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WWE/NXT/AEW/NJPW Thread
- Thread starter Jack Brickman
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Jack Brickman
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Since I was so spot-on with my Takeover preview (two out of five, baby!), I'll do one for the Rumble too!
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Sasha Banks Vs. Nia Jax
I just do not care about this feud. Nia doesn't interest me in the ring in the slightest. She's just not an entertaining wrestler. That said, I think she beats Sasha here, and we may end up getting a women's fatal four way at 'Mania between these two and Charlotte/Bayley.
Winner: Nia Jax
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Raw Tag Team Championship: Cesaro & Sheamus (c) Vs. Gallows & Anderson
No idea why this match needs to be on the pre-show when the main card only has four matches other than the Rumble, but whatever. These guys have done some solid in-ring work together building up to this match, and the two referee stipulation makes sense given the outcome of the last match, although it does bet the question of why they don't have two refs out there for every match, one in the ring and one on the outside. Again, whatever. I think that something will happen where one ref will think Cesaro and Sheamus win and the other thinks Gallows and Anderson win, which will continue the feud.
Winner: Draw
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Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, & Naomi Vs. Alexa Bliss, Natalya, & Mickie James
Between this match and Sasha/Nia, they're not exactly giving me a mountain of reasons to tune in to the pre-show. I think the tag title match will be all right, but it's one of those things I'll be fine with going back and watching later if I read it's any good. Anyway, this is Mickie James' first match back on the main roster, and thus I think she will score the pinfall. I also think this will be chaotic and result in a women's Elimination Chamber match.
Winner: Alexa Bliss, Natalya, & Mickie James
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Cruiserweight Championship: Rich Swann (c) Vs. Neville
Neville has been on absolute fire since returning as a heel and taking over the cruiserweight division. He's been solid on the mic and great in the ring, and more importantly I love that he's wrestling differently than he did as a face. He just has an added viciousness and intensity that was lacking before, and it makes his matches even more entertaining. It's nice to see the WWE finally taking him seriously, because he put on two of my all-time favorite NXT matches (the one where he dropped the title to Zayn and the non-title match with Owens on a weekly NXT show) and I think he's so much better than he's been utilized. Really my only concern with this match is that it won't get enough time, because otherwise it might have a shot at stealing the show. As much as I like Swann, Neville has just been too good and a much needed shot in the arm for the entire division, so I think he takes the belt here.
Winner: Neville
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Raw Women's Championship: Charlotte (c) Vs. Bayley
Three women's matches on this card, and I just find it hard to care about any of them. Bayley has just been terrible on the main roster. I liked her in NXT, but damn...they've just made her so boring and generic. Similarly, I'm just over Charlotte as champ at this point. She's basically held the belt seemingly forever by now, with only a few brief stints with Sasha as champ, and they've touted her PPV streak so much that it's hard for me to see it ending tonight. I just don't see her dropping the belt until 'Mania, and thus I can't bring myself to care about the match tonight.
Winner: Charlotte
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WWE Universal Championship: Kevin Owens (c) Vs. Roman Reigns in a No DQ Match w/ Chris Jericho suspended above the ring in a shark cage
One of the great problems with the current WWE product (and specifically Raw) is just how fucking often we see the same guys wrestle. We've seen Owens and Reigns in the ring together seemingly a thousand times already, and so it's impossible for this match to feel at all special. They fight every damn week on Raw. They fought at last month's PPV. They probably fought at the one before that, but I honestly don't even remember. Regardless, I'm sick to death of Owens and Reigns squaring off. Styles/Cena still feels fresh because they haven't had forty-three non-title matches on Smackdown over the past three months. Anyway, I expect another perfectly solid match that doesn't really wow anyone, as seems par for the course when these two get in the ring together. I'm going to go against the grain and pick Owens to retain the title, simply because it seems so obvious that Reigns will win.
Winner: Kevin Owens
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WWE Championship Match: AJ Styles Vs. John Cena
This is probably the toughest match on the whole card to call. On the one hand, AJ Styles has been absolutely killing it for the WWE this year. He was easily their top star for 2016, and put on multiple MOTY candidates after a somewhat rocky start. On the other hand, LOLCENAWINS. I'm going to go with my heart here and pick Styles to win. He can always drop the belt at Elimination Chamber if they want someone else to head into 'Mania as the champ. My guess is Samoa Joe interferes and costs Cena the belt, leading to a Cena/Joe match at 'Mania.
