Back to back weekends with not too shabby pay-per-views from WWE. [insert applause] Today we bask in Keith Lee glory and love Roman Reign’s full heel turn.
Roman Reigns Returns:
The return came months after he had abruptly decided to leave with the concerns surrounding COVID-19. He returned last Sunday at SummerSlam and was immediately thrust into the title conversation after he attacked both The Fiend Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. That came just after Wyatt defeated Strowman for the Universal Championship.
Additionally, Roman’s return was then followed with another plot twist (spoilers if you haven’t seen SmackDown or Payback) when it was shown that he had aligned with Paul Heyman.
Like I told my friend, had there been fans at SmackDown when the camera panned to show Heyman sitting alongside Reigns backstage as he looked over the triple-threat contract, the explosion would have busted the roof of any arena.
Finally, finally WWE had taken advantage of what nobody suspected would ever come to happen. No rumors, no hints (aside from potentially the shirt Roman wore as he devastated both Wyatt and Strowman which stated “Wreck Everyone and Leave.” It seemed very Brock Lesnar-y to me, but I never would have put 2 and 2 together.
And when the triple-threat main event capped off Payback and Reigns didn’t make it down the aisle until the damn ring had collapsed, once again I couldn’t help but applaud WWE.
Fully turning Roman heel, rather than using the same old lame slow and steady process, made for a much better payoff. It created an instant payoff for those watching and really created the biggest buzz of this entire Coronavirus period. Getting off of the main subject brings us to another story line that’s got plenty of fans excited.
Keith Lee is the man:
We all knew it, but apparently so does Vince.
Lee was stellar during his run on NXT which was capped off by him attaining not only the NXT title but also the North American Championship. After Lee vacated the North American title, he then dropped the NXT title just two days prior to making his main roster debut. Lee has already become a fan favorite because of his sheer strength, but also because of his athletic ability which can only be described in one word: Glorious (sorry Bobby Roode.)
Lee was then instantly thrust into a feud with Randy Orton after Drew McIntyre suffered a kayfabe injury and then squared off with “The Legend Killer” at Payback.
Although, I fully expected a long-form match along the lines of 20 or so minutes, WWE went a different route and had Lee win in almost squash-like fashion. It was a pleasant surprise, however, and it definitely gave you an idea of just how over Lee is, not only with fans, but with the higher-ups as well.
SummerSlam and Payback weren’t classic PPVs by any means, they both had some storylines that were enjoyable and solid matches.
Are you excited to see what both do now that they’re sure to be mainstays on programming?