Category Archives: Wrestling
Ronda Rousey & The WWE Are Perfect For Each Other
I’m an optimistic wrestling fan. That’s not something you see a lot of on social media, but I’m one of them. That”s why I think Ronda Rousey coming to the WWE is going to be fantastic. While Rousey has made only one WWE appearance it has generated a lot of reactions.
Ronda Rousey Debuts in the WWE
Firstly, let’s look at what the detractors are saying. Sasha Banks & Nia Jax are seemingly unhappy with Rousey’s arrival and subsequent spotlight. Those comments have triggered WWE fans into thinking that Rousey isn’t well liked and therefore won’t succeed. Let’s get real for a moment. This is the WWE. The athleticism, injuries and insane skill that go into being a pro wrestler are very real. Wrestlers getting fans to start conspiracy theories via Twitter and interviews are not. While I appreciate it still being real to some people, you have to think logically.
Rousey vs. The World
Nia Jax is the women’s division resident monster. Sasha Banks is The Boss. They don’t call her that because she loves giving other women the spotlight. The Nia tweet everyone is focusing on is this one. Now, would it be smart for WWE to get some feuds going via Twitter and interviews or should everyone just be ecstatic that Rousey is there? The WWE is better than almost anyone at utitlizing social media, and if Rousey is still training for her first match, why not use the power of the internet to stir the pot?
Is Rousey going to take someone’s spot? Of course she is. The same way Asuka took someone’s spot when she debuted. The same way Ember Moon took someone’s spot in the women’s royal rumble. If Rousey was in the WWE for a one and done I would understand the uproar. She’s not, as she’s signed to a multi year deal and already has great name value. I’m sorry if I don’t fall apart when she takes Bayley or Mickie James’ spot.
Maybe the dumbest ‘point’ being discussed is that Ronda Rousey will only succeed if she’s built up properly. Uhh, ya think? Same goes for literally every other man and woman that debuts on the main roster. If her character sucks and they put her in story lines that don’t maximize her strengths she will not succeed. If her character is good and they do maximize her strengths, she will succeed. Those two things have nothing to do with Ronda Rousey.
Star Power
Here’s the thing. While it’s fun to think the women’s revolution is due to contributions from past stars, it’s just not true. The reason women are in the main events of Raw, Smackdown and pay per views is because of women like Ronda Rousey. Same goes for the women’s TLC, cage, royal rumble and elimination chamber. If Rousey didn’t prove that people will pay to watch talented women fight, the WWE would not have followed suit. Rousey has legit fighting skills that will only be enhanced as she continues to train in the Performance Center. More importantly, she knows how to sell and perform in big time events.
She’s headlined multiple UFC events that have earned over 1 million PPV buys. While her career as a UFC fighter might be over, her career as a WWE star is just beginning. That’s great news for everyone involved.
-Ryan
Five Stars From #WWE #RAW (1/29/18): Road To The Elimination Chamber
WWE Raw was live from Philly last night, the same site of NXT TakeOver & the Royal Rumble. WWE LOVES to talk about the ‘E’ in their name standing for entertainment. It’s true, and entertaining the fans is a major part of their success. Last night they focused on the second ‘W’, which stands for wrestling, and turned in one of their best shows in awhile. They have such a strong roster from a wrestling standpoint that I’m surprised they don’t do more shows like this. There were seven matches last night and almost all of them served a purpose, which is all you can ask for on a three hour wrestling show. Let’s get to the five stars!
Average Nobodies note: make sure to follow us on Twitter – @averagenobodies and like us on Facebook – Facebook.com/AverageNobodies. We love talking pro wrestling, so you can comment on this post or reach out to us on social media if you want to join the discussion. You can also find all of our wrestling content by clicking the ‘wrestling’ tab under the banner on our home page.
Braun Strowman, Forever & Ever
I feel like I type Braun Strowman’s name a lot in these posts, but it’s for a good reason. Braun and Lesnar duked it out for real at the Rumble and he was ready to cause more destruction last night. He fought Kane in a Last Man Standing match, which is pretty self explanatory. The only rule is that you win by beating your opponent so badly they stay down for a 10 count. Braun understands the rules of the match (which doubled as an Elimination Chamber qualifier) and beat the shit out of Kane. To ensure Kane wouldn’t get up, Braun flipped the entire announcing stage, table and all, on top of Kane. Braun flipping large objects continues to be one of my favorite things, and we even got this hysterical image out of it:
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/958153137164046336
There was an was odd exchange backstage where Kurt Angle was yelling at Braun for trying to kill Kane. Even though Angle is the one who put them in a LAST MAN STANDING match. What was he supposed to do? Sit on his chest for 10 seconds and hope he doesn’t get up? If you put Braun in that kind of match, two things are going to happen. 1. Something large is going to get flipped and 2. Braun will be the one walking away.
2. Women’s Elimination Chamber
One night after the amazing inaugural women’s Rumble, Stephanie McMahon announced the first ever women’s Elimination Chamber. That’s great news for everyone except Alexa Bliss, who will have to defend her title inside the structure. The announcement opened Raw, and also gave Asuka a spotlight to enjoy her Rumble victory. I doubt she’ll be in the chamber match since she’s already the #1 contender, but I’m excited to see who earns a spot.
