One of my true ideals in modern day pro wrestling relates to NXT call-ups, moreover how WWE handle their chosen NXT call-ups. My belief is that every single NXT call-up should be brought up with some kind of plan, a feud, an angle, anything, as long as the talent is called-up with a plan, I can get behind it.
The call up of the Undisputed Era is going to be naturally challenging. The beloved stable need to be handled correctly and efficiently. A clear attachment exists between all members of TUE and the core NXT audience (which a strong portion does indeed carry over to RAW and SmackDown LIVE), so it’s important when WWE call-up these guys to the main roster it’s handled with extreme care.
The correct way to go is instantly programme the leader of the TUE with a main stream name, that the audience is distinctly familiar with. This name comes in the form of Seth Rollins. It’s been no secret, that I have been pushing for an extended 12-month Intercontinental Championship run for Rollins, leading to a climatic IC Title defensive at WrestleMania 35 next year at MetLife Stadium. The opponent for Rollins on the Grandest Stage? TUE leader: Adam Cole.
It’s January. It’s Royal Rumble time. Rollins’ motivation is simple, he wants to go into WrestleMania as IC Champion and win the World Title and come out as a double champion; ala to his brief 2015 stint as double champion. Rollins naturally has a heroic, lengthy run in the Rumble before all members of TUE (other than Cole) appear walking down the ramp; Rollins naturally (because it’s wrestling duh), stops what he’s doing and stares down the three members of the stable, this leading to Cole coming up from behind him and eliminating him. TUE have arrived on the main roster.
They have arrived on a major PPV, instantly been attached to one of the biggest names in the company and in the process WWE and TUE have established to the casual fan-base that will be watching the 2019 Royal Rumble that TEA, moreover Cole are legit stars, that they need to invest in.
I like the idea of a tournament taking place in the months leading up to WrestleMania to determine a challenger for Rollins at WrestleMania; it seems only fitting that Rollins’ year-long title run culminates in him competing against the best of the best. Minor details of the tournament could include but not be limited to: WWE using it as an opportunity to branch out of the tournament into other feuds that they want to include at WrestleMania and using it to try out different options such as heel v heel and babyface v babyface.
The aforementioned Cole should ultimately win however and go onto face Rollins for the IC Title at WrestleMania. Rollins would continue the open challenge series during the time between Rumble and WrestleMania. The idea is that Cole and Rollins do not touch psychically in the proceeding months. How this can be achieved is a matter of circumstance and particulars. Maybe, it’s as simple as the RAW GM telling Rollins that he can get his hands-on Cole as long as it’s in the parameters of a WWE officiated bout.
By the time WrestleMania comes around. The IC Title will hopefully be in as good shape or not better than it is currently; the match (like this years), needs to be heavily featured, it needs to be expressed in the booking that this a match that casual viewers should (and eventually will) care about. The WrestleMania match should take the form of a 20-minute clinic with Cole eventually getting the win. I opted Cole to win relatively cleanly, without TUE’s assistance. The reason for this decision is it makes Cole look like a legit star, and I always think clean and decisive victories are important on a platform such as WrestleMania.
An important scripted moment I would encourage is for when Cole is celebrating with the IC Title alongside TUE, Rollins is simply lying against the ropes in disbelief as he screams out “you got me”. Affirmative, it doesn’t seem like a massive angle, that would be correct, that needs to come after, what is key here is that the causal audience realises that Cole beating Rollins is a huge deal.
What comes next? Well for the next part of the story I would like to remind you of Roderick Strong’s recent heel turn. Roderick Strong’s ascension into the villainous stable was one of NXT’s proudest pieces of storytelling. The very core nature of the story was that Strong was not being successful; so henceforth he realised in order to be a success within the realms of WWE and provide a better living for his family (which was a pre-conditioned character trait thanks to his underrated feud with then NXT Champion Bobby Roode), he needed to align himself with the correct individuals, those correct individuals being TUE.
The reason that Strong’s turn is addressed here is that this formula of using a pre-conditioned character trait (a trait that the audience is familiar with) and using that trait and exploiting it to get the audience invested in a meaningful extended storyline should be used again, but this time on main roster programming.
