Posted in: Mr. Tito
MR. TITO STRIKES BACK - RAW/Smackdown DRAFT Thoughts and WWE Battleground Pay Per View Predictions
By Mr. Tito
Jul 24, 2016 - 12:54:29 AM

Follow Mr. Tito on Twitter.com: @titowrestling

Welcome back to the EXCELLENCE IN COLUMN WRITING exclusively here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com. I'm constantly asked "why do you still write?" while many of the haters ask "why don't you retire already?". Well, I enjoy writing and I'm a wrestling fan... That simple... But on top of that, being Mr. Tito presents me an escape from reality. It's nice to put on the Mr. Tito mask and just hide for a while... I'm going through a rough stretch right now with a significant family member in my life and that's been tugging on my heart strings for the past few months. As I've said in previous columns, respect your elders and spend as much time with them while they are here... You don't know what you've got until it's gone.

Many of my loyal readers have repeatedly asked for my thoughts on the 2016 RAW/Smackdown Brand Extension or predictions on the upcoming WWE Battleground Pay Per View. I just wasn't in the right frame of mind for much of the week to write, but I'm at a good place right now to put on the Tito mask and attempt to do what I enjoy as a hobby: write a column for my loyal readers.

I'll try my best to pump out a column that both discusses the RAW/Smackdown Draft and then force myself to do WWE Battleground Pay Per Views. You know that I hate doing Pay Per View predictions, but I do it for my most loyal readers... Away we go.

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2016 RAW/Smackdown DRAFT Thoughts

Before I go into my Draft analysis, let me say this: I'll be covering ALL Pay Per Views on WWE Network. What I'm about to say will suggest that I'm covering just 1 Brand on television, but any missed moments will be easily recapped on Pay Per Views. I plan on reading the results, too, and then considering whether or not a show is worth watching on Hulu.

Let me also say this... I'm an old married man with a family and a career. I cannot watch this much WWE programming. In the past before the Brand Split, I would watch ALL Pay Per Views, condensed Hulu RAW on Tuesdays, and NXT on the WWE Network on Wednesdays. Sorry TNA and Ring of Honor and Smackdown felt like a throwaway show to me. However, Smackdown has obviously changed and NXT's talent roster has been raided. Things have changed but what hasn't changed is my time. I just cannot watch 3 hours on Sunday for a Pay Per View, 1.5 Hours of Hulu RAW on Tuesday, 1.5 hours of Hulu Smackdown on Wednesdays, and NXT on Wednesdays for 1 hour. I could only imagine how difficult this would be if I watched RAW live on Mondays for 3 hours and Smackdown live on Tuesdays for 2 hours. Plus, the LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS sets in for watching too much wrestling (added satisfaction declines as you consume additional quantities of a good).

With that being said, my plans will be to (a) watch ALL Pay Per Views on WWE Network, (b) watch WWE Smackdown on Hulu, and (c) I'll read RAW/NXT results/spoilers to consider watching RAW or NXT. RAW and NXT will have to earn my viewership while having Shinsuke Nakamura on any NXT episode increases my chances of watching NXT. Love that guy...

Why? Because RAW has TWO things I hate most about wrestling on the same show: Stephanie McMahon and Roman Reigns. I cannot stand how Stephanie belittles wrestlers and there are zero consequences for her heel actions. Her voice is like a wolverine attacking a chalkboard and she's the ultimate hypocrite with the way she pushes anti-bully campaigns and does the complete opposite with her character. She has been impossible to avoid since her Authority return during 2013 but now Smackdown LIVE presents that option. Nothing against Roman Reigns personally, but he's a handpicked and manufactured entity by Vince McMahon and the Corporate WWE for what they THINK a superstar should look like. Looks aside, he's still too inexperienced in the ring, can't talk, and doesn't have a drawing personality. RAW is permanently under 3.5 million thanks to his MEGA PUSH since November 2015. Again, not his fault... Vince saw promise in him based on his look and pushed the guy too early and too fast... Great superstars like Hogan, Savage, Warrior, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Rock, Austin, Foley, Triple H, John Cena, Batista, and Randy Orton worked their way up to the top by proving they were drawing entities in the midcard and then deserving a promotion to the top.

