Burning Questions: How Long Will The Shield Last?
These five moments were planned out well by the creative team. They played the central part of both Raw and SmackDown Live and could essentially carry both shows forward for the coming weeks. What are your thoughts? Do you agree with this list?