Blog Archives
Roman Reigns Is The New #1 Contender For The WWE Championship After Last Night’s Excellent Fatal Four Way #RAW Main Event #WWE
I don’t know who wrote and decided the creative direction for last night’s Raw, but it was one of the better Raw’s in recent memory. For the first time in a long time, it felt fresh, and that storylines were finally heading in a new direction. Even the rehashing of the Paige heel turn felt different because there was actually some action to it, not just Paige verbally bashing everyone within earshot. The biggest development was the #1 contenders tournament, which showcased five awesome matches, concluding with the fatal four way main event. The best kind of triple threat or fatal four ways are the ones in which all of the competitors come off looking like stars, and that’s exactly what happened here. All four guys won clean to get into the main event, and all four had their own unique moments in the match where it looked like they were going to win. People might complain that Reigns won and looked ‘strong’, but the fact is he has the best motivation to be #1 contender over anyone not named Brock Lesnar. Rollins screwed him over by betraying The Shield and then screwed him over again at WrestleMania. Reigns/Rollins should tear down the house whenever they decide to book it, and I hope this momentum rolls over to the secondary and Divas divisions as well.
-Ryan
Your Average NXT TakeOver: Respect Preview & Predictions
NXT’s latest live special is back at Full Sail University and should be one of the more emotional nights in NXT history. Not only will the semifinal and finals of the Dusty Rhodes Memorial Tag Team tournament take place, but Sasha Banks & Bayley will main event in a 30 minute Iron Man Match. Cody and Dustin Rhodes will also be on hand to present the Dusty Rhodes Memorial Trophy to the winners, so get your Kleenexes ready for one hell of a night.
DRTTT Semifinals: Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson vs. Finn Balor & Samoa Joe
Balor and Joe seem like an impossible team to beat, but you have to imagine that they were put together for one reason: to make Samoa Joe Finn’s next challenger for the NXT title. Kevin Owens is gone, Itami and Zayn are still hurt, so it makes sense to turn Joe (who is a natural heel) and they have to do it here. I think they decided not to have the NXT title defended at TakeOver for two reasons: to put the spotlight on the tag team tournament and the women’s match, and to sub in a title match for a major angle that sets up a title match. NXT does a lot of subtle things that separate them from the main roster, and this is one of them. Instead of rushing through an NXT title angle, they take the slow burn route and team up Joe and Balor. They have them advance to at least the semifinals of the tournament before Joe turns on Finn, which makes it sting just a little bit extra. Wilder & Dawson might be a secondary story in this match, but they are very good tag team wrestlers, and hopefully this match lasts a bit before the turn because you have four top notch athletes going at it.
Prediction: you can see it coming, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be great. Joe turns on Finn, giving us a new NXT title feud and a much needed bump to Wilder and Dawson.
DRTTT Semifinals: Jason Jordan & Chad Gable vs. Rhyno & Baron Corbin
If you don’t watch NXT and you’re thinking of tuning in tonight, Jason Jordan & Chad Gable are the guys to watch. No offense to anyone else on the show right now, but these guys are on a different level. They’re like version 2.0 of Hass & Benjamin, except a million times better in the ring and entertaining as hell on the microphone. It seems like a foregone conclusion that they’re going to go over Corbin & Rhyno, because come on, who in the hell would book it any other way? The only suspense here is who will they face? As I said before, I think Joe and Balor feud after this show, and as much as turning on Finn in the finals of the tournament would be heelish, I think it’s also important to put over Dash and Wilder too. Plus, Dash and Wilder vs. Jordan and Gable is my jam and I need to see it.
Prediction: Ready, willing, Jordan and Gable.
DRTTT Finals: ? vs. ?
This obviously depends on who wins the semifinals matches, but I want Cody and Dustin to hand the trophy over to Jordan & Gable. They’re the best team by a long shot, and they have a legitimate chance to revitalize the tag team division throughout NXT and the WWE. I know Cody wants to finish out his Stardust gimmick, but I also wouldn’t hate it if he and Dustin teamed up for one last run against Gable & Jordan. And by ‘I wouldn’t mind’ I mean I would absolutely fucking love it.