Reigns vs. Miz
Roman Reigns and Miz had a rematch of their very good IC title match at Raw 25. The rematch was very good, but the finish wasn’t as creative. I did like that they played off their match last week, with Miz trying to remove the middle turnbuckle again. The ref caught him this time, but Miz was still able to retain thanks to distractions from the Miz-tourage. While the distraction finish is stale as hell, I do enjoy Miz winning by pitting his strengths against Reigns’ weaknesses.
Miz’s greatest strength is the numbers game, while Reigns is the prototypical lone wolf. Technically he’s in The Shield, but he and Rollins haven’t been together in a while. Plus, he just eliminated Rollins in the rumble. While Reigns can get by on his own most of the time, Miz is just good and crafty enough to eek out a win. The crowd was super into this match as well, which always helps. Now that Reigns has lost two weeks in a row and failed to win the rumble, he’ll probably win every match for the rest of the year (not kidding).
Asuka vs. Sasha – Match of the Night
In a night full of great pro wrestling, Sasha Banks and Asuka stood above everyone. This was easily Asuka’s best main roster match, and Sasha’s best match in a long time. This really had everything. Submissions, counters, cringe worthy strikes, near falls and Sasha Banks trying to murder herself:
This was so crazy holyyyyy pic.twitter.com/EF8GknRqFO
— Pav (@WrestlinGifs) January 30, 2018
The move itself got saved because Asuka was countering the dive with a kick, but Jesus Christ, Sasha. She very rarely hits that move clean and she’s either overshooting it and folding herself in half or getting her foot caught in the ropes and almost decapitating herself. Sasha is way too good a performer to keep trying that move, and I’m sure she can come up something safer. I really loved this match and it put Sasha and Asuka on another level as in ring performers. I know Bliss is the champ and she’s a great character, but nobody tells a story in the ring like these two. It came down to Asuka being too talented and too resilient for Sasha, which is a lethal combination. No one is ready for Asuka.
Cena vs. Balor
John Cena took on Finn Balor in the main event. It was an elimination chamber qualifying match, and these two capped off a great night of in ring work. Balor is so solid, and he tows the line perfectly of delivering believable offense while making Cena’s moves look great. Balor put up a hell of a fight, and was only defeated when Cena hit his top rope AA. If you factor in Balor going almost an hour in the rumble last night and that he fought JOHN CENA, it makes a little bit of sense. That’s the glass half full theory.
Now, let’s talk the logical theory. I don’t like Cena beating Balor at all. I honestly don’t know what this accomplishes, especially if Cena isn’t winning the chamber match. Balor just had a memorable night in the rumble, so they follow that up by having John Cena beat him clean? It’s the same illogical booking as having Balor beat Styles in a MOTY candidate at TLC and then losing to Kane the next night on Raw. ESPECIALLY since he and the Balor Club had their ‘pass the torch’ moment with DX last week.
There’s still three Raw’s to go before Elimination Chamber, so maybe Balor still gets in, and I say that because who else would take his spot? There are three slots left, with one presumably going to Reigns. Who takes the final two? Samoa Joe is hurt. Dean Ambrose is hurt. Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan weren’t even on Raw. Kane? Apollo Crews? If you want Cena in the match, fine. Throw big match John in there. But to put him in there at the expense of Balor is insane. I hate it and it stinks.
Other notes
Elias beat Matt Hardy to earn a spot in the Elimination Chamber. Yay for Elias and silent indifference for the dead in the water Hardy/Wyatt feud.
The Coach (Jonathan Coachman) replaced Booker T on commentary. A piece of wood would have been better than Booker, but Coach was great last night. I’m excited for him moving forward.
The Revival beat Heath Slater & Rhyno. Let’s hope Raw 25 was just a tiny bump in the road for the best tag team on the main roster.
The Bar retained the tag belts in fun match against Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews. Apollo got a chance to shine and took advantage of it. His move set is so dynamic that I’m not sure he isn’t spotlighted more often, but it was great to see last night.
The Dudley Boyz are the newest inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame. Congrats to Bubba Ray & Devon.
-Ryan
Recapping Everything That Happened At #NXTTakeOver & The WWE #RoyalRumble
If you’re a wrestling fan, chances are you watched NXT TakeOver and/or the WWE Royal Rumble this weekend. It’s the second best weekend of wrestling behind WrestleMania, and it did not disappoint. Let’s recap all the fun and important things that happened.
NXT TakeOver
TakeOver was Saturday night and featured a five match card.
Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly retained the NXT tag belts over the Authors of Pain. This match featured a lot of leg work and submission holds, which was to be expected if the champs were going to beat their monstrous challengers. The roll up win was a little underwhelming, and the Authors didn’t have the same chemistry in this match that they had with Revival or DIY.
