10 Improvements WWE Have Already Made In The New Era

WWE have rightly been criticised for their inability to create new stars to elevate to World Championship level over the past few years. Instead of letting characters grow and generate popularity organically, the company have continually thrust the likes of Roman Reigns into the spotlight, and kept them there long after the fans had rejected them. The WWE Title scene was the same handful of wrestlers wrestling the series of boring matches at every PPV, and the world was tired of it.

That all changed on Raw and SmackDown. Reigns was widely expected to win contendership for the Universal Championship, but no: Seth Rollins and Finn Balor will fight for that right, while Dean Ambrose will defend his WWE Championship against a resurgent Dolph Ziggler.

If you’d told most fans that these would be SummerSlam’s marquee matches a month ago, you’d have been laughed at, and yet here we are.

Balor’s ascent has been nothing short of astronomical. Many assumed that the former NXT Champion would reach the main event scene sooner or later, but few predicted it would come in his first month. Now he’s all-set to take-on Seth Rollins, the company’s number one heel, in what should be a certified Match of the Year contender.

Ziggler, meanwhile, has been languishing in the doldrums for years. His career has been on a constant downswing since Survivor Series 2014, and while he has a long way to go to reach full recovery, this is a gigantic step in the right direction. Ziggler vs. Ambrose is a fresh new match-up, and the title scene isn’t just Roman Reigns vs. a varying assortment of opponents any more. WWE have made huge strides in freshening-up their main event storylines this week, and SummerSlam is far stronger for it.