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WHY SHANE GETS CREDIT FOR SIGNING AJ, WHO TO REPLACKAGE AFTER THE SPLIT AND MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2016-06-23 10:00:00

Last Monday's RAW was dull and boring (being kind with words). Other than a good wrestling match between Cesaro and Sami, the only other quality segment was the contract signing between Cena and Styles. Good to see Cena put over Styles' work big time but how did he credit Shane McMahon for bringing Styles into WWE? Styles was debuted on 24th Jan at Royal Rumble 2016 and Shane McMahon did not return until about a month later on 22nd Feb RAW. Why does he get the credit to bring Styles in after "the powers that be" told Styles for years that he didn't belong in WWE?

Shane McMahon gets the credit because WWE consistently changes their history retroactively to fit whatever story they are attempting to tell at that given monent.  For fans who pay close attention or like continuity in their storytelling, obviously, it's an annoying aspect of watching WWE programming.

I was told here that Low Ki was ruled out of competing in the Cruiserweight Classic due to his age and not being a newcomer yet Tajiri (45) and Brian Kendrick (37, which Low Ki will be this September) have been announced for said tournament. Are they in it because they were successful when they were in the WWE or are they competing in it to put over the newcomers?

Low Ki isn't in the tournament for one of two reasons - either WWE didn't try to book him or when they did, the two sides didn't come to terms.  WWE has a history of using Kendrick and Tajiri.  Tajiri brings an international feel to the tournament.  Kendrick is still a top flight in-ring performer. 

This is more of a follow up question to Mike Johnson preferring Daniel Bryan running Smackdown.  As much as I like Daniel and would want to see him on TV in some capacity, don't you think having anyone other then a McMahon will make the Smackdown brand look weaker? We all know RAW is the A show but back when Bischoff was running RAW and Stephanie was running Smackdown it felt somewhat equal.

Fans love Daniel Bryan.  I don't believe for a second that having him on the show "in charge" would make the show weaker, especially when you can do storylines where he is at odds with Vince, Stephanie McMahon, etc.  Smackdown was seen as the secondary show because it aired on a tape delay and couldn't provide the "anything can happen" feel that Raw could.  As of 7/19, that is no longer the case.

I’m sure you’ll get a lot of reaction to your list of five people you’d bring back to revitalize WWE.  Mine is that I would rather not see older wrestlers such as Shawn Michaels and Goldberg, who at their age may not have much to give back.  I would like to see CM Punk and A.J. Lee back, but the point isn’t who you would bring back, but how they would be used.  WWE already has so much talent that it misuses, the better question might be:  on the current roster, who would you repackage so they could provide the star power at some point if given a push.  Fandango?  Tyler Breeze?  Naomi?  The Shining Stars?  Curtis Axle?  Zach Ryder?  The list goes on and on.  Or how to advance current roster members who can’t quite reach the top – for example, Cesaro? Dolph Ziggler?  Not everyone can be at the top, but so many are held  back by choice, gimmick, or storyline that I doubt that bringing back a couple of retired wrestlers would really move the needle.

I understand fully why some might not agree with me, but my mindset is this - WWE needs to bring numbers for NBC Universal and this summer will see a lot of changes to the product.  Splitting the "star power" in half might have a negative effect on the shows, so why not stock up on stars while you can.  As far as who I would re-package, the answer to that is no one.  I'd want WWE to take the talents that they have and use them in ways where their strengths are spotlighted and wins and losses matter.  Without all that, no one will mean anything more six months from now compared to what they mean today.

Lucha Underground and NXT are the only wrestling programmes I watch consistently week in, week out as I feel they are genuinely by far and above the best and every match feels important. My question is as Lucha Underground let the women and men compete together can you ever see them having a woman win the world title?

You could absolutely see that one day in Lucha Underground.

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