WWE Raw and Smackdown Women's Champions (2016-present)

Asuka must and definitely deserves to win the match and retain her title.

Here's another development. Now Sasha Banks after challenging Ronda Rousey on the recent episode of Raw and winning a qualifying match, will now be facing her at the Royal Rumble for the Raw Womens Title. So I don't know if the WWE plans on having Rousey drop the title to Banks. Will this now make the waters murkier in the women's division? Who knows. Now I have to wonder if Vince Mcmahon is trying to sneak in another Charlotte vs. Sasha match -again for the Women's Title. Another possibility is that by Rousey dropping the belt to Banks two things happen. First Sasha is "over" again as champion. Second, Rousey is now freed up to battle Lynch or Charlotte or both. Will this now make it possible for Becky Lynch to be even more SO "over" in the WWE and then Challenge and perhaps defeat Sasha Banks for the Raw title? Who knows. It would make sense. This way Ronda Rousey does not lose twice (to Banks and Lynch) yet Sasha gets a run with the Raw belt and so does Becky Lynch.

The only loose end in this theoretical scenario is Charlotte. Unless they simply choose to allow her to kind of blend in and go by the way side for the time being. Maybe they can create a new storyline rival to divert her attention from Rousey and the title scene. Perhaps a Women's Tag Team Title Run is another option. But they would have to find a good way to pair her up with someone.

Ronda Rousey does still have quite a bit of star power as well as that Bad Ass Championship level MMA fighter credibility. However Sasha Banks has not only her fame from being a top of the card WWE wrestler for a few years now, she also has some famous familial connections. This also gives her some strong Pop Culture relevance as well. Ronda Rousey's pop culture relevance as the baddest fighter on earth also must be noted. So this makes for an interesting dilemma at least for most sane and reasonable minded individuals who would be asked to render a booking and story line direction decision for Sasha Banks and Ronda Rousey. Though we are talking about the WWE / Mcmahons. I also feel compelled to point out that fans have started showing signs of becoming a bit weary of Ronda Rousey over the past couple of months. Perhaps it may be time for Ronda to drop the belt and maybe just focus on kicking the Irish Lass and the Queens ass or put one of them over.

We certainly do know that Lynch is getting a rematch for the belt. I think your suggested booking is a great idea. This enables Sasha and Asuka to be champions. In the meantime Lynch and Rousey still look tough, bad ass and are totally still over. This would make it look like the two toughest women in the WWE are so enthralled with their rivalry that they both foresaked their title runs just to get a chance at one another -a chance for a measure of revenge. With that being said, despite Vince McMahon's payment of 'lip service" to fans he won't be doing anything like this. More than likely Asuka will be dropping the belt to Lynch. Sasha will have a good match against Rousey but will come up short. Then at Wrestlemania it will be Rousey vs Lynch vs Charlotte for a women's singles title. This kind of sucks. However it is realistically a more WWE top brass friendly idea than your fan pleasing, sensible and totally top shelf idea.

I think the WWE is planning to re up their push for Charlotte. Saw some online article about how she is actually getting frustrated for having to apologize constantly for her accomplishments (e.g. her numerous title runs etc.) and for being Ric Flair's daughter. More than likely this will come into play with her future storylines. I predict another heel turn for her as well as title run soon. Becky Lynch will be champion one way or the other. Just feel bad for Asuka and Sasha Banks.

I agree that Charlotte has nothing to apologize for. She certainly has the talent, skills and the look to be a top of the card main event star. If the WWE chooses to constantly push her and keep her in the Title scene, she would be a fool not to accept such a storyline and run. That being said, the blame therefore falls on the WWE. Despite her talent and qualifications, (as you had said also) there are other stars who also deserve to share in the spotlight and be given a chance to shine. Certainly, Charlotte's inclusions in the discussion of being GOAT has many strong merits. However, there are other stars in the women's division who are right now deserving of consideration such as Trish Stratus and Mickie James. Sasha Banks given enough time and title runs will also be a strong contender for GOAT status as would Ronda Rousey (if she sticks around long enough).