The Velveteen Dream continues to be the best. Earlier in the night Velveteen Dream accepted the Rivalry of the Year award for his great feud with Aleister Black. He also guaranteed a 30 second KO of the knockout artist Kassius Ohno later in the night. Dream came to the ring in boxing trunks and wore a mouth guard, because he understands the little things about his character so well. While he didn’t knock Ohno out, he did pick up his first victory at a TakeOver event. We also got to see his beautiful finisher:
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/957429591567753221
I’m assuming Aleister Black is next in line for an NXT title shot, but Dream should not be far behind.
Shayna Baszler is the truth. She didn’t defeat Ember Moon for the women’s title, but she made quite an impact. I loved the character work in this match. Ember is so easy to root for and sells so well. Shayna is a bully with a legit fighting background who can break you in two. If this was an MMA match, Shayna would have won. It was a pro wrestling match though, and while Shayna dominated and seemingly had Ember finished, Ember used her knowledge to eek out a win. Shayna is skilled enough to beat most wrestlers even though she’s inexperienced, but Ember has been doing this for a long time. After she was unable to escape the submission, she was able to shift her weight and cover Shayna for the three count. Once Shayna’s ring awareness catches up with her fighting skills, she’s going to be a force.
Aleister Black should be the next number one contender. Black took on Adam Cole in an Extreme Rules match with some creative spots. As expected, Cole’s stable mates Fish & O’Reilly interfered in the match but were ran off by Sanity. Black and Cole brutalized each other with Black eventually coming out on top and staying undefeated. He should be the favorite to challenge whoever is holding the NXT title during WrestleMania weekend.
Andrade Almas & Johnny Gargano had one of the best matches in NXT history. It’s easy to say something like that when the match is so fresh in your mind, but it’s the truth. This was the third match between the two, and they delivered on the highest possible level. The match featured a ton of counters and reversals since these two are so familiar with each other. Almas is turning into the best in ring performer champion NXT has had since Balor, and Gargano continues to get better. I’m glad NXT made the call for Ciampa to attack Gargano post match, because that match deserved a clean ending. We were also formally introduced to Candice LeRae, Gargano’s real life wife. After Zelina Vega continued to insert herself into the match, LeRae hopped the barrier and beat her down. Almas was still able to retain in an instant classic.
Tommaso Ciampa is back! Gargano’s former friend tag team partner showed up briefly as TakeOver was going off the air. He’s still sporting a huge knee brace from his injury last May, so it makes sense that he didn’t do anything too physical. He did wallop Gargano with a crutch though, throwing salt in the wounds of Gargano after his hard fought loss. As long as Ciampa is medically cleared, these two should steal the show at TakeOver WrestleMania weekend.
Friendly faces in the crowd at TakeOver included EC3, Ricochet & War Machine.
WWE Royal Rumble
The rumble was last night and featured six matches, including the men’s and women’s rumbles.
Let’s start with the not so good. AJ Styles retained the WWE championship over Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The Usos retained the tag titles over Gable & Benjamin. The Bar defeated Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan for the Raw tag titles. Neither of the three matches were bad, but they certainly weren’t exciting. The best match was probably the Raw tag titles bout, but they put it right after the men’s rumble. The crowd was exhausted and didn’t wake back up until Strowman and Lesnar started beating the crap out of each other. I’m glad The Bar won back the belts, because now Rollins and Jason Jordan can really start hating each other.
Styles/Owens/Zayn was disappointing, especially since the build involved so much of Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan. To have the match end with a roll up after 16 minutes of boring wrestling was severely disappointing. I don’t know how you have those three in match and make it lame, but WWE pulled it off.
I predicted the Smackdown tag title match to be the match of the night. Let’s just say I was very wrong. The first fall was a ton of fun with the Usos gaining the 1-0 advantage. Instead of giving us another 10-15 minutes of tag team wrestling, the Usos won the second fall with a roll up and the match was over. It’s a cardinal sin to waste a Chad Gable tag match on a major pay per view.
Brock Lesnar pinned Kane to retain the Universal championship. Everyone knew that result was happening, but the match was still a blast. Lesnar and Strowman apparently didn’t the ‘this is fake’ memo and legitimately beat the shit of each other. Here’s an example:
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/957807219084578817
This match had an incredibly frenetic pace thanks to the urgency between Lesnar and Strowman. At 11 minutes it was also the perfect length with zero dead or rest time. I would have loved for Strowman to pin Kane and then have Brock challenge him for the title at Mania, but this was still excellent.
Men & Women’s Rumble
The men’s rumble match was the best one since 2010 or 2011. The last six have not been great, and the crowds have consistently booed the winners. Last night’s match was a ton of fun and featured some great performances AND a fresh, worthy winner. The match started off with Finn Balor and Rusev, who was massively over with the Philly crowd. Both guys had great showings, with Rusev lasting 30:27 and Balor lasting almost 58 minutes. In less than excellent news, my friends and I did a rumble pool and I picked numbers 3, 19 and 29. For those who didn’t watch, that means I picked Rhino, Matt Hardy and Goldust.
The best surprise entrants were Andrade Almas, The Hurricane & Rey Mysterio. Almas had a hell of a weekend, and capped it off by lasting almost 30 minutes in the rumble. The Hurricane was a fun surprise, even if he only lasted 24 seconds. Mysterio was the biggest surprise of the night, and somehow is in the best shape of his career at 43. Kofi Kingston had one of his best Rumble saves with the help of his New Day mates and a plate of pancakes.
