The Miz Takes His Rightful Place
When you think of the WWE Intercontinental Championship, you think of The Miz. Yes, years ago you had the likes of Stone Cold, Triple H and The Rock but this is The Miz’s title and rightfully so. Tonight, he defeated Dean Ambrose by outsmarting him and out-wrestling him. I thought the opening match got plenty of time, started off slow but ended perfectly. You needed to see a cowardly move, a few moves that made Dean Ambrose become distracted and then leading to him losing the championship. I do think this feud has more time left in it and it has to start with Renee Young.
We saw this a little in the past, but they continue to pick at it which leads me to believe she will be inserted in a storyline bigger than where she is at. How can they balance it, though? The Miz is a guy who has such a strong balance of playing to the crowd and working in the ring where he makes mid card feuds into something interesting and more developed. Now, I want you to hold your breath because I am going to do something I rarely do. Dean Ambrose put on a really good match and made it from pretty good to a great match. His physicality, attempts to win and his erratic behavior worked really well. Tonight was about the transition back to a guy that they know is their most consistent heel.
She Peaked Too Soon
Alexa Bliss defeated Bayley in a very lazy Kendo Stick on a Pole match. I applaud each woman for trying to execute this type of stipulation, but it just does not make much sense or connects to the live crowd. It is more of a chase to the pole instead of a wrestling match, which is where Bayley thrives. Alexa Bliss wins in the shortest match of the night, clocked in at just over 5 minutes. Why did this not work, though?
Bayley is really good at being Bayley. Unfortunately, she is not connecting with a vast majority of the crowd, as well as not evolving her character whatsoever. Even the best performers have to do more to connect, but Bayley (maybe just creative) have relied too much on young girls who are between the ages of 6-14 who cheer her on. I am not bashing her as a performer, but what she has gotten isn’t helping her. She does not have an unlikable heel to work with. People enjoy Alexa Bliss and fans crave to see what she says and does next. Did Bayley peak too soon?
Plain and simple: Bayley’s first championship win should have been at WrestleMania. It was too soon and too out of the blue for Bayley to capture her first RAW Women’s Championship on a RAW. Give her a huge moment and make her feel important, not just another champion in the merry-go-round of RAW Women’s Champions that happens to win a title in February.
