WHERE CHATTERS GO TO TALK ABOUT OFF TOPIC STUFF!
This preview isn't going to be nearly as long as some of the PPV previews I've done has been, as the WWE has only announced 4 official matches for the card (given that three of the four are HIAC matches, those three might be getting a lot of time, which would explain the rather small card, HIAC can take 30-40 minutes each if done right). There could possibly be some last minute additions made on Smackdown tonight, and I may add any new matches to this preview on Saturday, if needed. But for now, here are the four announced matches: Singles Match Elias vs. Jeff Hardy So Elias just made his return this week, after being out of action for months due to injury. Jeff Hardy's career is almost over, and is pretty much being used as enhancement talent right now. I can't see them booking Jeff Hardy to get the win over a returning wrestler, as it would completely kill any returning momentum they might have. Jeff gets nothing by winning, and Elias has everything to lose...If he loses in his return match, he gives people no reason whatsoever to care at all about him. Prediction: Elias Smackdown Women's Championship (Hell In A Cell) Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks It's about damn time. The WWE has been teasing this match for months, and I believe, the payoff will be worth it. Bayley has already gone through pretty much every woman on the roster not named Charlotte Flair (out due to injury) or Becky Lynch (pregnancy). If she beats Sasha Banks, there is going to be little point to her character. She's been there, done that with practically everyone. Outside of Sasha Banks, there is only one woman on the roster who currently poses a real, legitimate threat to Bayley's title...the only problem is that Asuka is already the RAW women's champion...Banks will win, because she HAS to win, or the entire summer-long setup for this match served no point. Prediction: Sasha Banks WWE (RAW) Championship (Hell In A Cell) Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton You know what? I am sick of predicting Randy Orton beating McIntyre for the title, because of just how damn brilliant Orton has been all year, only for the WWE to keep doing the safe thing by keeping the belt around McIntyre's waist. So, I am not going to predict Orton gets the win here. Does he deserve to win? Yes. Should it matter that nobody on the roster, including Drew McIntyre, has even close to the same amount of experience with HIAC type matches than Orton does? Yes. But, "deserves and should" have nothing to do with WWE booking decisions...Look, I like Drew McIntyre as champ. He has made for a very good champ, a very believable champ, and part of that is because of just how good Randy Orton has made him look by putting him over...And they are going to have Orton put McIntyre over one more time. Prediction: Drew McIntyre Universal (Smackdown) Championship (Hell In A Cell) Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso This entire feud is to solidify in the fan's minds, that Roman Reigns can pull off being a full-on heel. Jey Uso is not going to win the Universal title here. He isn't a legitimate World Title contender. Not yet. Before this feud, the WWE did jack squat to set him up as a singles wrestler, so Jey Uso beating Reigns for the belt would just not be believable. However, that doesn't mean that he won't become a legit threat a little down the road. Even in a losing effort, if the WWE books this match to be somewhere in the 30-40 minute range, where Jey can be made to look good for extended periods of time, Roman Reigns can turn his cousin into a bonafide singles star. They don't need Jey to be the next "Mankind" (we all remember that HIAC match) to become believable as a singles star, but they do need to let him put in a good showing here. There is little doubt in my mind that Roman Reigns wins the match and keeps his title, but Jey Uso could be the real winner here, based on how well his cousin makes him look. Roman can either make Jey look like a stud, or he can make him look like a dud. Either way, this could be the most important singles match Jey Uso has ever been in. Prediction: Roman Reigns ADDED DURING SMACKDOWN Match for the Money In The Bank contract Otis (MITB Contract holder) vs. The Miz This match just got added to the card on Friday Night Smackdown. After weeks of trying to steal Otis's MITB briefcase, the Miz will get his chance to actually take it if he can beat Otis, as the MITB contract will be on the line. The Miz's tag team partner/BFF John Morrison is almost guaranteed to interfere in the match, the only question will be if Otis' tag team partner Tucker will get to interfere as well. Despite being a fan favorite, Otis isn't a main event wrestler, and despite having him win the MITB, it's clear the WWE had no actual plans for him to do anything with it. I feel bad for the guy, but it just makes more storyline sense for The Miz to get the win, and the MITB contract. Prediction: The Miz Bonus Prediction: The Miz then cashes it in immediately after the Randy Orton/Drew McIntyre Hell In A Cell match to become the WWE/RAW Champion or after the Roman Reigns/Jey Uso match to become the Universal/Smackdown champion...(Whichever of the two HIAC matches is later on the card.)