Winner: AJ Styles
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The Royal Rumble - 30 Entrants including Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, the Undertaker, Dean Ambrose, Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho, and more...
Well, it's nice to see the Rumble actually matter again, at least on paper. The last three years have seen three absolutely godawful Rumbles. Hell, last year no one even pretended to care about entering the Rumble. It was the Roman Reigns show and everyone else on the roster was a bit player despite the fact that the actual title was on the line. This year, though, guys seemed to remember that winning the Rumble was a big deal and were actually clamoring to enter it. What a revelation that has been. When everyone wants to be in the Rumble, the Rumble feels important, and when it feels important, fans give a shit. The field is also completely wide open right now. There are like ten guys in this Rumble that you could legitimately see winning.
The Undertaker could win and face either Styles/Cena or Reigns/Owens at Wrestlemania.
Brock or Goldberg could win and the other could steal the title at the next Raw PPV and lead to their 'Mania showdown.
Braun Strowman could win, leading to a Vince wet dream match with Roman Reigns to main event Wrestlemania.
Sami Zayn could become the ultimate underdog and go on to win the match, eliminating Strowman last and finally getting that monkey off his back.
Bray Wyatt or Randy Orton could win, with the other winning the title at Elimination Chamber, leading to the obvious upcoming showdown between the two.
Chris Jericho could win, leading to the perfect culmination to his story with Owens as the two turn on each other in the lead-up to 'Mania and then finally face off.
Baron Corbin could win, because the WWE seems to be interested in pushing him.
The WWE could decide they are going to randomly push Ziggler again and give him the win.
The Miz could justifiably win this year, as he's been incredible.
Samoa Joe could enter as a surprise and win, leading to a 'Mania battle with Styles or Owens, both of whom he has history with.
Finn Balor could legitimately return and win to earn back his shot at the belt he never lost.
There's just a lot in play here, and that makes the Rumble that much more interesting. There's no patently obvious direction for the Rumble to go this year, and there are a bunch of options that make perfect sense. It's worth noting that the odds of a certain star winning shifted rapidly today, making him the heavy favorite after news of a possible angle leaked. I won't spoil that here, but it's one of the scenarios I outlined above. That said, I think this is a smokescreen by the WWE. I think Balor returns and wins to a huge pop.
Winner: Finn Balor
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Sasha Banks Vs. Nia Jax
I just do not care about this feud. Nia doesn't interest me in the ring in the slightest. She's just not an entertaining wrestler. That said, I think she beats Sasha here, and we may end up getting a women's fatal four way at 'Mania between these two and Charlotte/Bayley.
Winner: Nia Jax
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Raw Tag Team Championship: Cesaro & Sheamus (c) Vs. Gallows & Anderson
No idea why this match needs to be on the pre-show when the main card only has four matches other than the Rumble, but whatever. These guys have done some solid in-ring work together building up to this match, and the two referee stipulation makes sense given the outcome of the last match, although it does bet the question of why they don't have two refs out there for every match, one in the ring and one on the outside. Again, whatever. I think that something will happen where one ref will think Cesaro and Sheamus win and the other thinks Gallows and Anderson win, which will continue the feud.
Winner: Draw
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Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, & Naomi Vs. Alexa Bliss, Natalya, & Mickie James
Between this match and Sasha/Nia, they're not exactly giving me a mountain of reasons to tune in to the pre-show. I think the tag title match will be all right, but it's one of those things I'll be fine with going back and watching later if I read it's any good. Anyway, this is Mickie James' first match back on the main roster, and thus I think she will score the pinfall. I also think this will be chaotic and result in a women's Elimination Chamber match.
Winner: Alexa Bliss, Natalya, & Mickie James
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Cruiserweight Championship: Rich Swann (c) Vs. Neville
Neville has been on absolute fire since returning as a heel and taking over the cruiserweight division. He's been solid on the mic and great in the ring, and more importantly I love that he's wrestling differently than he did as a face. He just has an added viciousness and intensity that was lacking before, and it makes his matches even more entertaining. It's nice to see the WWE finally taking him seriously, because he put on two of my all-time favorite NXT matches (the one where he dropped the title to Zayn and the non-title match with Owens on a weekly NXT show) and I think he's so much better than he's been utilized. Really my only concern with this match is that it won't get enough time, because otherwise it might have a shot at stealing the show. As much as I like Swann, Neville has just been too good and a much needed shot in the arm for the entire division, so I think he takes the belt here.
