6/27 Dot Net One Shots: The Dot Net staff give their quick thoughts from the previous week in WWE, TNA, MMA and indie wrestling

Welcome to the Dot Net One Shots. Each week, we will present a quick "one shot" thought from each staff member about the previous week in each of the following areas: WWE, TNA and Other (MMA, Indies, etc).

WWE

Will Pruett (Twitter - @itswilltime): Where has The Shield gone? Last week I was fine with them playing a minor role on television, but after this week, I'm worried. The Shield is too great of an act to fade into the background. WWE used everything they have to get these guys over. There is so much more to be done with them.

Jake Barnett (Twitter - @barnettjake): Lots of characters are hitting a decent stride in WWE at the right time. With RVD returning for MITB and guys like Bryan, Ziggler, Del Rio, and Mark Henry heating up, it adds a lot of intrigue to these weekly television shows. Often times it was one or two angles carrying the water, but now you have four or even five good ones depending on your taste, and it makes a world of difference.

Zack Zimmerman (Twitter - @InVasionZim): Monday's Raw was a bit jarring after a largely productive previous week. Daniel Bryan came across more heelish and whiney than determined and motivated. CM Punk came out as a babyface, frustrated the crowd by apologizing to Paul Heyman, and then wrestled a match as a babyface. And Dolph Ziggler got more boos than cheers for attacking Chris Jericho despite it being a receipt. I recognize that there seem to be long-term plans in place, but I don't like how the guys in those stories were portrayed this week.

Darren Gutteridge (Twitter - @Dazatheg): Bryan tapping out Orton on Raw may prove to be a watershed moment. Bryan has been skirting around a big singles win for a while, and although it came with a kendo stick, this establishes that Bryan can beat the "big boys" clean, a very telling sign as only a handful of people on the roster hold that distinction. The only thing that remains to be seen is if he can beat the biggest boy and take the title.

Chris Shore (Twitter - @TheShoreSlant): While not as good as last week, this week's Raw was a continued step in the right direction. WWE is showing that they are developing stories, and are feeding us a piece at a time. More importantly, they are giving us nuanced characters that act more like real people instead of archetypes, a move that will continue to pay dividends in the long run. That isn't popular in today's "give it to me now" society, but it will work as fans once again settle in to being entertained over several weeks.

TNA

Will Pruett: The logic of the current Main Event Mafia story absolutely baffles me. Sting decided to for, this group when no one on TNA's active roster would help him against the Aces and Eights. His first recruit was Kurt Angle. Angle was one of those wrestlers at Slammiversary who did not help Sting. Angle being in the faction seems to negate the original reason for the faction's existence. It's going to take one heck of a Bully Ray video package to explain this one.

Jake Barnett: There are quite a few directions I think TNA can go with the BFG series that would be a lot of fun to watch play out. It's hard to develop a lot of intrigue until there are quite a few points on the board, but I liked what they managed to do with Joe and AJ last week. The MAFIA bores me to tears and has plot holes you can drive a truck through, however, so I hope faction wars don't come to dominate the show.

Zack Zimmerman: I'm skeptical about the return of The Main Event Mafia, appalled at TNA's Gut Check selections and talent scouting, but mildly optimistic about the BFG series. It's a nice structure to tell stories around if they're well-planned and it's a way to present some really high-quality matches, given proper time and focus. Fingers crossed.

Chris Shore: The spoilers for this week's Impact have left me scratching my head for a week. Very little of it makes sense, but I am hopeful it will become clearer as it plays out on TV. Hopeful, but not expectant. TNA continues to focus on the wrong things, and I fear we see more of that tonight.

Other (MMA, Indies, Etc)

Will Pruett (ROH): Jay Briscoe is apparently no longer under contract to Ring of Honor. He is also their current World Champion. How does this happen? Letting a wrestler intentionally vacate a title is a move straight out of late era WCW. Maybe ROH has a grand plan to turn this into a compelling story. I believe it's a mistake

Jake Barnett (ROH): Best in the World was a pretty good show from all the live accounts. I'd love to tell you more about it.....buffering......feed lost.

Zack Zimmerman (ROH): Having learned that The Briscoe Brothers' write offs were planned in advance when WWE contracts were offered (and later reneged), I don't understand the decision to have Jay leave with the title. Matt Hardy is doing great things with Steve Corino right now and challenges from guys like Michael Elgin, Kevin Steen, Adam Cole, and Tomasso Ciampa could really heat ROH up again. I'm losing what faith I have in their ability to tell stories.

Darren Gutteridge (WWE): It is truly commendable how "brave" WWE is being with their booking at the moment. New acts are being allowed to gain traction all around, and more established guys are willing to get new guys over. Sure, Cena still sits on top, but just seeing the World Title MITB ladder match shows how willing the company is to take a risk right now. It's very refreshing.

Chris Shore (ROH): Even with all the problems ROH has had with iPPV, canceling them outright is a giant mistake. Anecdotal evidence suggests that delayed VOD purchases are a fraction of what iPPV sales are, with virtually no change in cost. Instead of working with fans to find a happy medium that will allow them to still see the shows live, they have reacted, poorly, and shot themselves in the foot.