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Changes Make No Sense To WWE TLC
The changes to Sunday’s WWE Tables, Ladders, and Chairs event certainly adds more excitement and intrigue to the event.
AJ Styles replacing Bray Wyatt in a bout against Finn Balor gives fans a dream match between former Bullet Club leaders. Though Wyatt and Balor were having decent matches, the actual story ran its course months ago. The addition of the hokey Sister Abigail garnered more laughs than interest. As long as we’re getting Styles vs. Balor (Demon or no Demon, he wrestles the same) and not Sister Martha against Finn S. Pumpkins, we should be in for a treat when Styles and Balor get to trading hands.
Replacing Roman Reigns with Kurt Angle is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it’s Angle’s first WWE bout in over 10 years. Angle previously left the company due to their concern over his health. He’s now 48-years-old and even more battered and broken down than he was in 2006. Throwing him into a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match doesn’t seem like the best idea in the world, but I’m of the opinion that his return is a smoke screen to garner interest and that he won’t actually wrestle.
Whether Angle wrestles or not, matters, but not as much as the fact that Roman won’t be wrestling. With Roman out of the picture, it allows the heel team of Kane, The Bar, Miz, and Braun Strowman to pick up a victory that otherwise would not have occurred if Reigns remained in the match. Roman’s replacement eating the pinfall allows for Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to stay strong while also claiming that The Shield wasn’t defeated. It gives the heels so momentum that they otherwise would not have had and sets up the original match at a later date.
While these changes may be exciting, do they make sense?
No, not really.
Let’s start with AJ Styles, a SmackDown superstar who challenged WWE Champion Jinder Mahal this past Tuesday, appearing on a Raw pay-per-view. Why would Daniel Bryan allow this?
Bryan may seem like a smart guy, but his decision making as SmackDown general manager is questionable at best. In just the last few weeks, he’s allowed Kalisto, Kane, and now Styles to go to Raw without any compensation in return. This doesn’t even mention John Cena jumping to Raw as a free agent, with no mention of Bryan trying to re-sign his soon to be brother-in-law.
It’s possible that Bryan has the utmost confidence in AJ defeating Balor, the first ever WWE Universal Champion, thus boosting the profile of SmackDown and one of their biggest stars. But it’s a risk with very little reward. Not only is Bryan helping the show he’s competing with, he risks his current #1 contender losing. What’s in this for Bryan and SmackDown? And why does he keep helping out Raw by sending them superstars with no return?
If anything, Bryan should be extremely unhappy with everyone in WWE right now. Angle, who hasn’t wrestled for the company in 11 years and had to retire due to health concerns, can just comeback like it’s nothing. Meanwhile, Bryan gets criticized by his employees for over a year for retiring due to health concerns, and he can do nothing but make angry faces.
Now, why would Kurt Angle put himself in this match? Maybe the answer is “to save his pay-per-view.” But there are other wrestlers on the roster who could help him with that. His son, Jason Jordan, does not have a match. The current WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, does not have a match. And Bryan seems pretty willing to loan out SmackDown talent for free, why not ask for Randy Orton or Shinsuke Nakamura to replace Reigns?
By putting himself in the match, Angle is putting himself and his brand at risk. Miz, The Bar, Braun, and Kane should feel angry that Angle is taking the side of The Shield. If Roman can’t go, that’s too bad. He should find a stronger immune system.
What if Angle gets hurt and can no longer perform his duties as general manager? Triple H has been gone for months following his WrestleMania bout. This match could put Angle into a retirement home. If he really cared about his family, he would stay out of the ring and continue to collect a paycheck as general manager.
WWE TLC turned into a Michael Bay flick on Friday afternoon. They sacrificed story for excitement. I love it. But Michael Bay sucks.
I’m on twitter @jeremylambert88
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