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Now that LeBron James has won his 4th NBA title, he STILL isn't the GOAT. At best, he is #3, behind Michael Jordan and the guy I believe is the true GOAT, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
LeBron James is a fantastic player. But his championships are far less meaningful than the titles that Jordan or Jabbar won. Neither Michael Jordan's Bulls or Kareem's Bucks/Lakers teams had the luxury of assembling all-star teams via free agency. In addition to LeBron, the Lakers had Dwight Howard and Anthony Davis. If you can't win an NBA title with those guys, your coach must be Matt Patricia level incompetent. Oh, but what about with the Cavs? He had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Miami? Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. For all 4 of LeBron's NBA titles, he won with at minimum, 2 other all-star level players on the team. Kareem Abdul Jabbar never had that option. His titles with the Bucks and Lakers stemmed from outstanding drafting. They had to develop their teams, not assemble it. Same with Jordan's Bulls, outside of Dennis Rodman, the Bulls roster was mostly homegrown. Jordan didn't call up Barkley and Ewing to create the Super-Bulls, like LeBron does everywhere he goes. LeBron James NBA Finals record when he DOESN'T have a Free-Agency built super team? 0-fer. Thanks to Free Agency and social media, LeBron James can call up his buddies and stack the deck. LeBron is nothing but a title chasing mercenary who can't win unless he has an all-star team surrounding him. He has to try to win titles the easy way, because he can't get it done doing it the hard way, like both Jordan and Jabbar could. Want to post memes? Music videos? Tell jokes? Got a good story you want to share? Go for it!
Women's Tag Team Championship -- Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (c) vs. The Riott Squad
This match didn't happen. Due to undisclosed medical reasons (ie, probably a positive COVID test), neither Nia Jax nor Shayna Baszler were cleared to wrestle last night. Supposedly the women's tag team title situation will be addressed tonight on RAW. Smackdown Tag Team Championships -- Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. The Lucha House Party This got moved to the Kickoff show, replacing the Asuka/Zelina Vega match that was originally scheduled to be on the kickoff. This.....was actually a pretty decent match. There was no way Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura were going to drop the titles, but they made Lucha House Party look like a credible threat, after a year of LHP being little more than a joke. It was well booked for what it was. B+. Intercontinental Championship -- Jeff Hardy (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn (Ladder match) Holy hell. This quite possibly could win Match of the Year. I didn't really have high expectations for this, but DAAAAAAMN. These three guys all put on a freaking show!!! And that ending? Best heel-win ending for a ladder match I have ever seen. Ever watched a ladder match, and thought given there are basically no rules, how easy it would be for a heel to just tie their opponent to the ring or handcuff them to the ropes or something like that, so they couldn't stop them from climbing the ladder to get the belt? WEEEELLLLLLL, Sami Zayn had that thought too...He hid two pairs of handcuffs in his army jacket that he wears to the ring, and used the first to handcuff Jeff Hardy's ear to a ladder (Hardy has those huge hoop earrings that go right in the piercing)...he then tried to use the 2nd pair to handcuff AJ Styles to a ladder, but Styles outmaneuvered him and they ended up handcuffed together...Then, AJ tries to drag Zayn up the ladder with him, but little does he know, that Sami has the key, and quietly unlocks himself and then locks AJ to the ladder, allowing Sami to grab the IC titles, free and clear...the match itself was downright incredible...but with such a smart ending added to it? A++...and that might be underselling just how damn good this match was. Raw Women's Championship -- Asuka (c) vs. Zelina Vega (Kickoff Match) Due to a card shakeup, this match got moved to the PPV itself. It was a typical Asuka match. Asuka dominates early, opponent gets in a few minutes of offense to make them look credible, and then Asuka gets the win. Against a better opponent, this match would be graded much higher...but Zelina Vega can't put on the match Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bayley