It wasn’t a particularly heavy elimination year, as Balor and Reigns lead the charge with 4 each. The main story was who was going to win, and this was one of the more intense final 5 minutes in rumble history. The final four were Balor, Nakamura, Cena and Reigns. It was a fantastic dynamic, as the crowd loved everything Balor and Nak did while shitting on everything Cena and Reigns did. Nak and Reigns were the final two, which was a genius move by the WWE. Nobody in that building wanted Reigns to win, so even if you don’t like Nak, you were rooting for him by default. Nak was able to overcome the Big Dog with an impressive 44:25 rumble time. If all goes right, Nakamura and AJ Styles will be fighting for the WWE title at WrestleMania.
The women’s rumble went exactly as it should have. I thought the women exceeded expectations in their first ever rumble. There are so many moving pieces in a rumble match that it’s easy to get thrown off, but the match had a great flow to it. It was also a perfect mix of current stars, NXT up and comers and former wrestlers. Similar to Finn Balor in the men’s match, Sasha Banks needed a statement making performance. With 4 eliminations and a 54:46 ring time, consider that statement made. She even tossed out Bayley late in the match, which could reignite one of the best rivalries in NXT history. Ember Moon & Kairi Sane were cool additions, and we got to see a few top rope elbow drops from the pirate princess.
As for old school entrants, my personal favorites were Lita and Trish. Vickie Guerrero was a cool surprise and we got to see some great stare downs. Beth Phoenix/Nia Jax was a great moment, and Trish and Mickie James firing it up one last time was awesome. The match belonged to Asuka though, and I’m so happy that the right person won the inaugural women’s rumble. Kudos to WWE for realizing what they have with Asuka, ESPECIALLY since it turns out someone was waiting backstage the whole time.
That’s right, Ronda Rousey officially joined the WWE last night. It would have been easy for WWE to put her at #30 and have her win, but that wouldn’t have worked for the fans. You don’t want to debut Rousey and immediately put her behind the 8 ball, so I’m glad they waited until after the match to bring her out. She didn’t say a word, but she clearly knows what to do when you’re in a WWE ring this time of year. One point at the WrestleMania sign is all it takes. For the first time in a few years, the road to WrestleMania is off to a perfect start.
-Ryan
Your Average #NXTTakeOver: Philadelphia Preview & Predictions
The night before the Royal Rumble is no longer the final day of preparation. Thanks to the success of NXT, fans now get an NXT TakeOver event that sometimes outshines the main roster PPV. While it’ll be tough to outdo the Royal Rumble, TakeOver does have a solid card set up. Let’s get to the preview and predictions!
Average Nobodies note: make sure to follow us on Twitter – @averagenobodies and like us on Facebook – Facebook.com/AverageNobodies. We love talking pro wrestling, so you can comment on this post or reach out to us on social media if you want to join the discussion. You can also find all of our wrestling content by clicking the ‘wrestling’ tab under the banner on our home page.
The Velveteen Dream vs. Kassius Ohno
Photo: WWE
This match was just added last night, and it’s between two guys who need a big win. NXT loves to back themselves into this corner, but I have faith the match will deliver. The build reminds me of Ohno/Itami, where Itami insulted Ohno, lost a match, then Ohno gave him the ‘I told you so’ treatment. Dream did that when Ohno lost to Gargano, then Dream lost to Gargano, then Ohno confronted him backstage and now we have a match. Dream had the match of the night with Aleister Black at the last TakeOver, so he has a lot to live up to Saturday night. The key for him is going to be avoiding the KO and using his athleticism to his advantage. I’m not sure how much longer Kassius is going to hang around in NXT, so I think Dream should go over here.
Prediction: Velveteen Dream picks up his first big win at an NXT TakeOver
Extreme Rules Match: Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black
Photo: WWE
NXT doesn’t usually venture into gimmick match territory for their TakeOver specials. That’ll change when Undisputed Era’s leader Adam Cole takes on Aleister Black in an Extreme Rules match. These two first squared off on the December 13th episode. Black defeated Cole in that match, earning a spot in the #1 contender Fatal Four Way. Cole took offense to not being in the match and more or less cost Black his chance at a title shot by attacking him. A few weeks later Black and Roderick Strong were challenging Fish & O’Reilly for the tag belts. Once again Cole interfered and cost Black a win.
Usually an Extreme Rules match would favor the guy who REALLY wants to hurt the other guy. While that would be Black in this case, the no DQ stipulation means that Fish & O’Reilly can interfere throughout.
The positive for Black: Undisputed Era has made A LOT of enemies. If Fish & O’Reilly interfere, don’t be surprised if Roddy Strong or Sanity come out to even the odds. Aleister Black is still undefeated in singles action, so this will be a very interesting outcome.