As far as focusing on groups, there really aren't many factions today in the WWE. I mean you have The New Day, that is all I can think of currently, At one point back in the day, you had The Nation, The Corporation, Ministry of Darkness, Evolution, The Nexus and more recently The Shield and The Legaue of Nations (was it?). WCW during the war era had The Horseman and the NWO, before that they had The Horseman and The Dudes With Attitudes. Just doesn't seem like there was much of a fertile ground for pushing factions in my opinion with the exception of the few teams I mentioned. But maybe things will change. Perhaps the WWE will become serious about actually putting together the Four Horsewomen. Plus they may once again create some strong factions in the men's division as well.

The thing about all of those great past factions were pretty star studded (especially compared to today). They were all high caliber talent, allowed the necessary leeway in their storylines and provided proper booking (for the most part) to help put over not only the individual stars but the groups as a whole as well. This is not the case today. It feels to me like an everyone for themselves climate in the WWE today, Very political and cut throat. Just the way the Mcmahon's like it apparently. if it is business as usual, then I see no real future for factions in the WWE. Just the occasional side show act (like Adam Rose and his group and The New Day).

I don't really see any success with factions in the women's division in particular. No way do I see the WWE planning storylines in such a direction or Charlotte or Sasha Banks taking on a team oriented role involving being in the limelight less. The storylines and bookings for those two are very much geared towards selfish individual achievement. If Sasha and Charlotte or Ronda Rousey were agreeable to forming factions or even at least a cohesive tag team, I think then we would have something special. At least in the men's division we had The Shield. They were pretty dominant and successful as a team and individually as well, I'm sure you'll agree. Too bad they almost seem like an aberration in the WWE.

I can't even feign any familiarity with the women's division right now, as I too haven't actually watched television in any meaningful quantity for some time now, including WWE programming. I have no idea what factions exist in either the men's or women's division. Who ever it is that you mentioned are obviously quite forgettable groups if they don't merit much mention on the internet. I do remember Paige being in a faction. There has been attempts by fans to lump together the likes of Sasha, Charlotte, Becky and Bayley into a dream group dubbed "The Four Horsewomen". Indeed I do see Becky Lynch as somewhat antisocial and therefore not a good candidate for inclusion in a faction. Although in WCW Chris Benoit managed a run with the Horsemen despite his otherwise Rabid, " Lone Wolverine" persona. Therefore given the right circumstances perhaps Becky Lynch may find a way to assimilate into a team dynamic.

If the WWE does decide to form the Four Horsewomen, they will need to include Natalya. Not necessarily as a competitive talent member, but perhaps as a J.J. Dillon like straight laced heel manager role that keeps the group always on task. She'd be perfect for that. Although I could envision her being the curmudgeonly straight laced heel competitive member as Ole Anderson once was in the original Horsemen. So definitely Natalya should be included if they do the Four Horsewomen.

The Shield was probably the most impactful faction in Wrestling since The NWO. Evolution was just a bunch of overpushed, cocky, d-bag champions or ex champions. Where as DX was just a star studded fraternity side show. I admit that I was not a fan of The Shield. Especially since they often (to the point of over kill) resorted to three on one attacks. However in hindsight I understand the purpose of their existence. I do appreciate the accomplishments of all three members. They will all make Hall of Fame one day. Given the fact that all three Held every title that the WWE had to offer (except Rollins...yet) indeed would be a travesty of justice if they weren't inducted one day. Lesnar on the other hand I.M.H.O. would be the opposite. His inclusion in the Hall of Fame would be injustice. Lol.

Speaking of Lesnar and the Universal Title. Rumor has it that Lesnar is definitely intended to stay Champion. Also Vince McMahon never intended to have Strowman face Lesnar for the title. Vince McMahon is concerned about having Strowman lose yet again in a title match and the further damage to Strowmans momentum and fanfare that such a loss would incurr. Strowman was simply an advertising "Strawman". This match was promoted (deceptively) to supposedly draw more ticket sales and attention. All the while McMahon was planning to introduce the last minute (and real intended) opponent for Lesnar in a grand fashion. Balor was just an opportunity for McMahon to "kill two birds with one stone" by having a viable sacrificial lamb for Lesnar while trying to stymie All Elite Wrestling's recruitment efforts. I know, it sounds a little crazy. Like quite a well formed conspiracy theory. But this is what I have heard on the interwebs thus far.