or Sasha Banks can. There was no doubt Asuka would retain her title, it was only a matter of how long they let the match go. B-. United States Championship -- Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Apollo Crews In the end, Bobby Lashley retained the US Title, but I am not really sure how to grade this one, as we have seen Lashley/Crews so many times over the last few months, I am not really sure what the point is anymore. The match didn't suck, but it wasn't great either? B-. Raw Tag Team Championships -- The Street Profits (c) vs. Andrade & Angel Garza Street Profits retain, but this match is a little difficult to judge fully, as Angel Garza suffered a legitimate leg injury during the match. Did they have to shorten it because of the injury? Was the ending changed on the fly? I don't know. As is, the match was probably a B. SmackDown Women's Championship -- Bayley (c) vs. Nikki Cross Due to the same undisclosed medical reason that caused the women's tag title match not to happen, Nikki Cross wasn't cleared to wrestle either. So Bayley got in the ring, bragged about herself, issued an open challenge to any woman backstage...after a brief pause, out comes Asuka, the Raw women's champion. If Asuka beat Bayley by pinfall or submission, she would hold both belts simultaneously (only the Smackdown title was on the line). Long story short, Bayley gets disqualified, giving Asuka the win, but Bayley keeps the title...then as soon as the match is over, Sasha Banks comes out and attacks Bayley. For the entire presentation, knowing all it did was end up as a continuation of Bayley's storyline with Sasha Banks, I'll give it a B-. WWE Championship -- Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton (Ambulance Match) This was a brutal match. The idea of an Ambulance match is you have to get your opponent into the back of the ambulance parked next to the ring, and then close both doors shut, making you the winner. The match started out in the ring...Out pops the Big Show, to get revenge on Orton for punting him in the head...they go backstage...out pops Christian to get revenge on Orton for punting him in the head...they make it back to the ambulance, out pops Shawn Michaels to get revenge on Orton....uh, punting him in the head. (Hmmm, sensing a pattern here)...At some point, Orton slams McIntyre down on top of the ambulance's windshield, which has that shatterproof stuff on it, so it mostly held together, but it was clear McIntyre got glass shards in his back....McIntyre ends up taking out the driver side door at one point, as in, he kicks it so hard doing an attempted claymore kick on Ortons head, that he kicked the door right off the hinges (obviously a planned stunt, with stunt door). Anyway, match ends with McIntyre delivering a final Claymore kick to Orton, ambulance doors get shut, McIntyre wins match, keeps title. End of story, right? Well...almost. the ambulance drives off, with Orton still sealed in the back...being driven by the Nature Boy, Ric Flair...who was getting revenge on Orton for punting him in the head...Overall, this was an A-. Universal Championship -- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso I thought this would be a fairly quick squash match in my preview post a few days ago...I was wrong. They gave this match plenty of time, and they gave Jey Uso plenty of offense. Obviously, Roman Reigns retained...but what they accomplished for Jey Uso was FAR, FAR more important. They made him a bonafide singles star in one match. While Jimmy Uso is sitting out injured, they had to do something with Jey...and thanks to this match, the idea of Jey Uso as a legit title contender for the US or IC belt isn't ridiculous at all. If they have him wrestle Sami Zayn this Friday on Smackdown for the Intercontinental title, and have him win it, it wouldn't seem like an upset at all. He gave Roman a damn good match. For Roman Reigns, this was a B+ match. For what it accomplished towards Jey Uso's single career though, this gets an A. Honestly, this might have been the best PPV of 2020 so far. It wasn't overloaded with matches, but, it had three absolutely outstanding matches, in the IC title ladder match, the ambulance match, and Roman Reigns/Jey Uso that more than made up for the weaker matches on the card. While it wasn't a perfect PPV by any stretch, It was very entertaining overall. OVERALL GRADE: A WWE Championship -- Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton (Ambulance Match)
