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The week after WWE TLC 2020 was a very eventful one for the company. A Christmas Special episode, crowning of a new champion, and the beginning of the build to the upcoming Royal Rumble 2021, a lot happened on RAW and SmackDown.
After an amazing TLC pay-per-view, the onus was on WWE to deliver with their weekly shows. After the record-low ratings of their flagship show Monday Night RAW a week prior, everyone was looking for some massive changes in the booking this week. However, nothing as such happened as RAW failed to impress yet again.
On the other hand, Friday Night SmackDown delivered and delivered really big as the Christmas Special episode garnered a massive rating, averaging 3.335 million viewers. The numbers look even more impressive because it was a taped show and there were spoilers all over the Internet.
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In this article, let's take a look at three things WWE got wrong this week and three they got right. Be sure to comment down and let us know your opinions on the current state of WWE programming.
#3 WWE got right: Big E wins the Intercontinental Championship on Friday Night SmackDown
The Christmas Special episode of SmackDown was main-evented by a massive Lumberjack match with the Intercontinental Championship on the line as Big E challenged Sami Zayn. In what was a great way to celebrate the festive season and give the WWE Universe a cheerful moment, Big E defeated Zayn to become the new Intercontinental champion.
This was the second time Big E won the IC title. Before this, it was in 2013 when he won the title by defeating Curtis Axel and held it for 167 days before dropping it to Wade Barrett at WWE Extreme Rules 2014. A lot has changed since then, especially with the formation of The New Day and the history they created.
It was a great decision to put the title on Big E, a massive fan-favorite on the current roster. One has to wonder whether this is the start of his well-deserved singles push that fans have been demanding for a while now.
#3 WWE got wrong: Booking of RETRIBUTION and Ricochet on Monday Night RAW
The debut of RETRIBUTION in WWE and their unexpected invasion of RAW and SmackDown looked promising when it began. However, the way WWE has booked the faction recently has been nothing short of underwhelming.
There seems to be no continuation with the storytelling aspect as one week they teased tensions between the members of RETRIBUTION and Mustafa Ali, however, all of that was forgotten as things went back to normal the next week.
For the last few weeks, RETRIBUTION has been trying to forcefully convince former United States Champion Ricochet to join them. Last week, Ricochet lost to MACE and this week he lost to T-BAR and both of the matches were followed by him denying to join RETRIBUTION and facing a ganged-up attack from the faction.
WWE Universe has been left baffled wondering why does RETRIBUTION care so much about Ricochet joining them? Isn't their purpose to get, well, retribution from WWE for not treating them properly? With each passing week, fans are starting to lose their interest in the faction and unless they jump back in a massive way soon, the future of RETRIBUTION looks bleak.
#2 WWE got right: Return of Alexa Bliss on Monday Night RAW
WWE TLC 2020 ended on a massive cliffhanger as Randy Orton ended up burning The Fiend in the middle of the ring. The rivalry between Randy Orton and 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt leading up to WWE TLC 2020 was really interesting. However, one major issue was the absence of Alexa Bliss in the last few weeks from WWE TV. It was later revealed by Alexa Bliss herself that she had taken time off.
But this past week's Monday Night RAW saw the return of Alexa Bliss in a massive way. One of the biggest questions coming out of WWE TLC 2020 was what would happen to Alexa Bliss, now that The Fiend is possibly gone? However, Alexa Bliss looked as intimidating as she has ever looked upon her return.
The segment of 'Alexa's Playground' with Randy Orton was really intense and arguably the best part of this week's Monday Night RAW. Bliss has made it clear that The Fiend might return and when he does, he will be very different than what we have seen of him so far. We might be in for some very interesting storytelling here.
#2 WWE got wrong: Not kicking-off Monday Night RAW with the Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton segment
As great as the WWE RAW segment was between Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton this week, the company made a massive mistake by not letting that segment kick-off the show. As pointed out by Vince Russo on Sportskeeda's Legion of RAW with Dr. Chris Featherstone, WWE should have started RAW with what was the biggest talking point of TLC 2020.
"Right off the bat, you've got a format and a formula that is flawed. That was the last match, right at TLC? You've got to pick up the show from there. There is nothing more important than that. That's where you have to start the show. The fact that it was totally ignored until, I don't know how long it was, an hour or two hours in or whatever it was. That right there just tells you guys, come on, man, get it together, bro."
"If people tune in to see that and they are getting Charlotte Flair and Asuka and all this up top, people are going to say, sc*** it, they are not going to sit around for an hour and a half and two hours. They are not going to do it."
WWE RAW got a better viewership rating than what they did the week prior, but the Red brand needs to step up a lot to match with the level of SmackDown.
#1 WWE got right: Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens kick-off SmackDown with a thrilling match
While WWE missed the trick of kicking-off Monday Night RAW with the correct segment, their decision to kick-off Friday Night SmackDown with the Steel Cage match between Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship was spot on. The first hour of SmackDown got a staggering viewership with 4.097 million viewers.
While the Christmas Special episode of the Blue brand was taped this week, WWE played a masterstroke by opening the show with the big Universal Championship match as SmackDown started immediately after the NFL game. The match between Reigns and KO was one of the best matches on SmackDown this year. In the end, it was Jey Uso who once again helped Reigns to retain his title by escaping the cage.
It is to be seen whether the rivalry between Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns is over or will it continue all the way to WWE Royal Rumble 2021? The rivalry has been amazing so far and has just reminded the WWE Universe of how good Kevin Owens is. As for Roman Reigns, he has just been amazing ever since his return earlier this year.
#1 WWE got wrong: Bianca Belair taking the pin yet again on SmackDown
One of the favorites to win the women's Royal Rumble 2021 match is The EST of WWE, Bianca Belair. The former NXT Superstar made his way to the main roster earlier this year at WrestleMania 36 after impressing everyone through her work on the Black and Gold brand of WWE.
While Bianca Belair is a massive fan-favorite, the last few weeks haven't been all that great for her. After losing her big match against Bayley on the Blue brand last week, Bianca Belair teamed up with SmackDown Women's Champion this week. The two competed in a triple-threat tag team match against Bayley and Carmella, and the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, Asuka and Charlotte Flair.
Asuka and Flair ended up victorious but it was Bianca Belair who yet again took the pin on SmackDown this week at the hands of The Queen. While she surely has been booked strongly on the Blue brand, taking back to back pins has hurt her momentum. Hopefully, WWE has big plans in store for her.
