Baron Corbin is quickly becoming a polarizing figure in WWE. The pace of his career path has stirred up a debate not unlike the one Roman Reigns created when his push began.
WWE has not been shy about their affinity for the Lone Wolf as 2017 has been a very fruitful year for Corbin. At SummerSlam he’ll get his biggest opportunity yet as he squares off with immortal John Cena. However, his match with the 16x WWE Champion may not be his biggest moment of the evening.
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As Mr. Money in the Bank, Corbin will be lurking in the shadows during not one, but two Championship bouts. We’ve all seemed to have forgotten that Corbin’s contract is not exclusive to SmackDown. It’s time to entertain the possibility of Corbin getting involved after the Universal Championship match.
The image we’ve all accepted is Corbin pouncing on the newly crowned WWE Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura. But I ask you to to imagine Corbin bounding to the ring amidst the fallen giants of WWE and surprising us all by pinning the Universal Champion to close SummerSlam.
Here are 5 reasons why this should happen:
Because WrestleMania 31
Even though it was by way of the best RKOย of all time, Seth Rollins losing a WrestleManiaย match to Randy Orton felt odd. Sure, Orton outranked Rollins by lightyears, but Rollins was WWE’sย hottest heel. Even further, he was Mr. Money in the Bank.
When Rollins stormed down that mile long ramp during the show’s main event, we all forgot about him losing to Orton. As he smashedย both Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns with Curb Stomps, we were ready to melt. And after he pinned Reigns, we were turned to mush.
We’ll all forget about Corbin losing to Cena, too.ย
While Corbin may not be as appealing as Rollins was, the shock of him entering a ring with Reigns, Lesnar, Joe, and Strowmanย would nearly killย us. That’sย what we loved about Rollin’s cash in – it felt like he wasn’tย supposed to be there; he was an intruder.ย
The same would be said for Corbin. Fans are hesitant to accept him as WWEย Champion, so WWEย would really send them on a ride by having Corbin steal WWE’sย top prize.
SmackDown Needs the Splash
When WWEย announced their RAW/SmackDownย draft last summer, fan’s excitementย was dulled by past disappointment. While the Draft is a great way to generate intrigue, fans knew all too well that RAW would eventually start to vulture SmackDown’sย more prominentย names. As the prophecy foretold, it has already begun to happen, Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Alexaย Bliss and Bray Wyatt compiles the list of former WWEย Champions that were plucked by RAW.
And the day after SummerSlam, 16x WWEย Champion, John Cena will be turning his SmackDownย blue for RAW red.
With SmackDownย hemorrhagingย star power, they need to compensate. If the Universalย Championshipย starts making appearances on Corbin’sย shoulder, SmackDownย gets elevated.ย
It Can Be Temporary
If Corbin leaves SummerSlamย as Universal Champion, there isn’t a rule that says he has to hold the belt for a calendar year. In fact, RAW can have it back right before their unofficial war with Monday Night Football begins.
Send Lesnar, or Reigns, or Strowmanย to SmackDownย for one night and have them reclaimย the Universal Championship for RAW.ย
A brief turn with the Universal Champion would ensure that Corbin gets and stays over. By bypassing Nakamuraย andย Mahalย to rub shoulders with Brock Lesnarย and Roman Reigns, Corbin skips a level.ย
Why Sell Him Short?
WWE is clearly behind Corbin. He won the Andre the Giants Battle Royalย in his WWEย debut. He beat out provenย veterans to becomeย Mr. Money in the Bank. And perhaps least notable, but possibly most significant, Corbin got brand new music.ย
If WWEย is so high on this guy, why insert him into an obvious secondary title scene? It could be argued that the WWEย Championship isn’t even theย most important belt on SmackDown, so why have Corbin chase a silver medal.ย
If you’re behind him WWE, then show us you mean it.ย
Because Anything Can Happen
On a recent episode of his podcast,ย Bischoff on Wrestling, the former RAW GM Eric Bischoff opened a discussion on the missing element of WWE:
“The only thing for me and this is just preference, it’s just taste, I would endeavor to produce my shows in a way, particularly Monday Night RAW, in a way that just had a little bit more grit. It was a little less polished. I would work pretty hard, pretty consistently, to try to create the impression and try to build the anticipation with the audience that anything could happen. It doesn’t mean that anything can happen on every episode because you can’t sustain that. If you create that feeling, subliminal as it may be sometimes, that you can’t afford to miss an episode because there is a chance something crazy could happen and you don’t want to miss out on that.”
Bischoff’sย observations are astute. Corbin cashing in would re-install the sentiment that WWEย is “must watch.” Would it be a cheap pop for him to be a momentary Universal Champion? Maybe. Would it create intrigue? Definitely.ย