I agree that Lynch is better off remaining a singles competitor. If it worked for Stone Cold, I think it will work for Becky Lynch as well and it is thus far.

The Four Horsewomen nickname was definitely a promotional attempt on the part of the WWE during the NXT days of that group of women. The Four Horsemen were actually a result of a group of real life close friends who were all super talented wrestlers that had a genuine interest in forming a group together and to help put one another over and succeed. Which of course showed in their work and performances.

Oops. My mistake. Except for Rollins and Ambrose. Remember, Rollins and Ambrose have not yet held the Universal Title. Roman Reigns has been Both Universal and World Heavyweight Champion, United States Champion and Intercontinental as well as Tag Champion. Reigns is the first to hold all. Rollins was first to be World Champion. Actually Ambrose was the first to hold any title in The Shield....United States belt.

I'm sure also that Rollins will get his time with the Universal title. Ambrose right now is embroiled in this bitter, vindictive storyline that he has where he has I guess all this animosity towards Rollins and the whole world it seems. Once they navigate him away from this, I'm sure he can resume his normal clustered / chaotic storylines / gimmicks. Lol. Then maybe another title run for him as well. Just kind of interesting that just about every one of Roman Reigns's title runs were riddled with chaos, tumult and abruptly ended for one reason or the other. Plus they were all short. The Universal run I believe being the longest so far. While both Rollins and Ambrose at least got a few months with their title runs. A true tease if you will.

I would be agreeable to Finn Balor taking the strap from Lesnar, if they can do it in a way that looks good. I'm not (and never have been) concerned about Lesnar's credibility, but I just don't want the belt dropped to Balor and then have him end up looking like a "Straw" Champion. Like they only just put the fix in to stop Balor from leaving for AEW. I would like it to look like he earned the title. However, I see no way for the WWE being able to do so based on how they allowed Lesnar and his preferential over the top booking thus far to get so out of hand. They pretty much made him the reigning, invincible, d-bag bully champion of the WWE for as long as he feels like it. So any win against him at this point will look contrived, especially if Balor pulls out a win. I agree with you, that basically Balor will get squashed royally at WrestleMania. It will be one german suplex after another that the poor guy is going to have to endure along with a series of F-5's. Then the pin.

Unfortunately, I haven't heard anything about Lesnar only remaining champion up to WrestleMania. Remember the rumors about Mcmahon being concerned about Strowman taking another loss against Lesnar? So, I think they are planning on Lesnar hanging around longer than Mania and as champion. Balor is just going to be another sacrificial lamb. I hope I'm mistaken.

I agree. Lesnar is the proverbial 800 lb gorilla in the room that needs to be dealt with (by making him leave the WWE). I am still glad that at least Goldberg got in a nice squash victory against Lesnar. I'll take what I can get. My main concern with Balor winning against Lesnar is that it will most likely come off as contrived and therefore make Balor look like a weak "Straw" champion. I do believe David Arquette's return to wrestling was short lived and ended pretty much after his first hardcore match where he got the s_?t beat out of him. During the match I think he walked out of the ring with pieces of glass from florescent lighting tubes stuck on all parts of his body. I believe he also sustained a nasty cut on his neck. After that he pretty much said he was done with wrestling competition.

On the other hand, I could totally envision David Arquette as this ultimate, d-bag heel wrestling manager (who could also take some bumps). He could put whatever acting talent he has to good use doing this. If he loves wrestling so much, he should try that. He could be like the next Bobby Heenan if he works at it. Otherwise, he needs to stay away from being involved in wrestling.

