10 Best Wrestling Storylines Right Now
Hooks, line and sinker.
There's a theory in place that WWE is crafting a long-term shared universe storyline in which any interaction with the Fiend has a profound, transformative effect on his victims.
Finn Bálor, shaken by the decisive SummerSlam loss, retreated back to NXT as a villain. Seth Rollins lost his virtue, too, turning heel and developing delusions of grandeur. Daniel Bryan...stopped caring about the health of the planet and got a haircut? He's a colder presence, maybe. He's changed, if "undefined character following displeasure at creative process" counts as change.
The commentary have now made explicit mention of a projected fan theory, so it perhaps is and always was the plan, but Bray interacted with Jerry Lawler on RAW a few months back, and the King hasn't much changed. Perhaps the Fiend's ambush caused him to forget the names of every female talent in NXT. Bray also attacked Braun Strowman around the same time, and a few weeks later the Monster was carefree enough to indulge in a spot of dancing with the New Day.
Man, the evil wrought from those gloves. Chilling.
Dollars to f*cking donuts that Goldberg will remain unchanged following his feud with the Fiend. He'll just come back in the summer and spear Drew Gulak or something. It either isn't a story, or it's very loosely-plotted one.
Unlike...
10. Poor Otis
It's a dumb sports entertainment storyline but it is absolutely inspired in its own, dumb sports entertainment context.
Otis has the hots for Mandy Rose, and it's going to go badly, badly wrong him. Sure, last week's miscommunication was just that, and Otis can simply watch the episode back to realise that Rose was simply humouring a work acquaintance, but Rose in storyline canon is a right wrong'un. She once described Nikki Cross as an oversized rat that crawled out of the Lincoln tunnel, and if you don't think they have something awful in the chamber to say about Otis, then brother, you're watching the wrong sports entertainment company.
But what?
"Otis, you look like a fat guy's thumb got dipped in grease and pubic hair."
Irrespective of the actual zinger, WWE has identified a sympathetic babyface, tugged on the old heartstrings by booking him to be plain nice and helpful, picked the perfect, handsome, boring dickweed for you to hate, penned a cracking montage, and created an air of mystery about the motivation of Sonya Deville in the background.
This might and probably should end up in a Heavy Machinery Vs. Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler match, and if so, and if they don't f*ck it up, WWE will have booked an interesting Bobby Roode match and an interesting Dolph Ziggler match.