Prediction: Jordan & Gable.
Tyler Breeze vs. Apollo Crews
This is Tyler Breeze’s biggest match on the NXT roster by a long shot. Crews is going to be a MAJOR player in NXT and on the main roster, but Breeze needs this win bad. NXT has done a great job of not letting us focus too much on wins and losses, but Breeze is at his breaking point. He’s watched all the ‘Indy darlings’ come in and sky rocket to the top, and now he’s even losing matches to ‘one and done’ guys like Jushin Liger. Breeze is so talented, and a win against a guy like Crews would be enormous for his character going forward. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the earlier Crews loses a match the better, because undefeated streaks in wrestling are storylines that never culminate how want them to. Plus, losing to a guy like Breeze who has been in NXT for awhile and knows how Full Sail works wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
Prediction: I’m on team Prince Pretty tonight.
Asuka vs. Dana Brooke
Oh poor Dana Brooke. Poor, poor Dana Brooke. Asuka is somewhat of a Japanese legend, and if you’ve never seen a Japanese women’s wrestling match, you should definitely brush up on it before tonight. They work stiff, and it’s kind of brutal. Dana Brooke is this legitimate weightlifting champion who’s in phenomenal shape and thus has an ‘I’m better than you’ attitude. While that might work on Billie Kay or Carmella, Asuka is a different animal. Just look at the look Asuka gave Emma & Dana Brooke when they ruined her first appearance in NXT. That was an ‘I’m going to kill you & there’s nothing you can do about it’ look. Dana Brooke the wrestler isn’t quite there yet, but Dana Brooke the character is great, and I have a feeling she’s going to take a very believable beating tonight.
Prediction: Asuka.
30 Minute Iron Man Match For The NXT Women’s Title: Bayley (C) vs. Sasha Banks
This is the culmination of the Sasha Banks/Bayley feud and it should be a doozy. I don’t know how they’re going to top their match in Brooklyn, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. As special as Brooklyn was, Full Sail is a different animal, and they LOVE Bayley and Sasha. This is the first time women are in the main event of an NXT special and they couldn’t be more deserving. The NXT Women’s title picture has been the main event for a long time whether they went on last or not, and this match is vindication for a job well done. Bayley will probably win, because she’s the new face of the NXT women’s division, but this match isn’t about a win or a loss. Brooklyn was about the win for Bayley. Tonight is about proving she belongs in the spot she’s in, and Full Sail gets to shower Sasha with love one final time.
Prediction: Bayley.
-Ryan
5 Stars From Last Night’s #RAW
Raw was live from Buffalo last night. We’re four days away from the live MSG special on the WWE Network and less than four weeks away from Hell in a Cell. Kane is suffering from a personality disorder, The New Day are still wonderful and two young guys tore it up in the main event. Let’s get to the 5 stars from last night’s Raw!
1. Xavier Woods
New Day showed up, entertained my pants off AND beat John Cena and the Dudley Boyz, so you know they’re getting a star, but Xavier Woods earned his own one as well. Woods gets overlooked as the trumpet playing cheerleader on the outside while Big E and Kofi do most of the ring work, and although this match wasn’t as long I’d like it to be, it was easily Woods’ best singles bout on the main roster. Cena is in between feuds right now, as Rollins is preoccupied with Kane and there hasn’t been a new #1 contender to emerge yet, so the first installment of the ‘second round’ of the US Title Open challenge features none other than Xavier Woods. The X-man got in some nice offense, and as usual, his character work was amazing. That character work carried into the six man tag too, as he was constantly yelling about how he should be the new US champ even though it was his New Day partners who caused the DQ finish. I love The New Day so much it hurts my heart.
