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WWE 2016: Glass Ceilings Shatter

Andylion

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Andylion

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To say that June 2016 was a rough month for the WWE would be an understatement. On June 21st, it was announced that former WWE World Heavyweight Champion and presumptive soon-to-be-figurehead Roman Reigns was suspended for failing the company's Wellness Policy. While he seemed to accept responsibility for his actions, it was a few days later on June 25th that the wrestling world got an even bigger shock when Roman Reigns quit the WWE. Sources close to Reigns say that he was frustrated by his suspension, as well as the company's inability to fulfill their promise of getting him to be 'the man' in WWE, and he's simply had enough.

 

This would be bad enough, if it weren't for what happened just two days after. In the dark main event of the June 27th Monday Night RAW, John Cena failed to take the bump on a Styles Clash from AJ Styles properly, re-injuring his neck. After careful deliberation, and with much consult from his girlfriend Nikki Bella and many medical professionals, Cena has decided to call it a career, officially retiring from the WWE.

 

The hits just kept on coming when the USA Network discussed with Vince McMahon about the ratings dips for three-hour RAWs. The two parties agreed that it would be in everyone's best interest if WWE RAW went back to being two hours as, along with the dip in ratings, losing their top two stars saw a loss in ad revenue as well, which was the main reason for USA pressuring WWE to keep their flagship show at three hours. When asked for comment about what would replace RAW's first hour timeslot, the USA executive shrugged and said "I guess we can run another hour of CSI: Mars, or whatever."

 

In such dire straits, WWE has decided to expedite their plans, bringing the brand split and draft to the July 4th RAW, rather than waiting until the July 19th Smackdown. The rules were announced on WWE.com, and are as follows:

 

  • Shane McMahon will take control of RAW, with Stephanie controlling Smackdown
  • Each brand will draft eight superstars and a tag team of two on RAW, for a total of ten draft picks
  • The rest of the roster will be drafted live on the WWE Network on Tuesday morning
  • WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Women's Champion, and Tag Team Champions are ineligible to be drafted, and will appear on both shows
  • Current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins will thus be ineligible for the draft, with the loser of their Battleground match becoming a free agent and getting to select his own brand
  • Superstars are free to be drafted, traded, or jump ship until Summerslam, at which point rosters will be locked until the draft lottery

 

While many on the WWE roster and in the office see these developments, obviously, as a major blow to the company, many others also are seeing the absence of WWE's top guys of the past as a removal of the proverbial glass ceiling, which could give them a chance to rise higher than previously possible. This is evident particularly in the NXT roster, who have been told to expect frequent and possibly random call-ups in the future, depending on what WWE officials feel is necessary to flesh out the roster following the brand split.

 

With that, the stage was set for the 4th of July. Independence Day in America would see the WWE sink or swim. As they always say, though, when it Reigns, it pours.

 

Author's note: I know I've started and stopped multiple dynasties in the past, but this is one that I have a lot of excitement for and think could go a long, long way. It may be a bit before I get the first RAW up, but I wanted to go ahead and get the idea out there since I'm so excited to get it started.

 

On a special note, thanks to Beejus for helping me flesh out the idea and inspiring it through his own dynasty, Glass Shatters

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