Before Monday Night Raw, I boldly predicted on this site that Cody Rhodes wouldn’t regain the Undisputed WWE Championship from Sami Zayn.
It’s now Tuesday, and Cody Rhodes isn’t the champion.
I told you so.
But like WWE’s booking, I went 50-50, as I also said that Zayn would leave Chicago with the gold. Waxing poetic on why a prolonged run for Zayn was good for WWE and its fans, I wrote:
“…Zayn brings uncertainty into storylines at a time when WWE’s booking seems predictable. The longer his run goes
on, the more people may want to tune in to see who ends it, how, and when.”
But first, Gunther happened.
“The Ring General” came to Raw and injured Rhodes. What followed was a storyline for the rest of the show based on whether Rhodes would be able to wrestle. Once it became clear that Rhodes wouldn’t be cleared, the outcome seemed obvious, at least to me.
“Punk’s taking his place and he’s winning the title,” I told my wife.
Sure enough, that’s what happened, as Punk celebrated like it was 2011 all over again.
Kudos to WWE on the misdirection. Most expected Punk to return to WWE in his hometown of Chicago following a months-long absence. But what no one predicted before Raw was that he’d end the night as champion.
Unfortunately, my wife, a true Sami ride-or-die, believed until the very end that Zayn would somehow retain.
“Why are you so sure he’ll lose?” she asked.
“Honey,” I began to explain, “the Road Warriors had the chance to win the tag team titles in Chicago, their hometown. They didn’t, and it killed business for the NWA and WCW for years. WWE isn’t about to make the same mistake.”
Granted, that was in 1987. Still, Windy City residents love their locals. If I wanted to go full mark, I could’ve reminded her how another promotion killed its business in Chicago after the owner fired Punk in his hometown, claiming Chi-town’s favorite son was so volatile, he feared for his life.
Looking at the big picture, was putting the title on Punk the right call? The reality is he’s a huge star, bigger than Zayn. If his holding the title leads to WWE doing big business at SummerSlam, then yes, it was the correct decision. After all, that’s what matters.
But smart business doesn’t always make for compelling TV. As a viewer who wanted something different, all I can do is wonder what a longer Zayn title run might’ve looked like.
I still believe there was genuine intrigue in seeing how he’d fend off challengers and the lengths he’d go to keep the title. Even better, I can only imagine how hilariously entertaining his promos would’ve been, explaining how wrestling’s “Last Real Good Guy” had to resort to doing very bad things to hold on to wrestling’s richest prize.
It’s there that I feel cheated. There was a chance to do something different at a time when that’s all anyone wanted. Instead, WWE took an unpredictable route back home to Predictableville.
Which, again, is understandable. But interesting? Meh.