2. New Day
New Day was once again the most entertaining part of the show, and until the main event went bonkers was also my favorite part of the show. One of my favorite parts of certain Raw’s are when people you don’t expect to show up come out and answer a promo, and that’s exactly what happened here. Cena opened Raw, which was fine, because the US Open challenge is one of the best parts of the show, but then Big E started screaming from backstage and the segment got infinitely better. It’s hysterical to hear Cena talk about how there’s a time to be serious and a time to be entertaining, because this is the same guy who used to rap his promos. Not even Cena’s best Lance Storm impression could stop me from enjoying New Day, AND they won the match. I have a feeling the Dudleyz are going to win the titles Saturday night in MSG, and I’m ok with that, because ultimately they will elevate New Day and make them better than ever. Plus, characters like New Day are always better when they have something to complain about.
3. Braun Stroman & Luke Harper
You know what I’m into? Braun Stroman and Luke Harper turning into Harper & Rowan 2.0 and making a serious run at the tag titles. If Bray is going to be the main singles guy in the group, which he should be, why not pair your monster Stroman with an already ace tag team guy like Harper? Realistically, who is going to beat those two? I know New Day are technically heels, but say you have The Dudleyz win the titles Saturday and then feud with Stroman and Harper who eventually win the belts. New Day going against those two would be instantly turned into good guys. Also yes, most of my fantasy booking involves the New Day one way or another. Back to Stroman and Harper; they dominated PTP here, which I don’t love, but Stroman is unstoppable right now, so it’s doesn’t demean PTP too much. This was a solid episode for the Wyatt Family, who have really looked great lately.
4. Bray Wyatt
So the main event deserves it’s own section, but I’m going to highlight both guys here, because this match and post segment brawl were awesome. As great a job as Seth Rollins has done this year, it’s nice to see someone else in the main event of Raw, and Wyatt and Reigns did not disappoint last night. Wyatt and Reigns have great in ring chemistry, and they really bring out the best in each other. Barring any serious injuries, these are going to be two of the main guys who bring WWE to the next level, and when you put them together, they’re a guarantee for a great feud. The way the match and the show ended definitely made it seem like this feud would continue, and I’m glad that neither man got a clean victory. When utilized correctly, a double count out or DQ can be great. In this case, both guys looked STRONG and WWE created a logical way of continuing the story. Wyatt is known more for his promos, but his move set is severely underrated. He punishes guys, and has one of the best clotheslines on the roster. I also love his version of the Rock Bottom and his throwaway standing suplex. Every move he does has a purpose, and last night was one of the best performances of his career.
5. Roman Reigns
It’d be tough to find someone in the WWE who’s having a better year than Roman Reigns. He’s had his ups and downs, but ever since February he’s been one of the best things on WWE TV. He was booed out the building at the Rumble, but that was more WWE’s booking of the match than Reigns himself. He had a hell of a match against Daniel Bryan at Fast Lane and a brutal bout with Lesnar at WrestleMania, and ever since then he’s been on a nice little roll. You know he’s going to be back in the title picture sooner rather than later, but for now he’s tearing it up with Bray Wyatt. Both these guys aren’t afraid to work a little stiff, and they both sell so well for each other. Reigns takes a couple hellacious clotheslines in this match, but also gives it as good as he takes it. No outside interference made this entire segment special, and Reigns has that ability to recover from a beating but make it seem believable, a trait that John Cena never mastered. Raw ends with Reigns and Wyatt both physically spent, and it was executed perfectly.
-Ryan
Hornswoggle Has Been Suspended For Violating The WWE Wellness Policy & Wait What?
Swogs – In accordance with its Talent Wellness Program, WWE has suspended Dylan Postl (Hornswoggle) for 30 days, effective immediately, for his first violation of the company’s policy.
When you see ‘Wrestler Suspended for Wellness Violation’ the name Hornswoggle doesn’t immediately come to mind, but here we are. The WWE and pro wrestling in general is an insane business, so nothing should really surprise me, but seeing Hornswoggles name pop up on a wellness violation list is pretty shocking. Hopefully The Undertaker hangs around for a few more years so we can finally get that Hornswoggle/Undertaker WrestleMania dream match we’ve all been waiting for.