Yes David Arquette did return to wrestling in November 2018. It was actually a long promoted return. He was trying to make amends with wrestling fans for how he thought he wronged professional wrestling during his WCW sideshow stunt. So apparently he made arrangements and struck a deal with Championship Wrestling From Hollywood to promote his supposed legitimate return to wrestling. The story goes on to say he trained rather hard for his return. It was a death match (no less) against someone named Nick Gage. But he got pretty banged up during this anything goes match and very shortly there after decided that wrestling was not his cup of tea after all.

Boy it certainly seems like we agree on almost everything just not always at the same time. Lol. How the WWE books a performer can very much affect our perception of a wrestler. That is why I always argue that a lot of the talent acquired from elsewhere can and should be utilized differently. Because some of them I have had the privilege to see perform and be pushed properly elsewhere (e.g. the current roster of TNA transplants, Adam rose and Cody and even Finn Balor). But truth be told, Finn Balor has started looking like a Cosplay character to me here in the WWE. More accurately like a teenager in a Halloween costume. So that is also why for me it would be hard to accept him as just waltzing into Wrestlemania and walking out once again as Univeraal Champion against the likes of Lesnar.

I don't think Finn Balor could pull off an Eddie Guererro. Eddie was a cut above performer, technically just as sound as Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko (and sometimes as ferocious as any of them). Plus he had that charm and Charisma that made him at worst a Tweener to fans even when he doing a heel angle. He had that swagger and an I don't give an 'eff about nothing, I'm gonna do what ever it takes to achieve my goal attitude and persona that won fans over. A very strong and capable David against a sea of Goliaths. Finn Balor, I can't envision pulling anything like that off. But as you eluded to earlier, where there's a will....there's a way. If WWE creative and Vince and HHH really marshalled their creative skills and will, I'm sure a suitable and totally believable road to the Universal Title could be paved for Finn Balor. The question is however, Do they want to do that?

I never doubted Vince McMahon or the WWE's ability to accomplish anything and everything in Wrestling. As long as they want to do so. Certainly no other promotion at the moment has the dominance, infrastructure and capital that the WWE does. Which if used the right way, could create Wrestling Nirvana. D-Bryan was actually an example of the misuse of the WWE's resources (including talent). It took a huge grassroots effort on the part of the fans and a tremendous showing in the ring on the part of D-Bryan before the WWE decided to begrudgingly pull the trigger on him becoming WWE Champion. So actually the WWE was rather counterproductively going about their business with how they initially dealt with D-Bryan.

JBL's emergence was a result of Vince McMahon supposedly returning a personal favor to John Layfield. But I gusess JBL did do a good job of acting his real life self during that run. lol. Samoa Joe is a badass and a great talent. When he first debuted on RAW he was made to look like Mayhem and Destruction. I still think he's a great talent and a badass. Just horribly booked and jacked around by the WWE. With him it would be an easy fix. Bray Wyatt I agree also could be fixed. Although as I mentioned before I never was much of a fan of the Bray Wyatt character or the Wyatt family. As a matter of fact I wasn't a fan of the Undertaker at first. I really had not come around as a fan until he faced HBK. Although his American BadAss character was awesome. So I did like that. Plus I found that brief character departure in 2000 or 2001 where basically he was Mark Calloway The Undertaker. Complaining about how ungrateful Vince McMahon is. I found that angle entertaining also.

I'm a bit confused. So you"re hoping that exciting times are not on the horizon for both wrestlers as well as the fans of wrestling? Are you thinking that i meant that the WWE will some how attempt a hybrid attitude era yet still with a Lesnar title reign? Lol!! What i had meant was that based on these developments recently, wrestlers all over are hopefully starting to feel that they are empowered and will be emboldened to stand up for their integrity and creative freedoms. If Vince Mcmahon doesn't want to get with the program, then the talent will now have a real choice.... a truly positive "crossroad" in their career.They can jump ship and more than likely at least make almost (and hopefully) as much as they would have in the WWE, while being given creative freedom and great push that any talented and committed star deserves.

