Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Bray Wyatt's Goals Must Be Better Defined Going Forward

1. Bray Wyatt Needs Clarity, Simplicity 

Pro wrestling is often at its best when what drives a wrestler is transparent, even spelled out. Revenge, a championship and proving one's self are the kind of goals that drive a great story in the ring.

As fantastic a talker as Wyatt is, his rhetoric tends to be so wrapped up in riddles that it loses its hold on the audience.

Hologram ghost or not, WWE made the right move in pitting The Eater of Worlds against Dean Ambrose. It's a feud that promises stellar promos and hard-hitting fights, all while featuring two emerging stars in a prominent role. 

On Monday's Raw, the two enemies faced off for the first time since Hell in a Cell. Wyatt's part of the interaction was, not surprisingly, heavily cryptic.

He told Ambrose, "This world is not made for us." He talked of the parallels between them and vowed to dismantle his mind.

It's still hard to answer the question of why Wyatt attacked Ambrose and why he went after him. The same was true for his pursuit of Chris Jericho.

Filling in the blanks in the "wrestler A hates wrestler B for reason X" required the audience to speculate, read between the lines and create some of the narrative themselves.

Wyatt will better catch on if WWE lays out his reasoning more clearly. 

Against John Cena, he wanted to draw the monster out of him. He talked of tearing down Cena's legacy, being the one to destroy the hero. The company needs to take Wyatt in a similar direction this time around, finding a narrative that's easier to digest.

The core of Ambrose's feud with Seth Rollins was a story of vengeance. There was no confusion as to why their battles mattered and what compelled The Lunatic Fringe to keep charging after his old comrade. 

Wyatt's motives for hunting Ambrose should be just as clear. There's a danger of losing much of the audience otherwise.

2. New Faces in the Main Event

Ambrose vs. Rollins' ending—ambush, hologram and non-clean finish and all—was the kind that sparks fierce debate from fans. Whether one agrees with WWE's choice there, the placement of the match deserves some recognition.

WWE has been so heavily reliant on John Cena and Randy Orton in recent years that pay-per-views induce deja vu.

The company made a bold move at Hell in a Cell, pushing Orton and Cena to the middle of the card and having Ambrose and Rollins go on last. That's a welcome sight, a sign that WWE is embracing its future, taking chances on less proven guys.

Credit: WWE.com

Per TheHistoryofWWE.com, that match marked the first time in five pay-per-views that neither Orton nor Cena was in the spot that Ambrose and Rollins were in at Hell in a Cell. In fact, in the 23 pay-per-views preceding that night, just five of them were without Cena and Orton at the top the card.

Beyond that, Hell in a Cell showcased youth in a way we're not used to seeing. Try to remember the last pay-per-view headlined by two guys under 30 (Ambrose and Rollins are both 28). 

Other than Triple H vs. The Rock in the late '90s, nothing comes to mind.

3. WWE Rivalries 

Add one more reason to get the WWE Network. The company debuted a new series which focusing on great rivalries.

The first edition began with arguably the rivalry that tops them all—Vince McMahon vs. Steve Austin.

The episode offered a look back at long war, complete with new interviews. Future shows will center on Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper, Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels and others.

Austin vs. McMahon was an enjoyable trip back to the Attitude Era, and the show looks to be a valuable addition to the WWE Network.

Mockingly telling the fans the price of the service or implying that folks are stupid for ordering pay-per-views at full price isn't the way to entice new subscribers. Content like this is the key to the network's growth. 

4. Throwback Promo of the Week: Bob Backlund

Survivor Series 1994 may always be remembered for the special-effects-heavy ending to Undertaker vs. Yokozuna. The show also served as a showcase for Bob Backlund's renaissance.

WWE's top star in the late '70s and early '80s made an unexpected comeback in 1994 as a deranged, unstable man, winning the WWE title from Bret Hart at age 45. His post-victory speech highlights how well he shifted from one persona to the next.

He had gone from an all-American, straight-laced grappler to a man intent on bettering the current generation by any means necessary. Not known as a great mic worker, he excelled with the new gimmick and did some of the best promos of his career.