-Ryan
Finn Balor Refuses To Stop Hitting His Head On Ceilings During House Shows
Finn Balor surprised everyone when he dropped from a drop ceiling.. pic.twitter.com/7liIKhd6dP
— Beeky Lynch (@JaimsVanDerBeek) September 25, 2015
Finn Balor’s finishing move, the coup de grace, is a literal work of art. Everything Balor does between the ropes is beautiful, and nothing is better than Balor climbing to the top and stomping a hole in his opponent. When Balor does this at an NXT taping or special, it’s impossible for him to hit his head on the ceiling. But when he does the move at house shows, you get the beautiful picture above, Finn Balor literally having his head in the clouds. NXT is the best.
-Ryan
5 Stars From Last Night’s #RAW
Monday Night Raw hung around in Texas last night after Sunday’s NOC show in Houston. A few titles changed hands, including Charlotte winning her first ever Diva’s championship on the main roster. Last night’s Raw saw Cesaro lose to the Big Show (BOO), John Cena pin the WWE champ clean again (BOOOOO) & New Day tagged with Rusev (*insert heart eyes here*). Let’s get to the 5 stars from last night’s Raw.
This Wyatt’s vs. Reigns, Ambrose & Everyone Else Feud
99% of the time, Raw kicks off with a promo. Out of that 99%, I’d say 98% of the time it’s either Rollins, The Authority or John Cena doing the promo-ing. So when someone else comes out, whether it be Paul Heyman & Lesnar or in this case, the Wyatt Family, it’s a breath of fresh air. Bray kicks things off with a promo about how stupid it is for Roman Reigns to keep fighting this losing battle, and that brings out Reigns, who I have to point out has been pretty awesome throughout this entire thing. Roman is the total package, and he’s a good promo when he’s allowed to just speak his mind instead of the over scripted bullshit WWE feeds to him. Also, he’s a badass. With Reigns and Ambrose holding up their end of the feud, it allows the Wyatt’s to be strong, menacing villains. The John Cena era of the WWE has basically made it impossible for a villain to last. If I gave you five seconds, name me a good villain that was created between 2005 and now. You can’t think of any, because any time a guy got some momentum, Cena squashed him. Pro wrestling 101 is you build up a villain so when the good guy triumphs, it means something. With Cena, the villain builds up, wins a match, and then Cena wins until he’s ready to move onto someone else. When you build a villain like they’re doing with Strowman and the Wyatt Family, it suspends that belief that the good guy is automatically going to win. I’m not saying the villain has to always win, but throw them a bone once in awhile. Also, a supplemental best for Strowman’s promo later in the night where he casually mentions skinning a snake alive and drinking it’s blood.
Paige
Charlotte won the Diva’s championship from Nikki Bella at NOC and as a reward got her own little championship ceremony on Raw. It was a little much, and if the WWE wants us to take this Diva’s Revolution seriously, having your top NXT Diva win a title should be business as usual. I understand it’s Charlotte’s first title on the main roster, but I’m glad Paige ruined it. Paige got her own version of a ‘pipe bomb’ and pretty much ripped apart the entire ‘Diva’s Revolution’, and it was a necessary occurrence. The WWE is obsessed with trying to go from point A to point B without doing any of the leg work. You can’t go from what the Diva’s were with the Bella’s on top to ‘NXT Women’s Division’ just by calling something a revolution. The reason the women’s division in NXT is so great is because the writers, performers and HHH are all invested in it, and they do the leg work. They create characters, put thought into the storylines and trust the performers to fill in the gaps. On Raw, yes you have Sasha and Becky and Charlotte, but you just threw them into groups of three and extended the matches by 10 minutes and hoped for the best. Nikki Bella is still going months in between title defenses and wins and losses don’t matter. This Paige promo was a step in the right direction, and I hope that there’s more storylines besides ‘everyone wants to win the Diva’s title’.
