Esoteric Anomaly Column Debut

By Daniel Barker

Wrestling fans across the globe welcome to the debut edition of the Esoteric Anomaly right here on Next Era Wrestling! Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Daniel Barker from the United Kingdom and some fans may have seen other articles I’ve posted about pro wrestling else where; if not please be rest assured that the work done here is exclusive to this community only!

Without further ado let’s get this column rolling, shall we?

I’ll begin by stating that WWE RAW this week showed some real promising signs that a new phase could be soon underway. There was an increased volume of potential that outshined the usual expected drool that’s flaunted on the television screen like a half-baked thought each week.

Around the three quarter mark through the show; I had a positive feeling about the general outlook on the shows structuring. I quite literally posted an article last week slating how the WWE fails to invest enough effort into promoting the other championships to improve their selling point influence.

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Early on in the evening a battle royal gets announced to determine a No. 1 contender that will challenge the United States Champion Dean Ambrose, instantly a sense of intrigue flooded my mind.

“Are they actually pushing a mid card title match and schedule it on the SummerSlam card?” I asked myself with childish naivety.

The reality spelled a bitterly disappointing outcome, the entire point in using all that time, talent & focus was only intended for the pre-show performance. I cannot fathom the logic that a company would utilize so many individual factors to combine a series of events that create a US Championship match and then squander the match before the PPV.

Further negative sensations tingled down this writer’s spine when I witnessed Curtis Axel once again doing nothing with the Intercontinental title because his role is way too invested in another drama he doesn’t really need to participate in. Curtis Axel contributes next to nothing in the CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar/Paul Heyman equation.

On one side we see the WWE seemingly taking a productive turn towards their US title situation and on the other side they ignore the Intercontinental outlook by not giving the gold any attention at all. Holding these mid card titles nowadays doesn’t just affect the roster; it can strike twice as hard image wise against the champion. What’s the point in holding something that does absolutely nothing for you?

A WWE wrestler that’s apparently on a push with a belt that hasn’t got any contention scheduled - won’t look like anything worth watching. If the roster hasn’t got a care in the World that Curtis Axel’s the Intercontinental champion then why should the viewers. Simple logic, isn’t it?

SummerSlam is giving off the vibe that perhaps the WWE seeks to evolve performance wise following the most likely epic battle between John Cena & Daniel Bryan. Daniel's thoughts on how wrestling conflicts in the business verbalized on national television that could shift creative direction in encouraging performances and to invest in talent that can play the part down the line in the future.

WWE should not focus too much on the development system until the show structure itself becomes sustainable. Do you agree?


Thank you very much for catching my debut here on Next Era Wrestling. A Q&A session could be in the works so please send any questions, suggestions or other feedback to [email protected]. If you would like to read more of my work that goes beyond pro wrestling please go to www.esoteric-anomaly.com