Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: WWE Refuses to Learn Its Lesson with Roman Reigns

1. Roman Reigns on Repeat

That sound you hear is WWE banging its head on the wall.

It doesn't matter how many boos fans fire at Roman Reigns or how loud the jeers get, WWE continues to present him the same way and in the same position on its stage. The company looks like the kid in Bad Santa who repeatedly asks Billy Bob Thornton if he wants him to fix some sandwiches despite the man cursing at him each time he does.

Fans have rejected Reigns as a headliner and a world title contender since the 2015 Royal Rumble. 

WWE tried to pass him off as an underdog and script a Daniel Bryan-like narrative for him. It had him punch his boss Vince McMahon, align with The Usos and take out The League of Nations.

None of it worked. Reigns still received Bronx cheers in every arena.

Weeks ago, when Reigns confronted United States champ Rusev, it seemed as if WWE was finally changing its approach.

This was the ideal spot for him. Rather than make him the star of the show, the company was going to make him part of the supporting cast. He could slowly change fans' minds in a lesser part of the card.

One night after he and Rusev's brawl at SummerSlam prevented their U.S. title bout from happening, Reigns was back where he left off beforehand. He main evented Raw, taking on Chris Jericho for the right to be in a Fatal 4-Way match for the vacant Universal Championship.

As Miami Herald columnist Scott Fishman pointed out, Reigns' stay on the midcard was short-lived:

And even when he was pursuing Rusev's belt, WWE put his name on the marquee. On the Aug. 15 edition of Raw, The Big Dog's clash with the champ was the night's main event.

WWE is still trying to sell Reigns as a No. 1 babyface. It still has him sitting in the top tier. It is still cramming a key into the wrong lock. 

LaToya Ferguson of the A.V. Club described Monday's main event as "where the interesting story WWE has started telling in this episode of Raw is immediately derailed by the story WWE fans have rejected over and over again."

The current construction of Reigns' journey has fans pushing back as loudly as they can. Adjusting it by sliding him down the card is the best bet to combat that. The company needs to try something new with Reigns in order to get him to stardom via a route that hasn't failed for months and months.

Rusev needs to rip Reigns' title hopes apart during the upcoming Fatal 4-Way bout and drag The Big Dog to a new home away from the main event. 

2. The Short List of Cena Conquerors

AJ Styles accomplished a rarity at SummerSlam—notching two pay-per-view wins against John Cena.

WWE normally books Cena to be its Superman. He rarely loses, and when he does that defeat often comes by way of cheating, shenanigans or divine intervention.

Styles didn't need any of that. He stood with Cena from bell to bell and finished him off with the Phenomenal Forearm.

That win followed a victory over Cena Money in the Bank, which makes Styles one of the few Superstars who have beaten the golden boy more than once in one-on-one encounters on PPV, per CageMatch.net.

Wrestler	No. of PPV victories
Alberto Del Rio	2
Batista	2
CM Punk	2
Kurt Angle	2
Sheamus	2
Edge	3
Randy Orton	5

Not even Triple H or Brock Lesnar has put Cena away twice. That's a reminder of just how strong WWE has made Cena look over the years.

Randy Orton, however, seems to be the one wrestler WWE is comfortable letting overcome Cena regularly. He should really rename himself "The Cena Killer." 

3. Throwback Video of the Week: The Dudley Boyz

Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley said farewell to fans on Monday's Raw. The nine-time tag team champs ended a disappointing WWE run with one last attempt to get some new squads some momentum.

Long before The Dudley Boyz were WWE veterans, they were two of ECW's best stars. A clip of them talking trash to The Gangstas back in 1997 is a reminder of that:

The Dudley Boyz lacked that kind of edge this last go-round with WWE, but it was still fun to see generations collide. 

4. Ember Arrives

A worthy adversary for Asuka just slid into the NXT landscape.

Ember Moon, formerly Athena, debuted at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II and beat down Billie Kay as her first act of business. Moon is an experienced, well-traveled wrestler who will immediately leap to the top tier of the NXT women's division.

WWE added a mystical flair to her act, making it easier for her to stand out right away.

But she will use her in-ring ability to create a bond with the audience in short time. Moon is fiery and fierce, agile and graceful. Count on her killing it at NXT.

Her inevitable feud with Asuka over the NXT women's title is going to be marvelous.

5. The Miz's Magnum Opus 

The intercontinental champion always says that he is the must-see Superstar in WWE. On Tuesday night, that wasn't hyperbole.

An interview on Talking Smack turned heated in a hurry when SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan said that The Miz wrestles "like a coward."