The New Day & Rusev
I don’t know who’s idea it was to pair New Day and Rusev, but that person deserves a gold fucking star. New Day & Rusev are the most entertaining parts of Raw, and seeing them interact was a thing of beauty. I loved everything about this, mostly the beginning when Big E was trying to imitate Rusev’s pre match ritual and Xavier Woods playing Rusev’s theme on the trombone while he’s kicking Dolph Ziggler’s ass. Give me Rusev and The New Day for 3 hours every week and I’m a happy man. The match was solid too, and Rusev won with a secondary move, which I love so much. WWE’s new favorite thing is to have guys kick out of finishers, and while it adds suspense to the match, it’s so dumb for the long run. As much as I loved watching Cesaro kicking out of Cena’s AA, it takes away the move’s effectiveness. Kicking out of a guys finisher should be a rare occurrence so you can maximize the effect of it. It shouldn’t happen every match. On the flip side, beating someone with a secondary move, like Rusev’s super kick, is great. It legitimizes the move and now Rusev doesn’t have to slap on the Accolade to beat you. He can also kick you as hard as he can in the face. Entertaining, smart match.
Big Show’s Promo
As foolish as it was for the Big Show to squash Cesaro (what, was Heath Slater busy?), his post match promo was really good. There’s a negative infinity chance that Big Show beats Lesnar, but you might as well give him some momentum heading into the show. Big Show did an interview a few weeks back and talked about how everyone who wrestles today is overexposed, and he couldn’t be more right. The reason a guy like Andre the Giant was so special was because he was never overexposed in a certain territory. They’d bring him in for a few shows, and then he wouldn’t be back for awhile, so when he did come back, it was special again. It’s the same thing WWE is doing with Brock Lesnar. I don’t care how great you are, if you’re on TV every week people are eventually going to get tired of you. Big Show definitely suffers from that, as he’s been a fixture on TV for almost 20 years. Even if you’re a giant, the act still gets stale. It’s nice to see Show get a chance to talk, as he’s a very underrated promo, and we should enjoy Big Show while he lasts, because after MSG, he’s going to be a shell of a man.
John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (minus the finish)
Cena & Rollins work so well together, and 2015 continues to be the best in ring year of Cena’s career. You can say it’s because of guys like Cesaro, Owens, Neville and Rollins, but any really good match takes two guys working together, and that’s exactly what Cena’s done. The match was good, and I’m glad Cena’s US Champ again. Rollins holding both belts was fine from a storyline point of view, and he can always bring up how he held both, but whenever one guy holds both belts, one of them is going to suffer. Obviously the WWE championship was going to get more of the spotlight, so the longer Rollins had the US belt, the less prestigious it would have been. Now Cena can bring back his US open title challenge and drop the belt to someone who can use it to elevate themselves and the division. As much as I liked the match and that Cena is champ again, does he really need to pin the world champ clean on back to back nights? If I’m an agent or anyone else backstage in the WWE, I’m telling any guy young guy who has to work with Cena to just lose right away. Winning once only to lose four times is not the way to go.
-Ryan
Brock Lesnar’s ‘Go To Hell’ Tour Now Includes A Stone Cold Podcast Appearance & A Hell In A Cell Match With The Undertaker
Special attraction Brock Lesnar is the smartest thing WWE has done in a long time. He’s not overexposed, and every time he comes back it’s treated as a special event. It’s easy to put that plan down on paper, but it takes a special athlete like Brock to make it work. He’s a larger than life character, so when he takes some time off and comes back, it IS a big deal. He’s been advertised for the MSG show for awhile, but now the WWE is turning October into Brock Lesnar month. Not only will he be at MSG, he’ll also be Stone Cold’s next guest on his podcast and will be fighting The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match at…Hell in a Cell. That last part is the big news, as we knew Lesnar and Undertaker would be fighting again, but we didn’t know when. Now we not only know when, but we also know it’s going to be inside the Cell. If WWE was trying to build up some major hype for their next pay per view, they did just that. Lesnar should be back on Raw in no time.
-Ryan
Your Average WWE Night of Champions Preview & Predictions
Night of Champions is this Sunday on the WWE Network, and every title must be defended. Night of Champions is always a sneaky good pay per view, and if the WWE invested more in certain mid card title storylines, it could eventually be one of the best shows of the year. Seth Rollins is pulling double duty and defending both the WWE and US titles, Charlotte looks to win gold for the first team and the New Day is going to be there. Oh, and Cesaro doesn’t have a match :(.