You probably guessed it. I would book Rollins joining TUE. I feel like Rollins out of sheer desperation after three unsuccessful clean losses to Cole on PPV would be at the end of his tether; the loses have been clean and each time the two men have faced, Cole has had an answer to everything the former IC Champ has thrown at him. The logic behind it is simple; Rollins in his head believes if he can join the ranks of TUE; he can finally learn what it takes to beat Cole and finally get the IC Title back.
It’s January. It’s Royal Rumble time. Rollins’ motivation is simple, he wants to go into WrestleMania as IC Champion and win the World Title and come out as a double champion; ala to his brief 2015 stint as double champion. Rollins naturally has a heroic, lengthy run in the Rumble before all members of TUE (other than Cole) appear walking down the ramp; Rollins naturally (because it’s wrestling duh), stops what he’s doing and stares down the three members of the stable, this leading to Cole coming up from behind him and eliminating him. TUE have arrived on the main roster.
They have arrived on a major PPV, instantly been attached to one of the biggest names in the company and in the process WWE and TUE have established to the casual fan-base that will be watching the 2019 Royal Rumble that TEA, moreover Cole are legit stars, that they need to invest in.
I like the idea of a tournament taking place in the months leading up to WrestleMania to determine a challenger for Rollins at WrestleMania; it seems only fitting that Rollins’ year-long title run culminates in him competing against the best of the best. Minor details of the tournament could include but not be limited to: WWE using it as an opportunity to branch out of the tournament into other feuds that they want to include at WrestleMania and using it to try out different options such as heel v heel and babyface v babyface.
The aforementioned Cole should ultimately win however and go onto face Rollins for the IC Title at WrestleMania. Rollins would continue the open challenge series during the time between Rumble and WrestleMania. The idea is that Cole and Rollins do not touch psychically in the proceeding months. How this can be achieved is a matter of circumstance and particulars. Maybe, it’s as simple as the RAW GM telling Rollins that he can get his hands-on Cole as long as it’s in the parameters of a WWE officiated bout.
By the time WrestleMania comes around. The IC Title will hopefully be in as good shape or not better than it is currently; the match (like this years), needs to be heavily featured, it needs to be expressed in the booking that this a match that casual viewers should (and eventually will) care about. The WrestleMania match should take the form of a 20-minute clinic with Cole eventually getting the win. I opted Cole to win relatively cleanly, without TUE’s assistance. The reason for this decision is it makes Cole look like a legit star, and I always think clean and decisive victories are important on a platform such as WrestleMania.
An important scripted moment I would encourage is for when Cole is celebrating with the IC Title alongside TUE, Rollins is simply lying against the ropes in disbelief as he screams out “you got me”. Affirmative, it doesn’t seem like a massive angle, that would be correct, that needs to come after, what is key here is that the causal audience realises that Cole beating Rollins is a huge deal.
What comes next? Well for the next part of the story I would like to remind you of Roderick Strong’s recent heel turn. Roderick Strong’s ascension into the villainous stable was one of NXT’s proudest pieces of storytelling. The very core nature of the story was that Strong was not being successful; so henceforth he realised in order to be a success within the realms of WWE and provide a better living for his family (which was a pre-conditioned character trait thanks to his underrated feud with then NXT Champion Bobby Roode), he needed to align himself with the correct individuals, those correct individuals being TUE.
The reason that Strong’s turn is addressed here is that this formula of using a pre-conditioned character trait (a trait that the audience is familiar with) and using that trait and exploiting it to get the audience invested in a meaningful extended storyline should be used again, but this time on main roster programming.
You probably guessed it. I would book Rollins joining TUE. I feel like Rollins out of sheer desperation after three unsuccessful clean losses to Cole on PPV would be at the end of his tether; the loses have been clean and each time the two men have faced, Cole has had an answer to everything the former IC Champ has thrown at him. The logic behind it is simple; Rollins in his head believes if he can join the ranks of TUE; he can finally learn what it takes to beat Cole and finally get the IC Title back.