WWE Week In Review: The Good And The Bad (06/14/15-06/20/15)

Each year the Money in the Bank Ladder match gives one wrestler an enormous push, but this past week signified a shift in direction for a number of top wrestlers. For better or worse, the landscape of WWE looks a lot different than it did just a week ago.

THE GOOD

Bray Wyatt Prevents Roman Reigns From Becoming Mr. MITB

Nobody in WWE has been booked worse since WrestleMania than Bray Wyatt. Granted, even his WrestleMania bout with the Undertaker was one of the more forgettable matches on a stacked card. But Wyatt is a unique, captivating character with tons of potential. He’s versatile in the sense that his ability to cut a promo is enough for him to carry almost any storyline, leaving WWE Creative with a wide range of possibilities.

Instead, Wyatt was relegated to a brief, pointless feud (if you can even call it that), with Ryback following WrestleMania. They settled it at Payback last month, with Wyatt coming out on top. He was subsequently left without any direction.

Fast forward to the MITB Ladder match.

Barring interference of some kind, it was basically a foregone conclusion that Roman Reigns would be walking away with the briefcase. Considering Reigns has been force-fed down the throat of WWE’s fan base, Wyatt’s say in the matter brought on a collective sigh of relief. Who better than Wyatt to take down WWE’s golden boy? And, judging by his promo on Monday night, things are about to get extremely personal, and a little bit creepy. This storyline has massive amounts of potential. Reigns’ in-ring ability has gradually improved, and for those who don’t think Wyatt can hold his own, I recommend watching his match against Daniel Bryan at 2014’s Royal Rumble.

Seth Rollins Retains, Sets Up Bout With Brock Lesnar

I was split 50/50 as to thinking who would come out WWE World Heavyweight Champion at MITB. With Brock Lesnar looming, I thought it was possible Dean Ambrose would come out on top and have Lesnar return as a heel, spoiling Ambrose’s championship celebration on Raw. But is Ambrose truly ready for a feud with Lesnar that would presumably spill over to SummerSlam? Probably not. He earned his chance to main event for a shot at the title, but he hasn’t earned the right to hold it just yet.

Seth Rollins, on the other hand, has proven to be a worthy champion, and WWE’s willingness to allow him to retain the title without any help from the Authority tells me that they agree. It was nothing short of a vote of confidence and a stamp of approval. It’s been heavily rumored that a babyface turn and a feud with Triple H is imminent, which means his run as champion is probably coming to an end sometime in the near future. I’d like to see him retain at Battleground, though. Also, it’s really difficult to say where all of this leaves Ambrose.

Kevin Owens, Kevin Owens, And More Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens has taken the world of professional wrestling by storm, and rightfully so. There’s simply no denying Owens’ all-around talent as a performer. And, clearly, WWE knows it.

After coming out on the losing end of what may have been the best WWE match of 2015 at MITB against John Cena, Owens proceeded to cut another good in-ring promo the next night on Raw, followed by a quick-paced match against Dolph Ziggler. All of this came with Owens already scheduled to face NXT newcomer Samoa Joe on Wednesday. That match left a little bit to be desired, but it was essentially designed that way. That’s not the last time you’ll see those two in the ring together. Given the heavy workload, I figured Owens would be given the night off for Tuesday’s taping of Smackdown. Instead, he turned in another solid match against the under-appreciated Cesaro.

It’ll be interesting to see where Creative takes Owens from here. A rubber match against Cena is a pretty safe bet. It seems as though they may be trying to hold off until SummerSlam by selling an injury to Cena. Not a bad idea. Like their first two matches, it’ll certainly be the most anticipated match of the night. Saving it for WWE’s second biggest night of the year will only facilitate more bad blood between the two, and even more interest from the fans.

THE BAD

Sheamus Becomes Mr. MITB

I think Sheamus makes for a good heel. But, generally speaking, the winner of the MITB briefcase should a hell of a lot less boring. Sheamus is the epitome of a midcard heel. He’s a brawler in the ring, and is certainly respectable in that regard. He had a worthwhile feud with Ziggler upon his return from an injury. In fact, all signs pointed to him winning the Intercontinental Title at Elimination Chamber, a title that suits him better than the Heavyweight.

Similar to Reigns, WWE sees something in Sheamus that most fans simply do not. It’s hard to imagine him doing anything even remotely intriguing in his time as Mr. MITB. If they really wanted to push Sheamus over as Mr. MITB, it would make sense to elect him the Authority’s enforcer. That role may fit him well, and it’s something Kane cannot pull off at this point in his career.

Neville would have been my choice to win the match. The Red Arrow is enough to get him over with fans, but the former NXT phenom has been stuck in limbo since getting promoted to the main roster.

The Intercontinental Title Picture Underwhelms

Ryback vs. Big Show pretty much had no chance to be entertaining from the get-go. I was actually in Columbus for MITB, and it was about what I expected: a snoozer that sucked the life out of the crowd. The Divas Championship match that preceded it got more pop.

Miz at least adds some much-needed energy and wittiness to the storyline, but it’s difficult to fathom how little intrigue surrounds the Intercontinental Title picture right now. With Ziggler and Rusev’s feud ending prematurely (at least for the time being) due to the latter’s injury, WWE would have been better off giving the title to Ziggler at Elimination Chamber.

New Day Loses Tag Team Titles

I have no issue with Prime Time Players winning the Tag Team Titles, but I do have a problem with New Day losing them. Does that make sense? With what seemed to be a failed babyface mini-stable experiment, New Day had finally solidified themselves as excellent heels. Just like that, WWE pulled the rug out from under them, and in such a peculiar way. Prime Time Players won the match in under six minutes. Don’t get me wrong, Titus O’Neil is an absolute pleasure to watch. But it was kind of a head-scratcher.

It’s possible that Creative feels New Day can lose the Tag Team Titles and not lose any steam as heels. However, they also lost a six-man tag team match the following night on Raw, and Xavier lost to Neville on SmackDown. It’s also possible that they’re preparing for Prime Time Players vs. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan somewhere down the line.

Wrestledelphia.com staff writer Tyler Sablich can be reached at . Follow him on Twitter at .