Thursday, March 28, 2024
Editorial5 Ways Bad Bunny's 24/7 Title Reign Could Have Worked Better

5 Ways Bad Bunny’s 24/7 Title Reign Could Have Worked Better

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Previously, you may remember a piece I wrote about how I don’t want to see Bad Bunny compete at WrestleMania. I stand by my thoughts then and I echo a lot of them today.

However, once WWE went in that direction, I did what I always do: I tried to look at any silver lining possible.

Of course, in typical fashion, all the possible ways WWE could have gotten something decent out of the past few weeks have dried up and this whole storyline has amounted to nothing. Two months of “Hey. It’s Bad Bunny.” and nothing more.

I pride myself on being both honest and fair, even if it is to a fault. If I call something out for being bad, it’s because I genuinely think it isn’t as good as it could be. It’s not a matter of me “not liking anything” (which just isn’t true, and if you need an example, check out how much I gush over the James Bond films in my A Review to a Kill podcast) I don’t have all the fixes, but I’ll at least offer solutions to problems and try, which many don’t bother doing.

So with that in mind, here is an example of that: proof that there were at least five things WWE could have done with Bad Bunny that would have made me think this wasn’t a complete waste of time.

But First, a Quick Note

Look. We all know the 24/7 Championship has no actual credibility. It didn’t have to be that way, and I’ve even pitched an idea in the past that I think would have turned things around: Braun Strowman wins it, defends it like a true champion and is constantly swatting people away like flies.

But that time has passed. It’s been on tons of celebrities with zero clout and I’m not here to argue that WWE should suddenly make the title anything more than it is. They lost their chance and this title’s doomed to be what it is.

You’re not going to hear from me that Bad Bunny “ruined the credibility of the championship” because he didn’t. This isn’t about that. He’s no worse than any of the other celebrities who have held the title. In fact, he’s better than most, since he got WWE some media coverage and got a taste of some action beyond a roll-up.

With that out of the way…

Missed Opportunity #1: Saturday Night Live, option A

WWE doesn’t have the ability to tell Saturday Night Live what to do for their entire show, but with the Peacock deal and Raw being on USA, I would have at least brought this idea up in a meeting.

Think about how much exposure WWE would have gotten if an entire episode of Saturday Night Live—the one Bad Bunny was on—could have had the 24/7 Championship as a running gag.

Colin Jost and Michael Che have been involved with WrestleMania. They could be the first ones to kick things off by winning the title during the opening monologue after the guest host Regé-Jean Page introduced him as the musical performer.

All throughout the night, there could have been interstitial breaks where Lorne Michaels and the cast are all talking about the title and some of them are going out of their way to win it from other cast members.

Ideally, mid-sketch, someone would abandon their lines and capitalize on a bit. You could have a segment where someone is lying down on a therapist’s couch and they’re the champion, and then suddenly, the therapist just pins them, for instance.

Is it goofy? Sure. But it would get people tweeting about it for the entire show and the social media coverage would be bonkers.

Missed Opportunity #2: Saturday Night Live, option B

At the very, very least, Bad Bunny should have either dropped the title at the end of his musical performance on SNL, or at least evaded an attempt.

R-Truth could have easily sneaked his way behind him, popped up with a referee, tried to roll him up and Bad Bunny could have kicked out. Then, R-Truth could have either been run off by the cast or just bolted on his own accord.

Ten seconds of screen time is all it would take and the buzz would have been far greater than just tweeting out a picture of Bad Bunny having the title sitting next to him while he’s doing his song.

It didn’t even need to be R-Truth, either. Anybody could have filled that role and pulled off the extra boost to the media coverage.

Missed Opportunity #3: Gram Slam

A much less likely scenario would be something similar, but with the Grammy Awards.

This year, due to COVID, the ceremony wasn’t anything like what it normally is. However, it was still a show, it still involved Bad Bunny putting on a live performance and it would have given WWE significant media coverage.

This would have been far harder to pull off than the SNL ideas. I’m well aware of that. But I hope WWE at least pitched it to someone to run the idea up the flag pole.

As far as I’m aware, he didn’t have the title with him, nothing was referenced of the sort and it was as if he had no affiliation with WWE in the slightest bit, right? It doesn’t count if WWE’s own social media accounts go nuts about it and say “That guy is with us, sort of!” That’s not reaching a new audience. It’s just speaking into the echo chamber. WWE fans already know.

Again, I don’t under any circumstances expect that this would have been pulled off. The Grammy Awards isn’t a playground for WWE to do a stupid angle. But WWE should have at least tried, and I don’t know if we’ll ever find out if that was even suggested, let alone fought for.

Missed Opportunity #4: Hey Hey, Ho Ho

Bad Bunny is no longer 24/7 champion because R-Truth offered him some Stone Cold Steve Austin merchandise.

The title changed to Bad Bunny in the first place through Akira Tozawa as the fall-guy. He won it from R-Truth just so he could drop it to Bad Bunny. Why not have another transitional champion that could have not only done the same job in reverse, but also helped build toward WrestleMania?

Here’s my scenario. The Miz and John Morrison either attack Priest and Bunny backstage or after the match with Jaxson Ryker. You can even do the whole guitar bit. It works better if Morrison smacks Priest to take him out while The Miz capitalizes and beats Bad Bunny for the title. You can even have Elias and Ryker help Miz and Morrison out, holding down Priest while The Miz nails Bunny with the guitar, if you really want that specific moment.

The Miz rubs it in Bad Bunny’s face that he took his title. This also crosses another championship off The Miz’s bucket list. Then, R-Truth sneaks a roll-up and wins the title from The Miz.

Priest, Bunny and R-Truth have mostly been cordial. Bunny would be fine with R-Truth getting the belt back and endorse him as champion once more and just move on.

Missed Opportunity #5: Awesome Truth

Let’s say you want to go even weirder and cut out the middle man. Also, perhaps Morrison can’t compete at WrestleMania due to his injury.

Remember Awesome Truth? The Miz and R-Truth were a tag team back in 2011. How about The Miz helps R-Truth win the title back in exchange for tagging with him at WrestleMania? Then, during the match, R-Truth sees the error of his ways, turns on The Miz, and celebrates with Priest and Bad Bunny.

Is that so hard?

How do you think Bad Bunny’s title reign could have been better? Or, did you think it was perfect as is? Keep the discussion going in the comments below!

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