Prediction: Aleister Black
NXT Tag Team Title Match: Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish (C) vs. Authors of Pain
Photo: WWE
Remember when I said Undisputed Era has made a lot of enemies? Well none are more vicious and powerful than the Authors of Pain. The Authors were the most dominant team in NXT for a long stretch of time, and they’ll be looking to regain that distinction against the tag champs. The Authors don’t have as much experience as Fish/O’Reilly, but they make up for it in size and strength. They’ve beaten a who’s who list of all time NXT tag teams, including The Revival & DIY. Fish & O’Reilly have been more opportunistic than dominant, but they certainly know how to win. I do think that Black beats Adam Cole, which makes it hard for me to pick against the champs here. Undisputed Era has been impressive since debuting and I don’t think having all three guys lose at a live special is the right call. Plus, Authors of Pain need to be on the main roster wrecking people ASAP.
Prediction: Fish & O’Reilly
NXT Women’s Title Match: Ember Moon (C) vs. Shayna Baszler
Photo: WWE
Poor Ember Moon. She’s been a star in NXT since her debut, but could never win the big one against Asuka. Asuka moved to Raw still undefeated, but Ember continued to scratch and claw her way to the top. She competed in the Fatal Four Way match for the vacant title at WarGames and FINALLY won the title. How is she rewarded? A match against Shayna Baszler, who has been murdering women for weeks on NXT TV. Moon is definitely up to the task, but this is a hell of a first title defense.
The build for this match has been perfect. Ember is not only a fighting champion, but she’s a champion with a moral code. Shayna Baszler has been terrorizing the women’s division for weeks and the only person to stand up for the fallen has been Ember. Just like in the movies, the hero is only as good as the villain, and Shayna is one hell of a villain. I love that she has an actual MMA background, because it makes everything she’s doing seem a bit more dangerous. While Ember has the wrestling advantage, all it takes is one misstep for Baszler to apply the Kirifuda Clutch. If that happens Saturday night, Ember’s reign will be a short one. Shayna has a ton of potential, but Ember deserves at least a few successful title defenses.
Prediction: Ember Moon
NXT Title Match: Andrade Almas (C) vs. Johnny Gargano
Photo: WWE
It’s not often that the main event steals the show at TakeOver, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen in Philly. These two have already fought twice, including the off the charts match at TakeOver: Brooklyn. Interestingly enough, that match is what started Almas on his current hot streak. Since defeating Gargano in Brooklyn, Almas has been the star of NXT and enters TakeOver as the NXT champ. Gargano went in the opposite direction post Brooklyn and honestly owes his spot in the title match to a little bit of luck. Gargano was given a spot in the Fatal Four Way #1 contender’s match after Velveteen Dream was injured. To his credit, he earned the victory in that match, and now goes on to fight someone he has never defeated.
There are two people to remember heading into this match. Candice LeRae just signed with WWE less than two weeks ago. She is Gargano’s real life wife, and also someone who could even the odds if Zelina Vega gets involved. The other is Tommaso Ciampa. He was injured in May after turning on Gargano, and his expected return is early 2018. Last time I checked, it was early 2018, and what better time to return than when Gargano is in a title match? He’s also been selectively active on Twitter lately. IF Ciampa is healthy, NXT would be crazy to do anything but Gargano vs. Ciampa for the NXT title at the WrestleMania show. In order for that to happen, Gargano would have to win Saturday night.
Prediction: Gargano wins, Ciampa attacks post match similar to Owens/Zayn after Sami won the NXT title.
-Ryan
Your Average Preview & Predictions For The #WWE #RoyalRumble
Wrestling fans, rejoice! All the hard work put in from post WrestleMania to now will soon be rewarded, because the 2018 Royal Rumble is this Sunday from Philadelphia. In addition to the men’s rumble, this year will feature the first ever women’s rumble. The best part? It’s the same rules as the men. 30 women, over the top rope eliminations only with the winner earning a title shot at WrestleMania.
Four title matches will round out the 4 hour event, with both rumble matches probably taking up over two hours. Without further ado, the preview and predictions for the 2018 Royal Rumble
Average Nobodies note: make sure to follow us on Twitter – @averagenobodies and like us on Facebook – Facebook.com/AverageNobodies. We love talking pro wrestling, so you can comment on this post or reach out to us on social media if you want to join the discussion. You can also find all of our wrestling content by clicking the ‘wrestling’ tab under the banner on our home page.
Smackdown Tag Team Championship (2 Out Of Falls): The Usos (C) vs. Gable & Benjamin
Photo: WWE
From a pure wrestling standpoint, the two tag title matches should absolutely steal the show. The one with less shenanigans will probably be the better of the two, so I’m picking that one to be the Smackdown match. The Usos have been as good as it gets for almost a year now, and their transition to the ‘day one’ characters has really paid off. They put on a slew of classic matches with New Day, and now they’re matched up against Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin. While Gable & Benjamin haven’t been teaming long, they’re both tag team specialists. American Alpha were one of my favorite teams in NXT, while The World’s Greatest Tag Team had that name that for a reason.
The last time these two teams met there was some controversy, so hopefully WWE lets them have a 3 fall classic this time. I’m going to start with an upset pick.