So I'll be missing Seth Rollins... BUT AGAIN - I'll be watching ALL Pay Per Views on the WWE Network. Got it covered.

Why am I becoming loyal to the Smackdown brand? Aside from no more Stephanie/Roman Reigns, my favorite wrestler John Cena is on Smackdown and Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles are there as well. I really want to keep following the careers of American Alpha - Jason Jordan & Chad Gable. They are the BEST pure in-ring tag team that I've seen come along since Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas - Team Angle/World's Greatest Tag Team debuted. If we get a healthy Bray Wyatt, we're GOLD. I still see upside in Alberto Del Rio who has real in-ring talent but the WWE can't get his characters or pushes right. Apollo Crews & Baron Corbin have every opportunity to prove why they were NXT call-ups through and following Wrestlemania 32. We get veterans Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton, I suppose...

But I really like Cena/Styles/Ambrose and an interesting mix of wrestlers who could rise up. That, and administratively, I can tolerate Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan... Stephanie aside, I've already seen Mick Foley in an authority figure role. Wasn't impressed... LOVE the guy as a wrestler and consider him one of the best of all time... But I wanted something fresh on RAW for their #2 authority figure spot. Kurt Angle, in my opinion, was perfect for that role (yes, I know he did it before) because of his past on-screen tension with Stephanie and for his 2006 exit. IN MY OPINION, Mick Foley would be better used as a member of the WWE Creative Team. You know, he is an author after all and was a wrestler at one point... Put him on the Creative team!

What amused me about the WWE Draft was how Kane/Big Show are still presented as "prizes". So I guess Kane is a full time wrestler again? And of course, he can just beat down Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens to do his usual trademark fire afterward. WWE does remember that Kane debuted during late 1997 as Kane on top of his years with other gimmicks (Isaac Yankem and Fake Diesel), right? And Big Show, too... He was picked early when RAW could have selected any younger wrestler to have a big spotlight pick. Nope, we have to keep the "Walking Glass Ceiling" in place. Both of these guys wrestled during the Monday Night Wars when World Championship Wrestling (WCW) STILL existed!

I did enjoy the RESPECT shown to Seth Rollins as the #1 pick and Dean Ambrose as the #2 pick. That's cool... With Cena's career winding down, Brock Lesnar in potential trouble due to failed tests, and Roman Reigns also having his testing issues, the WWE needs to rely on these two guys. They have no choice. Hopefully, both are allowed to shine. I'm confident that Rollins will do well as I get the sense that his 2015 year was underrated and Creative screwed him with the whole Corporate Kane feud. Ambrose? I guess getting away from Stephanie McMahon is a plus with the way she talked down to the WWE Champion for weeks. Still, I have some worries based upon how bad the Brock Lesnar feud was and ended up. But hey, John Cena can just pick up the ball again and I'm OK with that. Cena still has it whether you like him or not. He has good chemistry with Daniel Bryan and he can keep wrestling AJ Styles nightly for all I care.

Ambrose and Rollins are making a solid case, though, that the NXT "Class of 2012" will be a developmental call-up class for the ages. Surely, not as great as the OVW "Class of 2002" with Cena, Batista, Orton, Benjamin/Haas, and Lesnar... But those 3 talents have greatly helped the WWE, particularly when they were a group and Seth Rollins on his own. HOWEVER - this NXT "Class of 2016" could get interesting. There is a ton of NXT talent on the main WWE roster right now with more to possibly come. Enzo & Cass, American Alpha, Nia Jax (happy for her!), Carmella, Finn Balor, Baron Corbin, Vaudevillains, Alexa Bliss, Mojo Rawley, and Apollo Crews. Eva Marie has already been on the WWE main roster before, so... But don't count her out. She is a HEAT MAGNET that I believe doesn't have to wrestle to attract attention. Once WWE figures out that she's more Sable than anything, she could do well. She is naturally hated and I still remember the absolute heat she drew in her NXT Title shot against Bayley. People were legitimately scared that she'd take Bayley's title away. It worked and it was great!