The emotion that then erupted from The Miz and the uncertainty about how much of this was planned made it an enthralling moment. The Miz was incredible here, snatching the audience by the throat.

The Miz's explosion is a hell of an argument for letting Superstars speak from the gut rather than off a script. 

6. The Olympics Move into WWE Territory

In a scene one might expect to see on Monday Night Raw, the Mongolian wrestling coaches protested a loss in a bronze-medal match at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in bizarre fashion.

As Wayne Drehs of ESPN.com detailed, "With about seven seconds left in the match, Mongolia's Mandakhnaran Ganzorig began running around the mat, waving his arms in front of Navruzov in celebration of his impending victory."

Judges gave Ganzorig a penalty point for the unsportsmanlike display, resulting in him losing the match. His coaches stripped down to their skivvies in response to the decision.

That's on par with an Alicia Fox meltdown.

It wouldn't be surprising if WWE followed the Mongolian coaches' lead. It takes little imagination to envision Bob Backlund ripping off his clothes in anger after a Darren Young defeat.

7. The Boss Makes the Wrong Kind of History

Just as the idea of Sasha Banks becoming the queen of the Raw women's division was sinking in, her opponent forced her crown from her head.

The Boss lost the Women's Championship to Charlotte at SummerSlam just 27 days after winning the title, per WWE.com.

That puts her in a club she doesn't want to be a part of. Banks' reign is one of the shortest this decade for women holding the current title, the Divas Championship or the defunct version of the Women's Championship.

Championship	Wrestler	Length of Reign
Divas Championship	Jillian	2 minutes
Divas Championship	Nikki Bella	6 days
Women's Championship (Defunct)	Beth Phoenix	19 days
Women's Championship (Defunct)	Mickie James	26 days
Women's Championship (Current)	Sasha Banks	27 days
Divas Championship	Melina	35 days
Divas Championship	Paige	36 days

At least she had more time to savor being a champion than Jillian did.

Banks' reign, though, will just be the first of many. The Boss' future will be lined with gold.

8. Bayley's Best

Judging by the reaction Bayley received when she debuted on Raw Monday night, a good chunk of the WWE audience is already sold on her. 

But not everyone follows NXT. Not every fan is familiar with the babyface artistry that Bayley wields.

That demographic should check out Bayley's top matches so far:

• Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch: NXT TakeOver Rival (Fatal 4-Way)
• Bayley vs. Sasha Banks: NXT TakeOver Brooklyn
• Bayley vs. Sasha Banks: NXT TakeOver Respect (Iron Man)
• Bayley vs. Asuka: NXT TakeOver Dallas
• Bayley vs.  Asuka: NXT TakeOver Brooklyn II

Should one watch these in chronological order, Bayley's growth as a performer will be on display.

She's always had charisma and infectious spunk, but she really started to refine her ring work last year in her feud with The Boss. And her extended stay at NXT allowed her to build on that.

Bayley now steps onto the Raw stage as a more polished wrestler, ready to tear down the house.

9. Nikki Bella Returns Just in Time

With Banks, Charlotte and Nia Jax all competing for Raw, the SmackDown women's division was hurting for depth. Eva Marie's suspension only worsened the situation. 

But help was on its way. Nikki returned at SummerSlam after neck surgery took her out of the ring for nearly a year.

Suddenly, WWE Creative has more options for crafting the SmackDown Women's Championship picture. Nikki offers a veteran presence on a show that features a number of unproven talents.

She and Natalya are the only women on the blue brand who have been champions at WWE. Carmella and Alexa Bliss are fresh out of NXT. The long underused Naomi has more potential than accomplishments at this point. And Eva is an experiment in its early stages.

WWE knows what it has in Nikki.

She's evolved into a dependable worker. She's an established name. She won't wilt in the spotlight.

Carmella will benefit from taking down a bigger star than her. Becky Lynch will be glad to have another quality rival to work with.

The division as a whole is in better shape with the former Divas champ in the mix. In the process of handing off the baton to the stars of the New Era, Nikki will be key.

10. A Restart for The Demon King

A torn labrum stole the WWE Universal Championship from Finn Balor just hours after he won it.

Claiming that title at SummerSlam was the culmination of a long journey that saw the Irishman hone his craft in the United Kingdom and later in Japan. But moments after reaching the summit, he tumbled off.

Balor injured his shoulder during the victory Sunday and had to trade in his championship reign for a lengthy recovery period. 

Rather than be heartbroken, Balor appears to be looking forward:

The slow path back to the WWE marquee now begins. Here's hoping it all goes well and Balor is back to doing what he loves before long.