Looking Back at The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in WWE This Week by Mike Sanchez

The Good

Seth Rollins vs, AJ Styles

I think it goes without saying for many WWE fans that we were all looking forward to this match at Money in the Bank, and it certainly did not disappoint. An online gripe since Wrestlemania I’ve been reading is fans grumbling about the booking of the face champions on both brands, but I can’t understand why some seem determined to moan about minor issues. Rollins should be the Universal Champion on Raw and for a long time. Rollins’ character is fearless and takes on all-comers, hence his challenge to Brock Lesnar after the Royal Rumble. He doesn’t shy away from serious competition and so I was extremely happy that he accepted AJ Styles’ challenge.

The match itself was really good and shows what WWE can offer when they just let two top professionals just go at it in the ring. The loss didn’t hurt Styles at all, in fact, I believe it only enhanced his glowing reputation even further and signaled to Rollins that his run as champion is anything but secure. This match will undoubtedly happen again in the future, but if this week’s offering was anything to go by, then it needs to be saved for big PPVs.

Bayley Cashing in and Becky Losing a Belt

Hear me out, Becky Fans (of which I’m one too). Since Becky captured both titles at Wrestlemania and became ‘Becky Two Belts’, I worried for her booking going forward. I believe that having her on both shows, defending both titles would lead to an over-saturation of the character and ultimately causing the office to have her lose both belts in quick succession. The scenario we saw on Sunday with her having two title defenses in one night was always going to happen, but I think WWE got this right. With Charlotte Flair’s win just minutes old, Bayley, fresh from her MITB win, cashed in to become a grand-slam women’s champion.

Becky can now carry on as The Man and champion on Raw, where she can continue on her journey free from the additional pressure of carrying the division on her own. The Man is a great gimmick, but it’s unfair on the other talented women to have just one figurehead when there are two belts to be had as well as the Women’s Tag Titles. One person holding multiple belts never lasts long, as it restricts feuds and storylines that revolve around titles. Bayley’s win should be the kick-start her character has needed for a couple of years now. Hopefully, this should give Smackdown some fresh matchups.

The Bad

Brock Lesnar winning the Money in the Bank match

Two steps forward, three steps back. Sigh. I was as surprised as anyone when Brock came out to disrupt the men’s Money in the Bank match and end up climbing the ladder to take the briefcase. Then that surprise turned to annoyance – again. Look, I get it that Brock Lesnar is an attraction. I get it that he’s not like anyone else on the roster and I get it that Vince McMahon and co think he should permanently be in the title picture, but to have him win MITB is ridiculous. The whole point of MITB is to give someone an opportunity at a title who wouldn’t normally be given that chance. Young up and comers traditionally take part in the match and the winner is usually someone who has yet to capture a top title, or has rarely held the belt in the careers; think CM Punk, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Braun Strowman, Carmella, Dean Ambrose etc. That being said, both John Cena and Randy Orton have been previous winners, so perhaps I shouldn’t be too surprised at Brock’s win.

What riles me most about this is that Brock doesn’t need it. For me, the whole PPV is a moot point now as Bayley has already cashed in and not many fans care if or when Brock cashes in too. He will do it when the champ is vulnerable and easily pick up the win, leading us to even more weeks with an absent champion who only turns up when WWE see fit to give him a big paycheck. WWE don’t appear to have learned their lesson with Brock and there seems to be an obsession with him being champion. Not all wrestlers need the gold to be popular or have great matches. Lesnar is firmly in the ‘veteran’ category when it comes to WWE – he turns 42 in July – and has had a stellar career, but I personally believe MITB should be reserved for younger stars. I could be wrong, but that’s just my opinion.

Shane McMahon’s never ending feud with The Miz

Can we stop this now? Please?

The Ugly

The 24/7 Championship

They wheeled out poor Mick Foley for this, didn’t they? No amount of cheap pops from the Hardcore Legend could get this over. I like that WWE is trying out new things, as it’s important to continue evolving, especially with AEW’s debut on TV right around the corner, but the introduction of the hideous 24/7 title is just a re-hash of the Hardcore Title from the Attitude Era. Appearance aside, I’m genuinely interested as to where WWE is going with this. Is it purely for the lower to mid-card talent to fight over, and will be part of comedic storylines going forward? Is it destined to be held and lost by R-Truth multiple times in 2019 to set a new record for most title wins in WWE?

I would have preferred a title that is defended every week on TV, much like the United States Title open challenges, but I suppose a belt that gives some of the talent screen time and feuds that they normally wouldn’t have is a good thing. Time will tell.

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So what do you think? Was it a good week overall for WWE or should they be taking their long-term planning more seriously considering lots of fans will be tuning in to AEW to see what they have to offer? What are your thoughts on the new 24/7 Championship? I’d love to hear them. As always, thanks for reading.