Wrestling Is About ONE Thing - And Here's Who Rules At It
RAW has performed miraculously by modern WWE standards, in that they've created one star since October 2: Drew McIntyre. Aleister Black has meandered after he was used to heat up AJ Styles ahead of WrestleMania. Ricochet's scrotum was forcibly removed to heat up Brock Lesnar ahead of WrestleMania. Seth Rollins is in a better role these days, but remains an anti-draw in the ratings. Asuka has proved herself a rare joy of the no-fans era - she is truly a genius performer - but it’s very much that those instincts as a performer were rewarded, not that WWE directed any of this. McIntyre however is a genuine success story; he's a self-effacing hard bastard who knows how good he is but it is only a bit of a self-aware d*ckhead about it in the best way. He does it to hold court, and there is no court, he's doing it very, very well.
On SmackDown, attempts to reheat Bray Wyatt have been mixed. It’s very telling that Wyatt is at his best the further he is from a pro wrestling ring. The Firefly Fun House match was an audacious meta triumph, where his Money In The Bank match with Universal Champion Braun Strowman was cringeworthy amateur dramatics. Strowman himself barely feels like a Champion, fans or no fans. Otis has endeared himself to the fandom, but Vince McMahon is having too much fun with it, and since that fun is cruel and witless, he’s f*cked - not that, great as he is in the role, he is legitimate tippy top material.
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