Being honest here... I'm fine with the RAW/Smackdown Draft. Pay Per Views on the WWE Network have become the last saving grace for actual wrestling. Seriously, as bad as 2015 was getting for RAW, the Pay Per Views were damn good in the ring. As long as the WWE lets guys wrestle on WWE Network events, I'm cool as a fan... With BOTH RAW and Smackdown having Pay Per Views each, RAW and Smackdown television shows will become INFOMERCIALS anyway. Thus, I'm quite content with my WWE Network subscription for the time being. Also - Keep Stephanie/Roman Reigns on RAW and we're also cool. As a wrestling fan, I cannot take another television moment with those two. I just can't take weeks upon weeks of her screeching and the Roman Empire. You'll lose me as a wrestling fan if I have to endure them weekly.

But, there is ONE GUY drafted to the Smackdown roster that I've had issue with: the Miz.

OK - Think about my criticisms of Roman Reigns... He's a manufactured entity from WWE Corporate and forced to the main event despite what the fans want. Ditto with the Miz. From day one, he has given off the appearance of being a WWE Corporate guy. He's what the Marketing Department of the WWE Corporation WANTS YOU TO LIKE. The image, the "Awesome" catchphrase, the awful music, and the repeat attempts to redefine his character are markings of a manufactured entity and not something that the fans organically can get behind. Everything with the Miz is about image, image, image... Sure, that is very important and so is having GOOD microphone skills. But to appear as completely synthetic and unauthentic as the Miz appears doesn't appeal to the fans. The Miz was WWE Champion during late 2010 and early 2011, even successfully defending his WWE Title against John Cena at Wrestlemania 27. What has happened since Wrestlemania 27? Well, RAW ratings and attendance dropped with Miz as WWE Champion so the belt was thrown back to John Cena... Miz has been a midcarder ever since although he gets many, many midcard title shots.

And this WWE Films subsidized movie career... I'm sure the guy works hard, don't get me wrong... I'm sure he takes his work very seriously... But how has he earned the movie opportunities? Since his Wrestlemania 27 victory, his wrestling career has been going downhill. You would THINK that movie roles would go to more drawing wrestlers, right?

There is the feeling with the Miz, just like Roman Reigns, that he's handed everything to him by WWE Corporate. Miz is the guy that the WWE Corporation WANTS you to like, but not who you really like. And because WWE Corporate takes care of the Miz with many pushes and opportunities, I believe that his in-ring work has suffered. Look, Miz has some legitimate in-ring talent. He's a great athlete and he clearly works hard... AJ Style praised him HEAVILY on Steve Austin's Podcast for being legitimately tough. But what I think is missing from the Miz in and out of the ring is Psychology. If you watch Miz's match, his moves are crisp and the matches are very tight. The problem, though, is his LACK of emotion in the ring... He's very robotic in the ring. He's not providing any rhyme or reason for WHY he hits certain wrestling moves, not attempting to draw heat against his opponents, and not trying to get any response from fans in attendance. He should show emotion, cause his opponent to react emotionally to him, and then convince the fans to root or boo him during matches. Instead... *silence*.

The impression I get with the Miz is that he's told what to do on everything by WWE Corporate. Look at this whole Hollywood gimmick. It's so fake and with his matches not delivering, there's no heat for the character at all... Then, you throw his super hot wife Maryse with him and nobody cares. Shouldn't they be envious that he has a Playboy-esque model as a manager? Nope... Crickets. Because again, he's synthetic as a WWE Superstar and by extension, so is she.

Sooooooooooooooo.... How do you fix the Miz?

Simple. Make him ANTI-Corporate.

Begin to show the Miz receiving actual WWE Corporate Memos about appearing here, appearing there, advising him on what to say, and suggesting what he should wear to the next match. Additionally, have the Miz randomly walk out of the WWE Production Truck and also talking backstage with WWE Marketing Department officials. Actually show this for weeks on end to expose him as the Corporate Yes Man that everybody assumes that the Miz actually is.