Winner: Neville
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Raw Women's Championship: Charlotte (c) Vs. Bayley
Three women's matches on this card, and I just find it hard to care about any of them. Bayley has just been terrible on the main roster. I liked her in NXT, but damn...they've just made her so boring and generic. Similarly, I'm just over Charlotte as champ at this point. She's basically held the belt seemingly forever by now, with only a few brief stints with Sasha as champ, and they've touted her PPV streak so much that it's hard for me to see it ending tonight. I just don't see her dropping the belt until 'Mania, and thus I can't bring myself to care about the match tonight.
Winner: Charlotte
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WWE Universal Championship: Kevin Owens (c) Vs. Roman Reigns in a No DQ Match w/ Chris Jericho suspended above the ring in a shark cage
One of the great problems with the current WWE product (and specifically Raw) is just how fucking often we see the same guys wrestle. We've seen Owens and Reigns in the ring together seemingly a thousand times already, and so it's impossible for this match to feel at all special. They fight every damn week on Raw. They fought at last month's PPV. They probably fought at the one before that, but I honestly don't even remember. Regardless, I'm sick to death of Owens and Reigns squaring off. Styles/Cena still feels fresh because they haven't had forty-three non-title matches on Smackdown over the past three months. Anyway, I expect another perfectly solid match that doesn't really wow anyone, as seems par for the course when these two get in the ring together. I'm going to go against the grain and pick Owens to retain the title, simply because it seems so obvious that Reigns will win.
Winner: Kevin Owens
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WWE Championship Match: AJ Styles Vs. John Cena
This is probably the toughest match on the whole card to call. On the one hand, AJ Styles has been absolutely killing it for the WWE this year. He was easily their top star for 2016, and put on multiple MOTY candidates after a somewhat rocky start. On the other hand, LOLCENAWINS. I'm going to go with my heart here and pick Styles to win. He can always drop the belt at Elimination Chamber if they want someone else to head into 'Mania as the champ. My guess is Samoa Joe interferes and costs Cena the belt, leading to a Cena/Joe match at 'Mania.
Winner: AJ Styles
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The Royal Rumble - 30 Entrants including Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, the Undertaker, Dean Ambrose, Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho, and more...
Well, it's nice to see the Rumble actually matter again, at least on paper. The last three years have seen three absolutely godawful Rumbles. Hell, last year no one even pretended to care about entering the Rumble. It was the Roman Reigns show and everyone else on the roster was a bit player despite the fact that the actual title was on the line. This year, though, guys seemed to remember that winning the Rumble was a big deal and were actually clamoring to enter it. What a revelation that has been. When everyone wants to be in the Rumble, the Rumble feels important, and when it feels important, fans give a shit. The field is also completely wide open right now. There are like ten guys in this Rumble that you could legitimately see winning.
The Undertaker could win and face either Styles/Cena or Reigns/Owens at Wrestlemania.
Brock or Goldberg could win and the other could steal the title at the next Raw PPV and lead to their 'Mania showdown.
Braun Strowman could win, leading to a Vince wet dream match with Roman Reigns to main event Wrestlemania.
Sami Zayn could become the ultimate underdog and go on to win the match, eliminating Strowman last and finally getting that monkey off his back.
Bray Wyatt or Randy Orton could win, with the other winning the title at Elimination Chamber, leading to the obvious upcoming showdown between the two.
Chris Jericho could win, leading to the perfect culmination to his story with Owens as the two turn on each other in the lead-up to 'Mania and then finally face off.
Baron Corbin could win, because the WWE seems to be interested in pushing him.
The WWE could decide they are going to randomly push Ziggler again and give him the win.
The Miz could justifiably win this year, as he's been incredible.
Samoa Joe could enter as a surprise and win, leading to a 'Mania battle with Styles or Owens, both of whom he has history with.
Finn Balor could legitimately return and win to earn back his shot at the belt he never lost.
There's just a lot in play here, and that makes the Rumble that much more interesting. There's no patently obvious direction for the Rumble to go this year, and there are a bunch of options that make perfect sense. It's worth noting that the odds of a certain star winning shifted rapidly today, making him the heavy favorite after news of a possible angle leaked. I won't spoil that here, but it's one of the scenarios I outlined above. That said, I think this is a smokescreen by the WWE. I think Balor returns and wins to a huge pop.
Winner: Finn Balor
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Jack Brickman
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Oh yeah, and my Rumble wishlist:
- A Kurt Angle appearance.
- The next entrance after Lesnar, Goldberg's music hits. Only it's Gillberg instead. He is subsequently murdered by Brock.
