WWE Roadblock 2016: Raw Fails to Properly Build Upcoming Live Event

Monday's episode of WWE Raw was supposed to be a go-home show for WWE's upcoming network special— Roadblock 2016.

Sure, there was plenty of talk about the WWE Heavyweight Championship match between Dean Ambrose and Triple H, but one match doesn't make a pay-per-view.

And that's where WWE has failed its fans. WWE Creative forgot to build the event as a whole—both in the days leading up to WWE Roadblock and on its prime-time flagship program.

Sure, WWE put on a tremendous show on Monday night. Shane McMahon's return to answer his father, CEO Vince McMahon, hit high notes to lead the show.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn officially tangled in the follow-up segment, causing the internet to temporarily go on the fritz. Ambrose cut a tremendous promo in the middle of the program. Charlotte showed her dominance over the Divas division.

The New Day, AJ Styles and Chris Jericho put on one of the best tag team matches in recent memory, and then Jericho goes complete heel. Also, there was a Bray Wyatt-Triple H staredown, with Wyatt stroking the world title. Fans were pleased with the performances, per post-match tweets:

All of this foreshadows to WrestleMania 32 and beyond, and WWE Creative should be given credit for building toward its preeminent event. If only it would have spent half its attention on the special coming up this week.

WWE Offers No Hints At Remaining Match Card

As mentioned earlier, aside from the WWE title match, there is no build. The rest of the card is, well, speculation. There's an NXT Tag Team Championship match, as well as the aforementioned WWE title match. According to WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton, Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus had been listed on the Ricoh Coliseum's website, but the match is still not official, and Reigns currently is not listed among the Superstars to appear.

Brock Lesnar is set to face Bray Wyatt—a match that's been promoted less than Tyler Breeze. It's surprising, since this was once a feud rumored to be showcased at WrestleMania 32, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer (via WrestlingInc.com's Raj Giri). The Twitter account WWE Creative Humor poked fun at the lack of promotion for the upcoming matchup:

If you're keeping count: That's three set matches for what is reportedly a three-hour special, according to Brad Davis of SEScoops.

With so many slots as yet unannounced, WWE may make SmackDown the program that fills in those gaps. Even so, WWE had a prime television slot on Monday to make its case to new subscribers to order their WWE Network subscriptions earlier than WrestleMania 32 by promoting a second special ahead of its Showcase of the Immortals.

One could venture to say Kevin Owens and Kalisto could defend their titles in Toronto, with the likely opponents Sami Zayn and Ryback, respectively, following the events on Monday's Raw. It seems, though, WWE Creative is holding those matchups for WrestleMania 32.

Roadblock Missing Build from Previous WWE Network Specials

WWE has hosted numerous live specials on the WWE Network, including two previously promoted house shows that turned into semi-major events: Beast in the East and Live from MSG.

Each of those shows was made bigger by tremendous marketing pushes that made them feel special. In addition, both shows capitalized on Lesnar's star power, something WWE has missed the boat on when it comes to Roadblock.

Beast in the East, held in the early morning hours of July 4, 2015, also had a second huge advantage: the NXT Championship match between Kevin Owens and Finn Balor—a match that was promoted both on NXT programming and regular WWE programming, as Owens had recently made his main roster debut.

While lacking the overall card strength of Beast in the East, Live from MSG on October 3, 2015, was part of WWE's "Go To Hell" Tour for Lesnar, culminating in WWE Hell in a Cell, where The Beast Incarnate would square off against The Undertaker one final time. WWE also promoted the MSG event as Chris Jericho's 25th anniversary in the wrestling business, which allowed for some additional coverage.

Roadblock has been given no such treatment, even with Lesnar on the card. While it has been set to be broadcast on the WWE Network for some time, it's never been more than an afterthought in the company's promotion. Heck, it was only given a name, Roadblock, a week ago, generically promoted as "Live from Toronto" before then.

WWE dropped the ball by not billing WWE Roadblock as a must-see event. Instead, it's a single match surrounded by little else in WWE's eyes. Or, as Triple H implied himself about the special's name on Monday, it's purely a marketing gimmick, as Botchy McSpotterson and WrestlingInc.com pointed out:

Credit: WWE.com