But then, one week, a WWE Corporate Memo arrives that overbooks the Miz on many shows, appearances, and WWE Films movies. Completely overwhelming. In fact, sell it as if the Miz has ZERO days off for the rest of 2016 because of Corporate WWE's demands. Then, Miz realizes that his paycheck isn't changing despite the additional work. Then, WWE Corporate starts messing with his wife, Maryse. She has extra appearances and shows, too, and many of the appearances are NOT alongside the Miz. Start to overwhelm the Miz and Maryse that it begins to build up anger with his character. Then, somehow, Miz begins to find out how controlled his character and career have been by WWE Corporate. In other words, he finds out that the WWE's Marketing Department has advised the McMahons on how to use the Miz which has granted him with extra opportunities and title shots. Miz begins to worry that he truly didn't work hard for his career.

Miz begins to question the WWE Corporation about the Memos he's been receiving and how demanding his new schedule is. Also, he's pissed about Maryse now being overworked and having her own appearances separate from the Miz. WWE Corporate snaps back... They immediately put him in a bad situation with his Intercontinental Title and he loses it immediately. Then, they force Maryse to manage another wrestler, someone with a reputation like Dolph Ziggler or Alberto Del Rio to make her life a living hell and to worry the Miz. These forced changes by WWE Corporate, snapping back at Miz for daring to challenge them, begin to change the Miz. Suddenly, he's highly emotional as a wrestler and is hungry to (a) prove WWE Corporate wrong that he's earned his career, (b) recent sanctions by WWE Corporate were BS, and (c) save Maryse. Miz also begins to SNAP inside the ring and maybe attacking wrestlers backstage. This causes him to also change his LOOK, ENTRANCE, and THEME MUSIC and he has disputes with the WWE Production Truck when they force his OLD Entrance Music back onto him. Get rid of that childish "AWESOME" catchphrase, too... ALSO, stop scripting the Miz's microphone work. Let him be truly authentic with what he's saying.

So there you go... That's how you FIX the Miz. You've got to erase the feeling that the Miz is just a product of WWE Corporate. And that's great advice for just about anyone whom the WWE tries to shove down our throats, Roman Reigns, Alberto Del Rio, and Sheamus. You cannot just shove any wrestler to the Main Event. It MUST be earned and organically created by fans.

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On a side note... I'm really enjoying the Cruiserweight Classic (CWC) on WWE Network. Why? Because it resembles an actual ATHLETIC EVENT. Imagine that... You call yourself "wrestling" and guys are trying to win a "wrestling" tournament with REAL brackets.

I'll have more CWC thoughts as the tournament advances...

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Mr. Tito's PHAT WWE BATTLEGROUND Pay Per View Predictions

Usos vs. Tyler Breeze/Fandango
I feel bad about the Usos getting crapped on by fans because of their association with Roman Reigns. Those guys work hard and they are a good tag team. I still don't like how they were sacrificial lambs for Gallows/Anderson. What, Lucha Dragons weren't available? Also, I'm very curious about the Breeze/Fandango team. Both are slightly undersized on the larger WWE rosters but their characters as a tag team seem aligned. Could be a good match?

WHO SHOULD/WILL WIN: The Usos. They'll be repushed on the Smackdown brand because that roster is a bit thin on tag teams.

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Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
Not to be rude, but can these guys move on? Owens beat him cleanly to potentially end the feud but it just doesn't end. WWE should move on because if they have to push both guys to the Main Event, then they could resume their feud there.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Sami Zayn. RAW needs to push someone on the roster as a top babyface. Could you imagine how GOOD Rollins vs. Zayn could be? Wow...

WHO WILL WIN: Kevin Owens. Sami Zayn isn't allowed to win big matches, apparently.

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Becky Lynch vs. Natalya
I forgot to mention both of these ladies being drafted to Smackdown. Ugh, so don't care... Becky Lynch is probably the best in-ring worker for the Women's Division seen since the "revolution" began last year, but her character just isn't drawing attention for me. And Natalya is like the Big Show or Kane of the Women's division. Don't get me wrong, she's beatiful... I'm not talking about looks. I'm talking about not advancing as a character but often beating down up and coming wrestlers. "Female Glass Ceiling".

WHO SHOULD WIN: Becky Lynch and convincingly.

WHO WILL WIN: Natalya

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The Miz (c) vs. Darren Young for the Intercontinental Title
Did I miss something? Have I been missing too many WWE Smackdowns to notice that Darren Young is being pushed as a legitimate singles wrestler? And he has Bob Backlund, too... I just haven't seen enough of Young's singles work to merit a decision whether or not he should obtain the Intercontinental Title at this point in his career.