Lesnar sticking around is in no way exciting for me. I would continue to be utterly displeased (to say the least). Tony Kahn, owner of AEW is no chump. He is a wealthy and savvy businessman, with a tremendous background in the professional sports the world over. Something which Vinny Mac has yet to accomplish (ha ha ha ha). All Vinny Mac has to his credit is a large company that has and is completely mishandling their overwhelming dominance in sports entertainment as well as a mediocre straight to video media co and a failed arena football and bodybuilding business venture. I'm going to go on the record to say that I pretty confident that Tony Kahn and the AEW will succeed one day in overtaking the WWE in market dominance in Wrestling / Sports Entertainment. I also believe that the AEW is and will be worlds apart from that of the WWE in a good way. This will benefit both wrestlers as well as of course the fans.

In order for Vince Mcmahon to prove that he is serious about listening to fans and making real changes, Lesnar must at the very least be removed from his championship throne and the WWE should also go as far as not continuing their business with him. These actions are part and parcel to the overall legitimacy of Vince Mcmahons public claims that exciting changes are indeed on the Horizon in the WWE and for their fans. Do i believe any of what the Mcmahon's have thus far promised? Not really. But we can hope.

Vince McMahons handling of the competition was basically part savvy (albeit under handed and ruthless) business maneuvers and part luck. He basically drove the competing promotions out of business eventually. So people had nothing else to consume other than what he had to offer and the new NWA / WCW product. His moves could have also backfired on him, like his early attempts to push his product down the throats of fans in the South. Another element of his luck was the overwhelming greed, pride and disorganization of his competitors. Remember Pro Wrestling USA '84 and '85. What a disaster. You had the UWF, CWF, JCP/NWA and the AWA join forces, co promote and attempted to put on a national show to compete with the WWF. Might have worked had they all been on the same page and actually trusted one another in this massive (supposedly) cooperative undertaking. Alas, it didn't. Too many chefs in the kitchen. So all Vinny Mac had to do was sit back and let them back stab one another and fail.

Then you have WCW. Well, we all know what the cause of their downfall was and I can't give the WWE's Attitude Era 100 percent credit for WCW's demise. There were many other causes of this, that we all know of.

I seriously doubt that AEW will make the same mistakes. No way. Tony Kahn won't allow it. Plus you are forgetting that many of the grizzled veterans of these promotional wars are still alive, mostly well and around. Plus available to offer their proverbial two cents if asked and if need be. What is to stop Tony Kahn from seeking some friendly advice from Cowboy Bill Watts, Greg Gagne, Jerry Jarrett and Lawler or even Jim Jr and David Crockett ? These men have faced Vince McMahon head on and know what he is all about. This group could provide some valuable guidance to AEW. Plus when I said AEW could overtake the WWE, I said "One Day". Not in one day. Everythings going to be all right though. The good news is AEW will do just fine. This is not good news for the WWE however.

Although it is my understanding that Cody and both Young Bucks are each Executive Vice Presidents of AEW. I'm sure Cody has learned a lot from his father. After all, Dusty was producer of the wrestling programs for NWA/JCP and the booker. I just hope he showed Cody all the ropes before he passed. This infusion of fresh blood into the wrestling executive realm may be a good thing.

Well actually it was rather the other way around. Eric Bischoff took lessons from Vince McMahon on how to steal talent. Basically Vince sniped the talent from WCW and other territories and then when he was either done with them or could not keep them any longer, then Eric Bischoff striked and signed them. Ted Turners biggest mistake was his willingness to buy the "bill of goods" sold by this young b-team babyface announcer from the AWA (Bischoff) and made him the Executive Vice President of WCW. I think we're all in agreement that Bischoff as v.p. hemorrhaged money, paid exorbitant contracts to the WWF/E boys, made Kevin Nash and Vince Russo heads of creative / booking and in the process turned WCW into a massive s_$t show. Albeit quite entertaining at times and usually very p.g. These are mistakes that are undeniably Eric Bischoffs. Oh and he allowed Hulk Hogan complete creative autonomy. Another partial mistake.