This is going to be the main event, guaranteed. DAMMIT, WWE...Randy Orton has been absolutely brilliant in 2020, what more does he need to do before you decide to give him one last title run? He absolutely has done more than enough to have earned one. This is an ambulance match, which means the rules are basically to win, you have to throw your opponent into an ambulance that will be near the ring...other than that, there are no rules. This is exactly the kind of match you would expect Randy Orton to win in...The WWE hasn't listened to me yet, but I am stubborn. Prediction: Randy Orton FINALLY captures title #14. Universal Championship -- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso This match is nothing but reinforcement of Roman's heel turn. Jey Uso realistically has no chance at winning the Universal title, this is purely to show how much of a heel turn Roman Reigns has actually undergone. He's been tolerant of his cousin's antics, and barring them pulling the trigger on Smackdown before the PPV even happens, look for Reigns to go full on heel, and just beat the crap out of his "cuz". Prediction: Roman Reigns. Not to necessarily "win" the match, as he could get DQed, but he will be the one still standing at the end. Intercontinental Championship -- Jeff Hardy (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn (Ladder match) Jeff Hardy is basically enhancement talent. AJ Styles needs to go back to the Main Event level tier so Roman Reigns has more credible challengers...that leaves Sami Zayn. Prediction: Sami Zayn regains the IC title. SmackDown Women's Championship -- Bayley (c) vs. Nikki Cross Part of me wants to predict that Sasha Banks costs Bayley the title, but then their feud won't have a belt to fight over. Because of that, Bayley has to retain the title here, I think. Prediction: Bayley Women's Tag Team Championship -- Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (c) vs. The Riott Squad They have been teasing a Nia Jax/Shanya Baszler feud from the start...What better way to finally get it started, than by having each of them blame the other for losing the titles? Prediction: Riott Squad Raw Tag Team Championships -- The Street Profits (c) vs. Andrade & Angel Garza Jeebus, how many times are they gonna book these tag teams to go against each other? Prediction: Street Profits, just because. Smackdown Tag Team Championships -- Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. The Lucha House Party Uh...Lucha House Party? Nah. If Cesaro and Shinsuke are going to drop their Tag Team titles, it won't be to the Lucha House Party, who have done exactly NOTHING the entire time they have been in the WWE. Raw Women's Championship -- Asuka (c) vs. Zelina Vega (Kickoff Match) The fact this is scheduled to be on the kickoff show is downright insulting to Asuka. She is the best female wrestler on the roster, and deserves to be featured on the PPV itself. This is on the kickoff show because of her opponent, Zelina Vega, who only wrestles once in a blue moon, sticking to her role as manager...Prediction: Asuka. If they put the belt on Zelina, I riot. United States Championship -- Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Apollo Crews I am going to call an audible here. This match is going to be a no contest, as Retribution will interfere with the Hurt Business's umm...business, just like they did on RAW. Eventually, this will lead to a Bobby Lashley vs. Dominic Dijakovic feud (once WWE admits Dijakovic is actually one of the leaders of Retribution) This is the card, as it is currently announced. However, with NXT and Smackdown having yet to air as I write this, the card is obviously subject to change. I may have to make edits to this later this week, if needed. ***EDIT*** Rest in Peace, Joe Laurinaitis, aka Animal of the legendary Road Warriors/Legion of Doom tag team. Often imitated, but never duplicated, the Road Warriors are, and will always be, the golden standard for tag teams. There will never be another team like them. Go join your brother Hawk, Joe...and go cause some havoc in the Heavenly Wrestling Federation... Does he have a point? I think we all fundamentally understand that when a restaurant serves "Boneless" wings, that they aren't in fact, wings at all, but are usually just bigger "nuggets" made from breast meat. If we want to get technical, calling them boneless wings is a lie. I mean, he isn't wrong about that. Boneless wings and standard wings aren't from the same part of the chicken, and we all know that before we order them.