WHO SHOULD/WILL WIN: The Miz. Darren Young is a RAW roster wrestler... Why switch the IC Title to RAW less than a week into the Brand Split?

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Rusev (c) vs. Zack Ryder for the United States Title
Did I miss something? Have I been missing too many WWE Smackdowns to notice that Zack Ryder is being pushed as a legitimate singles wrestler? Didn't I just seen Ryder wrestling on NXT recently, too? And didn't we see Zack Ryder win the IC Title at Wrestlemania 32 and then immediately lose it the following night?

WHO SHOULD/WILL WIN: Rusev. Zack Ryder is a Smackdown roster wrestler. Why switch the United States Title to Smackdown less than a week into the Brand Split?

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Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho interviewing Randy Orton. Watch this segment CLOSELY because if Brock Lesnar has some troubles with WWE Corporate due to his failed UFC tests, Jericho vs. Orton could instead happen at SummerSlam instead.

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New Day (c) vs. Wyatt Family for the WWE Tag Titles.
New Day is on RAW, Rowan & Bray are on Smackdown while Strowman is on RAW. Yep, New Day will escape with the tag titles.

WHO SHOULD/WILL WIN: The New Day

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John Cena, Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
Should be a fun tag match. The fact that the "Club" has been split up by the Draft should be telling on what will happen during this match. I figure Cena will pin either Gallows or Anderson and AJ Styles will be left in the entrance way worried. He's now all alone on Smackdown and we'll get Styles vs. Cena at SummerSlam to enjoy. If not, Enzo eats the pin for the babyfaces.

WHO SHOULD/WILL WIN: John Cena, Enzo, and Big Cass.

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Sasha Banks and a Mystery Partner vs. Dana Brooke and WWE Women's Champion Charlotte
Many think that the "mystery partner" is Bayley... But Bayley went undrafted? The "Boss" could use a hired hand in Nia Jax as the mystery partner and use Jax as her muscle moving forward. I don't think WWE is done using Bayley in NXT yet and I think Smackdown needs Bayley more than RAW to balance out the "4 Horsewomen".

WHO SHOULD WIN/WILL WIN: Sasha Banks & whomever

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Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE Title
Want my real opinion? Why didn't we save this Shield 3 Way until a BIGGER Pay Per View? SummerSlam is just around the corner, Wrestlemania 33 would have made it feel special. Granted, the smaller name Pay Per Views deserve some love too, but the Shield wrestling a 3 way should be a big deal. In my opinion, it should have been just Ambrose vs. Rollins. Sends a good message to punish Roman Reigns for his Wellness Policy violation but also saves the Shield 3 Way match for another special day. That being said, this match has some interest because we don't fully know how Roman will be used in this post-Wellness Policy violation world. Reportedly, Vince McMahon wants to double-down on Reigns and use the violation as part of his character to get over as a babyface. Vince is OUT OF TOUCH.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Roman Reigns. Wait, what? Yes, that's right... Vince McMahon, himself, comes down and SCREWS both Ambrose & Rollins and makes Roman the "Corporate Champion". Roman brings the WWE Title to RAW while Dean Ambrose is crowned Smackdown's new World Heavyweight Champion. If WWE wants 2 World Titles badly AND to push Roman Reigns as a Main Eventer... you're welcome for the advice.

WHO WILL WIN: Seth Rollins. WWE Title will be on the "flagship" 3 hour show called Monday Night RAW. Probably a screwjob of some fashion to prompt Smackdown to create their own World Title.

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THE LAST WORD

Thank you VERY MUCH for reading. I write these columns for you, the loyal readers but it also gives me a comfort zone as needed when I need to escape. And I really need to escape right now because this past week has been rough on my family. As I've said repeatedly now, I enjoy writing these columns for you...

Take care... And again, appreciate your friends and family, particularly the family who are up there in age. You never know what could happen. I'm usually good at hiding what's happening to me in real life, but this has been rough and has been affecting me in all aspects.

Thanks for reading.

SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE!

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