Roddy Piper, Apollo Crews, Cesaro and More from the Bagpipes Mailbag

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper rests in peace. He was one of a very small handful of wrestlers who became a household name, which is something even John Cena is still struggling to do.

Sure, he was revered for his transcendent personality more than technical wrestling savvy, but his match against Bret Hart at WrestleMania VIII is the most underrated WrestleMania match in history. Name a match that good which WWE glosses over come WrestleMania season.

Piper was a modern-day wrestler during an era of cartoon characters yet still became a legend. If he were in his prime today, he'd be an even bigger star. Legacies don't get much better than that.

Piper's brilliance was in inciting a crowd. He often used blanket stereotypes to antagonize an audience. It makes me wonder what he'd have to say about the ridiculous new name for the NXT star formerly known as Uhaa Nation.  

Question of the Week: Nation of Humiliation?

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@ThisIsNasty what if Apollo Crews chose his name a la Finn Balor? I lost my s--t before finding out his choice of name change was his

— luxury sport ted (@tedisLegend) August 6, 2015 

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If Uhaa Nation was the one who chose his terrible new name, so what? All that tells me is he's just as out of touch as WWE is. The name sounds like a rib or an inside joke, which is not how one should go about making a first impression.

Apollo Crews is a painfully obvious mashup of black celebrity names—the fictional Apollo Creed (or perhaps the Apollo Theater?) and Terry Crews. Crews does bear a resemblance to Uhaa Nation, which further supports the name being a rib of sorts.

Now I'm curious to see the list of potential names that got rejected. Barack Gooding Jr.? LeBron Cheadle? Denzel L. Jackson? Jackie Robinson L. Jackson? Martin Luther X? Seal?

Recent history tells us that by the time he gets to the main roster, he'll simply be known as Apollo. Yikes.

Last week in this very mailbag, and on the PodNasty Wrestling Podcast, I expressed my concern of WWE's lack of black board members, executives, etc. I don't even need to visit WWE's corporate website to learn this information. If the front office is going to approve a name like that, it's quite clear they need a different perspective, starting at the top.

Internet Wrestling Immunity?

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@ThisIsNasty Kevin Owens vs Cesaro at summerslam... Who needs the win the most?

— Melanie Gomes (@Melitxix) August 6, 2015 

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Both wrestlers need this win, which is what makes this match so intriguing for now. Unfortunately, whoever wins this month is probably going to lose next month, so it doesn't really matter.

Still, Owens has taken a lot of losses since his scorching debut match against Cena. It's very possible he'll lose to Finn Balor at the NXT Takeover show in Brooklyn, and losing the night after to Cesaro will sink his stock even lower.

Meanwhile, Cesaro finally seems to be getting a singles push that people care about, but in order for them to continue caring he needs to defeat Owens.

Cesaro remains uncomfortable and forgettable on the mic (seriously, off the top of your head, what's the most quotable line Cesaro ever said? "Walk, Owens, walk?" That's the best you could do? Okay, I win.)

Winning a big match on a big stage like SummerSlam, however, could salvage any potential he has left as the main event star the Internet swears he is.

Rollins Down the River?

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@ThisIsNasty I don't want it to happen anytime soon, but who should be the one to finally take the belt from Rollins?

— Kirk (@KirkRogersRadio) August 6, 2015 

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I could see a scenario where Cena wins an elusive 16th world championship since his storyline suddenly revolves around Rollins breaking Cena's nose and Cena coming back for revenge.

Still, I think this match will end in some type of inconclusive finish since both championships will be on the line.

I think Roman Reigns will eventually dethrone Rollins as a world champion. WWE continues to rehabilitate Reigns by keeping him relevant but too dominant, so hopefully he's more relatable to fans if and when he resumes his world title chase.

Sheamus, who is also lingering around—with the Money in the Bank briefcase—has to be considered a strong favorite to unseat Rollins, which could be the impetus of a Rollins babyface turn.

Rollins only continues to grow as a performer the longer he has the world championship, so hopefully he won't drop the title anytime soon. This past week on Raw, he carried his feud against Cena by himself, and surprisingly the segment didn't miss a beat without Cena's presence.

Another Royal Crumble?

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@ThisIsNasty Early Royal Rumble Predictions? Hopefully WWE gets it right this year. Last 2 winners been booed mercilessly.

— Mo No Mentum(@WeaponIQ) August 6, 2015 

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The Royal Rumble is beginning to fall into an unfavorable pattern. It's quickly becoming the show where fans become fanatics.

It's like a three-year-old at Christmas. They wait until the end of the Royal Rumble to see if they got what they wished for, and if not they throw an all-night temper tantrum loud enough for everybody on Twitter.

If Cesaro begins to catch fire, he might be on the right side of a fan-led riot.

For now, the Royal Rumble is wide-open. This wasn't the case this time last year, when Reigns—who went on to win the Royal Rumble—was already an early favorite.

As far as an early prediction, I think there are only two WWE Superstars I feel can win the Royal Rumble right now: Roman Reigns and John Cena, who could possibly make up your WrestleMania 32 main event.

The wild card in this whole equation, of course, is Daniel Bryan. Bryan recently told Boomer and Craig of WFAN (h/t The Washington Post) that even though his neurologist cleared him to wrestle, WWE has not. This could be a point of contention as the Royal Rumble approaches with a presumably healthy Bryan on the sideline.

That is, if fans haven't already moved on from the Yes Movement.  

Summer of Sting?

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@ThisIsNasty is Lesnar/Taker at SummerSlam just a setup for Taker/Sting at Mania? Taker goes to pin Lesnar, then Sting's music hits...

— Austin Gann (@Austin_Gann) August 6, 2015

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It would not surprise me if the Brock Lesnar-Undertaker main event is foiled by Sting. Lesnar's past three matches have been foiled somehow, so why not make it four?

It would be baffling if WWE didn't book Sting on a four-hour show, let alone its second-biggest show of the year. Hopefully this is the last time we'll ever see Undertaker and Lesnar wrestle, because it's a match nobody asked for, especially Undertaker, with his brittle body.

I've been very critical in the past of a potential Undertaker-Sting match. But if the Lesnar-Undertaker rematch is anywhere near as bad as its WrestleMania predecessor, I'd settle for anything.

Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @ThisIsNasty and subscribe to his weekly wrestling podcast.