The Outlook – Royal Rumble Fallout Edition

Hello wrestling fans, long time no speak.

Welcome to the first edition of “The Outlook.” My name is Nick Bazar, and long-time readers might remember me from my time at the helm of “The Contentious Ten” as well as reviewing Friday Night Smackdown. Hardcore 411mania-ites may even remember the BFF’n News Report I co-created with Michael Ornelas. This time around, I bring to you not Top 10 lists or match reviews, but my opinion on the outlook of championship divisions and major storylines following big events. And what better way to kick this off than with the first major WWE PPV of the year.

Event: WWE Royal Rumble
Location: San Antonio, TX
Date: 1/29/2017

Smackdown Woman’s Division
The Outlook: Positive

Following the Rumble, we have potentially three major storylines moving forward in the Smackdown Woman’s Division: the continuation of Nikki Bella vs. Natalya, Mickie James vs. Becky Lynch, and a new championship program in Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi. All three are very exciting, and what I love most is that they all came about organically. They weren’t force-fed to us as part of a “Revolution” or over-hyped to show how “history-making” they are. The simple fact that we now have three separate storylines in the Smackdown Woman’s Division is revolutionary in it of itself considering that just a couple years ago, we were lucky to have one intriguing Diva’s feud in the entire WWE. I’m particularly excited to see what a heel James can do against, let’s face it, one of the best babyfaces currently on the roster in Lynch. However, I think the dark horse here is Bliss/Naomi. This is the right time to transition into a new championship program, and I feel like these two will surprise and impress everyone with their chemistry. Naomi gets a lot of flak from us in the online wrestling community, but I’ve always seen a lot of potential there. Perhaps it will truly come out when she’s given an opportunity like this.

Raw Tag Team Division
The Outlook: Positive

Well it’s about damn time. After fumbling and bumbling their way through a rough first year, Anderson and Gallows are finally the Raw Tag Team Champions. Should it have happened sooner? Absolutely. Is it too late to salvage their WWE reputation? I don’t think so. I will say, this gets a very cautiously optimistic “Positive” outlook from me though. Reason being, we cannot overlook how poorly they were booked for the entirety of their first year. Casual fans won’t overlook that either. At times it was downright shocking how wrong so-called professional creative writers got this. From the constant losses to the cringe-worthy “comedy” skits, they just had no idea what to do with these guys. Giving credit where credit is due, they did manage to begin to pull them out of the gutter over the last month or so. While cookie-cutter, The Club’s feud with Sheamus and Cesaro finally managed to bring an authentic charisma out of Anderson and Gallows. We finally got glimpses of how naturally funny they can both be. I just hope it continues from here, and I believe it will. Just please permanently trade in the lab coats for a microphone.

Raw Woman’s Division
The Outlook: Neutral

Another PPV came and went, and the #1 constant in the WWE remained true: Charlotte is still on top of the Raw Woman’s Division. I have nothing against this as Charlotte has become a legitimate superstar in the wrestling world since turning heel. She had some growing pains initially, but has developed into one of the few true heat-generating heels in the WWE. Fans don’t cheer when she makes her entrance, and they don’t laugh during her promos. As a heel, that’s how it should be. So why the “Neutral” outlook? Because there really isn’t much around her these days to get excited about. Bayley lost something in her transition from NXT to Raw. While her in-ring work remains fun, her promos have actually regressed, and I feel they are trying too hard to portray her as that lovable underdog. Subtly and nuance isn’t a strong suit of Monday Night Raw, unfortunately. Sasha Banks and Nia Jax have a decent little feud going, but Jax just isn’t quite there yet as a performer and Banks actually took a step back after her program with Charlotte. Besides the main four, who else is there really? Alicia Fox is busy with the cruiserweights, Paige is on the shelf, and Dana Brooke is nowhere to be found. They are in desperate need of some fresh talent.