Prediction: Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin
Raw Tag Team Championship: Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan vs. The Bar
Photo: WWE
The team of Rollins and Jordan has been an odd one. It’s not often that a team wins the tag titles on the first night they’re paired together, but that’s exactly what happened Christmas Day. With Dean Ambrose on the shelf for awhile, The Shield has dissolved for the time being. Reigns was doing his own thing as IC champ (before losing on Raw) while Rollins and Jordan have formed an uneasy partnership. I’ve really enjoyed the Jordan character during this run. He’s dorky and annoying and obnoxious, but he doesn’t quite know it yet. Combine that with his skill level in the ring and you have a character with some promise.
On the other side you have The Bar, a team forged out of toughness and competitiveness. They’re a much better team than Rollins/Jordan, but they haven’t figured out how to beat them yet. I don’t know how long Rollins and Jordan will be partners, but I do want to see The Bar feud with The Revival. If that feud happens over the tag belts, that would be even better.
Prediction: The Bar.
WWE Championship Match: AJ Styles (C) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Photo: WWE
Under any other circumstance, if you put Styles, Owens & Zayn in a WWE title match, it’s aces. Unfortunately the build for this has been lackluster, mostly because Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan have been heavily involved. When you have three guys with this much talent, you don’t need to add in an authority figure angle too.
If they stick with Owens/Zayn as the heels, they should definitely win. From there you could have them be co-champions and continue to sarcastically piss off the fans and Shane. The only problem with that is the fans don’t want to hate Sami and Kevin when they’re together. They don’t want to hate Styles either, but it wouldn’t be too hard to turn him into an overconfident dick. Add in Shane helping Styles win, and you have a new “corporate champion”. Plus, Owens aligned with two of the easiest to root for good guys would be a great foe for Styles.
This isn’t the worst situation to be in, especially with the talent involved. But sometimes less is more, and I think people would be much more excited for a classic triple threat match.
Prediction: AJ Styles
WWE Universal Title Match: Brock Lesnar (C) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane
Photo: WWE
Raise your hand if you’re excited for a Kane title match in 2018? No hands? Good. I’ll be the first to admit that Strowman vs. Lesnar was not great at No Mercy. If you think adding Kane to that match is going to make it better, you deserve to be tarred and feathered.
Braun is as ready as anyone to be Universal champion. He’s been ready since he flipped Roman Reigns’ ambulance. In a perfect world, he would pin Kane here and WWE would spend the next 2+ months building the third and final match between he and Lesnar at Mania. Also in this perfect world, Roman Reigns doesn’t exist. As great as Lesnar is, his time as champ should be coming to a close. Raw is a three hour show every week, and the champ needs to be there more consistently. Unfortunately, I don’t think his reign ends here.
Prediction: Kane. LOL. Just kidding, Lesnar retains, hopefully by beating Kane so badly he becomes mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Photo: WWE
This a huge and overdue accomplishment for the women of the WWE. I don’t think I’m alone in saying the division is not where it needs to be, but it absolutely deserves some of these spotlight matches. There are 18 participants listed for the match, which leaves 12 spots open for legends/NXT women. If I had to split that 6/6, here are the 12 I’d choose.
NXT – The Iconic Duo (Billie Kay & Peyton Royce), Nikki Cross, Ember Moon, Shayna Baszler & Kairi Sane
Legends/Surprises – Trish Stratus, Michelle McCool, Torrie Wilson, Kelly Kelly with my two dream spots going to AJ Lee and Ronda Rousey
The NXT picks speak for themselves. The Iconic Duo are the best pure characters in NXT and should have been on the main roster months ago. Nikki Cross is the most exciting/unpredictable woman in NXT, which is perfect for a Rumble match. Ember Moon is the NXT women’s champ, while Shayna Baszler is the #1 contender. Kairi Sane is the exciting new recruit who has a championship reign in her near future.
Trish, Michelle, Torrie and Kelly were all at Raw 25. It would make sense to have all of them in the rumble, although I won’t be upset/surprised if they pick other women from the Attitude Era and beyond. Same goes for AJ and Rousey. AJ is more of a long shot than Ronda, but Rousey is the only surprise that could be brought in and win the match.
I love Asuka and think she should enter at 1 and eliminate the other 29 women, but Ronda Rousey is a worldwide attraction. It’ll definitely piss off the die hard fans if she wins over Asuka, but I’d understand it from a business perspective. She’s also different from your average celebrity, as she has the real life fighting credentials to back up any win(s) she picks up. On the other hand, Asuka is the most unique performer they have, and should be fighting for or defending the women’s title at WrestleMania.
Prediction: Asuka.
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Photo: WWE
There are 17 participants listed for the men’s rumble match. That leaves 13 spots open for current roster members, NXT guys and legends.
There will be definitely be more main roster guys added. The first three names that come to mind are Roman Reigns, US champ Bobby Roode and a returning Dolph Ziggler. With Enzo Amore fired and the Cruiserweight title up in the air, you could add guys like Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali and Drew Gulak. Other fillers could be Curt Hawkins, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows. Hopefully NXT guys like Lars Sullivan and Kassius Ohno are given a shot, too. I don’t know if WWE will bring back any legends for this, but I don’t think they’re needed. If you add the names I listed you’d have 28 and there are always guys who fight earlier in the night who end up pulling double duty.