However, does it matter? If you order boneless wings, do you care that they aren't really wings? If they called them "sauced chicken tenders" instead, would you still order them? If you don't order boneless wings, is it because of the deceitful name, or is it because you just like traditional wings better? Can you even take someone seriously who shows up to a city council meeting wearing a hamburger tie? Did you even notice the hamburger tie? Ok, so how did these two events actually go? Did I nail my predictions, or was I so far off, you might as well never read my previews again? Let's find out! (note, matches listed in same order I previewed them, and are not in PPV event order.)
NXT Takeover Singles match Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee While Pat McAfee did get to show off his wrestling training, ultimately, Adam Cole got the bette r of him, in a match that significantly better than I thought I was going to be. Winner: Adam Cole Grade: A- NXT Women's Championship Io Shirai (c) vs. Dakota Kai Well, I am 0-2 so far, lol. Io Shorai gets the win, and retains the title. Scary moment though, as Shorai was doing a back somersault, and one her arms gave out, causing her to land very awkwardly...she nursed the arm the rest of the match. Winner: Io Shorai Grade: B+ NXT North American Championship (5-Man Ladder match) Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream Make that 0-3. This was essentially a Money In The Bank match, only with the NXT NA Championship on the line, instead of a briefcase. The match was fine, and was as good as you expect a MITB style match to be...however, I am downgrading it a little because of the very confusing ending. Winner: Damien Priest Grade: B+ Singles Match Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher Woohoo, I finally got one right. Too bad the match was on the PPV itself though, it probably should have been on the Kickoff show. I wasn't impressed. It was a BAD match per se, it just felt like something you could see on any given Wednesday night on NXT, rather than something special saved for a PPV... Winner: Finn Balor Grade: B- Triple Threat Tag Team Match for NXT Tag Team #1 Contendership Breezango (Fandango/Tyler Breeze) vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde/Raul Mendoza) This was the only match on the Kickoff show. It belonged there, just like the Balor/Thatcher match, and for the same reason. Felt like a TV taping kind of match instead of a PPV level one. Winners: Breezango Grade: B- NXT Championship Keith Lee (c) vs. Karrion Kross Ok, remember how I predicted that Keith Lee would be promoted to the main roster soon? Well, as it turns out, that call up is happening a LOT sooner than I expected...as in, he is going to be on RAW tonight. So, the logic I applied to the Io Shorai/Dakota Kai match should actually have been applied to this match instead, because it looks like Keith Lee has finished with NXT. Winner: Karrion Kross Grade: B Out of 6 NXT Takeover matches, I only got 2 right. Let's hope I did better with Summerslam... SUMMERSLAM WWE RAW Tag Team Championship Street Profits (c) vs. Andrade/Angel Garza The WWE continued to tease tensions between both Andrade and Garza with their manager, Zelina Vega. As such, they did not win the titles here. Winners: Street Profits Grade: B WWE Championship Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton This was a very nice, fun, violent match. I thought they would give it to Orton, but they kept the strap on McIntyre. Winner: Drew McIntyre Grade: A WWE United States Championship (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin banned from ringside) Apollo Crews (c) vs. MVP Once upon a time, midcard title matches were part of the PPV itself...not so much with the US Title, and if this match is any indication, there is a good reason for that. This match was terrible, and it's good that it was aired on the kickoff show instead of the PPV itself. Winner: Apollo Crews Grade: C- Street Fight (Basically, anything goes) Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio I don't understand the booking here. For Dominik's debut, they just continued what they have been doing week after week on RAW: Seth Rollins relying on Buddy Murphy to help double team Mysterio...This match was actually