Most of us assumed Baron Corbin would cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase on either John Cena or Shinsuke Nakamura were one of them to defeat Jinder Mahal for the WWE World title. Apparently, someone convinced Vince McMahon that Corbin, despite being the tall hoss that McMahon craves, wasn't ready to be champion, and perhaps had been called up too soon, despite winning the Andre The Giant Memorial battle royal.
And so it was that on August 15, Corbin cashed in his briefcase on Mahal, but the champion's opponent du jour for the evening, Cena, whom Corbin faces at Summerslam, was lingering around. Mahal rolled up Corbin to retain.
What a waste of the briefcase, right? Exactly.
Corbin wasn't even being pushed as a threat to a fellow heel like Mahal, and Uncreative was paying more attention to women's MITB winner Carmella than Corbin, but as long as Carmella has James Ellsworth hanging around like a leech, anything she does going forward is going to be cheapened because she's even worse than Mahal, which is saying something.
And, thus, there is a paradox.
Corbin won his briefcase the right way, by himself. Didn't need anyone stooging for him, unlike Carmella, who's been presented as being more dependent on Ellsworth than Mahal has been reliant on the Singh Brothers (who were ejected from the arena during Mahal's match with Cena) or, for that matter, Miz and his entourage. So why is Carmella being pushed ahead of Corbin? Lord only knows.
With talk that some talent may be headed back to Full Sail and NXT post-Summerslam, I think we're finding out that as good as Corbin is, there are those that think he hasn't achieved his full potential, and needs more seasoning. I'd say the same thing about Carmella, as Uncreative is covering up the mistake they made by splitting her away from the now-defunct team of Enzo Amore & Big Cass, the latter being also Carmella's real life beau, a year ago, making her wait 3 months before she was called up. We need to see again what she can do without Ellsworth lingering around like a walking black hole.
Let's say Carmella cashes in on the Naomi-Natalya winner at Summerslam, no matter who it is. You know Ellsworth will get involved, and Carmella could end up another "champion who never really wins".
In effect, Corbin got hosed. The path's been cleared for Nakamura to become champion, as it appears he'll be the one to end Mahal's reign of error as champ, but I wouldn't put it past Uncreative to give Carmella the women's title the same night, and have the internet critics rip her to shreds because of her dependency on Ellsworth.
What should happen if Carmella does cash in and win? If Ellsworth is too much of a factor again, we likely could see a repeat of what happened July 4, with Ellsworth being punished not with a suspension this time, but being forced to watch Carmella's matches from the locker room, ringside priveleges revoked. And, if there's any justice, put him in with Corbin.
The smart thing would be to hold off on Carmella becoming champ until another night, likely on Smackdown. Even her fellow heels hate Ellsworth for what he represents. If she cashes in and fails, like Corbin, then send her back to NXT after a breakup with Ellsworth.
Of course, Uncreative doesn't pay attention to this column. They don't know it exists. They're too stupid to see common sense in front of them.
If they're going to do another "superstar shakeup", as rumored, then Corbin's likely headed to Raw instead of NXT, but that won't help. If he's not ready, then it's NXT for him. Period. End of story. No waffling. I like the guy personally, because he's a breath of fresh air in the ring with a unique finisher, but he's not making Vince happy, and in WWE, that's what matters. Their loss.