As my dear departed mother used to say "Never trust a goat around a head of cabbage" because before you know it the cabbage will be gone. Well Hulk the goat could not be trusted with his autonomy. Rather than use his creative freedom to put on some great matches for the fans, he used his juice to put himself and the NWO over and bury everyone else. At one point WCW Monday Nitro was The Hollywood Hogan and Ex WWF Cronies Show, instead. The executives at Time Warner / AOL saw this ensuing crap show that was going on and said WTF!!! Why are we allowing this? This is not who we are and What we are about! Not good when dealing with a group of cynical, snobbish, uptight conservative executives. Then of course add to that the fact that WCW was losing money. Their ticket, merchandise and pay per view sales couldn't even cover the payroll of the talent. Again, mea culpa goes to Mr. Bischoff.

So naturally the ladies and gents of AOL/Time Warner decided to pull the plug on the whole thing. Basically giving away WCW to Vince McMahon via a "fire sale". To AOL/Time Warner it didn't matter that WCW dominated television ratings for over a year and a half. These uptight, disdainful yuppies were more concerned with the losses and the perceived negative image to their company as whole that the product of the Monday night wars had brought upon them. Something which scrappy Ted Turner didn't mind and probably enjoyed because he got to stick it to Vince McMahon. So as you said, when Ted Turner's power and influence was diminished that is when finally WCW saw its demise. So instead of having the backing of Turner Broadcasting (and it's billions), WCW now had the disdainful and weary eyes of the new AOL/TimeWarner/Turner corporation casting a leering glance upon them instead.

I agree with your reservations about having wrestlers as executives in AEW. The bucks just don't strike me as another incarnation of Dusty Rhodes, Bill Watts or Jerry Jarret or Lawler. All guys who were successful in the ring and also managed to give headaches to the Vince McMahon on the business end. Cody I'm not so worried about. Although executive v.p. ? Then again no mention is made about what aspects of this promotions operation(s) they are vice presidents of. Executive Vice President of Talent or Executive Vice President of Programming or Human Resources? I just don't know what they're vice presidents of. My theory is they will be subject to scrutiny, to oversight. No way do I see them simply getting a blank check to do with as they please. If Kahn allows them to run roughshod, WCW style then he's stupid. Then as fans, we must keep our antennas up and our noses on the ready to sniff out the musty odor of a rat. In that case, some kind of funny business is going on at AEW.

I believe that this monopoly of Vince McMahon will eventually be the catalyst for some big losses.Although he is majority stock owner. It is plausible that all other shareholders with the exception of his family could sell off their shares. Such a thing could cause WWE stocks to plummet. Next, a mass exodus of talent can occur. What do you think that means? Also further decline in viewership can happen. Declines in merchandise sales. Also, if the aforementioned issues do come to fruition, Fox may very well exercise their option to terminate their contract withe WWE. These are all very real challenges that could be on the horizon for the WWE if they keep doing what they have been doing.His Majesty King Vincent II must deign to humble himself. Otherwise His Royal Highness shall face mutiny on multiple fronts. Simple as that.

Don't get me wrong. WWE won't be going belly up and certainly won't be ripe for buy out from the competition. But certainly, their stock values could tumble dramatically, let's say 40 percent. Ouch. Plus they could easily lose another quarter if not a third more of their viewers and ticket buyers. Ouch again. Merchandise sales could certainly take a tumble down to half of what it used to be. Ugh!!!!! Not to mention even if they lose just 6 to 8 stars each from Raw and Smack Down.That will hurt as well. So is it worth it for Vince McMahon to lose all that ground, momentum and dominance that he spent years building up ? Just to once again have it his way or the highway. Well only time will answer that question.

To answer your question from earlier. I don't think ECW could have survived. They were small potatoes. Especially compared to the WWE and WCW. Paul Heyman was not capable of fostering any kind of a great expansion. As for Eric Bischoff and his phantom investors consortium, I doubt they could have put up any sort of a worthwhile fight. It was his bad decisions that helped put WCW upon the path to demise. So actually, Paul Heyman gets the nod in this comparison as he actually managed to do more with a lot less. It's easy to tout the 80 plus week ratings dominance and chalk up a victory for Bischoff when you have Turner Broadcasting behind you, plus a roster full of ex WWF stars and a turn key and sympathetic fan base. All Paul Heyman had (at least in the beginning) was a small band of crazy devoted fans and a bingo hall in Philadelphia.

