Last Minute WWE Changes Unravel Months of Work

The WWE Survivor Series card looked a lot different a month ago. Brock Lesnar was going to headline with Jinder Mahal, with John Cena possibly being the special guest referee. Team Smackdown was supposed to have AJ Styles. Team Raw was supposed to have Roman Reigns. Natalya would represent Smackdown as the women’s champion. The Shield would face The Usos.

The card looks a whole lot different today.

It started two weeks ago when The New Day cost The Shield their tag team titles, setting up The Bar vs The Usos and The New Day vs The Shield. That left a free slot on Team Raw. Jason Jordan filled the spot for a week before Triple H booted him on Monday. AJ Styles captured the WWE title from Jinder Mahal, leaving a free spot on Team SmackDown. John Cena occupied that one. It also made the main event Lesnar against Styles. Charlotte wrestled the SmackDown women’s title away from Natalya, setting up Charlotte vs. Alexa Bliss. It also left a vacant spot on the women’s SmackDown team. The mystery woman won’t be revealed until Sunday.

The only match that remains the same from two weeks ago is The Miz vs Baron Corbin.

On paper, these changes have made Survivor Series a much stronger event. Styles vs. Lesnar alone gave the event a must-see feel that it didn’t have when Lesnar was in the main event against Mahal. Throw in Cena, Triple H, a match between the top two females since the brand split, and a match between the top two factions in last five years. The only thing missing is the return of The Undertaker.

What brought about these changes, though?

I know the running joke is “plans change,” but “plans change” for a reason.

Maybe Vince McMahon is finally listening to the audience. If that’s the case, Larry Csonka might have to retire that Vince “I’m a good listener” meme.

Why did he start listening now, though?

I think it started prior to Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. That card went from looking fine to a major event thanks to the return of Kurt Angle and AJ Styles replacing Bray Wyatt. WWE likely saw the increase in interest during that final week and a light went off in their head.

This looks like a slippery slope, changing longterm plans at the last minute just to prop up the upcoming event, but that’s giving WWE too much credit for having a longterm plan. It’s also unfair to criticize them for “sticking with the plan” and also criticize them for “changing things at the last minute.”

I’ve found these last minute changes to be refreshing. It’s not only made me more excited for Sunday events, it’s made the television shows feel more important. In an era where shows are too long, there is too much filler, so much great wrestling is available to be consumed, and where the champion only shows up twice a month; making things less predictable, while still having things make sense, is a perfectly acceptable.

But doing this comes with the risk of making things feel meaningless.

Mahal has spent the majority of the year as the WWE champion. In theory, he’s been the best wrestler on the brand this year. Yet, he’s not part of Team SmackDown. They opted for John Cena, who embarrassed the blue brand by jumping ship and then losing to Roman Reigns. They kept Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton on the team, despite Mahal holding multiple victories over them. If Mahal can’t get on the team or even have a place on the card, what was the point of his reign and can SmackDown really say that they’re using their best options available to beat Team Raw?

And even though Styles is the champion, he recently lost to Finn Balor, who then lost to Kane. If the goal was to put the belt on Styles in order to sell a match with Lesnar, having that prior sequence of events either looks dumb or is meant to be forgotten. Truthfully, it’s a bit of both.

Very few wanted to see Demon Balor against Sister Abigail, but scrapping the match and never mentioning it again put months of work to waste.

Changing plans at the last minute isn’t a bad thing, but WWE should be careful to not unravel months of stories, just for a last minute shot in the arm. There’s a balance to be found, somewhere.

I’m on Twitter @jeremylambert88