Pre Show – The Cosmic Wasteland vs. Neville & The Lucha Dragons
When it comes to pure character work, there are few better than Stardust. Then you remember he’s the son of Dusty Rhodes and he’s athletic as hell, and you wonder why the hell is he on the pre show. That’s an argument for another time, but for now, I’m glad The Ascension are paired with Stardust. They are the longest reigning tag champs in NXT history, and they deserved a better shot than they got when they debuted on Raw. The announce team immediately shit on them, and then they got beat up by the league of extraordinary grandpas. Why would we take them seriously after that? A pre show match isn’t exactly main eventing WrestleMania, but it’s something, and pairing them with a veteran who takes his character seriously like Stardust can only help them. You have a couple built in feuds with this match, as Stardust and Neville have been battling since before Summerslam, and Lucha Dragons and The Ascension have been rivals since NXT. Should be a fun way to get things started.
Prediction: I’m throwing a bone to Stardust and The Ascension. Cosmic Wasteland FTW.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev
I shouldn’t hate a Dolph Ziggler/Rusev feud, but when it’s centered around who’s having sex with which blonde and has been done as poorly as this feuds been done, I’m going to hate it. Wrestling wise, this could be the match of the night, but this storyline is so terrible and dumb it’s going to be tough to enjoy. Plus, Lana is legitimately injured and won’t be at NOC, so I’m guessing Summer is going to flirt with both Rusev and Ziggler because WOMEN. The less said about this the better, but at least you know if they’re given enough time, this is going to be enjoyable from a wrestling aspect. I think Summer Rae eventually double crosses my poor sweet Rusev, but it won’t be while Lana’s on the shelf.
Prediction: Rusev. Bring back the Rusev face Bulgarian flag!
IC Title Match: Ryback (C) vs. Kevin Owens
I’m a little biased on this one, but with no real back story to this feud besides differing opinions on a self help book, I’m leaning heavily on Kevin Owens. You can’t put the entire blame on Ryback, but his IC title run has been terrible. Yes he’s feuded with Big Show and Miz and yes he’ been injured, but your IC champ should ideally be your workhorse. This isn’t a rant about how much better things were back in the day, but the IC title used to be something people got excited over. Who is going to be excited about Ryback vs. Big Show? HBK, Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, HHH, The Rock; all those guys held the IC title and set the bar for in ring work and the psychology of their feuds. I know the writing team is shitty, but if you put the belt on a character as strong as Kevin Owens, great things will happen. Give me NXT champion Kevin Owens with the IC belt and have him feud with Neville, Stardust, Rusev, Cesaro and you have an immediate mid card resurgence. The Ryback IC title experiment didn’t work. It’s time to cut your losses.
Prediction: KO
Divas Championship Match: Nikki Bella (C) vs. Charlotte
This should be the ‘Shane Douglas’ dropping the NWA title belt moment of the Diva’s division. Charlotte beats Nikki Bella, drops the Divas Championship and proclaims that this is the Women’s division. It probably won’t happen, so I’ll take Charlotte winning the belt as a substitute. There’s really no reason to have Nikki Bella win here besides ‘she’s John Cena’s girlfriend’. She’s the longest reigning Diva’s champion; she’s the star of a reality show and she can take credit for the Diva’s Revolution. It’s time to move on to Charlotte and Sasha and Becky and whoever else wants to throw their hat in the ring. Get the belt on a legitimate athlete who can dominate opponents and have everyone try and take the title away from her. Get rid of the factions and let some of these ladies sink or swim on their own. Similar to the IC title, you need a champion who can defend against all different styles of wrestlers. While it’s not her fault, Nikki Bella has rarely been defending the title, which just makes things that much worse. It’s one thing to win a bunch of title matches and be the longest reigning Diva’s champion. It’s another to go months between title matches and then brag about how you’re the best. If the Raw before NOC is the season premiere, make NOC an event where title changes happen and it feels like a new season is beginning.
