Pros and Cons of Finn Balor, Dolph Ziggler Being Top Contenders to WWE Titles
Twists, turns and unexpected No. 1 contenders defined the first week of the latest incarnation of WWE's brand extension, as Finn Balor and Dolph Ziggler came from out of nowhere to earn opportunities at their brands' respective world championships.
For the first time since October 2015, Roman Reigns will not compete in a pay-per-view main event for the WWE Championship, and the result is a rejuvenated main event that has fans genuinely interested in what will unfold on August 21, when the Superstars of Vince McMahon's company invade the Barclays Center for SummerSlam.
While the pros of Ziggler's and Balor's successes may be more evident, the same cannot be said for the cons.
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Pro: Freshness
Neither Ziggler nor Balor has competed in a WWE Championship match on pay-per-view in over a year. For fans of Raw and SmackDown, who had to endure endless hours of the same faces competing in the same positions on the card for the last three years, Balor's and Ziggler's sudden and unexpected ascensions represent the breath of fresh air WWE needed.
It also signifies the implementation of the company's New Era mentality.
Both are necessary to create excitement at a time when WWE is trying to use newness to encourage viewers to come back to its television product.
But simply plucking two immensely talented wrestlers from the roster and throwing them into championship matches presents the company and its writing staff with a substantial con.
Con: SummerSlam Filler
The real main event of SummerSlam is Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton. The match was announced during a special pre-taped segment on SmackDown and even promoted during UFC 200. Both men are sports-entertainment icons and former heavyweight champions who transcend the concept of title bouts at this stage in their careers.
John Cena will also be featured prominently on the card, most likely against AJ Styles if recent booking trends are any indication. As is typically the case with the company's franchise star, he will overshadow even the strongest champions.
Where does that leave Balor's and Ziggler's championship matches? Potential undercard acts for the real main events.
Longtime fans will remember a similar situation in 2008.
CM Punk, the fresh world champion at the time, battled JBL in the fourth-most important match on the card. The Great Khali, a new No. 1 contender on the SmackDown side, challenged Triple H for the WWE title in a match just slightly more significant.
The potential for Ziggler's and Balor's opportunities to have weaker emphasis than the bouts featuring Cena and Lesnar is there. If that occurs, the work that went into priming both Superstars for sustained runs on Raw and SmackDown will be for naught.
Pro: Establishing Long-Term Stars
Balor's and Ziggler's championship opportunities not only provide a sense of freshness, but they also allow for the creation of long-term stars who could run atop their respective shows, convincingly competing against the top performers in the industry well beyond August 21.
Neither even needs to win his match to generate a push that would enable a sustained run at the top of Raw or SmackDown. Strong performances, of which they are synonymous, could win over Creative enough to earn them increased recognition and support.
Considering the lack of depth at the top of both brands, Ziggler and Balor could solidify themselves as elite performers for WWE's televised properties.
Con: Lack of Build
The writing behind the Ziggler and Balor characters has yet to convince fans of why they should care about the Superstars and their quests for championship glory.
Those unfamiliar with NXT have no idea about the quality of performer Balor is. Nor do they care. Management has repeatedly used NXT talent to remind fans that, if a Superstar does not accomplish something on Raw or SmackDown, they have accomplished nothing.
Ziggler has spent months as the personal punching bag of midcard heels everywhere. Most recently, he bumped around for Baron Corbin, being a key figure in The Lone Wolf's main-roster growth. He came from out of nowhere to win the No. 1 contendership and will now face weeks of build opposing the most consistently over babyface on the roster in world champion Dean Ambrose.
Fans have an organic connection to both Ambrose and Balor's opponent, Seth Rollins. Thus, lackluster buildups would have both Ziggler and Balor looking like afterthoughts if the fans in Brooklyn throw their support behind the more established stars whose stories they are more familiar with.
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