5. The Pay-Per-View Naming Committee Needs to Have Another Meeting

WWE is reportedly considering moving the annual Elimination Chamber bout to sometime before SummerSlam, per Mike Johnson of PWInsider, and changing the name of the event named after that gimmick match.

That all sounds fine, but the company is for some reason leaning toward calling the event "WWE Fast Lane," as reported by F4WOnline (h/t Wrestling Inc). Good name for a Cena-centered racing game. Bad name for a wrestling event.

It's not as if WWE has to reconstruct a pay-per-view moniker from scratch here. It owns the rights to No Way Out, No Mercy, Vengeance, Judgment Day, Armageddon, Backlash, etc. Just pick something from that list and be done with it.

6. Straight Falls for The Showoff

Dolph Ziggler defeated Cesaro at Hell in a Cell in two consecutive falls of a 2-out-of-3 Falls match.

That has the word "buried" pop up a lot afterward. Ziggler's sweep should instead be interpreted as a way to make the IC champ look good and as a means to surprise the audience.

Cesaro's loss is by no means unprecedented, either. This isn't Damien Sandow losing his Money in the Bank cash-in bout.

Some notable Superstars have suffered the same fate as The King of Swing:

Event	Date	Winner	Loser
Royal Rumble	1/24/88	The Islanders	The Young Stallions
Insurrextion	5/5/01	Chris Benoit	Kurt Angle
Vengeance	6/25/06	Ric Flair	Mick Foley
Judgment Day	5/20/07	MVP	Chris Benoit
Raw	10/22/07	Beth Phoenix	Candice Michelle

7. Booking Suggestion: Luke Harper 

Set free from The Wyatt Family, Harper should be portrayed as a volatile destroyer who only cares about hurting people. That route plays up his strength, unsettling look and brawling skills. 

Have him battle R-Truth first and not ever go for a pin. Instead, he takes R-Truth to the outside of the ring and pounds on him until the referee counts to 10.

Harper's record continues to suffer as he gets disqualified or counted out laying waste to his opponents. Paint him as a man that referees can't control, that The Authority struggles to deal with, that no one wants to face.

Wyatt should have created and released a monster, not just an ordinary man.

Have him steamroll over both wrestlers and authority figures, setting up a big battle with someone who can finally stand up to him and take him down.

8. Seth Rollins' Stooges Will Be a Boost to Him

Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury serving as Rollins' lackeys is going to make WWE Creative's job easier. Adding them to the mix opens up a host of new opportunities.

Putting these producers, who normally do their work behind the scenes, onscreen is already paying off.

Fans saw that when this generation's version of Pat Patterson and Jerry Brisco climbed to the top of the Hell in a Cell to pull Ambrose down. That gave Ambrose another person to crack with his Kendo stick and another vehicle for Ambrose's fury.

Credit: WWE.com

WWE needs to continue to find ways to insert them going forward.

They add a touch of humor to Rollins' narrative as the bumbling goons alongside him. They can help keep Rollins looking both strong and cowardly.

His enemies can take out Noble and Mercury first while Rollins scurries away. He can order them around, rely on them to distract his foes and take a few bumps for the sake of our entertainment.

Now that Orton has Rollins in his target sight, expect both Mercury and Noble to receive a few RKOs over the next few weeks. 

9. Natalya's Greatest Hits

In a peak of what women's wrestling can look like if the right talent is given ample time, Natalya and Paige put on a standout performance on Tuesday's Main Event.

It featured some impressive counters, smooth mat wrestling and ample passion. That adds to Natalya's collection of high-quality matches, many of which have been a part of a recent run that began at the end of last year.

These are all worth seeking out, on the WWE Network or elsewhere:

• vs. Sara Del Rey: Shimmer Volume 7
• vs. Portuguese Princess Ariel: Shimmer Volume 8
  
• vs. AJ Lee: TLC 2013
• vs. AJ Lee: Main Event—March 11, 2014
• vs. Charlotte: NXT Takeover

10. Steve Austin on Cesaro

Stone Cold thinks a certain Swiss strongman needs more time in the spotlight. Responding to a fan's comment about Cesaro getting pushed more, Austin tweeted the following:

It makes one wish that Austin was working with WWE's writing team.