Thoughts on the WWE mid-card.
WWE Battleground is this weekend and it looks to be one of the bigger B-Shows of the year, thanks in large part to the presence of Brock Lesnar. While the top of the card is strong with Seth Rollins defending the WWE World Title against Lesnar and John Cena meeting Kevin Owens in a rubber match, it’s the mid-card that is really lacking.
Noticeably absent from the card are fan favorites like Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Rusev, and Neville.
Cesaro has had three straight Match of the Year Candidates on Raw, Ambrose is coming off a World Title feud, Rusev just returned and took out Dolph Ziggler, and Neville has been winning matches. So why aren’t they on the card?
Simple. There’s nothing they can touch. Figuratively and literally.
WWE booking has become pretty basic and repetitive over the years, but it’s hit low lately with their lack of mid-card direction. If guys have nothing to fight over, they have no reason to fight.
Look at the matches on the WWE Battleground card. Even if nothing is technically on the line, guys are feuding over something. The Money in the Bank briefcase might not be up for grabs when Randy Orton takes on Sheamus, but the case lingers in the background as an object of both men’s desire.
And sure there’s nothing on the line when Bray Wyatt battles Roman Reigns, but a key component in this feud has been Bray’s desire to prevent Roman from getting his hands on the World Title.
Even Barrett and R-Truth are feuding over the King of the Ring crown/gimmick. And while the feud has been poor, at least they’re involved in a feud.
Cena vs. Owens and Rollins vs. Lesnar both have more layers than just the title, but the title is what truly matters. It’s why Owens saved Cena from losing the belt twice, because he wants to take it from him. It’s what Rollins needs to prove he’s the face of the company.
Belts matter, which is good, but sometimes they only matter because they are a prop in a rivalry and not because they carry any meaning. It’s an easy excuse for creative to say, “he has a title, they can feud over that” without giving any background to the feud.
Cesaro, Ambrose, Rusev, and Neville aren’t on the card because there’s nothing for them to fight over. Rusev was fighting Ziggler over Lana, but that’s been put on hold while Ziggler films a movie. If they aren’t challenging for something or someone, whether tangible or not, it appears that they have no motivation to do anything. Sure, they could duke it out over who is better and try climbing the ranks, but what sense does that make? That would require eventual challengers being built up instead of just being there. Right now Cesaro and Rusev are trading wins with neither man gaining any momentum while Ambrose and Neville are facing random opponents and winning, but not really moving forward.
Look at the tag division. If you aren’t fighting for titles or losing to the upcoming challengers, you aren’t on TV. Remember when the Lucha Dragons debuted to strong fanfare? Where are they now? They could easily be involved in a feud with the Ascension, continuing their NXT feud, setting up the next challengers for the titles. Instead, neither team has been seen since Elimination Chamber.
Maybe, if they created a #1 Contender Title for every title, the mid-card would have some direction. Until then they’ll just continue to have matches with whatever name is drawn out of a hat, trade wins and losses, and go nowhere until creative can find a prop for them to chase.
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