Should have been Rollins...

Royal Rumble 1998 says otherwise.

I actually haven't watched a full Raw in nearly 2 months (but that's more so work related than anything else). But I have maintained a WWE Network membership for over 4 years now (pretty much since a month after launch), and I always make it a priority to watch Raw/Smackdown highlights or when I can, see the show live. It's not always great, and I'm definitely critical of what happens, but I do feel the positives outweigh the negatives for me, even now. I'm probably in the minority here, but I was very surprised and kind of hopeful when WWE had Reigns lose at Wrestlemania.

He lost very decisively, and I genuinely don't think Reigns will be the one to slay Lesnar anymore, which I think is the better move in the long term. I think they're going to make it Rollins (and since he's a favorite of mine, that just makes me excited and want to stick around more). Think about it, Rollins has been on a roll this year. He beat Cena and Reigns cleanly on the same night, on Raw back in January, he became a Grand Slam champion at Mania, and he's making the Intercontinental title mean something on Raw. At WM31, he took the title off Lesnar without slaying the Beast, with the heist of the decade! And if given time, Rollins can rise to be the one to finally do it (and that idea keeps me going at times like this).

You're right though, about the importance of a positive outlook. If there really are more negatives to WWE, than positives, in your perspective, maybe time off and distance from it all will help, don't give up though, dark times don't last forever, and I think it's almost statistically impossible for every calendar PPV to be like Backlash 2018.

In regards to your question, while I will admit that several things make me stick around or come back - the showmanship, the theme songs, the nostalgia, amazing spots, the storytelling (when they get it right) and many other things. I think the number one thing that makes me come back is the investment I put in watching characters I like, and more importantly my favorite characters/wrestlers develop, overcome obstacles and achieve accolades.

I have liked a lot of characters in WWE during my well over 2 decades of viewership, but I'm actually pretty particular to when it comes to picking favorites... but as long as I've got a favorite of mine doing something, I'll stick around or if applicable, keep coming back.

Congratulations to Miz and Maryse! Here's hoping Miz gets to retain his Intercontinental Championship at the "Grandest Stage of the All" and then surpasses Pedro Morales record for combined days as IC champion. I'd say he's done more than enough to deserve that accolade, besides Balor and Rollins are better suited to be in the Universal title picture.

Was I the only one who saw Dana Brooke land on the microphone when Rousey tossed her? Ouch...

Very inclined to argue the match between Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens that Shane made, should be changed given this news and what happened last week with them both attacking Shane. Shane/Daniel Bryan vs Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn is what I'm leaning towards. It's more preferable than adding yet another Triple Threat match to the card. But more importantly, it's the easiest route to book.

Rather than having Bryan side with Owens and Zayn who have clearly been getting on his good side to use him to obtain championship opportunities, he brings them out on Smackdown tonight, to tell them what they did to Shane was unacceptable and then they attack him as well out of frustration. The following week, Owens and Sami do a segment telling fans they won't be fighting each other at Wrestlemania because they're "best friends" and won't let Shane tear them apart, only for Shane and Daniel Bryan to both return and state that they're alright with that, and that the match will instead be a tag team match between Shane/Bryan vs Zayn/Owens.

"You think it's that easy?! I got a lot left in the tank!" (I'm going to miss him)

The Hardcore title under the 24/7 defense clause had multiple title changes on a single night occur... pretty much weekly. Where's THAT list?

Kane's surprise return last night was spectacular, and there are so many potential story line reasons he decided to return to side against the Shield at TLC - perhaps it's vengeance for what Roman did to the Undertaker, or maybe it's just a reference to past feuds, I mean, he has fought and feuded with all three members of the Shield individually as well as lead a team against them in the past.

That said, I don't want this match to be 5 vs 3. For starters, I think it make all 5 of their opponents look incompetent/weak (if they lose). Not only would more than half of Miz's team be composed of former World Champions, they're all upper mid-card superstars at worst, capable of being put on the main event of one of the big four without the audience giving it a second thought. Braun Strowman being the 4th team member was enough to balance the match.

MORE IMPORTANTLY --- Did WWE just decide to forget Kurt Angle's "EVERYONE is banned from ringside" stipulation for the cage match that determined Kane as the 5th member? Both the members of the Shield, and Miz's team got involved in the cage match, at the very least, enforce your damn rules Kurt! Shenanigans were done by both teams, therefore, Braun Strowman is not gone from Team Miz, however, Team Miz DOES NOT get a 5th member. I think that's fair story wise.