Burning Opinion – Why the WWE’s Priority’s Are Out of Whack

So, let me get this straight, the Brie Bella/Stephanie McMahon feud is more important then Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton, Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt, the Intercontinental Championship, the Tag Team Championships, the Diva’s Championship, and Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship? Got it. Is Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon creating compelling television? Absolutely. I am loving the work these two ladies have been delivering the past few weeks, but they should not be the focus of “Monday Night Raw” and they definitely should not be closing back to back weeks of “Raw.”

By having this feud close “Raw” back to back weeks, you are sending the message to the WWE Universe, and the WWE locker room, that this is the most important feud in the WWE right now, but it’s not. At best, this is the fourth most important feud. The WWE has it priorities in the wrong place. Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella’s “Summerslam” match is going to be awful. Let’s not kid ourselves, it will be terrible. Stephanie was never a great worker, and has not worked a match in over ten years. Brie Bella is at best average in the ring. We know how this feud will end, in disappointment. Would you be excited about a television show that you knew would have an awful season finale? Perhaps, but you’re level of commitment would not be the same. That’s why I can not get invested in this feud, I know how this story ends. Don’t worry, this is not a pick on Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon article, I have plenty more grievances to file against the WWE.

The WWE has completely botched the Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena match. Now, I understand they have faced some difficulty with Cena filming a movie and Lesnar’s limited schedule, but how can you not have these two in the the same arena until the week before their “epic” encounter? Cena was on “Raw” last week, the WWE should’ve had Lesnar on that show. Whatever they needed to do to make that happen, should have happened. They knew Cena would not be on the Aug. 4 edition of “Raw,” so why not have Lesnar beat him down last week? That gives them a realistic reason to have neither man on this past week’s show. This feud has nothing going for it. It’s a match we have already seen, and while their previous encounter was very physical and highly entertaining, you have to give the audience a reason to invest in the feud this time around, and thus far I have no reason to care about this feud.

My next grievance is with what they have done with Roman Reigns. He is supposed to be the WWE’s next poster boy. The next face of the franchise, yet they are not booking him that way. I’m sorry, but Randy Orton is not the star he once was because for the past year he has played second fiddle to Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Batista, and Daniel Bryan. Every feud Orton has had has revolved around a different performer, not him. The WWE Universe does not care about Orton either way, they don’t really boo him, and they don’t really cheer him. For months they have been building Roman Reigns vs. Triple H, now we get Randy Orton instead? It’s a feud that feels like we are just waiting for the next feud. I know the WWE is trying to build “Night of Champions” to be a huge event and have Reigns square off against Triple H then, but the pay off would not be the same as having that match at “Summerslam.” Maybe I’m old school, but I like to see a nice long feud. That’s how I get invested in a feud. You wanna sell “Night of Champions” with Triple H vs. Roman Reigns? Have Triple H and Reigns tear the house down at “Summerslam” and then people will be being dying to pay for the rematch. For years the WWE has shown “Night of Champions” as a “B” pay per view, and most likely it will go back to that next year, so having the event be a big deal one year, will not culminate in a big, memorable moment for Reigns because we have been conditioned to think less of this event. Reigns defeating Triple H will still be a big deal, but it will not as special since it will not be a “Summerslam,” supposedly the WWE’s second biggest event of the year.

When Chris Jericho came back to the WWE last month I was pumped. We had not seen him in about a year, and I could not wait to see who he was going up against. Then the lights went out and The Wyatt Family appeared. The IWC nearly wet themselves with excitement in anticipation for the feud and promo work that was about to come from Bray Wyatt and Chris Jericho, but that has not happened. The feud between Wyatt and Jericho has gotten very repetitive. Pretty much it’s the Wyatt’s beating the crap out of Jericho each and every week. Where is the dueling promo work between these two? That’s what the fans want. That’s what got the WWE Universe excited in the first place. Instead we get taped backstage segments. I do not understand the thought process in this feud. It’s almost as if the WWE knows what the fans want, and decided to do the complete opposite.

Finally, we come to Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Leading in to “Battleground” this was the hottest feud in professional wrestling. Now? We have a Lumberjack Match. Seriously? A Lumberjack Match? You mean that match you use on a random episode of “Raw” once a year and no one cares about the stipulation on there either? I understand the thought process of keeping Seth Rollins from “running away” from Ambrose, but wouldn’t a cage match have been more appropriate? Also, does it really make sense for Dean Ambrose to pick a match that will surround the ring with people he has pissed off and beaten down as a member of The Shield? I can’t say that it does. I would understand if Seth Rollins picked the stipulation and The Authority surrounded the ring with their guys, but Ambrose? It really lacks common sense. Maybe this is WWE’s version of a “Wrestlemania” battle royal, to get a lot of different guys on the card.

To this point, the build towards “Summerslam” has been anything but memorable. The focus to this point has been around a match that will probably last under ten minutes and be incredibly underwhelming, that match being Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon. The WWE has taken several feuds that should be easy to book and generate interest, and completely botched them. Brock Lesnar and John Cena have not even been in the same ring yet. Roman Reigns’ momentum has stalled due to a feud that feels forced with Randy Orton. Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt are doing the same thing every single week and have yet to deliver an epic verbal encounter fans have been lusting for. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose have had very little interaction, and have been booked in a match with an uninspiring gimmick. It has become very evident that the WWE is biting their time until “Night of Champions” in an effort to get people to renew their WWE Network subscriptions. “Summerslam” is supposed to be the second biggest event of the year, but right now it is being overlooked. Would they ever to that with a “Wrestlemania?” Never in a million years, yet with their second biggest event they are doing exactly that. I am sure the WWE will try and make up some ground next week on “Raw” but at this point it will be too late. “Summerslam” will no doubt deliver some great matches, but a huge part of wrestling is the build to a match, and right now the WWE has forgotten that, which is why their priorities are completely out of whack.

WWE, you have been Burned!

For more wrestling blogs from Bryant Burns, visit WrestlingOpinion.com or follow on Twitter @WrestlingOpins!