Regardless of how WWE rounds out the 30, there are only a handful of guys who could win. My list would be Finn Balor, Roman Reigns, Shinsuke Nakamura and Dolph Ziggler. Dolph is definitely the longest shot, but hopefully they’ve been keeping him off TV this long for a reason. Roman is the most obvious choice, especially after dropping the IC belt on Raw. The most intriguing choices are Balor and Nakamura. They’re so close to being breakout stars, and a rumble win plus being in a major title match at Mania could be exactly what they need.
Prediction: Head – Roman Reigns. Heart – Finn Balor.
-Ryan
WWE Officially Announced The Location Of The 2019 Royal Rumble
The 2018 Royal Rumble is this Sunday from crazy town Philadelphia. To get everyone in the spirit WWE announced the date and location of next year’s show. It’s a doozy.
2019 WWE Royal Rumble Announcement
WWE today announced that Chase Field in Phoenix will host Royal Rumble on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019. This marks WWE’s debut at Chase Field and the first time that the Royal Rumble has ever been held at a baseball stadium.
In addition, as part of Royal Rumble Weekend, Phoenix will host the following events at Talking Stick Resort Arena:
NXT TakeOver (Saturday, Jan. 26)
Monday Night Raw (Monday, Jan. 28)
SmackDown LIVE (Tuesday, Jan. 29) – WWE.COM
While holding big events in smaller venues has it’s charm, I’m a fan of the big arenas. Or is this case, outdoor baseball parks. Chase Field is home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it’s gorgeous.
Photo; Pinterest
Pro wrestling at baseball stadiums isn’t a new idea, and there have been some iconic moments in the past. It is new for modern day WWE however, and it’ll be interesting to see how they figure out the logistics. Another cool part of WWE’s marketing strategy is how the Rumble is more than a one day affair. NXT TakeOver will be the night before, while Raw and Smackdown will be the Monday & Tuesday after. Those three shows will take place at the Talking Stick Resort Arena, which housed last year’s Elimination Chamber.
Make sure to stayed tuned to our site as I’ll have previews and predictions for TakeOver and the Rumble on Friday.
-Ryan
WWE Has Released Enzo Amore Following Rape Accusations
Less than 24 hours after their huge Raw 25 show, WWE has released Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore. Enzo, real name Eric Arndt, had been accused of rape by a woman from October. WWE originally suspended him yesterday, but now has full out released him. Here’s the story from Wrestling Inc.
Enzo Amore Released By WWE
Enzo Amore released – WWE has come to terms on the release of Eric Arndt (Enzo Amore).The release comes after Enzo was accused of rape earlier this week. WWE suspended him on Monday, noting that they have zero tolerance for matters involving sexual harassment or sexual assault. Things must have changed between that announcement and today as he has been released.
As noted, a woman filed a police report with Phoenix Police, alleging that Enzo raped her on October 19th, 2017 at 401 West Clarendon Avenue, which is The Clarendon Hotel & Spa. You can read our report on the accuser at this link.
First of all, this is a disturbing story on every front. It’s also unfortunately not that surprising. If you’re an avid wrestling fan and have followed Enzo lately, you’ve noticed a huge character shift. Some of that could be just for TV cameras but some of it was clearly fame getting to his head. In an ideal world a man could live his life without pressuring women via sexual assault or rape, but apparently that’s too much to ask of a lot of guys. I’m glad WWE stepped this up from suspension to a release, because you can’t just ‘say’ you have zero tolerance. You have to prove it. There are too many bad guys in this world to keep letting them get away with this shit.
In much less important news, Enzo was the Cruiserweight champion. He was scheduled to defend the title against Cedric Alexander this Sunday at the Rumble. That obviously won’t be happening, so it’ll be interesting to see what plan WWE comes up with. I also think we should look into Neville being able to predict the future. He knew Enzo was a piece of shit from the get go.
-Ryan
Five Stars From WWE #RAW25 (1/22/18): Stone Cold, DX & More!
WWE held it’s 25th anniversary celebration for it’s flagship show last night. I wouldn’t say it was a bad show, but filming in two different locations proved challenging. This was also the go home WWE Raw for the Rumble, so WWE was mixing nostalgia with also trying to build to it’s second biggest pay per view. The actual 25th anniversary was January 11th and I think doing this show last week would have been more beneficial. The returns of Austin, Undertaker and DX took up a ton of time, which made segments with the tag champs and Universal title picture seem rushed. There were some bright spots though, so let’s get to the five stars!
Average Nobodies note: make sure to follow us on Twitter – @averagenobodies and like us on Facebook – Facebook.com/AverageNobodies. We love talking pro wrestling, so you can comment on this post or reach out to us on social media if you want to join the discussion. You can also find all of our wrestling content by clicking the ‘wrestling’ tab under the banner on our home page.