pretty good, but Seth Rollins is a hell of a performer. He doesn't need Buddy Murphy at all, and I am tired of seeing the same old plot week after week when it comes to them...Buddy needs to just...go away. Winner: Seth Rollins Grade: B+ (This would have been an A, except for the constant Buddy Murphy interference) WWE Raw Women's Championship WWE Smackdown Women's Championship Sasha Banks (c) vs. Asuka Bayley (c) vs. Asuka NAILED IT! Bayley got the win in the first match, thanks to Sasha Banks interfering on her behalf, which directly led to a pinfall...Bayley retains the Smackdown Women's title...HOWEVER!!! During the RAW Women's title match, Bayley didn't exactly return the favor. She gave a half-hearted attempt to help Sasha out, and it didn't work...what is unclear, is if it was meant to or not...Either way, Asuka is wearing gold again... Winner(s): Bayley, Asuka (new RAW Women's Champion) Grade: Smackdown match: A-, RAW match: B+ WWE Universal Championship Braun Strowman (c) vs. Bray Wyatt Less than stellar match...but the best part of this match is what happened after it was finished. Bray gets the win, and becomes the new Universal champion...but then, out of nowhere, Roman Reigns jumps into the ring, and beats the crap out of both Wyatt and Strowman equally... Winner: Bray Wyatt Grade: A- (B- for the match itself, but bonus points for surprising the hell out of me with the return of Roman Reigns. Dammit, WWE. There weren't even HINTS online!) Hair vs. Hair Match Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville This ended up being changed to a "Loser leaves WWE" match instead of hair v. hair. Didn't really matter though, same result. Mandy gets the win, but more importantly, she got to showcase her actual WRESTLING skills. This might be the start of a significant push for her as a wrestler, and not just as a pretty face. Winner: Mandy Rose, then Otis came down and they celebrated. Grade: A- When and where? Saturday, August 22 at 7pm EST on WWE Network (kickoff show at 6pm) Singles match Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee Yes, the former NFL punter. it would be easy to assume Adam Cole gets the easy win here, but...Whenever the WWE has "Wrestler vs. celebrity" type matches, the celebrity is the one who comes out on top the majority of the time. I don't know how, or who else will be involved...but Pat McAfee will somehow, inexplicably, end up on top in this match. Winner: Pat McAfee NXT Women's Championship Io Shirai (c) vs. Dakota Kai Io Shirai is a better wrestler than Dakota Kai is, plain and simple. However, with Kairi Sane deciding to return to Japan to be with her family, moving Io Shirai over to RAW soon to reform the Kabuki Warriors with Asuka seems like a natural storyline just waiting for the proper time to happen...but in order to move her to the main roster, she has to drop the belt. Winner: Dakota Kai NXT North American Championship (5-Man Ladder match) Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream If it weren't for the controversy surrounding Velveteen Dream right now, I'd say he wins this...but, well...given what he has been accused of doing, no way the WWE puts the strap on him. This could realistically be won by any of the four remaining wrestlers in the match, but if I had to pick one, it would be Johnny Gargano. Winner: Johnny Gargano Singles Match Finn Balor vs. Timothy Thatcher I don't even need to describe this match to predict the winner here... Winner: Finn Balor Triple Threat Tag Team Match for NXT Tag Team #1 Contendership Breezango (Fandango/Tyler Breeze) vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde/Raul Mendoza) Fandango and Tyler Breeze HAVE to be rewarded at some point for moving off the main roster down to NXT, so why not now? They can't stay jobbers forever. Winners: Breezango NXT Championship Keith Lee (c) vs. Karrion Kross Keith Lee is going to get called up to the main roster soon. But not quite yet. As such, no way he drops the title to Karrion Kross. He's the biggest star on the entire NXT roster, he isn't dropping the NXT Championship until the WWE decides it's time to call him up...my best guess is that January's Royal Rumble event will likely be his call up...He's keeping the belt until then. Winner: Keith Lee When and Where? Sunday, August 