- Tye Dillinger at 10.
- At number thirty, Daniel Bryan's music plays. The crowd goes absolutely bonkers. Miz enters, laughing at the crowd, and they go ballistic.
elcheato
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I wouldn't mind Finn Balor coming back to win the rumble, but honestly wouldn't it make him look like kind of an idiot? You would think he is owed a shot at the belt, and wouldn't need to go through the grind of winning the rumble to get it.
The rumble truly does seem up in the air, which is a breath of fresh air, but I really hope these Orton rumors don't come to fruition. He doesn't need it at all.
The rumble truly does seem up in the air, which is a breath of fresh air, but I really hope these Orton rumors don't come to fruition. He doesn't need it at all.
Jack Brickman
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Eh...I think they just kind of overlook that kind of logic when guys return for the Rumble. I think if Finn is in the match, he is going to win. There's really no point in bringing him back for the Rumble just to lose.
Agree about Orton. Don't really have any desire to see him win the Rumble, especially when there are so many other guys who could legitimately win. If they're going to go with a "legend" type, I'd prefer Jericho to take it since he hasn't won a Rumble before and he was fantastic for the second half of 2016.
elcheato
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That's why I'm not expecting him to be in the rumble. I think he's going to return the night after Mania and beat Kevin Owens for the belt at the first PPV following Mania.
I really like the idea of having Samoa Joe debut to win. Not sure how likely it is, but that's my favorite scenario that can come from tonight. I actually like the idea of Sami Zayn winning too, but I'd put that as slim to none. At the very least, I think he should be the #1 entry and make it to the final 4.
Jack Brickman
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I can't wait until Roman loses against Owens, only to enter the Rumble and win. Just another way for Vince to tell us to go fuck ourselves.
I can't wait until Roman loses against Owens, only to enter the Rumble and win. Just another way for Vince to tell us to go fuck ourselves.
I fully expect Roman to ME mania. Do you?
TheLand1287
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Only reason I'd be happy to see Orton win is because it basically guarantees Bray winning the belt at E.C. And Bray as a champion is something I've wanted to see for years now.
That and it would catapult their inevitable WM match from being an undercard bout to one of the main event bouts.
Jack Brickman
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I did, but Owens' odds to win shifted drastically today, which is usually an indication that something leaked. He went from being the underdog to the heavy favorite to retain. So now I'm not so sure, and honestly I think that Vince might have learned his lesson last year. Hell, even if Reigns does win the title I can't see him being in the final match at Wrestlemania again this year. They'd have to be nuts to try that unless they turn him heel, and that's especially true if he's fighting someone like Undertaker who he will never be cheered against.
I tend to think the original plan was Reigns/Strowman for the title at 'Mania, but that they may have had second thoughts about seeing Roman get booed at the expense of yet another heel to close out 'Mania. That'd make three years running.
While I'd like to see Wyatt win a title (and it still boggles the mind that he hasn't won a singles title in his entire career), I think the better way to tell the story is to have Wyatt win the Rumble and then Orton win the title at Elimination Chamber, thus setting the stage for Wyatt to go over Orton at 'Mania and win his first world title.
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I really don't want to see Orton vs Wyatt though, mainly because I think that pair together is incredible and want to see it grow.
Jack Brickman
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Yeah, it kind of feels like they're breaking them up just to break them up. I'd have liked to have seen them hold the tag titles for a while and then maybe blow off their feud at Summerslam instead of 'Mania.
TheLand1287
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I agree with both of you. Orton & Wyatt as a team has been the most compelling and exciting part of WWE the past few months for me. I really hate that they got such a limited run together. But, WWE gon' WWE.
Agreed, Wyatt winning tonight and going over a champion Orton at WM is by far the better story, but the betting odds are what they are and I'm trying to be realistic and look for a silver lining in this potential situation.
Jack Brickman
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Well, I am 0-2 so far.
That said, it's just baffling to me that they held off on giving the Club the titles for so long solely to pad New Day's record only to have another face team beat them for the belts and then immediately lose them to the heel team that should have taken the titles from New Day to begin with.
That said, it's just baffling to me that they held off on giving the Club the titles for so long solely to pad New Day's record only to have another face team beat them for the belts and then immediately lose them to the heel team that should have taken the titles from New Day to begin with.
TheLand1287
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Sheamus and Cesaro losing the belts already. Why?! I don't see a reason to break them up any time soon. Especially going into WM season. The Club doesn't have enough heat as a heel tag team for that victory to feel meaningful at all.