I definitely heard Paul Heyman also made some bad management decisions as well. Plus from what I hear he is pretty much the same sketchy, dubious individual in real life that he portrays on television. That may have played a part in it as well. I have heard the story of how the pay per view company breached their contract with Heyman regarding payperview payments to ECW. I think even if Bischoff did buy WCW he would have had to sell it eventually. He would not have been able to fight the WWE for very long. Although I'm sure he would have negotiated much more than around $2 million for the whole company. The media catalog alone was worth more than that.

Yes indeed the scenarios I listed are plausible to occur for the WWE. The WWE network has already experienced lackluster subscription sales. Which is why they lowered the price (and have kept it there ever since) to $9.99 per month. A smaller core of die hard fans is not enough (even if it is around a couple of million) to sustain a worthwhile revenue for the WWE. That is why they are searching for new markets all the time e.g. India, the Asia Pacific, Europe and the middle east. Which is fine as long as their presence shrinks and diminishes here in the u.s. and is replaced with AEW, ROH (if they will put on great shows with great stars) then I'm okay with that.

But if AEW and ROH both manages to get a much stronger foot hold here in the U.S. and then they start going after foreign markets as well, then I really don't see much good for the WWE. Although I believe that AEW will probably try to hit the U.S. , Australian and Asian markets first all at the same time. Which I see as a mistake. The U.S. is a ripe market for a smart and willing promotion, especially one with the resources of AEW that could draw possibly as many as 10 to 20 million viewers a week eventually (if they do things right). No promotion (not even the WWE) has seen such a viewership in decades though. So if AEW comes in to U.S. to fill the void that the WWE has left since the early 2000's and can firmly plant their flag here, then they should start chasing Vince McMahon and the WWE around the globe.

I've been thinking about why Vince McMahon has such a disdain for wrestling. My theory behind that is this, when he was younger he very much so wanted to be a wrestler. A bona fide star. But Grandfather Jess and Pops Sr did not want that for him. They insisted that a promoter cannot also wrestle. So of course he stayed away. Probably explains also why he dived into body building later on and into arena football. Probably trying to compensate. I guess he figured that if he can't have what he really wants, then no one can. Might be why he seems to make a sport of sabotaging wrestling and wrestlers. By the time Sr. Passed away he was already in his 40's so it wouldn't have made sense to start taking bumps on a regular basis. Might be though also why he did allow Shane to indulge in some in ring action and even pushed him a bit. Plus it might explain why he hated some of the other territories like UWF, CWF and the AWA. All of those promoters were first bonafide wrestling stars before hand.

Well unless Vince Mcmahon would have been able to portray the Million Dollar Man character earlier on, then by the time Ted Dibiase came to the WWF, Vince was already in his 40"s. So as i said his opportunity by that time passed. He would have been probably been pretty wicked with that character though. But as you said, Ted Dibiase did a great job of running with that character. Plus Vince Mcmahon needed to give Dibiase a great character so as to lure him away from Jim Crockett promotions and into the WWF. I think the Mr. Mcmahon character was his therapeutic exercise to work out his hang ups over not being able to wrestle. Plus he did book himself as the WWE champion once, right? So he got a little taste. Lol. Plus Shane put on a good effort and he was able to live his dreams a little through sonny boy as well.

I agree that all the buzz and her momentum does make Becky Lynch red hot. As far as superficially looks wise, I have to admit (although I wasn't a big fan) she does look pretty good as of late (sans the black eye and bruises of course). I guess the WWE is investing in some good make up artistry for their new sensation when she appears in front of the camera and the public. Sure she should go over. But my point is that Asuka as the new Champion of Smack Down is just not getting her day in the sun. They can push Asuka on Smack Down and Push Becky Lynch on Raw. There's room for two "over" champions. Certainly Becky Lynch fought and clawed her way up the ranks and deserves her fame. But then again so does Asuka. Charlotte needs to sit her lanky butt down and relax for a while.