Prediction: Charlotte
Tag Team Championship Match: New Day (C) vs. Dudley Boyz
Disregard everything I just said about NOC being a place where things change, because I want this version of the New Day to last forever and ever. They’ve been the best part of WWE TV for a few months now, and the only reason they should ever lose the tag belts is to win them back again so they can announce themselves as the ‘3x tag champs’ during their entrance. There’s honestly just so much to love about this group. When’s the last time you saw guys enjoy themselves THIS much? I know it’s an act and they’re playing characters, but they’re having some genuine fun out there. Big E dancing, Xavier on the trombone, and the severely underrated in ring skills of both Big E and Kofi make them so much fun to watch. The Dudleyz are great, and they’ve never been the most athletic guys in the ring, so even though they’re older, their in ring style has matured like a fine wine. The Dudleyz are on a multi year deal, so it’s a possibility they win the titles here, as they haven’t lost since coming back. While I’ll be in a deep depression if that happens, WWE knows New Day is the best thing going right now and they wouldn’t dare take them out of the title picture.
Prediction: Dudleyz. A lot of trees are going to be sad Sunday night.
Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & ? vs. The Wyatt Family
There’s two storylines going into this match. One is Braun Strowman being this unbeatable monster, and two is who will Ambrose & Reigns find to even the odds. If Seth Rollins pulls triple duty and reunites The Shield for one night I’m going to lose my mind (there’s a negative 1,000% chance of that happening, but whenever it’s a possibility you have to mention it). I hope hope hope hope hope it’s someone new, but my money is on Kane. It wouldn’t make much sense besides digging up the old storyline where Bray beat Kane and dragged him to the back in his debut match, and the WWE loves bringing back old guys instead of using the spot to elevate a young guy. It would have to be a guy who can match power with Strowman, and I can’t think of anyone in NXT who would fit that bill. Baron Corbin’s picture was thrown in a fake graphic by fans, but I don’t think this spot works for him. While I don’t want it to be Kane, I also don’t have a great pick for anyone else. If you go back and look at Wyatt’s feuds besides Kane, you have Jericho, Daniel Bryan, The Undertaker, John Cena, Ambrose and Reigns. Two of those guys are already in the match, and the other four are impossible. Jericho has the best chance, but that’s basically the same thing as bringing Kane back. Does Jericho need to add a notch in his belt by helping Reigns and Ambrose beat the monstrous Strowman? No matter who they bring back, I hope the Wyatt Family wins here. It’s ok if Strowman shows a little weakness or gets knocked down a few times, but he shouldn’t be conquered yet. If the WWE is really going to make Reigns the new Cena, he’ll probably be the guy to eventually take out Strowman, but for now, let me enjoy Bray Wyatt winning matches.
Prediction: Wyatts
US & WWE Championship Matches: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (C) & Sting vs. Seth Rollins (C)
I’m lumping these two together because I already know what’s going to happen. If you don’t think Cena is beating Rollins and Rollins is beating Sting so Cena can challenge and win both belts from Rollins I don’t know what to tell ya. You obviously haven’t been paying attention the last decade. Rule #1 about facing John Cena is that if you lose, it’s over, but if you win, you’re only setting yourself up for a loss down the road. Rollins won at Summerslam AND took the US belt off Cena, so Cena is going to get his revenge in grand fashion. He’s going to beat Rollins Sunday night. It will probably be clean, hell he might even make him tap out. Then Rollins will beat Sting in the main event, and the next night on Raw Cena will cut a promo about how he beat the WWE Champion and deserves to fight him again, this time with belts on the line (again). Rollins will come out and say no, but The Authority, who let me remind you, are on Seth Rollins’ side, will grant the match anyway. My only hope is that the match is at Hell in a Cell or any other smaller pay per view so when Rollins loses it’s not that bad. I could be completely wrong, or just like every other time, John Cena will come out on top and I’ll cry myself to sleep.
Prediction: Rollins loses to THE CHAMP and beats Sting.
-Ryan
