WWE's Crown Jewel Dilemma, Women's Division Rising, More Reaction

With Wrestlepalooza done, WWE's sights have shifted toward Crown Jewel on Oct. 11. And with the quick turnaround between premium live events, the company is once again relying on champion vs. champion matches to sell fans on the show.

Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins and Stephanie Vaquer vs. Tiffany Stratton both have the potential to be exceptional outings. But the lack of legitimate stakes makes it difficult for fans to fully invest in either contest, resulting in weeks of television that mean little.

Thankfully, there is no shortage of stories in WWE at the moment capable of keeping Raw and SmackDown worthwhile, most notably Asuka's recent betrayal of Iyo Sky and the build to a blockbuster tag team match at Crown Jewel.

That's in addition to Bayley and Lyra Valkyria further developing their characters in their newfound feud, signaling a significant shift in the WWE women's division that has been a long time coming.

From WWE's Crown Jewel dilemma to the announcement of a new AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship, these are the top takeaways from the week that was in wrestling.

Champion vs. Champion Matches Shouldn't Cut Current WWE Storylines Short

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Last year's installment of Crown Jewel featured the inception of the men's and women's Crown Jewel Championships, where the inaugural winners were determined in matches pitting the top male and female champions of Raw and SmackDown against each other.

Cody Rhodes and Liv Morgan walked away with the belts that night but gained nothing otherwise, especially with the titles being phased out as soon as the show had passed. They've been brought back for a second year, but fans still have little reason to care.

Regardless of who goes over in either match, nothing will change and everyone involved will return to their own brand no better or worse off for it.

These champions' ongoing storylines shouldn't have to be put on pause until Crown Jewel simply so they can battle for bragging rights. It renders everything in the meantime irrelevant, even with the occasional strong segment such as the one Rhodes and Seth Rollins delivered on Monday's Raw.

Crown Jewel should be a show fans look forward to instead of waiting until after it's over to possibly pick back up where they left off.

Booking The Street Profits Split

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The Street Profits going their separate ways has been long overdue, and it appears to be imminent based on recent teases of tension between the two on SmackDown.

Although they became No. 1 contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship once again with a win over Melo Don't Miz, the endgame remains the same: Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins splitting up and branching off into singles competition.

Both men deserve a chance to show what they can do on their own without immediately fading into the background on the blue brand. Ford, in particular, has major singles star potential that WWE has failed to capitalize on many times in the past.

The Profits have been such a stellar team over the last decade that the company's hesitation to break them up is understandable, which is why it isn't necessary to have one turn on the other. Both would benefit from mutually agreeing to experiment in the singles ranks without feuding.

Their next loss to The Wyatt Sicks with the tag titles up for grabs should serve as the catalyst, followed by Ford answering Sami Zayn's United States Championship open challenge and taking him to the limit.

Ford and Dawkins can still team up every so often, but with nothing left for them to accomplish together, their primary focus should be establishing individual identities.

The Key For AEW Women's Tag Division to Avoid WWE's Fate

The women's tag team titles All Elite Wrestling has had in the works for many months were finally unveiled on the Sept. 24 edition of Dynamite with an upcoming tournament also announced to crown the inaugural winners.

The introduction of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship was also met with fanfare in early 2019, until the company gave up on booking the belts as a true priority.

There have been a few memorable reigns over the years, but by and large, they've been presented as props that aren't worth fighting for.

AEW can avoid that by making the titles feel coveted out of the gate and maintaining enough teams to justify an entire division.

There are already plenty of tandems to fill a tournament between Anna Jay and Tay Melo, Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford, Triangle of Madness, Kris Statlander and Harley Cameron, and Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa, among others.

More importantly, the straps should allow AEW to tell more stories with the women outside of the two top title pictures.

Jamie Hayter's promise of a women's Blood and Guts match this past week on Collision gets the division off to a solid start. The titles can add a different dynamic to the show, provided they're defended regularly by actual teams and are involved in interesting stories.

Drew McIntyre Feud Can Get Jacob Fatu Back on Track

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Jacob Fatu disappeared from WWE TV soon after wrapping up his rivalry with Solo Sikoa at SummerSlam with no clear indication of what was next for him.

Upon returning on Friday night, the former United States champion confronted and attacked Drew McIntyre, who was fresh off a loss to Cody Rhodes at Wrestlepalooza.

If this is the direction for both men going forward, it's very much a win-win situation.

Fatu needs a notable name to work with in order to regain his momentum and get back to where he was on the card before his feud with Sikoa sidetracked him. For McIntyre, this will effectively keep him busy until it's time for him to return to Undisputed WWE Championship contention.

The matches could be great and there's little doubt they can deliver on the mic. The end result doesn't matter so long as Fatu is made to look credible in defeat, though the Scot wouldn't lose much from being beaten, either.

Fatu belongs in the upper echelon of SmackDown's main event scene and overcoming McIntyre will get him another step closer. He's broken out big time as a babyface but can't ascend the card if he stays stuck in the MFT vortex.

WWE Finally Figures Out How to Maximize Women's Division

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WWE has never struggled to book marquee matches with the women when championships are on the line, but the same can't be said for everything else outside of the top title pictures.

Fans have long called for strong stories with the women beyond the championship scenes. Asuka and Iyo Sky's recent rivalry is a prime example of the magic that can be made when effort is put into developing characters and drawing out an angle for an appropriate amount of time even when nothing is necessarily at stake.

The Vision have closed out almost every Raw since WrestleMania 41, but Asuka's betrayal of Sky ended last week's episode on a high note because of its excellent execution and because the moment mattered.

The Genius of the Sky and Rhea Ripley have been teasing teaming for weeks and now have common enemies in The Kabuki Warriors at Crown Jewel.

Elsewhere on the show, Bayley is testing out a split-personality gimmick as part of a program with Lyra Valkyria that will inevitably culminate in the former turning on the latter.

That, too, has shown how WWE is more than capable of telling engaging stories with the women, especially when those involved are as talented as they are.

Those two storylines, along with AJ Lee returning to target Becky Lynch, have made the women's division the biggest recurring highlight on Raw from week to week, something SmackDown should follow suit with.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.