Yes you're absolutely correct. That's an excellent analogy for Asuka. She is the female CM Punk. Sort of. Only difference being is that she's not quite as popular as Punk was and still is. But with the right push she could at least come close i think.

Yep that's pretty much what i think. As long as they finally put that Raw title on Becky Lynch and keep Asuka champion for a bit longer. I'll have no beef with that. By the way, during the same event that Samoa Joe jobbed at, Asuka defended her title against and defeated Charlotte. Apparently it was a pretty big house show like event. So they are making somewhat of an effort to make Asuka look good as champion. That's at least a positive for now.

The way the WWE is handling the story line with Lynch and Rousey is pretty stupid. Un-necessarily complicated. The WWE creative team has not been and still are not masters of weaving a compelling, believable and thoroughly entertaining tale for their stars. Plus they need to get over Charlotte Flair already.

I think Asuka was announced as defending the SD title at Wrestlemania. I don't remember who the opponent is some new blonde haired women i haven't heard much about. Not sure if the match is a pre-show or not though.

Yes it was Lacey Evans. Though when I reexamined the online content regarding this supposed match up, all I could find later were articles that simply proclaim Lacey Evans as a possible opponent for Asuka. Meanwhile, hand to heart I swear that I remember seeing more than one headline proclaiming that this match up is set, a done deal...Asuka Vs. Lacey Evans at Wrestlemania.

I wish that the WWE would already bring up from NXT and unleash upon the Raw and SmackDown rosters the recent Indy acquisition stars who participated in the recent All In event, such as Chelsea Green and that women who is a med school student in real life (her name escapes me at the moment). Those two (if properly booked) can offer some great competition for either rosters. Of course if they really wanted somebody who can butt heads with Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch or Charlotte they would go after Tessa Blanchard. Though she is still Impact Women's Champion I think. WWE could easily weed out three of their current roster members to make room for these women.

Bayley can still be salvaged and be a big star. The fact that she is now on her second Women's title reign is a good thing. This means she can one day be part of the conversation as one of the greats in the sport. Sasha is giving no indications that she plans to chill out and then come back like a good little soldier. I see her jumping ship to AEW as soon as contractually possible. Unless of course, Vince Mcmahon dangles a Women's title reign in front of her. Might be an opportunity for a good storyline feud between Bayley And Sasha. With Sasha lamenting how things have gone down hill for her. Perhaps have a bit of animosity towards the WWE and Bayley. Some hard feelings. A little betrayal and before you know it we have a Women's title main event between Bayley and Sasha. Not sure if anyone is a player for euch a scenario though.

Asuka is a great performer. She is also attractive sans her over the top ring get up. However i will opine that is she is not fine when it comes to her promos. She really needs someone else to do the talking for her. Unlike Yokozuna (who actually was not even Japanese and spoke english just fine), Asuka needs a spokesperson. I'm not suggesting Jim Cornette. I'm certain there is an on camera female personality who can pick up the promo slack for Asuka as Paul Heyman does for Brock Lesnar. If not female, then give her a male manager. Maybe even Heyman. Have him dance that line between being a Heel Advocate and a Face Advocate. Meanwhile Asuka can focus on putting on a fantastic in ring performance as usual.

As for Asukas new alliance with another asian wrestler, i dont know wth WWE creative's mindset is. If i had to guess, Vince Mcmahon is simply trying to keep Asuka productive and earning her paycheck until her contract either runs out or they can renew her and figure out what they want to do with her, whilst keeping her away from AEW.

I have no idea about what is going on with Asuka. I did not know that she was managed by Paige. If so, that's great. Paige had a great personality and can do promos very well. So this to me sounds like a good thing. That can benefit both Asuka and her partner as well as Paige. That is assuming she doesn't "go over" even more than the stars she is supposed to be helping, like Sunny did back in the day when was with The Body Donnas.