Raw Universal Championship Picture
The Outlook: Positive

Wow, Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns went out and had exactly the kind of match the Universal Championship has desperately needed. The title picture prior to this has been so stagnant over the last few months, and quite frankly it’s been a chore to watch. I’ll be the first to tell you that I was definitely NOT looking forward to yet another Owens/Reigns match. Fortunately, these two breathed some competitive life into the division, and it left me with a positive outlook for the future. Steve Austin recently recalled how The Rock’s segment at Wrestlemania last year completely deflated 100,000 strong. I feel the same thing would’ve happened here had Reigns come out on top (and I’m a Reigns supporter). That would’ve been a damn shame too, because this Rumble crowd was fantastic. Now what becomes of Owens and the Universal Championship? It could go in a number of different directions, and this performance alone has me pumped for what’s next. Finally.

Cruiserweight Division
The Outlook: Neutral

Halfway through Neville vs. Rich Swann, I was ready to go full Negative here. While the match was technically good, it suffered from the same major issue that most other Cruiserweight Division matches are plagued with. Indifference. The Cruiserweight Division has quickly become the new Diva’s Division in terms of crowd interest. It’s sad because it’s clearly a talented roster, and while creative has tried to establish different characters and personalities within the division, most crowds just really don’t seem to care. Either way, I’m slightly hopeful now that the Cruiserweight Championship is finally with the King of the Cruiserweights.

Smackdown WWE Championship Picture
The Outlook: Positive

Am I bummed out that AJ Styles lost his WWE Championship? Yes, of course. He carried it with class and there was never a dull moment throughout his entire reign. But we just witnessed history here. John Cena ties Ric Flair’s legendary 16th World Championship reign, and you can’t help but be happy for him. Had this happened a few years ago when Super Cena was in full force and every PPV went off the air with him on top my feelings might be different, but this was executed perfectly. By and large, Cena has been a supporting character for the last two years. In that time, I believe he won a lot of people over. By the time he returned to Smackdown last month, he had the support of even some of the most jaded wrestling fans in the world. It helped that he tweaked his character, became more self-aware, and was delivering some of the greatest promos of his career. So yes, I’m excited for this latest Cena WWE Championship run. Mainly because – and it shocks me to say this- it feels fresh again.

Royal Rumble Match Results
The Outlook: Positive

The Royal Rumble is all about unpredictability, and if you hadn’t been nosy and read the reports that came out a few days ago favoring Randy Orton in the Rumble, it would’ve definitely come out of left field. Especially considering the crazy amount of options available and the different number of ways they could’ve taken this. But when you sit down and really think about it, this makes perfect sense. Orton was very much viper-like in this Rumble, picking his spots carefully and striking when necessary. Not to mention, his storyline with the Wyatts has been pitch-perfect since it started, and if we are left with a Wyatt vs. Orton match at Wrestlemania, we really can’t complain. It’s everything we always look for in a Mania match: long-term build, intriguing storyline, twists and turns. The Rumble win just adds more prestige to it, where as some of the other rumored Mania matches can get by with the Rumble rub. Plus, they have very good chemistry with each other, and it finally brings Wyatt back to prominence, which is something a large portion of wrestling fans have been clamoring for.

Overall Company Landscape
The Outlook: Positive

Hey, it’s WrestleMania season, the outlook better be positive. And fortunately, coming out of the Rumble, I feel it is. We have a lot of interesting scenarios on the Raw side of the field what with Owens as Universal Champion, Goldberg on a path for the title, Lesnar on a path for Goldberg, Braun Strowman champing at the bit, and Reigns having a brief but impactful conflict with Undertaker. Sure, it might be a little part-timer heavy on the Raw side of things, but you cannot deny that it is stacked. Smackdown, while not “stacked” with the same kind of star power, offers a ton of intrigue as well. You have the possible implosion of the Wyatt family, Styles looking for retribution, Corbin looking to make a name for himself, and Cena beginning a history-making championship reign. All I can say is I am already excited for the Elimination Chamber in a couple weeks.

So there you have it, the debut edition of “The Outlook.” Let me know what you thought in the comments below, and hell, leave your own outlooks if you’re bored and looking to vent. Until next time.