23rd at 7pm EST on WWE Network (Kickoff show at 6pm) WWE RAW Tag Team Championship Street Profits (c) vs. Andrade/Angel Garza The WWE has been teasing tensions between both Andrade and Garza with their manager, Zelina Vega. I suspect that their team is about to break up, with one of them turning face in the near future. As such, I expect them to not win the titles here. Winners: Street Profits WWE Championship Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton Randy Orton is performing both in the ring and on the mic at a level he hasn't been at in years. I have mentioned in previous reviews that I think the WWE will give him one last title run...That title run starts this Sunday, and will last probably until Wrestlemania. Winner: Randy Orton WWE United States Championship (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin banned from ringside) Apollo Crews (c) vs. MVP Part of me thinks that MVP has a secret member of his Hurt Business faction, and that they will interfere in the match on MVP's behalf...but that would probably mean that MVP wins...I don't think MVP wins though. He is just an old-timer nostalgia act, I can't see them giving him an actual meaningful belt. Winner: Apollo Crews Street Fight (Basically, anything goes) Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio Seth Rollins is the overwhelming favorite...which is exactly why he will lose. If this is going to be Dominik's debut match in the WWE, if they have ANY hopes of him carrying on his father's legacy, then they have to book this as Dominik being WAY better than they've let on so far. He is a fully trained wrestler, and he will be in the WWE for a long time. Rumor has it that he even already has a new name waiting to be used...Prince Mysterio. The WWE is going to go all out to establish Rey's successor as a bonafide star. Winner: Dominik Mysterio WWE Raw Women's Championship WWE Smackdown Women's Championship Sasha Banks (c) vs. Asuka Bayley (c) vs. Asuka Technically, these are two separate matches. That is, Asuka has to wrestle twice on Sunday. I am combining them here, because I think these are really two halves of a single story being told. Both my wife and I suspect that the team of Bayley and Banks is going to break up, due to a betrayal. Either Bayley will screw Sasha somehow in the RAW title match, or Sasha Banks will screw Bayley somehow in the Smackdown title match, "totally accidentally". Basically, we both suspect that Asuka is probably going to get screwed out of one of the titles, but end up winning the other. Then, probably at the next PPV, Payback, which conveniently is only like a week after Summerslam, wouldn't you know...Bayley and Sasha are already booked to defend their WWE Women's Tag Team titles against opponents TBD. Anyone wanna bet it's gonna be against Asuka and a freshly called up Io Shirai from NXT? Winner(s): Asuka, either Sasha Banks or Bayley, but not both. WWE Universal Championship Braun Strowman (c) vs. Bray Wyatt Honestly? I don't have the slightest idea who is going to win this match, I am not even really leaning in one direction or another. I can legit see either man winning this...I expect this to be a very violent, power based match, with very little technical wrestling involved. My wife is convinced that Alexa Bliss will be involved in this match. As you may recall, she has been placed in this storyline starting with the swamp match between Wyatt and Strowman last PPV, and it's not exactly clear yet what her role is. Is she really Sister Abigail, and ultimately loyal to Bray Wyatt/The Fiend, or do her loyalties remain with her mixed-tag team partner Braun Strowman? Alexa very well could be the deciding factor in this match...but for which wrestler? Winner: Hell if I know...Umm, a draw or no-contest maybe? Hair vs. Hair Match Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville I don't remember EVER seeing a face lose a hair vs. hair type match. The entire purpose of a hair vs. hair match is to teach the heel a lesson, to humiliate them in the middle of the ring for being a dastardly heel... Winner: Mandy Rose, then look for Otis to come out and help hold Sonya down while Mandy cuts her hair off. It's been a while since I have done a WWE PPV preview thread, I think the last one I did was Wrestlemania?