5. Austin Got McMahon!
WWE Raw started in the best possible way. Stephanie, Shane and Vince opened with a promo celebrating Raw’s historic feat. Vince then dove into his Mr. McMahon character and instantly got the crowd to turn on him. The crowd chanted ASSHOLE while Vince took sole credit for the success of Raw while claiming he didn’t need anyone else’s help to make the show such a success. That cued the best sound in the world: glass shattering followed by Stone Cold Steve Austin death marching to the ring swearing up a storm.
If you’re a younger fan that didn’t watch Austin on a weekly basis during the Attitude Era, you got a small sense of how much crowds love him last night. Austin didn’t speak a single word, yet had the crowd on the edge of their seats for the entire first segment. He stunned Shane (twice) and Vince, and even had a few Steveweisers along the way. Also, this picture belongs in a museum somewhere:
Privileged to share the ring with you @SteveAustinBSR and proud to be a part of #Raw25. pic.twitter.com/mOt1FqCmM4
— Shane McMahon (@shanemcmahon) January 23, 2018
4. No One Is Ready For Asuka
The 8 women tag wasn’t anything special, but I did like the post match angle. If Asuka is in a match, whether it’s singles, tag or a battle royal, she should be the favorite to win. Her NXT run was done so perfectly and no other women on Raw has been built to even be in the same ballpark as her. I love Sasha Banks and Nia Jax, but Asuka is on a different level, and she should be portrayed that way. I’m glad she was the one to make the statement last night by tossing Mickie, Sasha and Bayley over the top rope. The match would’ve benefited from being on a regular Raw as it needed more than a few minutes, but that wasn’t happening last night. Asuka should go into the first ever women’s Rumble as the odds on favorite. I’ll be shocked if she doesn’t win.
3. The Miz
The best match by a mile was Miz vs. Roman Reigns for the IC title. Miz is coming off a landmark 2017, and in his first match in 2018, he won the IC title for the 8th time. This outcome could mean that Reigns wins the Rumble and main event’s WrestleMania again, but I’m focusing on the positives for now. This was a really good match that I think benefited from time constraints. Reigns’ best matches are always in the 10-15 minute range. When they go longer than that there’s usually a lot of stalling. When they don’t you get matches like last night where everything matters.
Miz had a game plan that obviously featured Axel and Dallas causing as many distractions as they could. While Reigns was seemingly able to overcome them, he turned his back on Miz one too many times. Miz was able to uncover the middle turnbuckle and use Reigns’ habit of constantly running at you to his advantage. He knows that Reigns loves the spear and the Superman punch. Miz positioned himself perfectly in front of the exposed turnbuckle, moved out of the way and let Roman knock himself out. One skull crushing finale later and Miz is your new IC champ. Reigns doesn’t look bad because he lost a 3 on 1 battle and knocked himself out. Miz looks great because he used his surroundings and stable mates to his advantage. Great stuff.
2. Walk With Elias
On Christmas day Elias and John Cena had a really good match. Elias has been one of the better parts of Raw for awhile now, so it was cool to see him interact with John. Unfortunately Elias lost, but he proved he could hang with big match John. Last night Elias got put on The List by Chris Jericho and hit John Cena with a guitar. Not too shabby. The Jericho bit was a lot of fun and I wish those two would be interacting more. I’d honestly watch them argue about the perfect amount of scarves all day. When Cena first came out I was worried he was going to shoulder block and AA Elias and that’d be it. That ALMOST happened, but Elias got out of the AA and hit a mean low blow. He followed that up with a guitar shot to the back and then hit the Drift Away.
Now, this is obviously going to set up Elias vs. Cena at Elimination Chamber and/or Mania. Does that make me nervous for Elias? Yes, yes it does. I’ve seen Cena take the L on a random Raw or B level PPV too many times. I’ve also seen him win the match with the biggest possible audience watching too many times as well. Rusev and Bray Wyatt, I’m looking your way. Could that happen with Elias? Of course. Best case scenario is Cena eliminates Elias in the Rumble. That costs Elias a title shot at WrestleMania and Cena gets revenge for last night. If they do fight at WrestleMania, Elias should go over, whether it’s clean or not. Or Cena wins LOL.
1. DX + Balor Club = Too Sweet
The final segment & match from the Manhattan Center was a lot of fun. If you’re a a fan of The Revival you weren’t thrilled they got beat up. The Manhattan Center audience was there for D-X though, so you knew it was coming. The only thing I would have changed is the finish of the match. While Gallows & Anderson aren’t a bad team, they’ve never been consistently built up on Raw. The Revival are the best tag team on the roster and should very rarely lose normal tag matches. I enjoyed the post match stuff, and The Revival can do much worse than getting beat up by D-X, Scott Hall and the Balor Club.
I’m glad they’re finally doing something meaningful with Balor, and this struck me as a passing the torch moment for he and the Club. While the moment was cool, it won’t mean a thing if they don’t keep building him up moving forward. I doubt Finn wins the Rumble, but he should be entering very early and stay in for awhile. If Gallows & Anderson are also in the Rumble, they can help him fight off elimination. The Revival can dump them out somehow, and Finn is eventually eliminated after a historic showing. Win win for everybody.
-Ryan
