What I Want To See From WWE In 2019
When will the McMahon family live up to its promise of shaking up WWE?
We are a little over two weeks into the new year and some would say we have been seeing the same shtick from WWE, instead of the “fresh start” that we had been promised. Whether it’s the 50-50 booking, rehashing of old feuds that don’t make sense or a month-long standstill of The Revival vs. Lucha House Party that has just has been getting fast forwarded on my DVR every week, it’s basically been there, done that, ad nauseam.
That being said, there are a few fresh ways WWE can spice up the product and give some viewers more to look forward to each week. In my return to The Wrestling Estate, here are my hopes and wishes I want to see from WWE in 2019.
Bring Back Kick-Ass Heel Sasha Banks
For the better part of two years, we have seen a Sasha Banks character that, to put it lightly, is a shell of what she used to be. Gone are the days of thinking that Charlotte and Sasha are going to be the next Trish and Lita, main eventing PPVs. Instead of her being “The Boss,” now we see a midcard character who barely gets as much pop as her equally neutered “tag partner” Bayley. Hopefully, the weeks leading up to her match at Royal Rumble against Ronda Rousey can propel her to the heel she is destined to be.
Give Shinsuke Nakamura Something To Do
This one isn’t that hard. Maybe the least exciting United States Champion in recent memory, Shinsuke Nakamura had nothing to work with during his five-month reign. I understand making him a heel initially to keep the storyline with Styles moving past WrestleMania 34, but now it just seems stale and boring. Either reboot his character and make him a fan favorite again or risk seeing one of the most talented and charismatic wrestlers go back to the Land of the Rising Sun sooner rather than later.
Reboot Bray Wyatt
Speaking of rebooting characters, the long rumored “reboot” of Bray Wyatt has yet to hit television screens despite appearing at house shows throughout the end of 2018. Wyatt is that dark, mysterious character that WWE definitely needs with The Undertaker only showing up once a year and Demon Finn Balor only being used maybe three times a year.
Send Some Mid-Level Talent Back To NXT
NXT has been a hit, no doubt about it. But you can make the case that some of its talent has either been underused or not given the platform to really shine. You can also make the same case for Raw and SmackDown talent, such as Tyler Breeze, Apollo Crews, Bo Dallas and to an extent, Sami Zayn. They’re all former top NXT talents who have been regulated to almost comedy acts and jobbers. Send them back to NXT, rebuild the characters, create fresh storylines and relish in what made them so great in the first place.
Give Kevin Owens His Due
With Kevin Owens being sidelined since October with knee injuries, it’s hard to judge if he has really been an issue on WWE TV. He definitely was making his presence known, but not to the extent of what he is actually capable of. With his return looming, a massive heel run (and title run) is much needed for a KO character that was resorted to being a comedy act before being the injuries.
Make the Universal Title Great Again
I actually was keen to the idea of Roman Reigns taking the title off of Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Roman was finally getting more cheers on television, and his in-ring work was steady throughout. However, with his unfortunate leukemia remission forcing him to relinquish the title, WWE has decided to go the “safe” way and just give it back to Lesnar instead of taking the gamble every fan wants and putting it on Braun Strowman. Much to John Corrigan’s delight, Lesnar is still champion and only shows up to Raw during big PPV build ups. It’s not that I’m sick of Brock and Paul Heyman; it’s just I (as well as 90% of WWE fans) would rather have a champion that shows up every week. While you could make the argument that having Lesnar as Universal Champion gives the title more “appeal” and “luster,” it almost feels like a secondary title compared to the WWE Championship. All of Brock’s feuds feel like a prize fight that hold no emotional weight to it. But isn’t having emotional feuds that hold weight to something the whole point of professional wrestling? Every single title being defended in WWE holds some kind of emotional weight and merit that the challenger fights for. Lesnar’s feuds just seem to be three weeks long and have the same Paul Heyman promo linked to it.
Eat, Sleep, Lazy Booking, Repeat.
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