Anyway, the Extreme Rules PPV is airing this Sunday on WWE Network. While there are still two WWE programs that have yet to air before that, tonight's NXT, and then Friday's Smackdown, the card is pretty much set, so let's get into it: Last minute addition? Randy Orton vs. Big Show They are talking about this match on the Kickoff show right now, so it must have been added to the card at the last minute...(It's 6:54pm as I write this) Prediction: Randy Orton in a squash match. I love Big Show, he is one of my all time favorite performers...but he is 99% retired now, and Orton is in the middle of being pushed, possibly for one final title run before he retires. Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match (Tables) The New Day (Kofi Kingston/Big E) (c) vs. Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura Given that the tag team titles haven't meant anything in months, this match is likely going to be relegated to the kickoff show, rather than the PPV proper. That's fine, because this match is likely going to be anti-climactic. There will be some cool spots, some decent bumps, but New Day isn't losing the titles to Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. United States Championship Match (standard rules) Apollo Crews (c) vs. MVP Apollo Crews has been slowly making his way up the roster, and MVP is a temporary nostalgia gimmick...There is no chance in hell that Bobby Lashley doesn't interfere in this match on behalf of MVP...however, Crews will retain the belt, because I believe Apollo Crews and Bobby Lashley are already penciled in to have a US Championship match at next month's Summerslam. Prediction: Crews retains. Eye for an Eye match Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins SUPPOSEDLY the stipulation is that you actually have to "extract" an eye from your opponent, but that's bullshit. Nobody is really going to lose an eye...so, best guess is that there will be some fake eye gouging, and either blading of the eyebrow right above the eye to make it look really bloody, or some fake blood gets used, something like that. This one is rather simple...Dominic is going to betray his father, either outright, or by tossing in the white towel to forfeit the match or something, and end up siding with Rollins...setting up Rey vs. Dominic for Summerslam...which will be Rey's retirement match, and Dominic's debut match...Rey will literally pass the torch/mask to his son. Then, on the first Raw after Summerslam, expect Dominic to be renamed as Rey Mysterio III. Prediction: Seth Rollins, with help from Dominic. Wyatt Swamp Fight (non-title match) Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt The fact that this match isn't for the Universal (Smackdown) Championship pretty much tells you everything you need to know. If it were a title match, Braun Strowman would retain the title...but as a non-title match, it's almost a guarantee that Bray Wyatt picks up the win...Even if they aren't going to put the belt on Wyatt, they need him to return back to the top of the roster...beating Braun Strowman, even in a non-title match, does that. Prediction: Bray Wyatt Smackdown Women's Championship Bayley (c) vs. Nikki Cross Bayley will clearly have Sasha Banks in her corner. That will come in handy. Anyway, I think this match is the start of the breakup of their little power trip. Nikki isn't going to be given the belt, so Bayley is definitely going to retain the belt...but it will be with help from Sasha, who has bailed Bayley out multiple times since she returned from injury. The WWE has been teasing, ever so subtly, that perhaps Sasha Banks is getting a little tired of being Bayley's insurance policy... Prediction: Bayley retains, with help from Banks. Raw Women's Championship Asuka (c) vs. Sasha Banks Immediately after Sasha Banks helps ensure Bayley retains her title against Nikki Cross, her own match is scheduled, against the Empress of Tomorrow, Asuka. And this is where the shit is going to hit the fan. Sasha will get in trouble, Bayley will "attempt" to help her...maybe it's a halfhearted save attempt that didn't really do anything, or maybe she causes Sasha to get disqualified, something Bayley does, deliberately or not, will cost Sasha Banks the match. Then in the weeks to come, they will set up Sasha Banks vs. Bayley at Summerslam for the Smackdown title, probably starting out with them dropping the Women's Tag titles to either the IIconics or the Kabuki Warriors, and then have one of them blame the other for the loss...Either way, I think we are building up to Sasha Banks vs. Bayley at Summerslam for the Smackdown Women's championship. Prediction: Asuka retains, due to Bayley's actions, inadvertent or not... WWE Championship Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler Do I believe Dolph Ziggler is going to walk out of Extreme Rules with the belt? HELL NO. No point in even really previewing this one, I don't care what the stipulations to this match end up being...There is only one possible winner here. Prediction: Drew McIntyre retains, no matter what the stipulation is, no matter who comes down to interfere. |
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February 2021
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