The following editorial was written by Geoffrey Rowland and does not reflect the opinions of WrestleZone as a whole. We encourage you all to discuss Geoff’s thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this post or by tweeting him @Geoff_Rowland
RAW and Smackdown Live! shook things up this week to hype the build for WWE Survivor Series, with the Blue Brand really shocking the events landscape with a shuffle among Tuesday’s top stars.
Daniel Bryan rolling into WWE Survivor Series as the WWE Champion was a shocking development, as was the company’s decision to turn a high-volume merch selling face into the top heel on either brand.
Make no mistake, that is the only way this can go. Bryan is going to go into full heel mode, something he is very comfortable with, and the turn was done well enough to not make it feel forced. The real issue here is what happens with The Miz?
In the fast-paced storyline world of today, the long burn between The Miz and The Yes Man was fun, but stretching it to WrestleMania was starting to feel like it may be forced. Can the two still go at it on big stages with both of them being heels? And how much further down the card does this push Samoa Joe? Shinsuke Nakamura?
With AJ Styles holding the belt for such a long period of time, it was easy to turn a large majority of the top performers heel as he was such a perfect target for the jealous archetype, but who is left to challenge all of these heels?
Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy can’t be the only ones to battle a contingent of heels that goes at least five deep with main event experience (don’t forget Randy Orton is still out there also).
The move to Bryan makes sense, but the lopsided feel of the show is going to be difficult to climb out of and could make for plenty of confusing moments ahead.
In the women’s division, Becky Lynch’s invasion of RAW and bloody face is something that, despite causing her to miss WWE Survivor Series, is going to be a memorable moment for the rest of her career. She has elevated herself to the top of the women’s heap, and with the shuffling of Charlotte Flair into the Ronda Rousey match, it is clear that the WWE is willing to burn that capital because they now think Lynch vs. Rousey is the future money match.
There have been plenty of hot superstars in the WWE in the last 20 years, since the rise of The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, but Lynch’s rise in the last three months has been meteoric and has rarely been duplicated. It is organic, feels totally natural, believable and absolutely must-see television every single time she appears.
Because of her demeanor, she can go against faces or heels and get the same reactions. It is going to be interesting to see where the story goes from here coming out of WWE Survivor Series, but Lynch vs. The World is pure gold right now.
