Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
The temptation will undoubtedly be there for the blue brand to choose an obvious foe for Styles to face at the pay-per-view, with names like Randy Orton and Kevin Owens leading the list. But the WWE title match at the Royal Rumble shouldn't be about giving another opportunity to someone who's been there, done that.
No, WWE must think outside the box and give Styles an opponent no one sees coming.
After all, if we learned anything from the 2017 Royal Rumble, it's that you can load up a PPV card with all the big names you want but it won't guarantee success. The WWE Network subscriber count increased by just 42,000 subscribers back in January, which has to be considered a monumental disappointment given that the PPV featured John Cena vs. Styles and a star power-packed 30-man Royal Rumble match with the likes of Goldberg, The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar.
But that shouldn't surprise us anymore. Recent evidence indicates that supposedly big draws aren't really big draws at all and that the WWE Network subscriber count ebbs and flows depending on the time of the year rather than because of the stars who are in a particular PPV's main event. That, of course, explains why we recently saw a massive push for Mahal, with the idea being that WWE is willing to "experiment" with its PPV main events during the WWE Network era because of the reduced price of PPVs.
Royal Rumble gives WWE yet another chance to do that, this time with Styles' opponent, who doesn't need to be a former champion or perennial PPV main eventer.
Perhaps the best option for Styles' opponent at the moment is Rusev, one of the most underutilized and overlooked superstars in recent WWE history. Rusev appears to be in the midst of an organic babyface turn as fans have grown to love "Rusev Day" and have long appreciated that "The Bulgarian Brute" is one of the most well-rounded and charismatic superstars in the company. As of late, he finally appears to be gaining steam with the masses, too.
As of this writing, Rusev's new "Rusev Day" t-shirt is listed as one of the best-selling items on WWEShop.com, which isn't a surprise given the massive reaction he received from the live crowd at Clash of Champions and on SmackDown. WWE must strike while the iron is hot because it has already missed far too many opportunities with Rusev and cannot risk doing it again. That doesn't necessarily necessitate a world title opportunity, but hey, why not?
">WWE SmackDown has officially moved on from the push of Jinder Mahal and has now begun the search for a Royal Rumble opponent for AJ Styles.
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
The temptation will undoubtedly be there for the blue brand to choose an obvious foe for Styles to face at the pay-per-view, with names like Randy Orton and Kevin Owens leading the list. But the WWE title match at the Royal Rumble shouldn't be about giving another opportunity to someone who's been there, done that.
No, WWE must think outside the box and give Styles an opponent no one sees coming.
After all, if we learned anything from the 2017 Royal Rumble, it's that you can load up a PPV card with all the big names you want but it won't guarantee success. The WWE Network subscriber count increased by just 42,000 subscribers back in January, which has to be considered a monumental disappointment given that the PPV featured John Cena vs. Styles and a star power-packed 30-man Royal Rumble match with the likes of Goldberg, The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar.
But that shouldn't surprise us anymore. Recent evidence indicates that supposedly big draws aren't really big draws at all and that the WWE Network subscriber count ebbs and flows depending on the time of the year rather than because of the stars who are in a particular PPV's main event. That, of course, explains why we recently saw a massive push for Mahal, with the idea being that WWE is willing to "experiment" with its PPV main events during the WWE Network era because of the reduced price of PPVs.
Royal Rumble gives WWE yet another chance to do that, this time with Styles' opponent, who doesn't need to be a former champion or perennial PPV main eventer.
Perhaps the best option for Styles' opponent at the moment is Rusev, one of the most underutilized and overlooked superstars in recent WWE history. Rusev appears to be in the midst of an organic babyface turn as fans have grown to love "Rusev Day" and have long appreciated that "The Bulgarian Brute" is one of the most well-rounded and charismatic superstars in the company. As of late, he finally appears to be gaining steam with the masses, too.
As of this writing, Rusev's new "Rusev Day" t-shirt is listed as one of the best-selling items on WWEShop.com, which isn't a surprise given the massive reaction he received from the live crowd at Clash of Champions and on SmackDown. WWE must strike while the iron is hot because it has already missed far too many opportunities with Rusev and cannot risk doing it again. That doesn't necessarily necessitate a world title opportunity, but hey, why not?
Posting Komentar