Despite the WWE Draft, so much of WWE’s content leaves me feeling like “we’ve seen this before.” Perhaps that’s because we see the same matches, or iterations of matches, week after week. Perhaps, it’s because WWE Creative may have forgotten that although the roster is full of talent, many are reduced to the modern-day Job Squad or completely forgotten on TV altogether.
I will be doing a series of articles dream booking the WWE, in its current state, as of the date it is published. I will temporarily ignore injuries as those can come and go and sometimes us fans are not privy to them until talent mysteriously go absent from TV. My goal here is to keep things fresh. You won’t see me saying Miz and John Morrison should fight each other. We’ve seen it. It’s been done. Let’s think outside the box. But it should also be realistic. Stories have to make sense and the talent should match up well together. And unfortunately, not all talent can be used. We’ve all heard the phrase “Creative Has Nothing For You” and that also applies to this exercise as well.
So let’s get started with the Raw Men’s Singles Roster!
Dream Booking #1 – Apollo Crews vs John Morrison
Both of these men are studs in the ring. What Crews often lacks with storytelling in the ring, Morrison can counter with his experience and ability to put together a match. When allowed to truly wrestle, we’ve seen proof even as late as 2021 that John Morrison can still go with the best of them. Morrison’s meditation gimmick right now seems to be the type of personality that should clash with Crews and really get under his skin. They could start this off with a passerby backstage segment and build from there. Crews also has Commander Azeez at his side that could keep this feud fresh and building to a pay-per-view clash where Morrison is finally able to get his hands on Crews. Give both men time and proper build up. It could be really good.
Dream Booking #2 – AJ Styles vs Austin Theory
I absolutely love where Austin Theory is right now. It feels like a reincarnation of Randy Orton’s “legend killer” gimmick and rightfully so. But he can’t keep walking through the roster getting win after win. This needs to build to something. I can’t think of anyone on the roster more ready for a change than AJ Styles. He’s carried the Raw tag division and Omos on his shoulders for far too long. Omos has proven recently that he can go off on his own. Let him. It’s time for AJ Styles to return to singles action. Unlike the first dream booking, this one should start with a match. Theory has been in random, sudden matches recently. Keep that going but build to a surprise match with AJ Styles. I don’t want to see AJ Styles do the job, but he should lose the first match up. AJ won’t stand for it and he has proven that he can hold a grudge. There you have your conflict and you could literally go for weeks if not a couple of months with this feud. These two are extremely talented and every match could be a potential match of the year candidate. Whoever ends up on top is fine by me. We’re all winners with this one!
Dream Booking #3 – R-Truth vs Omos
Okay, okay. I get it. This one isn’t about the wrestling. Vince McMahon and WWE love their comedy and I can’t see anything more hilarious than R-Truth’s comedy against the serious and ferocious Omos. I’m going to throw in a wrinkle here. Bring in the 24/7 Championship mania into all of this. I can vividly imagine a scene where Omos has all of the 24/7 Championship gang on his back and he throws them all off at once and demolishes them all. I understand that Reggie is currently the champion, so this could potentially turn into a Triple Threat or Reggie could lose the title to R-Truth before this begins. In the end, I want to see Omos with the title. This does two things. It gives a comedic storyline for WWE’s PG programming. It also gives Omos a chance to work with new talent and be on his own with a title reign. It’s a 24/7 Championship so you can choose to have him hold the title as long or as short as you wish without a lot of story needed to have him lose the title in the future. And thirdly (yes, I said there were two things, but stick with me), this legitimizes the 24/7 Championship. Omos can appear on TV each week and be the monster they want him to be without a Champion who is constantly on the run. Good luck sneaking up on Omos!
Dream Booking #4 – The Miz vs Damian Priest
Damian Priest has had a lot of success since being called up from NXT. He’s a rising star, but his promo work leaves a lot to be desired. It’s OK Damian. Roman Reigns was the same way for YEARS and didn’t start to become better on the microphone until Paul Heyman came by his side. Talent can still go far without being able to do strong promos. Now, enter The Miz whose ability to deliver a strong promo is arguably his best trait. The Miz is the master of the mid-card championship reigns and is still in my opinion the best Intercontinental Champion in the last decade. The Miz uses his head and outsmarts his opponent. Damian Priest is turning into a deranged monster who appears to lose control. This is the exact type of opponent The Miz could outsmart. It gives a decent in-ring rivalry with the ability to revive some cool Miz TV segments and develop Priest’s promos. This likely isn’t longer than a month or two, but the rising star could certainly benefit from this type of cerebral opponent.
Dream Booking #5 – Big E vs Edge
Someone tell me how this could go wrong. I understand the pro wrestling dilemma, it’s two babyfaces. That’s OK. It’s the Rated R Superstar for crying out loud! He can be a heel whenever he needs to be. This could be a potential Royal Rumble matchup once Big E is finished with the current Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins situation. I can’t see how this match would not be amazing. However, I do not want this to be a Wrestlemania match. It’s definitely at that caliber, but Edge already had his comeback with Reigns and lost at Wrestlemania. If he faces Big E at the biggest show of the year next year, there would be far too many comparisons to the Reigns match which isn’t fair to either performer. Let them tell their own story.
Dream Booking #6 – Kevin Owens vs Walter
Okay, this one is admittedly a dream within a dream. First of all, it’s unlikely to happen. WWE would need to call up Walter from NXT UK and they are unlikely to do this anytime soon. With a lot of double in the air about Owens’ contract status and potential to leave WWE when it expires, his time may be nearing the end. With all of that said, I desperately want to see this match. As Simon Miller from WhatCulture likes to say, it would be big meaty men slapping meat, and he likes to see meat being slapped. These two would bring in-ring creativity to the fans and show them something we don’t get to see often. You don’t even need to match the match a gimmick match for it to feel like a hardcore matchup. Walter can dish a lot of pain, and “Fight Owens Fight” can certainly take it. Owens can also dish his own array of creative pain to his opponents, and I have never felt let down when Owens is allowed to have an Owens match. Book it WWE before it’s too late!
Conclusion
First of all, I’m sure this list will bring an abundance of criticism. Feel free to message us on twitter @ultsportstalk or Instagram @ultsportstalk. I’d love to hear your thoughts on why you liked or didn’t like this list. I also admit that I left off some really big names (Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor). This doesn’t mean that I have nothing for them, but this is about dream booking. They have been in the forefront for so long, and they will continue to be, that I feel like I’ve seen it before even if the opponent changes. WWE will definitely find a place for them, but I stand behind my dream booking picks.
Up Next: Dream Booking – Kevin Owens
