How Triple H Is Screwing Up SmackDown's Road To WrestleMania 41

• Fans wanted to see Drew McIntyre in a major program
• A feud with Damian Priest isn’t hitting the mark
• They are trying their best to sell the feud 

Drew McIntyre and Damian Priest are putting their all into trying to craft something resembling a big time story, but fans simply aren’t buying it. Heading into WrestleMania season, the WWE fans expected Drew McIntyre to be involved in a major matchup. However, he began a feud with Damian Priest based on Priest eliminating him from the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber. Given that McIntyre has been involved in some highly personal and well written storylines, this feels very simple and basic, especially for WrestleMania season.

McIntyre is being wasted on SmackDown during the Road To WrestleMania 41, and Triple H must be to blame. He should be factored in a program with Seth Rollins, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, or a challenge for a world title. Instead, he and Priest have to make the most of a rivalry that many are not too interested in.

The United States Title Division Is Dead In The Water

LA Knight Is Carrying A Weak Division

• On RAW, the IC Title feels hot 
• Nakamura’s reign took the heat out of the title 
• There isn’t a clear match worthy of WrestleMania for the US Title

Over on RAW, the Intercontinental Championship has several hot acts gunning for the gold, with fans looking forward to a multi-man match at WrestleMania involving the likes of Bron Breakker, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, Penta, and perhaps Sheamus & Ludwig Kaiser too. On SmackDown, the US Title couldn’t be more different.

LA Knight is still fairly popular, but the likes of Braun Strowman, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Jimmy Uso don’t carry the same excitement as the names on RAW. For months, the United States Title has been stagnating, and entering WrestleMania season it is a pretty bland division. Currently, there is no match that the audience is particularly excited to see for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 41.

Charlotte Flair Is Burying Tiffany Stratton

One Of The Worst Feuds Of The Year

• Stratton is being ruined every week
• The rivalry has very little heat 
• Flair’s return has gone badly thus far 

Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton are set to clash at WrestleMania 41, but the build has been abysmal. Flair’s Royal Rumble win was a misfire in itself, followed up by the poor decision to try and bring her back as a babyface, leading to a double turn. Since then, Flair has ripped Stratton apart on the mic, attacked her from behind, and made the WWE Women’s Champion look incredibly weak.

It feels like we are seeing a burial before our eyes in a rivalry that doesn’t feel worthy of being on the Road To WrestleMania at all. Triple H’s handling of the women’s division has been questionable recently, but this is the more obvious example of a poor storyline.

More Can Be Done With Seth Rollins Vs. CM Punk Vs. Roman Reigns

WWE Haven’t Made The Most Of This Feud

• There are no stakes for this triple threat 
• Fans want to see more promo time from these three men 
• The feud could be even more personal 

Given the star power of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and CM Punk, they have managed to get by on a pretty lackluster build for WrestleMania 41. Much of their build thus far has been multi-man brawls that lacked energy (their SmackDown one in Italy for instance), and a lot of facing off and posturing. Many expected this feud to be all about in depth storytelling that focused on their respective paths and past, but this hasn’t been touched on all too much.

The March 28 episode of SmackDown rectified this a little in their contract signing segment, but it felt completely lacking in logic given that they went from brawling one week to then sitting in the ring and cutting promos on one another. The contract signing was a step up, but not much of one, as the promos were lacking in substance once again. The only interesting element has been the supposed ‘favor’, but even that is becoming pretty bland as the weeks go on.