New Era Versus Old School?

A lot has been made about this New Era of late, and I expect we will hear a lot more about it before too long. And that’s fine. I’ll be honest, as we started seeing more New versus Old battle lines being drawn, I thought of two things.

One, as was done several years ago, a big tag match at SummerSlam pitting 5 New Era stars against 5 Old School stars. Like when it was WWE versus Nexus. This is, of course, the closest major PPV, which is why I am looking right at it as a likely happening. Putting such a match on that card makes it an instant main event-level draw, and the bigger shows tend to have a few so-called main event matches. So this works.

The other? Survivor Series, of course. But, before I go off on my annual Autumn rant (which I can’t do now because, well, it’s not Autumn!) about how horribly WWE handles that show anymore, I will just say that I could see them having a return engagement at that event. But things will come to a head sooner than November, thus demanding actions this Summer.

So how could this shape up? Let’s look at some New Era possibilities:

Enzo and Cass

Right from day one, these two have been gunning for the Dudleys, and have had their number. They would be easy to include in any bigger New Era team.

Baron Corbin

While not a face, like some other New Era talents, a possible New versus Old match throws out heel/face constructs. Corbin is physical force in the ring, just ask Ziggler. Any team being built to represent the New Era absolutely should include him.

Apollo Crews

Here’s a guy who, while coming up with others, has remained a bit quieter than most. Nothing wrong with that, as his actions in ring have spoken plenty loudly.

Kevin Owens

I could argue that he was the catalyst, as ever since he debuted last year, we’ve really seen a rise in the new blood in WWE. Not that WWE would struggle to find a match for him, but he’s a huge part of the New Era.

Sami Zayn

One, he’s one of the most popular New Era guys, so it’s logical to have him. And two? What’s a massive tag team without some dysfunction? Having Zayn AND Owens together all but assures us of some.

And opposing them on the Old School side?

The Dudleys

This would be a given, if we include Enzo and Cass. Their feud has easily been one of the more entertaining ones to watch, especially with the quality mic work from the younger side of things.

Dolph Ziggler

He’s the answer to Baron Corbin at the moment. That could change between now and August, but if it doesn’t, there are plenty of worse options than the Showoff.

Sheamus

Again, he’s the foil to Crews at the moment, so just sticking to the script. Could totally see a curveball of Big Show here, however.

The Miz

The current Intercontinental Champion, and bane of Owens’ existence. Only cause for pause here is, if this match were to happen at SummerSlam, I doubt WWE doesn’t keep the Intercontinental Championship from being defended.

A mystery member

This one is wide open, because ever since his debut on the main roster, Zayn has pretty much been laser-focused on Owens. In this vision, the two are teammates. I could see where WWE would have Sheamus and Show in it. Or possibly Mark Henry.  A match this big doesn’t require some of these guys to do much, so things can be masked and lesser performers make for easy early eliminations.

Now, it’s way too early, of course. But I will also add some caveats. I left out some bigger, more established but still “new”stars like Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose, because those guys are either likely to be in a main event themselves (for the WWE Championship) or in their own attractive match. I also left out Styles, Anderson and Gallows because right now, their feud with Cena is evolving. It’s possible they battle one on one, with Anderson and Gallows chasing the New Day for the titles. It’s also entirely possible that The Club are three of the key participants in such a match, with Cena left to recruit Old School guys for his side. Honestly, depending on how things go, this one might be the more “main event worthy” scenario.

No matter what, at this point I expect fireworks at SummerSlam, driven by the Old versus New storyline. This Summer ought to be fun!