Every week, Kevin Eck will run down his burning thoughts from "RAW," "SmackDown Live" and the rest of the pro wrestling world.
‘RAW’ thoughts

Am I the only one who ...

… thinks the Jason Jordan-Roman Reigns-Seth Rollins storyline has been really well executed to this point?
WWE has managed to turn the negative of Dean Ambrose suffering an injury that is going to put him out of action for up to nine months — thus putting a premature end to the much-anticipated Shield reunion — into something positive. The storyline of Jordan and Rollins as reluctant partners who go on to win the “RAW” Tag Team Title, and Jordan’s subsequent delusion that he is now “boys” with Rollins and Roman Reigns has been entertaining and benefited all three of them.

Jordan’s combination of arrogance and naivete is certainly reminiscent of the character his “father” Kurt Angle played in WWE years ago. And Rollins and Reigns’ reactions to Jordan’s assumptions and overly familiar behavior have been spot on. Even Reigns’ most ardent detractors probably can’t bring themselves to boo Reigns when he’s confronting the obnoxious Jordan.
I’m betting Jordan shows up in a black tactical vest any week now.

… is more optimistic about Balor Club now than a week ago?
Last week I wrote that I wasn’t overly excited about the reunion of Finn Balor, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson — who were all part of the original Bullet Club in Japan years ago — mainly because Gallows and Anderson had been so devalued in WWE that I wasn’t sure anything could rehabilitate them. After seeing the three of them together this week, however, I’m starting to think it could work.

What really struck me, though, is that Balor Club might not just save Gallows and Anderson’s careers in WWE, but it also might also help Balor get to the next level. Don’t get me wrong; Balor is incredibly talented and already has a good spot, but there just seems to be some missing intangible preventing him from being a guy who could consistently be at the very top of the card. I thought Balor showed a different side to his personality — cooler, more natural — with Gallows and Anderson accompanying him.

… finds it curious how often fans wearing Bullet Club t-shirts are shown on “RAW” and “SmackDown Live?”
It happened again on “RAW” this week, and when it occurred was especially interesting — it was during Balor Club’s promo. WWE has always been very careful not to allow fans wearing t-shirts from other promotions to be shown on camera. They’ve also been known to confiscate fans’ signs they didn’t approve of that were visible on camera.

The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if there’s not some super-secret agreement in place between WWE and certain Bullet Club members to eventually do a Bullet Club invasion angle in WWE.
Somebody get Jesse “The Body” Ventura on the case.

… is intrigued as to which former women’s star Kurt Angle was supposedly speaking to on the phone about entering the women’s Royal Rumble match?
Angle said that she hadn’t “been in the ring in years” and addressed her as “a star of your caliber.”
Obviously, the biggest names are Lita and Trish Stratus. I could see WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres as possibilities as well. I’d love for it to be AJ Lee, but there’s a better chance of her husband CM Punk and Dr. Amann going out for beers together than AJ showing up at the Rumble.

I think it would be cool if the mystery woman is WWE Hall of Famer Madusa (aka Alundra Blayze). She’s 53, but I have no doubt that she could still mix it up with today’s stars, and she deserves a big WWE in-ring moment.

… had a sickening thought when the announcers said that the winner of the first women’s Royal Rumble match will always be remembered?
That thought was: What if the same person who “won” the first women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match also wins the first women’s Rumble match?

… was impressed by the Braun Strowman stunt?
Just when you think you’ve seen it all in WWE when it comes to big stunts, Strowman uses a grappling hook to pull down part of the “RAW” set onto Brock Lesnar and Kane. Well done. And kudos also to Paul Heyman for his fantastic over-the-top reaction to witnessing the attempted murder of his meal ticket.
… was scratching my head over the decision to have Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews defeat Sheamus and Cesaro?

Having worked on the WWE creative team, I know that Vince McMahon likes to book an upset every once in a while just to attenmpt to show that anything can happen. I don’t necessarily disagree with that philosophy, but you have to pick your spots. This one just doesn’t make sense to me.

Sheamus and Cesaro have a rematch for the “Raw” Tag Team Title against champions Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan at the “Royal Rumble” on Jan. 28, so wouldn’t you want to have them looking strong heading into that match? I suppose they could always get their win back before then, but I still don’t see the point in having them lose this week. It’s not like there’s any real upside to Titus Worldwide.

… was impressed by Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville this week?

For the first time since Absolution debuted, I thought Rose and Deville came across as something more than just Paige’s sidekicks. Even though they lost to Sasha Banks and Bayley in a tag match, Rose and Deville were on the offensive most of the way and did not appear out of place in the ring with more experienced and celebrated opponents.

Both Rose and Deville are still works in progress in the ring, but Rose definitely has a presence about her and I’m a fan of Deville’s MMA-influenced character.

… rolled my eyes when Booker T. said that no one man can beat two good big men when he was discussing Brock Lesnar’s chances of retaining the Universal Title in a Triple Threat Match against Braun Strowman and Kane?

Booker’s point would’ve made sense if Lesnar was in a two-on-one handicap match against Strowman and Kane rather than a Triple Threat, which is every man for himself. By Booker’s “logic,” no one would win the match.

‘SmackDown’ thoughts


Am I the only one who …

… is starting to lose interest in the Daniel Bryan-Shane McMahon storyline?
Two weeks ago in this column I wrote that the Bryan-McMahon conflict was the most compelling storyline in WWE. I must’ve jinxed it.
One of the reasons I thought the angle was working was that Bryan’s actions were very much in line with what you would expect from his character. While McMahon is a hothead and clearly has a personal vendetta against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, Bryan was the fair-minded and rational one.

I still felt that way about Bryan last week even though he booked WWE Champion AJ Styles in a handicap match for the title against Owens and Zayn at the “Royal Rumble” pay-per-view. I figured it would be revealed this week that Bryan made the match not because he was favoring the heels, but because the stipulation would be that only the man who pinned Styles would become champion, thus creating tension between Owens and Zayn. Instead, Owens and Zayn talked about being co-champions after they beat Styles, and Bryan did not correct them. Hopefully, he will drop that bombshell on them sometime before the pay-per-view. Regardless, Bryan’s character now seems wishy-washy.

Whenever I see characters doing things out of character, I immediately see Vince McMahon’s fingerprints all over the script.
On a side note, Shane repeatedly re-starting the handicap match that pitted Owens and Zayn against Styles, Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura was predictable and boring.

… has figured out why Becky Lynch was so ecstatic about being paired with Sami Zayn in the Mixed Match Challenge?
At first, it seemed totally out of character for ultra-babyface Lynch to be giddy about having to team with the nefarious Zayn, but then I heard from my impeccable sources that WWE was considering making AJ Styles her partner.

Given Styles’ sordid past with Becky’s sister, Claire Lynch, it’s understandable why she would want to team with anyone but him.

… thinks a feud between Sami Zayn and Dean Ambrose would be a natural when Ambrose returns from injury?
When asked for comment about whether he’d like to face the leader of the “Yep!” movement, Ambrose had this reply.

… wondered if Daniel Bryan was being sarcastic when he said that he’s amazed at how well Breezango connects with the audience?

Breezango connects with the audience? Really?